Best case for the money?

ENGLISH! said:

I'm in the market for a hard tube 3x6 or 4x8 case. I went to the only billiard store in the Metro area but all they had were of the hard molded plastic inside top variety. I don't want that because I think that could scratch the cues or rip a wrap. I'm careful but I know accidents DO happen. I've gone online but I can't seen to find one without inconclusive desciptions. I'm leaning toward a Sterling 4x8 wheeled one but there are no pictures of the inside. Is it one tube with fabric deviders or is it 12 individual tubes? I would have thought someone would be making a case with a soft molded rubber top to both protect & hold the cues. The old Instroke owner is overseing production of the Sterlings. He seems to be using foam backed fabric to hold the cues, but as I mentioned the description does not give a complete picture & there are no pictures of the case opened. Any guidence will be appreciated & I thank you in advance.

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This is the interior of the Sterling Rolling case.



It is constructed using a foam-core interior with 12 individual cavities each is lined with felt. That is then capped with a molded rubber piece that you can see. This rubber piece is semi-soft so that it will not harm the cue. It is also completely smooth. There is nothing in this interior that will scratch or harm your cue. John worked with the manufacturer to improve this interior as much as possible and still retain the same function. It is planned that some time in the future this interior will be changed to one of our JB Case interiors but that change has no set date. Further more we do not offer any type of retrofitting for this case to change it to our interior.

John has some ideas about ways you could alter the case yourself to have it hold the cues somewhat snugly which he will tell you if you contact him directly. Although this case will not retain the cues if inverted it does not allow the cues parts to clack against each other in transit. This is still not the level of protection that John feels should be present in every cue case made but according to John it is better built than similar looking cases made by other manufacturers. Or at least it was several years ago says John. Since he does not purchase cases from each manufacturer each year he doesn't really know exactly how any of the recent production by others is done.

Sterling Gaming also offers a full satisfaction guarantee should you receive this case and be unhappy with it's performance. Thank you for your interest in our cases.

dom_poppa said:

There is also this particular thread that started a war on here that JB had to make videos to defend his design...I don't know what was the ending or if there was one but this is the famous thread that scared many potential customers away....

http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=235251

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Actually sir this thread served to illustrate to everyone exactly how far we are willing to go to take care of issues. In this particular instance the customer with the alleged problem was offered a full refund of the entire 100% retail price whether he paid that or not, offered free shipping back to the warehouse and he declined this. He did not allow us the opportunity to inspect the case in order to determine if there actually was a problem.

The conclusion by John and Sterling was that this person's complaint was groundless and motivated by something other than an actual failure of our product.

At the recent Super Billiards Expo Sterling was there with more than 100 examples of this model of case. The customer could have chosen to speak to us in person and compare his case to them since he was also in attendance and he elected not to do so.

So really there isn't much more than we can do to solve a claimed problem than what we offered to do for this person. If that type of service and fanatical devotion to the quality of our interiors puts you off then be advised that there are a lot of other case makers out there who would like your business. We treat every complaint seriously as indicated by the actions of John and Sterling Gaming in the thread you referenced.

jbcases-mike said:

Actually sir this thread served to illustrate to everyone exactly how far we are willing to go to take care of issues. In this particular instance the customer with the alleged problem was offered a full refund of the entire 100% retail price whether he paid that or not, offered free shipping back to the warehouse and he declined this. He did not allow us the opportunity to inspect the case in order to determine if there actually was a problem.

The conclusion by John and Sterling was that this person's complaint was groundless and motivated by something other than an actual failure of our product.

At the recent Super Billiards Expo Sterling was there with more than 100 examples of this model of case. The customer could have chosen to speak to us in person and compare his case to them since he was also in attendance and he elected not to do so.

So really there isn't much more than we can do to solve a claimed problem than what we offered to do for this person. If that type of service and fanatical devotion to the quality of our interiors puts you off then be advised that there are a lot of other case makers out there who would like your business. We treat every complaint seriously as indicated by the actions of John and Sterling Gaming in the thread you referenced.

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If it was a faulty case or design, I wished he would have sent the case for inspection and if there was some motive...well, it's a damn shame.

dom_poppa said:

Another Sterling case that causes damage. The OP should beware. This is one of the reason why I am hesitant towards a JB case.

I would go with Giuseppe because my old case was one and it was fantastic. Right now I am looking for more of a high end case so I am either going with a Barton case or a better case like Jack Justis.

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When it comes to cue protection there are certain criteria that John builds into his interiors that he feels are necessary for proper cue protection. Unless another maker uses our interior as a few do or they copy our methods you will not get that level of protection. So the description of "better" is always relative to what level of protection you want. Most cue cases made are adequate to the task of protecting the cue from harm. Just not up to John's standards. You can read his views on cue protection here: http://www.jbcases.com/protection.html

If you want more than adequate then we provide that.





We consider the interior to be the most important part of the case. After that comes fit and function in our opinion. As John says, we aren't out to win beauty contests, we are out to protect cues and wrap whatever the customer wants around that protection.

In the context of this discussion where the emphasis is on cue protection we certainly feel that in an objective comparison we are the best choice for this type of case. Although I feel that we make some beauty contest worthy cases as well.

dom_poppa said:

If it was a faulty case or design, I wished he would have sent the case for inspection and if there was some motive...well, it's a damn shame.

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There was no fault in design. John has done several videos on this interior and we have made thousands of cases using it.

