It is ironic to review a violin case designed for air travel during my second month of social isolation, but I've held off for too long with this case review. All of my travel plans are cancelled and I can't imagine using this case for its intended purpose--travel in an airplane cabin--anytime soon.
I like this case despite its biggest deficiency: it has no bow holder, and in fact has no storage space of any kind! While it's served me well since I bought it the day before I flew round-trip Toronto to Berlin for $800 CAD including tax, I don't recommend it anymore because of the recent cataclysmic changes in the world.
The easiest parts of this review I've already written. It's a gut check during my time at the Toronto Pearson Airport. Even in late January, news of the coronavirus had spread and airports were on high alert for viral containment. I was so thankful for this case. It fit entirely into a standard airport security bin, bypassing the need to go into secondary examination where I have to open the case to let a TSA person examine it and wipe it for residue. It's the difference between anxiously waiting in line and being able to walk through security for once without any issues. That alone was worth the 800 price.
On the plane, it easily fit perpendicularly into the overhead bin slots. I no longer have to be nervous about the flight attendents taking my violin out in order to let other customers put their luggage in, no longer worried about crushing weight, or anyone trying to aruge that it's too long (a regular violin case is just a little bit longer than the max allowed carry-on height, but is much thinner, narrower, and lighter). At my transfer airports, the violin was easy to carry from place to place, and the straps are really comfortable. The locking mechanism also helped to reassure me of safety in busy places like the airport.
I bought a bow case in Berlin from Gentges und Scheit Geigenbauer who have a lovely store in the Prenzlauer Berg district in North East Berlin. I asked for a photo but ended up messing up my shot so linked here is a Facebook photo they had. It's a beautiful shop.
On my flight back to Toronto, I didn't need the small size--the flights were almost empty! My violin ended up occupying an entire empty overhead storage cabin. I think this was due to the coronavirus spreading and people starting to lock down and avoiding nonessential travel. After I got home I breathed a bit, thankful that I was still in good health.
Once the travel bans went through, I wondered why I even bothered--the regular BAM case is just as good, a little bit cheaper, and it had space for 2 bows, shoulder rest, and accessories. I managed to fit my shoulder rest into the case, but it required contortions and was complicated to replicate every time I needed to open the case.
The BAM Cabin Case is extremely compromised to get the sizing down to fit some artificial constraint of an industry that today, is not applicable on a global scale.
Some other weaknesses: the case will not stand still on its side and it also won't stand on its bottom edge either because of the curvy shape. I really miss this kind of position because in a train or a bus, standing vertical in front of me is the best way to carry a violin. I came up with some McGuyver velcro straps that seemed to help with the standing issue by using the bow tube as an extra surface to rest on.
Today, the BAM Cabin / Overhead Flight case is my outdoors case. During these times of COVID-19 I wanted to practice outdoors in a healthy way: to be able to physically separate myself and all the high touch surfaces of a violin from possible contamination. When I go on walks, the small size of the case helps with the already complex preparations of leaving the house.
Upon returning home, I found the case easy to spray down with liquid soap, and since it's waterproof, I can rise it off easily. It's also fairly heat proof, so I feel comfortable leaving it just inside the doorway of the house to quarantine it before bringing it all the way into the house.
I'm thankful I have this case. Even though it was a lot of money invested, it is helping me in my musical life during social isolation, so I feel entirely - OK - with the purchase.
That said, if you're looking for a case, the regular shaped BAM's are fine - I see many professional musicans with them and they are hardy cases. My teacher has one of those regular BAM's and she has no complaints.
All in all, this case was designed for a specific use case for a world that no longer exists: the world of frequent air travel. It's not a good choice anymore for anyone to buy, and I can't recommend it at all for these turbulent times. However, I have mine. It's mine to keep, and I'm fine with that.