Tube vs. Sleeve

JB Rugged or Ultimate Rugged,that's all need be said concerning a cue case !!!

I may be late to the party but I love Whitten cases. JB cases are awesome as well, and when your comparing the two it's like saying if you'd rather a Mercedes or BMW. Cant go wrong with either. I will admit though that Whitten cases can be on the pricier side the more you get away from the basic model. But zi have no doubts my case will last a lifetime.

I have a 3x5 that is a talisman that has bigger tubes (leather I think) but there is a product called Case spacers that are special foam that the manufacturer of Talisman said to get so that the butts and shafts have some rebound in the bottom of the case when dropped in it and it keeps some them quiet from them moving away from and contacting the bottom of the case as well as raises tat the height for easier access. The leather tubes do not harm the cues in side to side movement in my opinion and the case is quiet with these 1 inch round foam inserts. The shaft tubes are smaller so you cut to size for them.

Great product. RIchard Card is the only one that has them in WA. 609 735 2761. I bought an extra pack if I need the for any case in the future.

MY instroke is quiet and does not need them with less space around the cues and butts. and cushion in the bottom

Lockbox said:

I hear you. Seyberts has Focus cases that have the JB liners. My thinking is to go with one of them for the best cost, but also for the JB interior. Would anyone steer me away from this?

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i looked up the focus case since i was not familiar with them (personally i use stirling wave or jb rugged cases) and was very impressed
jb interior and GREAT COST
how could you go wrong??
my only concern would be how well will the exterior wear over time.
if you get one please bump this thread after you use it for a while for your comments

I define them as Multi-Tube or Padded Sleeve.

Tubes can have a better insulating property depending on the type of tube and the R-value.

R-value is the resistance to thermal transfer. Most case makers don't build case with any R-value in mind. They use whatever plastic they can get that suits the purpose of being the right diameter to hold the butts and shafts. So case makers who buy off the shelf at Home Depot often use water pipe for the butts and electrical pipe for the shafts. Some case makers use poster tubes literally like the ones you get at Wal-Mart when you buy a poster.

So the answer is that you aren't going to find much information on the R-value of any cue case. I haven't measured ours but I guess I should.

That said, our padded sleeve cases are made of a single tube of PVC with layers of foam rubber and fabric cradling the cue in a nice cushy and safe cavity. They seem to resist heat really well as seen in the video linked to below. I like the padded interiors because they are lighter and they are more flexible in being able to accommodate just about any cue diameter.

When we build multi-tube cases the tubes are always snug and secure but it's clear that they will only really be good for "normal" butt diameters of 1.25" at the thickest and .75" at the joint for the shafts. We could make them slightly less snug but then you get the rattle and that's not our style. Plus the weight is crazy with multi-tube cases that have any type of actual resistance to compression.

Some makers offer a multi-tube case that they call lightweight BUT the fact is that you can literally break those tubes with your grip. They are super thin walled poster tubes that will hold the parts but won't hold up to pressure.

HEAT GUN ON GTF - 900 degrees
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bx-pEIFxUn4

I like both styles. I thought the tubes in the Whitten I had were quite excellent and well made. Actually I thought the Whitten case was incredibly well made and elegant over all.

As I posted in this sub forum, I still think the interiors of It's George cases are fantastic.

I also own a couple cases with JB Interiors. A sterling with the rebound interior and the Focus with the Ultrapad. Both are excellent I feel. The 2x5 seems a little too snug in the Focus case, seems like maybe the 2x5 in the JB Ruggeds have a little more room.

Any of these I think are good choices.

For me personally I would love to see a JB option that used the Ultrapad design but was done in a way that no shaft or butt was directly against another, with the extra padding sort of creating a "tube" for each piece. I realize that it might need a 3x6 size to fit a 2x4 set of Ultrapad tubes but I think it would be the ultimate in protection and ease of use and not so tight together.

johnnysd said:

I like both styles. I thought the tubes in the Whitten I had were quite excellent and well made. Actually I thought the Whitten case was incredibly well made and elegant over all.

As I posted in this sub forum, I still think the interiors of It's George cases are fantastic.

I also own a couple cases with JB Interiors. A sterling with the rebound interior and the Focus with the Ultrapad. Both are excellent I feel. The 2x5 seems a little too snug in the Focus case, seems like maybe the 2x5 in the JB Ruggeds have a little more room.

Any of these I think are good choices.

For me personally I would love to see a JB option that used the Ultrapad design but was done in a way that no shaft or butt was directly against another, with the extra padding sort of creating a "tube" for each piece. I realize that it might need a 3x6 size to fit a 2x4 set of Ultrapad tubes but I think it would be the ultimate in protection and ease of use and not so tight together.

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Working on it. I have done several different designs where the parts are separated all the way up. Just haven't settled on any yet because of having to balance the need to accommodate different length parts and still be easy to remove from the case.

JB Cases said:

Working on it. I have done several different designs where the parts are separated all the way up. Just haven't settled on any yet because of having to balance the need to accommodate different length parts and still be easy to remove from the case.

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Extremely cool. Would love to know when you settle on a design so I can get a case with it. Maybe I can be your guinea pig/beta tester for that style. :smile:

johnnysd said:

The 2x5 seems a little too snug in the Focus case, seems like maybe the 2x5 in the JB Ruggeds have a little more room.

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I concur, but would drop the 'maybe' - the JB Rugged has a lot more room. Getting cues into and out of the Focus is difficult, especially if you use all 7 slots.

I prefer tubes, won't do a sleeve case. Everyone talks of your cues "rattling" around but quality cases have felt lined tubes & as they are felt lined & assuming you've put out the expense of joint protectors, what's the problem?

