TubeNet

I’m looking for thoughts/recommendations on gig bags. Brand, style, material? What's good and what should I stay FAR away from? I don't want to spend thousands, but I do want to protect my investment.
Thank you all!!

Thank you Mark. I was looking at Reunion Blues. I recently purchased a Meinl Weston 18 Handy, a "condensed" 4/4 Bbb tuba. Smaller in size/length fits in my car much better than most tubas (mini cooper), but finding a good gig bag is proving difficult.
I appreciate your thoughts!

I have an Alteri for my tuba and a Cronkite for my euphonium. The leather Cronkite definitely provides more protection and I like the side opening versus the top opening. That said, I have not problem with my Alteri and have owned a couple over the years, plus they are probably about half the price of the Cronkite.

On a side note, I also have an Alteri for my bass trombone and love it. This thing is definitely a protective case. The bass rides around in the bed of the pick-up without any problems at all

You might want to check out Miraphone brand bags...I bought one last year and have been happy with it. Just check into sizing and fit carefully. They make 4 sizes, I think, and if one of them fits well you would have a good bag, but be very sure of the fit. Cronkhite bags are also excellent, and come in many sizes...contact the Horn Guys as a good source....

Will Traphagan

I was very disappointed in a Protec bag. I tried to pull it out of the car by a pocket and it darn near ripped off.

You've got a fun car in the Mini and a nice little horn in the MW Handy. My sister has a Mini and they are surprisingly tuba friendly with the rear seat down. One of my axes is a Lidl which is similar in size to your Handy. Something you might want to consider depending on your needs would be a Jakob Winter hard case. Mine came with the horn, but it fits like a glove, is extremely high quality, has wheels with a nice pull strap, and with horn inside is like a big euph case both in size and weight. Not that much heavier than a high quality bag but a heck of a lot more protection with the added bonus of being lockable. The downside is that they are not cheap.

Having said that I've got both Alteri and Cronkite bags. Both are well made. My favorites are the leather Cronkite bags. However, I do think the best combination of value over time, fit and protection is a Cronkite Cordura bag. It will last for a long time and while more money than many other bags it really isn't a huge difference (maybe 15 meals at McDonalds ) than say an Alteri and certainly will hold its value better over time should you decide to sell it down the road. If you can afford a leather Cronkite bag they are very nice and my favorite, but the downside is you do need to condition the leather once a year (maybe 10 minutes) and they are somewhat heavier. The upside is they are more protective and pet hair doesn't stick to them. Kind of like a Mini Cooper - they look good and perform better!

My PT-4 fits well in my bride'a Mini in a Reunion Blues leather bag. I've liked the bag--no complaints--but others may have more extensive experience with them. I typically only use it when I need to bring two horns to a gig (NOT in the Mini...). Normally, I feel like a hard case protects against the risk of accidental klutziness better than any bag.

In regards to only protection, no other factors considered, what would be the best bet? I'm looking to get rid of the Protec bags I have and get something that doesn't dent as easily.

I hate to sound pretentious, but I just can't haul around a hard case with everything I do. I guess i'll save up for a leather bag.

What about Alteri? I was looking at their website. They look pretty reasonable.

I had a top-loading, quilted Altieri for my Miraphone 1291.
I liked how it rode on my back - nice and high, no thigh-bumping - but whether or not it was actually so, it felt like the material was so thin that I was a sneeze away from another ding. It felt more like a carry-sack with some scratch resistance than a protective enclosure.
I have a cordura Cronkhite for my 2341, and although it carries less comfortably than the Altieri, I feel my horn is much better protected.
That said, when I'm asked to help the elementary school band, I trade the Cronkhite for a hard case to protect the contents from the back stage free-for-all.