What's better: padded gig bags or Hard case gig bags?

El Drummer

Junior Member
i need some gig bags for my drums since I dont want to damage them when i take them out, so i was wondering if i should get padded ones or the hard case ones? i also saw the brands Gator and Beato and was also wondering if theres a difference since Beatos are way more expensive? thanks for your help everyone!
 
The important thing is that they're covered. That will stop 90% of the usual little dings, marks and scratches that come from being moved around. But what is "better" is purely down to choice and circumstance. There's pros and cons to both.

Determine how much protection you want. If it's just you that predominantly handles your gear then bags are great. Some of them are padded, heavy duty and offer perfect protection for the guy who lugs his own gear from the car to the gig and back.

If you're on the road or even out gigging often and don't always handle your own gear or it travels with the rest of the stage production, you may want that little extra piece of mind and go hard cases. There's little doubt cases offer far better protection, but they are also cumbersome, usually more expensive, take up more space and may be overkill for your purposes.

I've used both over the years. Bags are way easier, cheaper and lighter but there's been situations where I just wouldn't trust them to give me the best protection.......I'd only trust a hard case to cover that.

Determine how your drums will travel most of the time and that should tell you whether bags or cases are appropriate for you.
 
If you're handling them, soft cases, if someone else is, hard cases! Protection of musical assets needs to be idiot proof.
 
If you're handling them, soft cases, if someone else is, hard cases! Protection of musical assets needs to be idiot proof.
That means I need to get hard cases regardless. :(
 
hard cases offer the best protection but over the years I have migrated to gig bags.
The reason for this is that i can carry more drums at the same time in and out of gigs.
Also when i get home at 3:00 AM i can get my kit back in the house in two trips.
if i had roadies it would be hard cases, but i do not ;-)
 
padded bags unless your on tour with roadies. I just bought Pro-Tec bags and i couldnt be happier. Mine hold 3 toms stacked inside with dividers and they have wheels. Sceptical at first but no regrets. the other great feature of a bag is it protects your car too from scratches on the interior caused by cases or drums.
 
Hard cases will certainly protect your drums much better and as for my personal preference, I have 2 "protechtor", 1 "nomad", 1 "hardcase", 1 "gator",1 "h&b" and 2 "skb" and I have to say for the money SKB if by far the best case and well worth the couple extra dollars, hope this helps and no matter what you get for cases,hard or soft, make sure you use them for transport and not for storage as this can trap dampness and cause damage to you drums Also wouldnt hurt to toss a couple of those silica jell packages that come with electronic components in with each drum just to be safe.
 
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If your concerned about "damage" then check out XL Speciality cases. I've used them for a long time I have a 34" tall that hauls my 14" (upside down, legs stay down) then a 12" then my 10" with the top on and my snare bagged on top. The kick is in its case and everything on casters too. I don't mind soft bage for toms and snares but bass drums are a pain to bag at the end of the night, the XL case is so easy to deal with and offer excellant safety. I think my tall case is a 4100# the kick is a "air flight" Speciality they work great and are pretty well made. Not exactly flight cases but good enough to take care. Doc
 
If you're handling them, soft cases, if someone else is, hard cases! Protection of musical assets needs to be idiot proof.

Pretty much this. Local gigs where I'm moving the gear then it's bags. Long term storage/moving homes/being loaded into a truck with other gear tour style - cases.
 
well, ima be doing the drum handling AND i'm on a budget so i think ima go with the bags! thanks everyone for your help! i need a lot bags since i have toms sizes 8, 10, 12, 14, and 16, 22 in. bass, and 14 in. snare. i got some saving up to do!
 
Hard cases will certainly protect your drums much better and as for my personal preference, I have 2 "protechtor", 1 "nomad", 1 "hardcase", 1 "gator",1 "h&b" and 2 "skb" and I have to say for the money SKB if by far the best case and well worth the couple extra dollars, hope this helps and no matter what you get for cases,hard or soft, make sure you use them for transport and not for storage as this can trap dampness and cause damage to you drums Also wouldnt hurt to toss a couple of those silica jell packages that come with electronic components in with each drum just to be safe.

silica jell packages, very smart! thanks!
 
I used to swear by hard cases. I had old H&B cases from back in the 60's that I have had to completely rework (new straps, reinforcing, etc.) until they were stolen along with my kit last year. When I went to replace them I found that there are no inexpensive hard cases anymore. I bought soft cases and they work just fine because I'm the only one handling them. I use Protection Racket.
 
I swear by SKB hardcases myself. I do see the benefit in using soft cases for the ability to haul more than two cases at once. The main downfall of soft cases, where I live and play at least, is the inability to put the drum cases down on the sidewalk while you're fumbling for the car keys in the rain. Then again, it's the same story for those fiber cases, especially since they usually have little holes in the corners where the seams are.

Something else worthy of noting is that there are several grades of soft cases. Some are made of leather/fake leather, so they would protect from rain. Some of them are heavily padded, enough to protect your drum if it's dropped. And also, some of them are quite stiff.

Make your selection based on what your needs are.
 
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