What has been the experience of those who have actually used a Tuffpak? I have just received one but have not used it.

Does the concept of using your fabric gun case and miscellaneous clothing for padding actually keep your rifle from getting knocked out of zero as well as a good foam padded metal gun case?

Do the exposed fasteners, buckles and handles get damaged by baggage handling?

Do the wheels hold up and does the exposed cotter keys holding them on snag on stuff?

Have you done anything to modify yours to make it work better?

Mine has been to Africa twice and on several U.S. hunting trips.

It's been gouged by baggage handlers but never broken, and the wheels, straps, lock, and handle are all intact.

I have never had to adjust a zero on any rifle that's been transported in my Tuffpak.

I use the thick "egg crate" type soft cases and take no more than two rifles, along with just a minimum of soft items in the case (socks, underwear, etc.).

You shouldn't pack it too full, as the lack of torque is the key to keeping rifles safe and scopes on zero.

I have made one trip to Africa with mine Tuffpak. Worked as advertized.

I have two complaint. The flat hand grip was awkward. I understand Tuffpak is changing that.

The small wheels didn't give enough ground clearance when dragging it on the carpet down a hotel hallway in Atlanta.

There is a tendancy by it's design to stand it up right. This is not good. While standing in the check in line at Atlanta airport my wife bumped the case and knocked it over with a very load crash. A fellow just ahead of us made the comment, "that will bend the shafts" When we got to RSA and checked the three rifles none were damaged and all were still sighted in perfectly. we added two more rifles for a total of five for the trip back. Things a got a little heavy then. I have shot only one of the scoped rifle after we got home and it was still sighted in perfectly.

DD

Tuffpaks were the only cases that did not look all beat up on my Africa trip with one. Mine and the other Tuffpaks looked undamaged, while many of the conventional cases were heavily damaged.

The Tuffpak came highly recommended, and I have seen why.

Palmer,

I used my new Tuffpak for a trip to Tanzania this year. It worked as advertised, had no problems with it. I packed mine pretty full with clothes and two rifles in soft cases. I also had two sets of binoculars in the Tuffpak.

It is a little hard to pack. You need to fiil in the bottom around the rifle barrels pretty fully. Otherwise, everything shifts to bottom during travel.

I carried the key on a string (actually a referee's whistle lanyard) around my neck. I wrapped some red duct tape around the handle, to make it easier to identify my Tuffpak.

If you need extra padding, someone suggested using tubular foam pipe insulation that you buy at the home improvement center. (Those grey foam tubes that you wrap around pipe. You can cut it to fit the length of the Tuffpak. A cheap an easy way to add some padding and fill in unused space).

Regards,

Terry

Mine worked great. Some of the other guys had their aluminum cases (I also own a couple) and when we got to Jberg they looked like the had been through a war. Beat to hell! Both of my guns were exactly at zero when checked the sighting at the outfitters. Im sold. I also have a composite case that hasnt held up as well. I have had latches sheared off, hinge pins bent and in one case a hole punched in the side of an aluminum case. As far as I am concerned the tuffpak is the best deal going for now.

[ 12-07-2002, 20:53: Message edited by: Mike Smith ]

I have used a TuffPak for 5 years. It has made three trips to Africa, one trip to Alaska, and several trips to Montana and Colorado. I have used everything from top of the line metal cases to composite cases and all have drawbacks when compared to the TuffPak.

In one trip to Africa my SKB case was beat senseless. One latch was almost removed from the case. I also have a Browning Travel Vault which works very well but it is very heavy and you cannot fit guns with soft sided gun cases in the case. With the tightening of the weight restrictions imposed by the airlines today, the weight saving advantages of the TuffPak alone will pay for one in a few short trips.

I have never had any damage or bumped scopes with the TuffPak. While it is cumbersome to maneuver, I do not worry about the contents or it running off in the airport. Buy the new TuffPak liner and packing and unpacking becomes a breeze. Don�t overstuff the thing and leave room to pull your guns out for inspection. The best money I have spent. Unfortunately, I discovered it after blowing a lot of money on other cases.

I have been using mine for two years now, two trips to Africa and several North American trips. No problems with gun damage or sights shifting. I usually carry two rifles in the TuffPak.

Going to Canada I wrapped my heavy outer wear around the soft gun cases and used small bungee cords to wrap up a "bundle". Then I slid the bundle into the TuffPak.

I am going to get one of the soft inner cases that NalPak is selling now.

