Cronkite bag strap question

[bort2.0]

Is it just me, or do the backpack straps on a Cronkite bag feel a little too close together up at the top?

That is, where the straps are attached to the bag up by the bell, they are bolted to the bag right next to each other. Doesn't it seem like it might be a little bit more comfortable, if they were about an inch or two apart from each other? The steps seem to really squeeze across the top of my shoulders.

Maybe that's just me? I don't remember my Gotz bag feeling quite the same way, although, the straps on that bag are really thin and not nearly as comfortable.

[bloke]

Wouldn't this depend on a person's build, fitness, and how many layers of clothing they're wearing?

(Since I ALWAYS end up getting dirt on myself wearing the WRONG clothes on which dirt should be present, I ALWAYS just carry tuba bags with my hands...and - not particularly seldom - one in each hand...so I'd like to be able to unhook those straps and set them aside...since they weigh somethin'...but being able to cinch them up flat against the bag is second-best.)

[Three Valves]

Gard bags do the same thing.

They must think we have narrow girl (non swimmer) shoulders that the straps would otherwise slide over.

Not made for he-men like us!!

[bloke]

Yokumberry tonic does the same thing.

They must think we have narrow girl (non swimmer) shoulders that the straps would otherwise slide over.

Not made for he-men like us!!

[Three Valves]

Yup, that stuff will turn yer man berries into raisins too!!



Me??

100% Natural, baby...

[bort2.0]

Ok, so no real answers then.

[Three Valves]

Wha??

L’l Abner there said he did’t notice.


I said I agreed with you and mentioned another maker that did the same thing....

You got the show at no extra charge!!

[dreamofoenghus]

Ok, I’ll bite, Mr. Bort. I have an Eb tuba with a Cronkite non-leather (is that canvas?) bag. I’m a rather broad-shouldered fellow myself but it seems to fit alright. But come to think of it, I haven’t really paid attention to how close they actually are. I just put it on. I don’t ever have to carry it far. I’m not sure that really helps any in regard to your question, though.

[bloke]

I used to own a ridiculous number of those Cronkhite bags. I’m down to three.
I don’t like putting any tuba bag on my back, but those are no worse than any others.
What really sucks is putting them on my back when I’m already wearing tails and an overcoat.
Again, I use their carry handles.

[the elephant]

I have never, ever used a gig bag like a backpack. I only use the left strap. Sometimes I have to haul two horns, so one on each shoulder, sometimes with a mute in one hand.

However, I wear a 64" chest suit coat. I have broad shoulders and a big chest. (Not fat. The fat is a bit lower down.) I have never had a fit issue with any of the eight or nine Cronkhite bags (or very old RB bags) I have owned. When I was in the Army in the mid-1980s I wore a 50" chest coat and the GC-made RB leather I toted my horn around in fit me fine back then, too.

[tofu]

.

[Three Valves]

What I prefer is a bag with a strap that you can just can just carry it over one shoulder.

[the elephant]

… It seems like no one offers that anymore…

All my Miraphone bags have this feature. I have never once used it. If you get a bag with the eyelets I'll send you a strap for free.

[Dubby]

Maybe it’s because I’m short and could never get it right, but I also was not a fan of the backpack straps I’ve had on my Cronkite bag for a 186 or the straps on the Wessex bag for a frankentuba I had. Even now with a euph, backpack is not my preferred orientation, but a single shoulder strap or carry handles is.

[cjk]

I'm 5 feet 8 inches tall. Pretty average.
I use the backpack straps on gig bags.
To me, the backpack straps on the larger Cronkite bags are too high on the bag, ie, too close to the bell.
When it's a big tuba bag, the bottom of the tuba is so low on my body that my thighs bang against the bottom bow area when I walk around with the tuba on my back. I have this issue with my 6/4 sized Cronkite bag. I end up putting both straps on one shoulder to work around this.
This is not an issue on smaller Cronkite bags. I don't have this issue on my current Cronkite MW182 bag or a B&S F tuba sized bag I had previously.
From a small tuba bag to a large tuba bag, it looks to me like they just scale up the pattern including the backpack straps. The straps get longer when the bag is bigger. Personally I think this is a mistake.

This is never an issue on Altieri bags regardless of the size.

The closeness of the backpack strap tops on the Cronkite bags has never bothered me. The placement of the straps on the bag does though.

[cjk]

Just to show my point visually.
Let to Right --> 6/4 Cronkite, 4/4 Altieri, 3/4 Cronkite.

20201211_121658.jpg (148.81 KiB) Viewed 807 times

[MN_TimTuba]

Brett,
My Wessex bag has straps a good 10 inches apart at the top, and it's very comfortable, even with a very large horn.
Try this - buy a Wessex bag, put your tuba in the Cronkite bag, put the Cronkite in the Wessex bag, put the Wessex bag on your shoulders. Voila! Problem solved.
Otherwise, can a good luggage repair place alter your bag?
Good luck!
Tim

[bloke]

I reported this thread, because it makes me not feel safe.

[bort2.0]

Thanks everyone! CJK, those pictures are great, very helpful!

Tim... Yes, that would be the only logical solution. Can't believe I missed that!

Joe... Would you (you -- not your tuba) feel safer in downtown Memphis in a Cronkite bag, or in a hard case?

[bloke]

Since I would be probably striving to be driving down a street at a minimum of 60 mph (or a freeway at a minimum of 85 mph), I probably would be all right with either one, as long as it was Kevlar - and had crumple zones...
...but(t) yeah, bags with straps mounted too high need to be nipped in the bud, since they nip us in the butt.