How much protection do you really need? How many times have you actually seen a cue that was damaged *while in the case*?
IMO, I feel that selling the "ultimate protecting cue case" is a bit of a red herring.
If you really want the most bulletproof, cue protecting case made to date(looks and ergonomics be damned), I think the Zero Halliburton is it:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Zero-Halliburton-2-X-2-Pool-Cue-Case-/150898683993
Eric
I have personally had one very important cue damaged inside the case. Mark Smith of Mark Smith cues in Arkansas can verify this as he was the one to do the refinish on it after the bottom fell out and the cue slid through a ring of nail points on the way to the floor.
Also I have collected stories from others who also had damage to their cues from the interior of the case. To include Cue maker Steve Lomax who told me this just last week.
But it's not only that the cue is protected while in the case but also that the cue stays in the case until it's deliberately taken out.
My philosophy on this is that the cue should be held snugly in place and not move very much if at all. Even if by accident the case is tipped over or somehow inverted the cues should stay in the case is how I feel about it.
This stems from my own experience of having my cue fall out and get damaged. This is why I started building cases with padded interiors. I do understand that any container works to hold a cue and that ultimately the person holding the container is responsible for how it's treated.
I also understand that you ride your motorcycle and report that you haven't had any problem. Someone else reported on here that they own the same brand of case as you do and that he noticed that his cues developed dings on one trip from the house to the pool room.
I also have another story involving Jerry Olivier. Jerry wanted me to look at a new cue he had just made for a good player. We walked over to the player and he had a cheaper case with an interior similar to yours. The player had to tip the case to get the parts to slide out and as he did all the parts started coming out. All three of us grabbed for the cues but we didn't catch the brand new Olivier before it crashed on the hard tile floor of the Super Billiards Expo. Now the cue had several new dings in it as well. Jerry was heartbroken because he obviously had planned on showing this cue off to many more people during the show.
I took the player to my booth and gave him one of our low end cases with our padded interior and showed him that not only would he never again have to tip his case to get the cues out BUT that if the case WERE ever to be turned over then the cues would not fall out. He was impressed and relieved to know that this wouldn't happen again.
You say that it's a red herring to advertise extra protection. I say it's insurance. People don't put sensitive instruments into loose containers in other fields. No matter where you look on the net the best cases for expensive things are padded and mostly form fitted. It doesn't matter what the industry or activity is the best cases are the ones that provide snug fitting protection for the fragile gear.
Only in pool do people say that extra protection is over-rated or say it's a red-herring. Only in pool does a guy like me get hammered for saying that my case protects better than someone else's does.
Yes, I agree that that you and others travel with your cases and that the claim is that no damage has come to your cues. We can't possibly know this for the pros because we don't inspect the pros' cues before and after their traveling. But I agree that there has been no epidemic of cue damage due to the use of cases like yours. That doesn't mean however that having more protection is unnecessary. Just because nothing has happened to YOUR cues does not mean that damage hasn't happened to other people's cues.
In fact if your case is adequately protecting then having more protection can only be better. My sort of protection in your existing case would only provide for a big reduction in the chance of any damage to the cue occurring.
I will close with this story. I sold a case to a gentleman in North Dakota who told me this story. He owned a case very similar to yours except that it was a $2200 one. Inside the case he had more than $5000 worth of cues. On this particular case the side snap was defective, as happens sometimes with snaps, and the lid would unsnap with the slightest movement of the lid. So this man was constantly having to check the lid and make sure it was secured.
On cold winter night he and his friend were leaving the pool room and he slipped on the ice and the case went flying. The lid opened and the cues shot out across the parking lot and into a snowdrift. Late at night he and his friend were on their knees digging through the snow hunting for a $5000 cue.
All of which could have been prevented with less than $1 worth of padding and a little engineering to construct the interior properly.
Now, to you "extra" protection might be overrated but I guarantee to that to Jerry, the man who had to dig through a snowbank looking for his cues, the extra protection we provide is not only welcome it's also necessary to protect his high end equipment against those accidents of life that can happen to anyone.
In my signature is an interview where I demonstrate the main protective feature of my cases. Anyone reading this can go look for themselves and decide for themselves if the level of protection we provide is desirable or not.