I fly to a lot of gigs, and I check a bag with my pedalboard. Airlines generally limit checked bags to 50lb, and I'd like to be able to get as much stuff as possible into that 50lb; how light can a suitcase be?
I'm currently using an old Samsonite clamshell that I found on the side of the road. I like how sturdy it is, but it weighs 12.2lb. That's almost a quarter of my 50lb budget allocated to the case!
It looks like a cheap modern hardshell would be 9lb ($70), saving 3.2lb. That's pretty good, but can we do better?
I did some looking for light options, and as far as I can tell Samsonite is the company making the lightest options by a good margin. They're also very expensive, with current-generation options going for $600 at full price. Here are the options I see under 7lb that would fit my 23.5" x 17.5" pedalboard:
Samsonite Lite-Shock 75cm, 5.5lb ($403)
Samsonite Cosmolite 3.0 Large Spinner, 5.8lb ($330)
Samsonite C-Lite Large 28", 6.3lb ($355)
Samsonite Firelite 28" Spinner, 6.7lb (discontinued)
Samsonite Proxis Medium Spinner, 6.8lb ($439)
These are all pretty expensive, but I'm going to keep an eye out for used ones. Any other models I should be checking for? Should I be worrying that these suitcases are giving up durability for weight?