Gig Bag Weight

[bisontuba]

Thank for the input, everyone, including bag quality issues. Not meaning to hijack my own thread, but I’m curious as to why some prefer side loaders over top loaders. To me, a top loader allows one to basically drop the tuba into the bag. The bag doesn’t have to lie on the floor to load the tuba into it. With a side loader, you would place the bag on the floor. All floors are dirty. Then you put it on your back, dirt and all. Plus, if the zipper fails, there goes the tuba. ???

Exactly....

[greenbean]

Thank for the input, everyone, including bag quality issues. Not meaning to hijack my own thread, but I’m curious as to why some prefer side loaders over top loaders. To me, a top loader allows one to basically drop the tuba into the bag. The bag doesn’t have to lie on the floor to load the tuba into it. With a side loader, you would place the bag on the floor. All floors are dirty. Then you put it on your back, dirt and all. Plus, if the zipper fails, there goes the tuba. ???

I wonder if a new thread could be created with this question. I think a lot of players are interested in the top-loader vs side-loader question. There are certainly pros and cons to each.

[toobagrowl]

To me, a top loader allows one to basically drop the tuba into the bag. The bag doesn’t have to lie on the floor to load the tuba into it. With a side loader, you would place the bag on the floor. All floors are dirty. Then you put it on your back, dirt and all. Plus, if the zipper fails, there goes the tuba. ???

My top-loading bag gets just as dirty as my side loading bags. They both still lay on the floor. And if you carry a side loading bag with the handle straps, the tuba is lower to the ground and you don't have to worry about the zipper busting.

[Bill Troiano]

All of my recent bags have been top loaders, and I never place them on the floor because I don’t want dirt on them. I always stand them someplace when not in use. And, when I load the tuba, I grab it in one hand by the top branch and I lift and drop it into the bag. The bag never lies on the floor. Maybe that’s just me.

[bort]

Also, the Miraphone product description explicitly says it is a carbon fiber disc. If you had something other than that... Well, I'm just not sure what to tell you. I don't doubt what you saw, but don't think it was representative.

The Miraphone bag I had was as well-made as anything I've owned, and a heck of a lot more comfortable than a Cronkhite. Ugly blue, but less frumpy than anything else (the front pouch on a Cronkhite?). Security was an issue for me with a Cronkhite too... A snap-off pouch on my back on a crowded subway train? No thanks.

We've all got our reasons, and besides the bags we all mutually dislike, the rest are all about as good as each other.

Description of Miraphone bags:

Factory Bags!

These bags feature a top load construction, with thick padding for optimal protection and a specially designed carbon fiber protector disc built in to the bell area of the bag to absorb impact to the bell area and transfer that energy away from the instrument, preventing damage from small collisions with objects, such as doorways. These bags also include a shoulder strap plus backpack straps with a center clip to prevent the straps from slipping off the shoulders......

BTW, Miraphone bags are made in Slovakia