Anyone using a GARD tuba Wheelie Bag?

[bisontuba]

Hi-
Now that these have been out for a while, anyone using a GARD tuba wheelie bag? If so, which size/model? How is it? With horn on the bell inside the bag, has the horn been damaged at all or has the bag protected it? Comments?
Thanks-
Mark

[eupher61]

I don't have the Wheelie, but the basic bag is fine for my not-so-much-to-worry-about Conn Eb. Not great protection, but adequate if some care is taken. I like the little rain hood they include, and the covered wood for the bell.

[ScottM]

We have an 80+ year old woman in the Lansing Concert band with a wheeled case for her Mirafone 184. The bag is quite large for the horn but very well padded and there hasn't been any damage to it while using the bag. The wheels really help her with the transportation of the horn. She used to put it on a padded dolly and the new case is much better.
Scott M

[ouch]

I currently own one of these "I can put all of my horns in there AND my youngest kid*" cases and they're not bad, but not good. It's made so that it's just too big for the horn that it's made to carry. Plus if you lose your grip on the handle and it falls onto it, your horn will be getting a nice dent, instead of the case taking the blow like it's suppose to. The case is also extremely hard to travel with, for it doesn't fit in sedans/cars/cramped-areas and is bulky to the extreme.

I would recommend it for a small horn, for then the case would be bearable and more practical, like for a small CC in a community band, or an orchestral player's F would work because he/she needs an easier way to lug that gear around.

(*Horn professors' quote from seeing this case)

[DPlander]

I bought one in the hope that I could put my Small Kanstul 902-4C into it and be able to have a decent bag with wheels. Once it arrived I figured out that due to Tuba Bells being on the Side of the horn there isn't really a good way to make the Tuba fit into the bag. The wanted you to put the tuba (Bell down) with your piston's/rotor's Facing out, and that put the horn on an angle which didn't really make it fit in the bag. I also has an issue where the bag (due to it having wheels and a handle) was about an extra 4 inches longer than what was really necessary.

That being said, the bag was ok. I returned mine as I bought it to fit inside my Subaru Station Wagon (a Crosstrek) and it was about 2 inches too long to fit without folding down a seat. I returned mine, but I wish I had taken a few pictures to share. If you have the space to carry it and are willing to make it work, that bag might be ok for you.