Looking for Cue Case

[raemondo]

Hi Guys,

I have read through most of the posts here in the forums about looking for a cue case, but I'd still like to ask for some more advice just before I make a choice.

I need help in deciding for a 2x4 cue case, I'm looking at the Instroke Cowboy, a Whitten, or an On Q cue case. It would be awesome if my questions can be answered:

1. I travel a lot and I have a porper travel bag so I will need a case that can be used for storing the cue, of course I pad it with clothes as well. I have read that the Instroke is a good case for this mainly because of the padding between the tubes. Do the other 2 cases have this?

2. Also, I have read that if I get a Whitten or an On Q, I have to really take care of the leather cos they could be easily scuffed or torn...and I must say that while I don't fling my cases around, I don't want to be getting a case that I have to constantly watch out for.

3. I also know that the Whittens are heavy and that the Instroke is just a bit lighter...but what about the On Q?

4. About quality, I must say that I have heard a lil smack about the Instrokes cos they are made in Taiwan but I also read much about their fantastic durability and sturdiness...are the Whittens and OnQs going to be much better made?

5. Some of the On Q cases don't seem to have latches....for the people who have this, does the flap fall off easily? And about the Whittens.....is it true that the zippers will spoil after much use?

6. Also, I will be shuffling to and fro from Asia, and I will be settling there too, so I will also need a case that will withstand climate changes and the humidity and whatnot....so which case out of these 3 will be best?

7. Lastly, people who have the Whittens have commented as to how comfy the shoulder strap is, but what about the Instroke and the OnQs? Do you guys have shoulder discomfort from carrying them too long?

While it will be really awesome if people recommend other brands, I have done some research and these are pretty much the brands that I think I'm going for....

Any comments, posts about selling cue cases, etc, will be greatly appreciated!!!!!!

thanks,
ray

 

[puckdaddy]

cases

I used a Whitten for about a year and I liked it and it was a bit heavy. As far as scuffing goes its not really an issue because of the embossed leather(thick various printed skin types, lizard, gator, etc). I liked it but the way the case is designed is that the shafts have to be measured and the according tube fillers have to be put in. Its not that big of a deal but if you change cues on the fly it might not fit right, but Dan always gives extra parts to compensate. Now I have a Justis case and its a 3x6 and its lighter than my Whitten (go figure) but the leather can scratch fairly easy and its pretty much one size fit all for cues. Pricewise both are relatively the same (400 and up for 2x4s). Ive never heard of the On cue cases you mentioned but another good one is the old "its George" 2x4s, they dont make them any more but they are not that hard to find. But if you do a bit of travelling with cues I would just keep the Porper becase they can take more abuse than the others and you wont be out much if you hurt it. Hope I helped

 

[1pRoscoe]

Check out www.jimmurnakcuecases.com - he is posting on here and is giving out great deals on his new "vintage" line....

 

[raemondo]

I used a Whitten for about a year and I liked it and it was a bit heavy. As far as scuffing goes its not really an issue because of the embossed leather(thick various printed skin types, lizard, gator, etc). I liked it but the way the case is designed is that the shafts have to be measured and the according tube fillers have to be put in. Its not that big of a deal but if you change cues on the fly it might not fit right, but Dan always gives extra parts to compensate. Now I have a Justis case and its a 3x6 and its lighter than my Whitten (go figure) but the leather can scratch fairly easy and its pretty much one size fit all for cues. Pricewise both are relatively the same (400 and up for 2x4s). Ive never heard of the On cue cases you mentioned but another good one is the old "its George" 2x4s, they dont make them any more but they are not that hard to find. But if you do a bit of travelling with cues I would just keep the Porper becase they can take more abuse than the others and you wont be out much if you hurt it. Hope I helped

Hey Puckdaddy,

Thanks!

Yea I've heard of the Whitten's leather cases getting real heavy so that's a detterent for me....did you say that I shouldn't worry about scuffing? I'm definitely thinking of getting some kind of embossed leather...so those hold up pretty well huh? Cos sometimes I do tend to drop my cases every once in a while....

Um....I'm not too hot about the it's George cases...I've seen them and I'm not really into them.

I'm actually using a Giuseppe 2x2 at the moment....but I use a Porper travel bag to travel.

 

[raemondo]

The Whitten strap is awesome. I am not impressed however that the shafts can jump out of the case like a Jack-in-the-Box. It has little springs that propel the shafts upward so that the owner can impress everybody. What does this tell you about the storing ability? It tells me that the shafts do not hang down straight because they touch the bottom of the case. The Whitten is like owing a cadillac - looks nice but no functionality.

