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I finally broke down and spent the big bucks on the Leather Gard bag. I got it from Musician's Friend because they were having a sale. It was $465 (shipping and tax incl.). Ouch!

Like many others here, I've been disappointed in the bags that have been available for sousaphones. I've had multiple ProTecs and one Ritter. They both suck in their own ways. I was really hoping that spending the bucks would help.

Unfortunately, this thing is too small! It comes with a bunch of extra pads that you can position around the inside of the case. But even with all of them removed, the zipper can barely close around my 38K. The amount of stress on the zipper is no good. I spent a good amount of time spinning the horn ever so slightly trying to find a sweet spot. None of the spots got close to what I'd call sweet. It seems like the outer body diameter of the horn is just too much for this bag and that's without using any of the "extra" pads that come with the thing.

I also tried my 22K just to see. Nope. That thing fit worse. The bell diameter (26") seemed a bit too large but I was able to fit it with some pushing and pulling. But again, the body of the sousaphone was just too big. Even worse than the 38K. I couldn't close the bag.

As far as I can tell, Gard only makes one size but they come in both "ultra leather" (which I got) and "synthetic with leather trim". The dimensions are the same according to their website.

I'm bummed because it definitely seems like the highest quality bag I've come across.

Do I just assume it'll stretch out to a more comfortable size over time/use?
Or, do I try their "synthetic" bag and hope that it has a bit more room?
Or, do I return it and buy yet another ProTec bag?

I can't be the first person to try to put a Conn in one of these things. What's going on?

Thanks in advance for your advice, TubeNetters.

If you happen to go to the ProTec side, I think you'll be satisfied. I'm very happy with my ProTec bag which stores and protects my King Eb sousa, two sets of mouthpipes and bits, and a Cavallaro mouthpiece roll. BTW, it comes with a nice bell pad which protects it from the sousa body as it's resting inside the bag.

Thanks for your responses.
But:
-Gard does not make different sized sousaphone bags like they do for tuba. The only 2 options are in the material: leather or synthetic.
-I doubt I'll be any happier with a new ProTec bag than I have been with the last 3 I've owned. Unless they've done something new, which I doubt has happened. They're decent bags if you don't really use them much. They just don't hold up all that well under "aggressive" gigging conditions.

Anybody else have experience with Gard sousaphone bags?

I had a 1916 Conn 3-piece Sousaphone that had a larger body than both the Elkhart 20K and 40K I owned previously. The 3-piece body fitted perfectly with all of the extra inserts in place. Best sousaphone bag ever in my opinion. I'd send it back and try the synthetic w/leather trim. Hopefully, this is a one-off situation.

I decided to keep the bag. I'm hoping the leather will relax a bit and everything will get along nicely.
I'm hoping that happens before the zipper decides it's all too much to handle.
I'll write a follow up as soon as I have something to report.
Thanks for the input.

How's it been holding up Kirley? I'm waiting on delivery of a Gard, but opted for the synthetic. My protec stitching broke a week after getting it 10 years ago...but I put shoe goo on it and it's held ever since! The padding is compressed to nil in critical places though...not protec-ing at all, harhar.

Curious if the leather has relaxed? Looks like they don't even keep them in stock. Maybe they mistakenly made it too small?

It has relaxed a bit. Still a little tighter than it should be but definitely better. Thankfully, the zipper hasn't given up but I have to be really conscious of getting everything in exactly the right spot or there is definitely too much pressure on it.

Overall, I'm still quite happy with the build quality. Way better than anything else I've come across for sousaphones.
So far, no regrets!

Once my Ritter bag fails (more), I'll replace it with a synthetic Gard bag. I currently keep my 22K in the Ritter. I don't trust it with anything nicer and/or heavier.

Good luck and thanks for asking!

Blast from the past:

Is the Gard Sousa bag holding up well, 4 years later? Curious about how well the backpack straps work?

Yep. No complaints.
The zipper has held up well even though it's such a snug fit.

The backpack straps are fine. It's just the 2" webbing the whole length. No extra padding. I wish they had a chest strap like the Miraphone bags (or any decent backpacking pack). When walking longer distances I definitely end up grabbing the straps with my hands at chest level and pulling them forward and in. Like a chest strap would.

As I said before, I think this particular bag would fit a standard sized King or Conn 14k a lot better than the 20K/38K body size.

Happy to answer any other specific questions folks have.

Thanks for the update.

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