The quality sucks, already took one apart.
They say "unbeatable value" on the main page for these. Let's tackle that.
A 4x8 is listed as $210 with an online sale price of $168. Our case with the same setup (only better) is $245. That's $220 for the case with one strap and $245 with two straps.
So, the effective difference in price is $77. Let's leave out the interior construction for a moment which the consumer cannot determine on a J&J without tools to take it apart. Just going on the parts that the consumer can see and compare lets see if the value is actually unbeatable or even good.
First let's start with the fit and finish.
The J&J case is not as well done as the JB case is. This is apparent on a side by side comparison. The handles are weaker, the fit of the skin to the body is loose on the J&J, the zipper pulls and sliders are weaker on the J&J case. The J&J bottom is simply a sewn piece of fabric and is weak. Normal use will destroy the bottom of the J&J case. The rubber that we use is strong industrial strength made for high traffic and lots of weight. We take particular care with the way the bottom of our cases is constructed in order to offset the extra pressure that is felt at that part of the case. A simple side by side comparison shows that the bottoms of both cases are not close and that the JB is clearly the stonger of the two.
The hardware used for the attachments on the J&J version is weak and likely to break under stress. The straps are not as well made as the JB Cases. On the J&J the "backpack" consists of simply adding another strap to a single attachment point. On the JB Cases the attachment points are offset at the top because that is ergonomically better. I tell people that they can certainly go from one attachment point and two straps are better than one but if they want what is ultimately better for carrying then two straps offset at the top is better according to all of the available research that I have come across. But, people can get a JB with one attachment point and two straps so we will compare that since it is closest to the configuration that is presented on J&J's website.
The visible interior appears to be a copy of ours and appears to be protective like ours. So from appearance a consumer would be easily fooled into thinking that it works like ours. In a JB Case the consumer can pull the interior out with no tools and inspect it to see for themselves that the protection is the same from the top to the bottom. The consumer can also see that we use white tubing which means it is unadulterated with any recycled plastic chips. This is important because recycled tubing is often marred by weak spots from plastic chips that didn't mix well when melted. This is less likely when using newly created raw materials to mold the tubing. Now, granted a consumer is not likely to know this but they can at least see the tubing that is used by easily removing the interior. What is important is that IF there is a problem then the consumer can remove the interior and fix the problem or if needed just order and install a new interior with no tools needed.
The JB Case has pockets that are fully lined with the same material that we use for the interiors which means that anything with velcro will stick to them allowing for better organization of the pocket contents. The soft cloth also helps to protect the contents. The JB Case comes with a well padded compartment for the jump cue handle to protect it from the rest of the pocket's contents.
So those are the things I think any consumer would be able to inspect for themselves in a direct in-person side by side comparison.
So we have JB Case 4x8 at $245 and the J&J at $210(street price $168).
For $77 dollars more what do you get from JB Cases that you don't get on the J&J knockoff of the JB Cases Rugged (tm) model?
- Stronger handles.
- Stronger zippers
- Stronger zipper sliders and pulls
- A super tough bottom construction designed to withstand daily use.
- A tight fitting of the skin to the body which lessens movement and makes the construction more durable.
- Better shoulder pads that are more durable and egonomically correct.
- Better and high-quality high durability hardware.
- Easily removable interior allowing inspection and changes with no tools needed.
- Choice of 20 colors for the exterior.
- Choice of 16 colors for the interior.
- Choice of pocket types and sizes.
- A LIFETIME warranty against defects in construction. Basically stuff that should not break under normal use is covered FOR LIFE.
Is all of this worth $77 dollars? I think it's worth far more but you will only need to pay $77 more to get the visible benefits.
Now let's talk about the INVISIBLE benefits.
With a JB Case you get the following that you DO NOT get with a J&J knockoff version.
- Better protection period. The J&J case interior is incorrectly built and not only takes away the padding below the first couple inches but ALSO shorts the interior lining by several inches which means that at the bottom of the case there is NOTHING separating the cue parts. This means that padding at the top which looks like ours turns into a fulcrum point to amplify the force when the case is impacted and cause the cues to clack against each other forcefully while inside the case.
A JB Case is fully lined and the padding extends the full length of each cavity to insure that your cues cannot touch each other while in the case.
- Better bottom construction that you cannot see. We use barbed shank nails that are built especially for us along with specially laminated wood that is both glued and nailed in to make the bottom nearly as strong as if it were one molded unit. We use closed cell EVA foam, think flip flops, to protect the cues and to to dampen the shock and thus preserve the durability of the bottom construction.
- Tougher zippers. I mention this again because IF a consumer were to start trying to break the zippers it would be clear which is stronger. But how much stronger? A LOT STRONGER. I chose zippers, slider and pulls that are very tough because I know that they are the part of the case that is used the most and thus the most prone to breaking. And it's a PITA to fix them on a cue case. So you get the benefit of the toughest zippers I can find. Tough enough that I warranty them for life along with the rest of the case.
- A personal lifelong investment by me into making the most protective cases I can make in the types of cases we offer. What that means is that the case you buy today will be the best we are able to make it. A copy is simply an approximation of something we made in the past. The JB case that we make today is better than the one we made last year, it is better than what we made in 2012 when I created the Rugged models. It is better than all the Instroke cases that were built in the 13 years that I owned Instroke cue cases. For $77 dollars more you get a major a-hole who chose to make a career out of building cases better than anything else out there for the past 30 years.
So, "unbeatable value" as claimed by the J&J website? I do not think so. In addition to all of the quality and protection benefits that come with JB Cases you get an unbelievable amount of choice. For example, for just $10-20 more you get to add on another color and choose the color of the parts in like 17 spots on the case times 20 colors. You math folks can do the math on that to figure up how many possible combinations that means. Buying off the rack is already a way way better value by the objective comparison above but when you consider the custom options then buying a JB case is the actual unbeatable value in my opinion.
Get what you pay for.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yok93vS8NGI&t=28s