In the Instroke case, the shafts hand straight down - not even touching the bottom - due to the diameter of the collars at the top.

Justice cases are over priced.

Have never heard of your OnQs cases.

As far as humidity goes, there was a case maker I met at Valley Forge who makes cases with a top that fits on tightly (it slides on) and supposedly he said that a lot of the pros used to like them because of the sealing factor. Of course things made in Taiwan has just about driven him out of business. I believe he was trying to sell the remaining cases he had. I think he was from NY.

I would buy a Whitten strap and an Instroke case. Then put some of those moisture absorbing things you find in Rx prescriptions etc. My Instroke case is the fake leather kind and it seems to get less scratched that the leather kind. My wife has an Instroke real leather case and they show their age over time.

Good luck, WW

Hey WW,

Thanks!

Are you saying that perhaps in the midst of trying to offer people a case that is more user-friendly, Whitten has inadvertently cut back on functionality in the sense that his cases might cause more warpage than if they were to be without the space fillers? I also thought that you could custom fit your shaft into it....not only height wise, but taper and length wise too. And what do you mean by "the shafts do not hang down straight because they touch the bottom of the case"??

So if I get you right...for the Instrokes, if I put the shaft in tip first, they never touch the bottom of the case cos of the tight tube diameter at the top?

I really like your ultimatum....think this is something very viable that I've never thought of before....can I just buy the instroke and ask someone to put on the strap, or just slide it in myself? Hmm the colors would be hard to match right....I think I've also read in this forum that some guy, I wanna say the ex owner of Instroke or something like that was into the repairing case business....correct me if I'm wrong. What kind of moisture absorbers? I use silica gel for me cameras...is this the same thing? Is moisture the only thing that will cause the cues to warp in the case? I will be living in a tropical climate so the weather will be very unpredictable. Yea, I was thinking of an Introke Leather Cowboy, those go for really cheap compared to the other 2 cases I was looking at.

 

[raemondo]

Check out www.jimmurnakcuecases.com - he is posting on here and is giving out great deals on his new "vintage" line....

Hmmm...you know I'm been poring over old posts and this dude's name keeps popping up....but everytime I get on that link I only see handbags, belts and a jewellery case! Where are the cue cases?!?!?! Geez is it cos I'm really stupid I really don't see anything....

 

[Bruce S. de Lis]

I have two Whittens, a 2 x 4, and 3 x 6 they are very nice, and i am not a TRAVELER. Think a nice Case is also a TARGET for THIEVES. Best buy in a case is a Proper, or is it Porper. They pretty much have a life time WARRANTY with GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE.

 

[AuntyDan]

Hmmm...you know I'm been poring over old posts and this dude's name keeps popping up....but everytime I get on that link I only see handbags, belts and a jewellery case! Where are the cue cases?!?!?! Geez is it cos I'm really stupid I really don't see anything....

He must not have updated his home page, the direct link to his cue cases is here.

 

[raemondo]

I have two Whittens, a 2 x 4, and 3 x 6 they are very nice, and i am not a TRAVELER. Think a nice Case is also a TARGET for THIEVES. Best buy in a case is a Proper, or is it Porper. They pretty much have a life time WARRANTY with GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE.

Hi Bruce,

I dunno if you might be free to do this, but any chance that you could just post up some pix of your whittens? I know that there are some pix online, but I just thought it'd be awesome if you have the time!

thanks!

 

[raemondo]

He must not have updated his home page, the direct link to his cue cases is here.

Thanks Aunty Dan for pulling the link out....hmm I'm not really up for his kind of cases....and they are really expensive too, I'm definitely not spending more than 450 on this one....and actually my budget is 300plus, so I know, even getting a Whitten will be a lil hard.

 

[raemondo]

"And what do you mean by "the shafts do not hang down straight because they touch the bottom of the case"?? " Diane Sorenson (ex member of the WPBA board of directors) was showing me her Whitten case and she was bouncing the shafts off of some spring gizmos in the bottom of the case. This is not a joke, it is a pathetic joke. The case sure did look pretty and you couldn't give me one, except for the strap.

"So if I get you right...for the Instrokes, if I put the shaft in tip first, they never touch the bottom of the case cos of the tight tube diameter at the top?" That is exactly right. And I have some pretty thin shafts too. As a matter of fact, that was my prime consideration when I toured Valley Forge. I went to just about evey case dealer, and most of them let the shafts touch the bottom....or if they didn't they were way way way overpriced. Or the Porper cases had that cheap foam crap on the cover which warps evey time you close it because the cue butts bang and bend the shit out of it. I complained to the Porper main man, and he admitted to changing to this style but had no plans of returning to his old rubber inserts.