Sleeve cases like JB's have the butts & shafts too close together & fit too tight & cases like Justis's new Pro-lite interiors are just cloth separating butts & shafts, not for my cues thanks.

Bank it said:

I prefer tubes, won't do a sleeve case. Everyone talks of your cues "rattling" around but quality cases have felt lined tubes & as they are felt lined & assuming you've put out the expense of joint protectors, what's the problem?

Sleeve cases like JB's have the butts & shafts too close together & fit too tight & cases like Justis's new Pro-lite interiors are just cloth separating butts & shafts, not for my cues thanks.

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I see where you are coming from but there are advantages to the sleeves, which is why I think a "sleeve tube" configuration where cues are not touching might be an ultimate solution.

Bank it said:

I prefer tubes, won't do a sleeve case. Everyone talks of your cues "rattling" around but quality cases have felt lined tubes & as they are felt lined & assuming you've put out the expense of joint protectors, what's the problem?

Sleeve cases like JB's have the butts & shafts too close together & fit too tight & cases like Justis's new Pro-lite interiors are just cloth separating butts & shafts, not for my cues thanks.

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You're wrong about our cases.

Cues fit snugly not tightly in our cases. I build multi-tube cases and padded sleeve cases. The padded sleeve cases provide the best balance of protection and flexibility and weight. The multi-tube cases do have plastic around each part but the weight is much higher. Cues don't rattle in any interior we make.

If your cues are rattling then they are in danger of being broken due to excess vibration and movement. If your cues are rattling around then I can probably break every one of them without damaging your case and without opening your case. You could not have any chance to break my cues inside my case in the same way.

See this video to understand more on this subject.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tftnJJmgLO0

These are examples of our interiors.

Secure Tubes (tm)


UltraPad (tm)




I understand that you have an opinion. That opinion however is not based on the actual facts where our cases are concerned.

Lastly as a custom case maker I will build the case any way the customer wants it. I haven't had anyone request that their cues rattle around but if you want a case with that much room I will build it as long as you sign a statement where you take full responsibility for any and all damage to your cues while they are in the case we make where you decided that you didn't want protective cushioning.

Bank it said:

I prefer tubes, won't do a sleeve case. Everyone talks of your cues "rattling" around but quality cases have felt lined tubes & as they are felt lined & assuming you've put out the expense of joint protectors, what's the problem?

Sleeve cases like JB's have the butts & shafts too close together & fit too tight & cases like Justis's new Pro-lite interiors are just cloth separating butts & shafts, not for my cues thanks.

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What cases do you like? Only tube case I've ever been a fan of from a cue fit perspective is Instroke as they're nicely padded and don't rattle, but the the exterior of the case was always a bit of a let down both aesthetically and functionally.

JBs UltraPad interiors do seem snug at first, but once the cues have been in there for a while the foam really conforms to them and you'll find it seems way less snug after a bit. I particularly like the 2x5 configuration run as just a 2x4. After a while my shafts will slide right into the slots just by dropping them in.

I'll add that I thought they were a little too snug at first myself, but after using them for a while I've come around to thinking they're just perfect. I do still like tubes in theory as the weight doesn't bother me really, but nobody but JB builds a custom tube case with the tubes adequately padded that I've experienced and that includes older Justis cases, Whitten, and Murnak. I do love Instroke interiors but the rest of the case (leather quality, slippery plastic feet, too small top pocket) just doesn't quite cut it for me.

slide13 said:

What cases do you like? Only tube case I've ever been a fan of from a cue fit perspective is Instroke as they're nicely padded and don't rattle, but the the exterior of the case was always a bit of a let down both aesthetically and functionally.



JBs UltraPad interiors do seem snug at first, but once the cues have been in there for a while the foam really conforms to them and you'll find it seems way less snug after a bit. I particularly like the 2x5 configuration run as just a 2x4. After a while my shafts will slide right into the slots just by dropping them in.



I'll add that I thought they were a little too snug at first myself, but after using them for a while I've come around to thinking they're just perfect. I do still like tubes in theory as the weight doesn't bother me really, but nobody but JB builds a custom tube case with the tubes adequately padded that I've experienced and that includes older Justis cases, Whitten, and Murnak. I do love Instroke interiors but the rest of the case (leather quality, slippery plastic feet, too small top pocket) just doesn't quite cut it for me.

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It's been a quandary for me. I've owned numerous case over the years, all tubes. I, like others here, sell things & get new things as time goes by. I recently had a slew of 31" shafts made for my new main playing cue & am having a hell of a time with a case decision to house them.

I love old Justis tube cases but when I contacted Jack & asked him to build a tube case for me, he declined seemingly convinced his prolite interior is better. So I bought an old Justis with tubes that was immaculate but it's just a little too short & it's now for sale here.

I've done Whitten several times & can get him to make a longer case but am not fond of his handles.

I'm considering having Dennis Swift do a new case as he uses tubes & will build it longer.

Bank it said:

It's been a quandary for me. I've owned numerous case over the years, all tubes. I, like others here, sell things & get new things as time goes by. I recently had a slew of 31" shafts made for my new main playing cue & am having a hell of a time with a case decision to house them.

I love old Justis tube cases but when I contacted Jack & asked him to build a tube case for me, he declined seemingly convinced his prolite interior is better. So I bought an old Justis with tubes that was immaculate but it's just a little too short & it's now for sale here.

I've done Whitten several times & can get him to make a longer case but am not fond of his handles.

I'm considering having Dennis Swift do a new case as he uses tubes & will build it longer.

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What's wrong with Whitten handles. Interesting thread definitely showing maybe a market for a hybrid cade on between sleeves and tubes