BTW... I'm not talking about gig bags. These are shaped canvas-covered cases. They might not be as hard as an SKB molded plastic, but my horns take a pretty good beating when traveling, and the ProTec cases haven't failed me.

There is nothing wrong with a heavy case. You would be a lot better off with a heavy case with excellent protection, than a lighter case with less protection. I am modifying my 25 year old case, adding extra reinforcements to it, and it is already fairly heavy, heavier than a lot of tenor cases, but at least i can trust it.

Looking at all these post, I now suggest getting a mid size iron safe and add a sholder strap to it. That will keep your sax safe!!! Really guys. Putting your sax in a hard plastic case is fine protection. My walt Johnson could take a fall easy and protect my sax. I agree that Gig bags or any soft exterior case is foolish to put your sax into. I asked, how are the cheaper hard plastic cases like KRB or Gator? They look pretty good on the site but I figured someone should speak up that actually has bought one.

I try to keep my horns in thier original cases as long as the cases are solid and offer enough protection. I have a few horns that are pre- 1930 and a couple even pre-1920 in their original cases. I did buy a new SKB case for my Conn tenor. The original case had been recovered once before. After dragging the sax to school for several years when I was in band in Jr. high and high school, and then college, the original case was pretty well destroyed! . I've been very satisfied with the SKB case. It is fairly light-weight, yet big enough to hold some of my accessories. It cost around $100. I definately would not recommend a gig bag, and I don't care much for the Pro-tech cases either; they're only slightly better than a gig bag!

I used to be a little leary of ProTec cases, as well, but, like I said before, my current alto came in one. Just a brief story about why I think they're sufficient: One day I had my alto sitting next to a podium as I was setting up. Someone accidentally bumped into it, and to my horror, the top wasn't nailed down to the base!! It fell directly on top of my case about where the 'A' key is on the body! (I know this because I was actually walking over to grab the horn and was looking right at it when it fell). I opened the case hoping for the best, but expecting the worst. The case held up beautifully! No dents, dings, or even any scratches! Just a slight mark on the case itself, which has since worn away. Now, I'm not saying that these are the best cases around, but, from my experience, I'm going to keep using them. It's possible that I may have a fluke case, where it's made stonger than the rest, but I doubt it. But, I don't think I'm going to experiment with my tenor case using a similar scenario, though.... ;) The only negative thing I can say about them is the fact you have to get a seperate accessory case for your mpc., reeds, tools, etc.