(Light) Flightcase for guitar in gigbag?
 

Anybody check their guitars into the airline in a gigbag that’s housed in some sort of hard shell that’s lighter than a traditional flight case? I’d prefer to have my gigbag for gigs on tour as opposed to a hard case, but definitely won’t check in the guitar just in its Monocase Vertigo gigbag. Ideally, I’d like to get to the hotel, leave the hard shell in the hotel room and go to the gig with just the gigbag. Anyone know of such a product?

I've done just what you suggest by checking the guitar in an SKB I-Series flight case, and my clothes in the gig bag instead of a suitcase. Stash the SKB in the hotel room and carry the guitar in the gig bag when I get there. The baggage conveyors can be pretty tough on your gig bag, however. Make sure to secure any straps, or put the gig bag in a cardboard box. I have used small wire ties to secure zippers, but TSA sometimes cuts those off if they search the bag.

Thanks Earl, that’s something for me to think about. Did you have to pay any extra fees for having 2 oversized items?

Some have reported that the SKB sometimes gets hit with an oversized fee, and usually comes out at the oversized baggage window instead of the regular conveyor. I've never paid a fee for it, but I can only fly First Class - I'm 6'-6" and 300 pounds with a 34" inseam. Coach seats just don't work for me and even the front cabin isn't exactly roomy these days. The gig bag full of clothes never got treated any differently than any normal suitcase - not oversized.

Buy yourself a Hiscox Pro II case. They're almost as durable as a heavy and expensive flight case, but very light too, so you'd have no problem carrying your guitar around with no need for an extra bag. Several folk here have flown with them with no problems. Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0jbDM2MOxs

Sorry, I should’ve clarified, I have the rainsong hard case that came with the guitar. However, when I play locally, I use a Monocase gigbag because it’s lighter and I can carry it on my back.

I guess I’m just trying to find a way to fly my guitar in the Monocase gigbag and have it safely arrive at the destination. My shows are overseas in Asia so carrying on the guitar in the gigbag is not an option.

Wow, some creative google searching found me this website:

https://www.casextreme.com

https://www.casextreme.com/images/621.jpg

Gotta get more info on that product, but I’m thinking that Earl49’s idea of flying the guitar in the Monocase then boxed up in like a Taylor or Martin factory box might be the cheapest and best solution.

If anyone has any other ideas I’d appreciate your thoughts. Thank you guys.

Joe,
I have personal experience with caseextreme and highly recommend. It is exactly what you asked for in your OP.

Thanks Spyvito

I have used this, stuffed clothing in the empty spaces, and made out perfectly, It comes with wheels and they are low priced. It's an option well worth consideration.

Another one would be to use the Hiscox as suggested and get a shoulder strap carrying arrangement for it and forget the soft case. They are surprisingly light.

After watching this video, I am now convinced that the traditional plywood hard-cases are actually quite harmful to an acoustic guitar during airline travel. The shock absorption from the luggage handlers is what’s most critical IMO. Thanks AndrewG.

For my trip in 2 weeks I’m going to fly my guitar in the Monocase Vertigo bag packed in two Taylor cardboard boxes (the inner one slightly modified to fit). For my upcoming trips, I will order the Casextreme shell.

Thanks everyone for the replies, really appreciate your time and effort. Cheers!

The Case Extreme shell is strong and highly protective but also quite bulky. It will come out as oversized baggage, and then you have to stash it in your hotel room. It won't always fit in the trunks of smaller rental cars or taxis either.

The main downside that people have reported is that TSA doesn't take the time to reinstall the foam "bones" that isolate your guitar from the sides of the case. After opening you guitar up for inspection, they just toss everything loosely back in there and close it up again to bounce around. Even when instructions and diagrams are clearly posted inside the Case Extreme, they simply don't bother.

I've chatted with Bruce Lamb, who invented Case Extreme. Nice fellow, and I'm not trying to dissuade you - just letting you know the "rest of the story". He also runs The Guitar Workshop (www.theguitarworkshop.com). His instructional videos are quite nicely done, if any of those topics or teachers appeal to you. I have them all......

(Light) Flightcase for guitar in gigbag?
 

This information from experience is a great example of the amazing value the AGF has provided me in my music career. Thanks for sharing this insight Earl, I really appreciate you for that.

After watching the Hiscox video, I’ve been researching a possible solution that would also potentially solve the problem you mentioned with the TSA as well. In the Hiscox video, they show a sample of just the outer ABS shell (with no molded foam or padding inside). They also show how easy it is to remove the padding from cheaper brands of ABS cases.

I’m now thinking of buying one of the cheaper ABS jumbo cases (like this one: https://gatorcases.com/products/guit...case-gc-jumbo/), removing the inner padding and using just the shell to house my Monocase Vertigo gigbag with my guitar in it. I think my local guitar store might carry this ABS case so I’m going to bring my Monocase bag in to size it up and see if it could work. I figure that even if I have to squeeze it in a little, it would be fine.

We’ll see how this goes.

Other than the “light” part, the Caseextreme is a good way to protect your guitar. Once you take a 12 pound case and add a 5-6 pound guitar plus the case it is in, you have a pretty heavy package. Luckily and option is embedded wheels.

I’ll second the hiscox or a Calton. The Calton will protect your guitar without the need to an outer, or inner, case.

Hey everyone, after doing a bit more research, it seems like the Casextreme design was really meant to “float” a traditional plywood hard case to reduce impact to the guitar when in motion (like airline travel). Although it can also hold a padded gig bag like my Monocase Vertigo, it wasn’t really meant for it as the gig bag already provides the impact relief with its padding. The only thing the gig bag lacks is the rigidity and crush prevention from a hard case.

Would like to get your thoughts please: I found the Gator ABS plastic dread size case, and after removing the inner foam molded for a dread sized guitar to just have the ABS shell, it can fit my Monocase Vertigo bag. My thoughts are that this setup (Monocase Vertigo inside the Gator ABS shell) would actually provide the following:

1. Impact resistance from the padding in the Monocase Vertigo
2. Crush resistance from Gator ABS shell
3. Locking features of the Gator case locks
4. The convenience of using my gig bag (instead of a hard case)to shows on-location when flying to play a show.
5. It is not as bulky as the Casextreme

Do you all see any issues I’m not seeing with this setup?