Customer Reviews

SKB Trap X1 Large Drum Hardware Case, with Internal Tray and Wheels

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In general this is a quality case, works well enough for my purposes. I have a 5 piece kit, and all of the drum hardware, plus my seat and stick bag fit inside. Don't even have to break down my hi hat stand, which is nice. The internal tray is handy for auxiliary percussion storage.

However, I've used it for a few weeks, about 5 gigs, and already the rubber bumpers on the bottom of the case have broken off. Not a huge deal, but for this kind of cash I'd expect them to last longer. Also, I've had to make a repair/replacement of one of the inside straps. The clasp is quite cheap (plastic), and broke the first time I used it. Replaced it with a metal one from my previous case, which has worked fine.

I've had my SKB-X1 for probably about 8 years now, and it's really been a life-saver; there's probably no kind of gear worse to move than drum stands, and if you don't have a case or a bag you're taking a ton of trips to the car/van/bus, and if it's winter you're carrying cold metal stands that are digging into your hands. For a professional drummer a case like this (or at least a bag) is a must-have item.

This case has served me very well for almost a decade, and has even protected my gear in a high-speed, roll-over accident.

My only complaint with this SKB case is that it has two heavy-duty handles on the lid, and unless you've only got a few light-weight stands in there -- which wouldn't make sense for a case this size -- the lid handles cannot support the weight of the case for long. I load my case with my drum throne, 5 double-braced, heavy-duty stands, kick pedal, stick bag, and sometimes guitar/mic stands while on-tour. After about 2 years of constant use both handles busted right off during separate load-ins, but it wasn't the plastic or the handle itself that failed: it was the thin strip of (what seemed like) tin holding each handle to the lid. If these handles are intended to support the weight of the case then the lid should really be reinforced with some rigid metal (perhaps aluminum) bars, and the handles should be attached to those. Reinforcing the lid would keep if from flexing when lifted by those handles, which would transfer the load to the straps holding the lid in-place.

To be honest: I'm glad those handles busted off, because I'd always have to tell people helping me load my gear: "Don't lift the case by those handles!" Now that the handles are gone I don't have to warn anybody.

Another reviewer mentioned that the strap clips are made of plastic, and that his broke; this has certainly been a concern of mine over the years, but I haven't had any of the plastic parts fail during my many years of use. Then again; I've never stepped on any of my clips, but I'm sure they wouldn't stand-up to that. If one carelessly tosses heavy stands into the case: a stand dropped onto a plastic clip might shatter it, but this wouldn't be a problem if the plastic strap ends were not in the way of the stands during packing. The two adjustable/longer/male strap ends are long enough that you can drape them over the edge of the case so they are out of the way while packing the box, but the other two ends are too short, and just lay in the box. SKB really should have thought of a way to keep these straps out of the way, as it sucks to have to dig around in a loaded case for the strap ends, but I have solved this problem myself: I got some heavy-duty velcro dots and attached them to the two short/female strap ends, and the other part of the velcro dot went on the inside wall of the case. Now when I load the case I drape the long straps over the edge, velcro the short straps to the wall of the case so that they are not in the way during packing, and thus make them easy to access after I'm done packing the box.

Overall this has been a great case, and has saved me probably hundreds of trips to the car/van/bus; it's one trip instead of 4-5. Yeah, it weighs a lot and is very large -- do NOT try to lift a fully-loaded X1 alone unless you're a beef-cake -- but it's sturdy, roomy, and mostly well-built. The gray plastic topper/insert with the cup holder is totally useless to me, as I needed that extra space for hardware, but I'm sure there are people who find it useful.

If this case was lost or stolen I would probably buy another one.

Before I purchased this case, I had used the large 48" SKB case and that one was kinda flimsy and the case didn't stay together very well when fully loaded. Well, this case is a different story! It has proven to be quite the work-horse. I'll list the pros / cons so it's a quick read.

Pros:
- Pretty sturdy
- Compact enough to fit in the back seat of a car
- Easy to carry (albeit w/ 2 people) and maneuver (even by yourself thanks to the wheels)
- Holds drum hardware/pedals AND has spare room for things such as microphone stands, microphones, cables, etc
- Outside straps ensure the lid is closed tight

Cons:
- Doesn't have handle on bottom where wheels are
- Inside straps are nice, but the clasp side of it doesn't extend fully to the top of the case (this can be annoying when trying to secure a lot of equipment)

I've used this case for about 15 shows now and it's held up very nicely! No issues to speak of and everything is still attached.

I haven't tried to fit rack hardware in here yet so I assume it'll be ok, since rack hardware is 36" and the interior of this case is about 38". That will be the next thing I load up in this beast. Overall though, I recommend this case as long as you don't need something ridiculously large to haul of lot of equipment. At that point it just becomes un-carriable anyways.