Best Not-Hoffee Flight Case
 

I’m posting this in the Custom area because I’m more interested in the experiences of those getting luthier-built instruments.

I’ve had a bunch of Hoffees over the years. I still have seven. Most of them, sadly, smell wretched. Like off-gassing organic vapors. Only one does not. I have left them outside in hot sun. I have tried leaving them open for weeks at a time. I’ve tried covering the smell up with cedar. The odor is awful and makes the guitars smell like cancer. No more Hoffee for me, I think.

I have some upcoming builds and am considering what flight cases I want to get. I’ve had experience with a variety of case makers. Cedar Creek, Ameritage, Visesnut, Hiscox, Karura, and a handful of others (not really flight cases anyway).

Are there cases that match Hoffee’s weight and strength but without the organic vapors? Added bonus if they add that wonderful vanilla scent that Cedar Creek and Ameritage use.

That's interesting to learn and quite different from my own experience. I own 6 Hoffee cases both ordered new and preowned for my luthier built guitars and fortunately, I've not experienced an offensive odor with any of mine.

One of my preowned Hoffee cases sustained some outer shell damage in transit. Jeff Hoffee reconditioned it for me at no labor and materials cost to me. I paid for shipping both ways. Have you communicated with Jeff about the odor issue with your cases?

Calton cases also provide great protection but the down side - the added weight is significant. The super tight latches on the Austin made Calton cases are not the easiest for me to open and close either. I don't know if Calton offers the same level of service after the sale as Hoffee. Perhaps someone else can answer that.

Visesnut and BAM cases are both quite light with good protection albeit less protection that Hoffee and Calton. Ameritage cases are well built but I found them very heavy and bulky and also lacking the protection of Calton and Hoffee.

I can't help with any case suggestions, but for the ones you already own, have you tried an ozone machine? I have this one, which works well for eliminating household odors.

Car detailers and home renovators often use them to mitigate lingering cigarette smells. They aren't 100% effective, but they're far more effective than anything else I've tried.

If I had your issue, I'd shut all of the affected guitars and cases in a room and run the ozone machine for an hour or two to see what happens.

Have talked to Jeff. No suggestions outside of what I have tried.

I was impressed with the Karura I used to own. No odor I could remember. That might be a good option. Calton and Mainstage both seem great, but of course the weight is significant.

I've have maybe 6 or 7 hoffees. I only one of them had the very strong odor you described.

I have owned a Hoffee with the persistent odor and was never able to get rid of it. I eventually sold the guitar with the case. I currently own 2 Karura cases. They are a little lighter than the 4 Calton cases I also own, but they aren’t a world different in weight. I like the rubber edge binding on Karura (minimize the risk of case bite) and the terrific latches. I bought the 2nd Karura a couple of years ago and found the fit and finish (inside and outside) was not as good as my older one, especially the inside storage compartment fit & finish. I have chosen Calton as my preferred case. Yes they are a little heavier, but they are perfectly crafted and bulletproof. Calton customer service is outstanding. I did not like how the lid closed on one of the cases I ordered from them and took a short video showing how the lid closed improperly - too much foam in upper lid. They shipped it back to their factory, adjusted the fit, and shipped it back to me on their dime - in less than a month’s time. The latches are stiff when the Calton cases arrive, but there is a way to loosen them if you want to. I kept them tight and they loosen to a comfortable state after using the cases for a few-several months. I find all these cases stink when they arrive. Hoffee persisted, Karura kept the odor for many months (even leaving the lid open in the sun), and Calton’s odor dissipated fairly quickly, weeks.

Be VERY careful if you go the ozone machine route. I have one that we use between tenants in our rental house. The ozone vapors the machine generates will KILL you!!! Besides that it will destroy some plastics, wiring covers and foam.

Have you tried baking soda or dry rice?

Karura makes great cases but shipping costs and lead times can be a challenge.