So far people have thought my green TuffPak holds golf clubs or fishing rods. Nobody has guessed guns.

jim dodd

[ 12-08-2002, 00:33: Message edited by: HunterJim ]

I have used mine since 1995 and that includes 11 trips to Africa, most Safari Club shows and a number of trips inside the USA....It is beat up a bit, not much and still going strong....

I have used most of the good ones but the Tuff Pak is in a class of its own...the rest dim by comparison...

I sell and USE Tuffpak. The addition of the Tuffsak has proven to be a great thing to have.
I explain it like this...it is the dog that goes into the bun of the hot dog!You can pack your goodies inside this Cordura nylon, side zippered bag with a draw sting top and slide it all righ in the Tuffpak with ease. If you get someplace and the pilot or PH say now room for a hard case you just slide out your Tuffsak full of goodies and use the wide luggage strap sewn on to it to throw over your shoulder like a normal duffle bag.
I took three of the to RSA in May. This was the second African safari for personal case. It has been other places and been handled by airline baggage personell, UPS delivery folks and who knows who else.
No damage to firearms nor have I ever had to resight any firearm in after arrival.
A friend of mine just hunted sheep in one of the "Stands" (break up of Russia) and they all had to fly British Air. All of the metal case guns were "misplaced" and the ones in Tuffpaks arrived with the hunters.
Maybe it pays to have a funny looking, non descript, travel case that does not scream GUNS!!!
If you need Tuffpak products I always have them in stock and ready to ship.
I have NEVER had to replace anything (except lost keys) on any of them to date and I have sold a many a one.
Ray's comment pretty well prove the facts...I doubt many have more mileage on them than his.
Call me at 817 267 3700 or www.hunters-hq.com will get me too.

I bought mine from "Harry" in October (at the last possible minute and his service was outstanding). I have taken it by plane to California and by pickup truck to Maine -- everything arrived intact on each trip, although it does make quite an impressive sound when it tips over the top of the baggage carousel and comes crashing down!

I do use the Tuffsack, which makes packing less guesswork than it would be otherwise. Put your rifle cases in the Tuffsack, add your hunting clothes until it's full, then shove it on in.

Only downside I found was on the Calif. trip -- bolt handles (on a Mauser and a Beretta 390 shotgun) jammed against the insides of the cases and it was hard to pull them out for inspection at check-in. The upside of the downside was that at the Oakland airport, I had enough trouble pulling out the first gun that the clerk decided she would just take my word they were unloaded, rather than having me struggle further in front of all the other passengers!

I too have thought about purchasing one for my next safari but the aspect of unloading the Tuffpak at the ticket counter to show the guns were unloaded made me think twice. I wonder if you carried the bolts in your carry-on bag and showed the ticket rep them if this would eliminate the unpacking? I read somewhere that it was a good idea to carry the bolts separately instead of packed in with the guns.

Two things...carry the rifles muzzle down and you should not have much to do but unzip the case and pull rifle out a short distance.
Or...if you put the rifles in their soft cases (still muzzle down) inside the Tuffsak as I do and all the other stuff around the outside of the Tuffsak...you should have no problems.
As to bolts one place and rifle the other. My thinking is I had just soon lose the whole rifle that to have a rifle arrive but the bag with the bolts missing. Like the old love song goes, "All or Nothing At All"
Get a Tuffpak and get rid of one more worry.

I remove the bolts and wrap them in bubble wrap and carry them in the Tuffpak. When I had to take the rifles completely out of the Tuffpak at firearms desk in Jo'burg, I just pulled them out of the soft cases (left the soft cases in the Tuffpak). The rifles slid back into the soft cases, no problem.

Regards,

Terry

Question: does the Tuffpak meet the airlines' linear dimension limit of 62" (H+W+D)?

Well...it must...I have never been charged for oversize nor overweight...and you don't read that in any of the other post.
Size is 52" x 13 outside measurements.17 pounds empty.
Let me know if you need one.
www.hunters-hq.com

The tuffpak DOES NOT meet the Airlines requirements for size. I just flew American Airlines to Texas. Their baggage requirements say you can have one oversized bag for sporting equipment at no extra charge, as long as it is under 70 lbs. The website even mentions shooting equipment and archery equiment.

However, the ticket agent printed out the rules she had on her computer. It says you can not have more than three guns per case. (It does not mention this on the website or when I called the person on the phone never mentioned the gun limit) We had two Rifles and two Shotguns in the Tuffpak. The real funny thing was that the requirements she printed out look nothing like the requirements on AA website. I am sure that if she thought to measure the case they would have charged us $80.00.

