Posted by Rick Denney on November 09, 2000 at 12:37:46:
In Reply to: Re: Altieri vs. Reunion Blues posted by tubalew on November 08, 2000 at 17:52:53:
The Reunion Blues bag zips along one side. The other side faces down when you carry the instrument. Even if you leave the zipper open, the handle straddles the opening and keeps the tuba from falling out.
I can't imaging dropping a tuba because of a failed zipper. It's not just improbable, it's functionally impossible unless you carry the case upside down, the zipper fails, and the handle is not snapped together. No chance.
On the other hand, there have been reports of some bags, both Altieri and RB, that have had failures where the strap is attached to the bag. If the strap connection fails, then you are likely to drop the horn, and no gig bag can save you against that sort of damage.
I once owned an Altieri bag for a Czech horn that wasn't very dent-resistant. Just setting the horn down in that bag resulted in a number of small dings on the outer branches. I sewed two thickness of closed-cell foam under a layer of Cordura to the edge of the bag that faces the ground, and it did much better. The foam in an Altieri is open-cell foam. It's soft, but not stiff enough to protect as well as the closed-cell foam used in Reunion Blues bags. The Altieri's are better than they once were, and they are still the best if you routinely carry your instrument back-pack style. But, in my experience of using both, the RB provides better protection.
Rick "But still nowhere as good as a hard case" Denney