Multi-Tube Cases:
The advantage of multi tube cases can be protection and separation. The way I make them insures that the cues are kept in a padded tube and that the tubes cannot ever shift or change shape. For this extra protection you have to accept the weight because you are surrounding each part in plastic tubing and the space between tubes adds to the bulk. Done right a multi-tube case is secure and strong. Done wrong it's an accident waiting to happen.
The way that these cases are done wrong starts with the liner. If the liner is not padded then the cues are allowed to bang against the side of the tubes and also allowed to slide up and down during transport. If the liner is also rough cloth then that sliding will affect the finish of the cue. Some makers use a "tough" cloth or synthetic material because they don't want the liner to break. My rule of thumb on liners is if I couldn't hand a patch of just the material to someone and expect them to polish their cue with it then it's not going in my case.
The next problem is how the tubes are put together. Some makers just stuff the individual tubes into a leather shell and others tape them together loosely. This creates a situation where the tubes are acting against each other and always subject to shifting with the stronger tubes crowding and crushing the weaker ones. Leads to cracked tubes and torn liners. We put the tubes together in a meticulous order designed to make them all act as one unit with no way possible for them to move or shift.
Furthermore we have designed the butt tubes so that the tube extend to the top of the case and yet the parts are easy to remove.
Lastly, some makers are selling multi-tube cases which are using thin-walled poster tubing to reduce weight. This is ok as long as the consumer is made aware of the fact that these tubes offer very little protection from impact and pressure. Most people who buy a solid tube case expect that level of protection and the "light" cases which use poster tubes are an illusion in this regard. Most people can crush and splinter one of these tubes with just the thumb and forefinger.
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Single Tube Cases:
Basically these are large plastic shells with fabric divided liners. They have been made since the 40's at least and before that they were made of leather and cardboard for the shell. The advantages here are weight and footprint when done right. When done wrong the case can be brittle and dangerous to the cue.
Of course we do it right and no one else does
(Kidding, mostly)You can read more of my thoughts on what I think the right way to build a case is here: http://www.jbcases.com/protection.html
In a nutshell you are looking for an interior that is padded, strong and soft. As long as a maker provides that then you are good to go.
The plastic used for the shell should be strong and tough. Some makers use shells made of recycled plastic unknowingly because their supplier wants to make them cheaply. Normally this would be a good thing but not when the consumer is depending on the tube to not crack or have weak spots. The problem with recycled plastic is that the diversity in materials used leads to wild inconsistencies in the final product. We use pure materials which are more expensive but easier to control. As a consumer you can't possibly know what's what so just take my word for it. If you buy cheap you are probably getting the recycled plastic tubing and it could be great or it could be crap. Some makers use the same tubing found on the el-cheapo cases in their high end cases. So they are sort of rolling the dice and hoping that there is never a problem. And most times there wont be.
An advantage I find with the single tube case is flexibility. I find that we can increase the capacity and also reorder it to suit the customer's needs easily.
For example we took the 2x2 size and turned it into a 2x3. We turned the 2x4 size into a 2x5/3x4. I have modified 3x6 interiors to fit 3x8, made larger cavities for extensions, made hidden sleeves for extra shafts, etc....
Even if a case is already made you can generally "overstuff" it in a fabric lined case if you need to. So this can be an advantage if used wisely. (note that this is not possible in cases like the GTF, Ron Thomas, Fellini, etc due to the design of those cases being kept as small as possible - some Engles are slightly larger with a 1x2 being able to hold 2x2 though)
So that's it.
Choose wisely and carefully or your next choice will be which repairman is going to fix your cue.
For me the case begins with the interior. The fluff built around that is just cosmetic. If someone doesn't care enough about the cue's protection to provide a properly built interior then what's the point of making a cue case?