We had to buy a $30.00 gun case for $120.00 and place one gun in the seperate case.

Funny thing was her rules said you could only carry 5 lbs of ammo in your gun case! I always thought you could not carry ammon in the same case as your guns!

I pointed out the ammo error to the ticket agent. She said those are the only rules she has to go buy and that she did not really care about the ammo. If we wanted to carry 4 guns we would need to purchase another case.

At 6:00 AM in the airport with an 1 to your flight you are stuck.

In conclussion the Tuffpak is great. Most Airline personel suck.

Three of us used the TUFF PAKS that we got from MIMS on our Tanzania Safari this past OCT. They were just as advertised. Easy to get around with was one noteable feature. We also had the SAKS, and that helped also with the packing and "Show & Tell" time.

We use the 'Kolpin' Rhino Rib soft cases. They are alittle more bulky than the average soft case, but man are they great for protection. These do limit some what of what you can pack into the PAK, but that was not a problem for me. Mike has a tendancy to 'over do' the packing and what he takes. He struggled with his load in the PAK, but that was him, not the PAK.

I can highly recomend this case and am very glad to have had it. You won't go wrong.

Regards,

SAM

Another unqualified recommendation for Tuffpak.

My Tuffpak has made two trips to Africa and several trips around the USA with absolutely no problems. All the hardware is still intact and the case shows only minor scratches and scuff marks.

I remove the bolts and wrap them in the oily (Sheath Rust Preventative) cloths I use to wipe down the guns at the end of each day. Then put the cloth wrapped bolts in zip lock plastic bags and pack them on top in the Tuffpak.

Rslus, it's probably not a good idea to put your bolts in a carry-on bag. Any part of a gun in a carry-on is a "Bozo No No" these days.

We were in Canada for a bear hunt in May. In Montreal, on the return flight, a friend who hunted with us took the scope off his rifle before checking his gun case and put it in his carry-on bag. The security screeners made him return to the ticket counter at the other end of the airport and check the carry-on. He almost missed the flight as a result.

The security people could not be swayed by reason or logic, they just kept repeating, "No gun parts in the passenger cabin, period!"

I use mine for travel, but I also use it in Texas about every weekend.

I put the Tuffpak in my excursion, stick in two rifles and that SXS I got from PWN and head to the ranch. I know none of the other crap I pile on top of it will damage the guns.

I leave the Tuffpak in the truck all weekend, I usually leave the lid off so all I have to do is open the door and slide the guns back in their soft case when the day is done.

I do not have to get out the hard case set it in the mud and put the gun away.

Nothing could be easier.

Oh, by the way, I have a new Tuffpak, never used that I will sell for $300.

I think $20 will get it shipped to you or you can swing by and pick it up.

Just for the record.
1) Dont try to carry your bolts on in your carry one luggage. It wont make for a good travel experience.
2) No ammo in the gun cases period. It will also "delay" you as well as cost some money.
3) Airlines are different on ammo but the general rule is 10 pounds or less. That dosnt take into account if your destination only allows say 100 or 200 rounds of ammo.
4) The number of guns in a case vary by airline.
However, most of the airline employees dont know their own regulations. This includes checking to make sure firearms are unloaded. Print out the regulations from their website and or get something in writting from one of the supervisors before your trip. Just to be safe I wouldnt take more than 2 guns regardless. You can arrange to borrow or rent something extra from your PH as long as it is planned for ahead of time.
5) Plan ahead! Try to anticipate Mr Murphy showing up and plan for the contingencies.

Weight limit on ammo is 5 Kilos for all overseas flights and 99% of the domestic flights. Some internal overseas flights have a 100 or 200 rd. limit but that is a country law...

Going through Customs is much easier with a Tough Case than with a regular case unless you have the tough case stuffed like a blivit, then the rifle will not drop back down into its case as the other stuff has closed in....So carefull packing is mandatory...My rifles have the serial numbers on the tang, grip or someplace easy, all I do is lift one up about a foot show it and drop the gun back in...

Also all airlines have a rule of guncases that state they do not fall into the lenth, weight catagory of the luggage section or the regulations. The Tough pak and the longer metal cases are, in fact, legal albiet they don't meet the requirments stated in that part of the airline regulations...

I have never has a client refused a guncase in all my years of booking..It just does not happen IMHO.......