I have tried powerful chemical sorbents. The problem is, if the case is still off-gassing, which of course it is, you’ll never eliminate the smell.

Ozone is toxic. I would never generate ozone indoors. I’ve worked in air quality most of my career (chemical engineer).

Great input. Thanks. So the odor on the Calton cases does eventually disappear? It’s too bad these guys don’t use that intoxicating (but not toxic) vanilla smell that various case manufacturers use. It is SO satisfying.

I've a couple of Hiscox and one Visenut case - no smell from any of them. I would not worry shipping or flying with an insured guitar with either brand. As I age, the attraction of light weight gets greater and greater.

Hiscox
 

I have had cases from most of the companies you listed.

If bulletproof is the goal, you can not beat an Austin made Calton with the rubber baby buggy bumper. As you already know, I bet.

And, for lighter weight with super thermal protection, I am really impressed with my two Hiscox Pro Artist Lightflights. These are their top of the line, with a thicker shell and more padding inside. Not near as heavy as a Calton, and still very strong. None of the three I have experienced smelled, but all three I bought used. But they are bulky. That is how they get such good thermal protection.

Hopefully they will be shipping to the US again someday…. Sigh

Sorry to hear about the smells. Yuck. And the ozone widget sounds scary!

Good luck and happy playing

Paul

I had a new hoffee case earlier this year that did not have any chemical smells at all. It was a handsome case and had good fit and finish..I had no issues with it at all.

Good alternatives are Calton and MainStage flight cases - you cannot go wrong with those choices and they are merely a little heavier. Given the monetary value of the guitars you usually commission ot own I would not go lower than the protection afforded by these flight cases. As for karura, I have owned one previously years ago and although it was a beautiful case with industry leading protection, the internal fit was not good and it was a little too tight for the guitar that it was made to fit. It still fit but it was a little too snug to me.

Karura vs. Hoffee vs. Calton
 

I recently found out that Karura is sadly no longer in business. The smell of a new Karura is almost identical to a new Hoffee, at least to me. It reminds me of glue or something and I actually don’t mind the odor, not that I’m into sniffing glue, lol. In my experience , a Calton is significantly heavier, but I echo the opinions of other previous posts that they are indeed bulletproof and very well made. They have gotten a fair bit pricier in recent years, but aren’t much more than a Hoffee. I guess the question is how much are you carrying your instrument? If it is mostly just for around the house, the weight doesn’t bear much significance, but if you go to a guitar camp with two Caltons as I did a few years back, you’ll soon realize the difference in weight is very noticeable.

My two Hoffees are odourless (sorry about the ROW spelling, Juston!) but the Visesnut I got in 2019 has had an intermittent light organics odour problem for three years, despite extensive airing.

Never had an odour issue with my Caltons or Mainstage. The Mainstage is heavy as we all know but the padding and protection is the best I have seen.

My Ameritage smells fine but the handle broke in the first year and the customer support was non-existent, so for me they’re a no-go regardless of smell.

Cases are about choosing one’s poison. Some are too heavy, some are not protective, some smell and some have very little accessory capacity, some have bad latches. I own a variety of cases:

- Amertiage
- BAM
- Cedar Creek
- Hiscox
- Hoffee
- Visesnut
- TKL

For me, I have settled on Visesnut as my case of choice. I have not yet run into the strong odor that I have encountered with my Hoffees.

To me, it has the best balance of low weight to good protection ratio. It is far lighter than a Hoffee (I would say 30% lighter) and perhaps slightly less protective (but still quite protective). Purchase the outer padded cover for the case if you are traveling with it. Visesnut cases do not have TSA compatible locks. However, I use a standard TSA padlock to hold the two zippers closed on the padded cover. It is smaller so it holds much less accessories.

It is not custom fitted but is adjustable via a clever perimeter band. I would not recommend them for guitars with a substantial Manzer Wedge where you want the back of the case to match the instrument. The Visesnut comes in multiple lines at differing price points with different numbers and types of latches.