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SKB Parallel Bowcase: By Jodi Balazs
I should feel ashamed of myself. I sold my old bow case today to a friend. What kind of friend would sell a flimsy bow case that would collapse with just 100 pounds of weight put on it to another friend? A friend who just received the SKB Parallel Limb Bowcase, that’s who. I dare anyone to tell me they wouldn’t do the same thing after they spent just 5 minutes with the SKB. I think of it as trading your jobless, still live with Mommy, video game junkie boyfriend for Bill Gates.
I must admit that I have always given my husband a hard time for the money he spends on hunting gear. Don’t feel bad for him, because he gives me an equally hard time for the money I spend on clothes. I’m the reason we had the flimsy bow cases to begin with. You can just imagine the scenario. There we are, walking through the Sporting Goods store. He mentions that we need a couple bow cases before archery season so we don’t have to wrap them in our coats again like we did the previous year. After I recovered from the shock when he told me how much our bows cost, I agreed on buying the cases. I did put my foot down on the cost. We came out with the cheapest cases we could buy that were hard plastic.
Skip to this years hunting season….. There we are constantly taking our bows in and out of their cases. At 4:30 AM, it’s dark and cold. You can’t see anything, but you can hear one of us yelling obscenities as we use excessive force to pry open the clamps that are never easy to get open even when it’s warm. After you have the bow, you have to make sure you remember to find your quiver because it doesn’t fit into the case with the bow. After a morning of hunting, you get back to camp and put the bow back in the case. When you shut the lid, it never lines up right and you have to work it so that you can lock it with the clamps again. We also found out that they aren’t waterproof. They’re not even water resistant. One night it rained and water seeped right through the cracks.
There is no doubt that my bow is much happier in it’s new home. The SKB parallel Limb Bow case is very sturdy. We live on a military base and I had several of our burly neighbors stand on the case at the same time. The 2SKB-411A Parallel Limb Bow Case is made to ATA 300 Category 1 specifications, which is the highest shipping container specification of the ATA. The case is molded from ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene, the material specified by the U.S. military for cases and containers. I got a “C” in physics in college, so don’t think all that fancy mumbo-jumbo came from me. I plagiarized the last two sentences from the SKB web site, but you get the drift. This is one sturdy case. Because of its sturdiness, this case is heavier than my old one. Alas, they put wheels on it so that you can roll it along. And unlike other luggage you buy, the wheels are as sturdy as the rest of the case. Even so, if you couldn’t lift his case, chances are you can’t pull a bowstring back, either.
There are four heavy-duty replaceable locking latches. They are spring loaded and super easy to use. You could even pop the spring latch with mittens on. The two latches on either end have locks on them. My guess is so one end can’t be pried open with a crowbar. One of my favorite features is the handles. There is one on the short end for when you want to pull it through the airport behind you using the wheels. The other handle is on the long end so you can carry it like a suitcase. There are also convenient “tie-down” loops for an ATV. If you live where your dirt roads are rocky, like here in the Rocky Mountains, then you will appreciate your bow riding nice and snug in this case. You could even let six of your biggest, beer guzzling, hairy friends sit on top of it, even though your ATV may not appreciate that one.
Before I go, I can’t forget to mention the inside of the case. I have my bow, my quiver, all my arrows, and my release in this case and there’s still room for more stuff. Being female, I inheritably am incapable of packing light. When I have extra room to stash things, that makes me happy. Not only that, everything is surrounded by a protective layer of cushion.
In conclusion, I love this bow case. It even changed my mind about going hunting with my husband in Alaska. So, guys, if you don’t want your wife along with you, don’t buy her this case. SKB is so sure of its cases that not only do they give it a lifetime warranty, they also guarantee the contents in the case up to $1,500. Now that’s a company I can have faith in.
http://www.skbcases.com/
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