As far as keeping the moisture out, you are on the right track. Let us know what you eventually come up with. Try googleing.

WW

Hey WW,

Hmmmmm I'm not really getting you here....if Diane had the nylon spacers then the shafts Wouldn't touch the bottom of the case would they....and I think they are but an option, but yea, since Dan makes them so long, they're pretty much a prerequisite if your shaft is only about 29'. But don't not get them cos of the spacers, you could always remove them.

Wow sounds like the instrokes are really tight then...I have a Z shaft, I wonder if that will get stuck!

About the moisture absorbers, I'm sure you don't mean to just pour silica gel into the case do you? Cos they come in like lil beads and all and it'll just be kinda weird!

 

[raemondo]

I have two Whittens, a 2 x 4, and 3 x 6 they are very nice, and i am not a TRAVELER. Think a nice Case is also a TARGET for THIEVES. Best buy in a case is a Proper, or is it Porper. They pretty much have a life time WARRANTY with GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE.

Hey Bruce,

Don't worry about the pix! I believe I found your post on EPT and I've seen the pix...they look great!

thanks

 

[duke@neo.rr.com]

cases

I have a "instroke" 3x7 made in Germany (a newer one) called "stroke sports" and NEVER have a problem with getting shafts stuck and they don't hit bottom because this way you can get at them without tipping the case over. I love mine and know a couple people who feel the same way! mine isn't leather...it's vinyl but I don't see why this would make a difference. the pockets are big enough for whatever, and the case is very durable. I got it from Hawley's Billiards on-line and talked to some lady who was very helpful in every aspect. check em' out!!

 

[raemondo]

I have a "instroke" 3x7 made in Germany (a newer one) called "stroke sports" and NEVER have a problem with getting shafts stuck and they don't hit bottom because this way you can get at them without tipping the case over. I love mine and know a couple people who feel the same way! mine isn't leather...it's vinyl but I don't see why this would make a difference. the pockets are big enough for whatever, and the case is very durable. I got it from Hawley's Billiards on-line and talked to some lady who was very helpful in every aspect. check em' out!!

Hey duke,

I'm really not getting this part that everyone talks about....."they don't hit bottom because this way you can get at them without tipping the case over." so the shafts don't go all the way down the length of the tube, but somehow due to how the tubes are made, you don't need to tip them out either?

Yea I know the dealer of Omega cases and I'm seriously considering them too...they're pretty much the same deal as the Stroke Sport cases.

 

[duke@neo.rr.com]

case

Hey duke,

I'm really not getting this part that everyone talks about....."they don't hit bottom because this way you can get at them without tipping the case over." so the shafts don't go all the way down the length of the tube, but somehow due to how the tubes are made, you don't need to tip them out either?

Yea I know the dealer of Omega cases and I'm seriously considering them too...they're pretty much the same deal as the Stroke Sport cases.

whatever you want to do, I'm just giving you my opinion from my experience.

 

[raemondo]

whatever you want to do, I'm just giving you my opinion from my experience.

Hey duke,

don't get offended or anything, I really appreciate your input!

I'm seriously confused about the shaft part about your Stroke Sport case.....could you elaborate a lil more about that?

thanks!

 

[duke@neo.rr.com]

not offended

Hey duke,

don't get offended or anything, I really appreciate your input!

I'm seriously confused about the shaft part about your Stroke Sport case.....could you elaborate a lil more about that?

thanks!

I don't think they hit bottom....maybe they do but this is how the case is designed. the butt will go either way, but the shaft tubes (just looked to make sure) are a little shorter so you can grab the tops of them. they do hit bottom on mine! anything more let me know.

 

[raemondo]

I don't think they hit bottom....maybe they do but this is how the case is designed. the butt will go either way, but the shaft tubes (just looked to make sure) are a little shorter so you can grab the tops of them. they do hit bottom on mine! anything more let me know.

Alright I get it now! So the shaft tubes are shorter than the Butt tubes then! I always thought they were the same size! This makes sense now...and I suppose then that the tube also kinda tapers inwards as you go down the length of it from top to bottom....makes good sense.

I don't suppose then you need the nylon spacers like what Whitten has do you?

And when you carry the case around, do the tips bang against the top of the lid? I travel alot so this is important to me...

Lastly, how's the strap? Is it comfy? And can it be be removed? I believe I've also seen in some pix that it comes with some sort of a luggage tag?


thanks !!

 

[JimS]

I have an Instroke 3x7 Buffalo in mint conditon for sale on ebay with no bids and priced at $250, starting bid. Used only 2 or 3 times and then for storeage.