Organic Rebound Interior - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIP1o1jwwtE

2x3 Demo - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDLJ_6CdmsQ

Another 2x3 Demo with evidence that the shafts cannot touch - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXxYRLKX5Q0

And further evidence that the parts cannot touch with normal use - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJYfJ8yOzkQ

A 19 minute video dissecting the case and showing the world exactly how our cases are made - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpZnlxVyWLE

The fact is that no one takes this more seriously than John does. The impetus for John even building cases came from his own $1400 cue coming out a case and getting damaged. Since then this is his primary driver for making cue cases. Love him or hate him John knows what he is talking about when it comes to cue protection. He is the ONLY maker who openly addresses the issue and talks about the pros and cons of each type of interior. If that's not worth something then I don't really know what is. In this day and age it ought to be a welcome thing when a maker is very candid about his product.

Having a cue get harmed in his case is the one thing that concerns John more than any other issue. So naturally he takes every claim very seriously to the point of making sure that there is no flaw in the design.

JB cases, are insanely nice for the $$ you spend. I finally put my hands on one about 6 months ago and was blown away by the quality in these things. WWWAAAAYYYYY better than any instroke I've seen.


best,

Justin

If only they made 2x4 in the wave I would buy one

Noodle said:

If only they made 2x4 in the wave I would buy one

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The 3x4 is also a 2x5.

Noodle said:

If only they made 2x4 in the wave I would buy one

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They do. The Wave Case 2x5/3x4 is the same external size as an Instroke 2x4. John Barton simply designed the interior to be more efficient and hold one extra part. So nothing is stopping you from using the case as a 2x4.

DrOnePocket said:

The 3x4 is also a 2x5.

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jbcases-mike said:

They do. The Wave Case 2x5/3x4 is the same external size as an Instroke 2x4. John Barton simply designed the interior to be more efficient and hold one extra part. So nothing is stopping you from using the case as a 2x4.

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Good to know. Will it leave a big gap inside though where the 3rd butt would usually fit?

Noodle said:

Good to know. Will it leave a big gap inside though where the 3rd butt would usually fit?

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No. the design essentially allows the shafts to push the fabric in to make the unused space smaller. If you are looking for a case with only 6 slots then you should really look elsewhere. We designed the 3x4 interior to be a more efficient version of the typical 2x4 size.

There are three main types of hard interiors.

Foam Core which is a block of hard foam formed around steel bars to create holes. These types of cases must have a lot of foam around the holes to have a decently rigid structure.

Multiple Tube which is comprised of individual tubes bonded together to form the interior. With this type each part is enclosed in its own tube.

Single Tube which is when there is one large tube and the compartments are made by sewing fabric dividers. The sizes of this type generally followed the sizes of the first two due to blind copying. Thus we now have "2x4" cases which have more than enough room to hold more than 2 butts and 4 shafts. We have taken advantage of this to produce cases which do exactly that. So now you can have a 2x5/3x4 in the same space that another brand offers only a 2x4.

Best Case For Money

Best for what exactly?

J. W. Hager cases seem to offer a lot of might for protecting cues. Material for the first few inches to almost the end of the inside.

I quote AZer: "JB_Cases":

"Honest to God if I were in a bar fight I'd rather have this case or a SuperMac by McDermott than a baseball bat. I have a Hagar exactly like this and it's definitely a solid piece of equipment.

Quite innovative too. I'd love to steal some of Hagar's ideas but I can't figure out how to do them Really cool cases.[/COLOR]"

See: http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=238030



Unfortunately, Hager appears to not be making cases any more - so you would have to pick one up on the used or already made supply.

robertno1pool said:

Best for what exactly?

J. W. Hager cases seem to offer a lot of might for protecting cues. Material for the first few inches to almost the end of the inside.

I quote AZer: "JB_Cases":

"Honest to God if I were in a bar fight I'd rather have this case or a SuperMac by McDermott than a baseball bat. I have a Hagar exactly like this and it's definitely a solid piece of equipment.

Quite innovative too. I'd love to steal some of Hagar's ideas but I can't figure out how to do them Really cool cases.[/COLOR]"

See: http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=238030



Unfortunately, Hager appears to not be making cases any more - so you would have to pick one up on the used or already made supply.

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We were speaking tongue-in-cheek when we said we can't figure out to make cases the same way Mr. Hagar did. We certainly can but we choose not to since we feel that our blend of security and comfort works well. However we still feel that Mr. Hagar's case is the better choice for self defense.

havent read all the posts
imho icbw
sterling wave is the best bang for the buck

O'neil Box cases are the best.

Cases

My first case was a box case, and I did not care for it. Nowhere to carry all the asessories that you need. I have got to have major pocket space.

I also think for the money, that the Sterling wave is the best case.

Have you found the case your looking for? If not do an AZ search for Phil Eastwood(Quiverz). They're not cheap but Im sure you'll agree, theres nothing like them on the planet.C

Cases

I presently own a few Porpers, a Whitten and a Ron Thomas and have been happy with all of them. One of the Porper cases is a leather 2x4, two 1x2s and a 1x2. The Ron Thomas is a 1x2 and is the best case I own. Nice Great Horned Lizard case I have for my custom Kent Davis cue.

Best case i own is an On Q. http://www.onqcases.com I have had mine for many years and it is very strong, a bit heavy but I don't mind that as much as others do. Want to order another one but dont need it since my original one is holding up so well.