• GREAT IDEA

  
  As reviewed by JAGGED on 6/26/2010

  Five stars and I'll eplain why....Hardware is typically the heaviest of our gear and collapsable. For this space conservance reason, we as gigging drummers demand equipment that is not only strong but can withstand the rigors of the road, show after show, night after night. The brief history: I recently retired a cheap hardware bag I abused for 7 years or so and I owe it nothing. The zippers and handles finally broke on me after continually over-stuffing it with hardware. Great bag, cheaply built but strong. Upon purchasing my Pro 1 V pedals, I needed something substantial to keep my small investment protected. I went with the medium sized BEATO PRO 1 SERIES that is THICK in the padding with industrial grade zippers. Great, tough bag and I have no worries about it's potential longevity. I initially wanted that BEATO protection for my stands so to BEATO I looked. What I found was with the exception of the RockBag and Gator Cart, is most bags with wheels, no matter how tough their construction, have them built into the apparutus itself. To me, this is a huge negative. A wheel or two breaks while you or your roadie is pulling the bag up a long flight of stairs and you are out of luck. Your bag merely becomes a carrying cart at this point, thus defeating your intial interest and purchase. Enter the GatorCart: The bag itself attaches via two belt style adjustable straps to a dollie stated as capable of handling 100lbs. This means it can be removed...nice feature because the out~rig support of the dollie base is long enough to accomodate a stack of toms should you desire to detach the bag once your hardware reaches it's destination. The bag itself is nothing special in terms of beefiness, especially compared to the BEATO PRO 1 SERIES. It has compartmentalized pockets for spare parts, two handles (top and bottom)and #10 zippers. It holds my booms in one piece, collapsed only once at the center tube and it does so loaded in the VERTICAL allignment. That's right, arguably one of it's best features in NOT listed in the product description. This cart stands completely upright as you unload and load the bag. No more bending over if you don't want to. It takes up literally no space when upright and glides like a dream.........so what about the average quality of the bag construction? Well if you are like me and read reviews of almost every other wheeled bag out there, you read of seams busting, zipper failure, etc. Think about the physics....when you lift something that has 100lbs. plus pounds in it, pressure will be dispersed throughout the carrying bag, especially where the carry handles meet the material. Even pulling a wheeled cart, you are pulling a HANDLE attached to the bag itself, with the WHEELS themselves built in...all pressure, inertia is going straight through your hardware bag. Wear and tear to the max. This brings me back to the Gator bag...it SHOULD last forever because of the dollie. If I want to pick it up to load into vehicle, I grab the two end handles (evenly dispersed pressure) and pick it up. The downside to this is if you opted to carry this up stairs rather than roll is you would need to walk sideways with both carrying handles or have a roadie grab the butt end of the cart and you the top (I would have liked to see a center carrying handle for this type of situation but no biggie). Or you could just roll stair by stair and let's face it, if the wheels do break, you can easily replace them with something stronger from your local hardware store. In closing, I have this thing STUFFED and it pulls smoother than I could have expected. When the wheels do go (seem strong but evenutally) I will replace them...and the bag? Well, because of it's lack of beefiness, stitching, zippers, etc...it is not going to pull out of it's frame. Yes, it's more plyable. Also, it has internal straps for your stands to keep them from banging around inside while in the upright position. I got all into the super heavy duty bottoms on these rolling drum luggage bags only to find that all they do is add weight to your bag, hence creating for more stress on the zippers and seams. Not a prob with the GatorCart. It's strong where it needs to be and that is the dollie support. GREAT product and if you ever have a city gig where you'll be walking a few blocks, this product will NOT disappoint. You can't go wrong with the SKB cases but they are also hard shelled and much more expensive than this...plus, you can use this dollie on the GPCart for other uses if you should so choose. The Rockbag has complaints of wheels breaking and very soon after purchase....no such thing with the GatorCart. Well done.

  27 of 27 people found this review helpful.
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• Outstanding

  
  As reviewed by Trav on 8/26/2010

  Unfortunately, being in the local music scene for almost 10 years now, I've spent countless hours packing and moving drum hardware. It's my least favorite part of being in a gigging band. But this bag by Gator has made life WAY easier. It fits every single stand I use in my setup, including the hi-hat....with room to spare. The pockets in the side and the top fit an array of sticks and accessories; all of mine, including a cowbell setup. Hands down, one of the best purchases I've ever made.

  13 of 13 people found this review helpful.
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• Best bag ever!

  
  As reviewed by Kerry Sneed on 9/30/2010

  I'm always looking for better ways to haul and/or setup my gear and I think I have found the solution. This best is far the best bag I seen on the market. Easy handling of your hardware without the constant bending over loading and unloading your hardware. Makes me feel even more professional when I roll up to a event and can make 1 trip from my car to the venue. Easy on your back and lots of storage. You have to get one!

  5 of 5 people found this review helpful.
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