Experience with Ruster Hen House Travel Case(s)?

[proletariandan]

Hey dudes,

Curious for any owners what your experience is like. Finally going to spring for an expensive travel case and one advantage of these seems to be that they are slightly smaller than frame+wheel cases but the company doesn't post the dimensions.

The other advantage would seem to be that lighter, smaller bags are probably going to get abused less than bigger, heavier ones.

Any downsides to the Hen House? Others in the running are the Orucase and Post Carry.

Thanks!
Dan

[Clean39T]

Hey dudes,

Curious for any owners what your experience is like. Finally going to spring for an expensive travel case and one advantage of these seems to be that they are slightly smaller than frame+wheel cases but the company doesn't post the dimensions.

The other advantage would seem to be that lighter, smaller bags are probably going to get abused less than bigger, heavier ones.

Any downsides to the Hen House? Others in the running are the Orucase and Post Carry.

Thanks!
Dan

No experience with the Hen House, but I did buy a Pika Works lately and would be willing to "rent" it to you to try out if you're interested.....might even sell it outright....

[FlashUNC]

I would not trust the airlines to manage two separate bags. Just screams the wheels headed one way and the frame headed another and then you're up the creek.

[proletariandan]

No experience with the Hen House, but I did buy a Pika Works lately and would be willing to "rent" it to you to try out if you're interested.....might even sell it outright....

Have you had any luck dodging airport fees? I don't see outer dimensions listed but that doesn't seem to be one of the selling points for them.

[Clean39T]

Have you had any luck dodging airport fees? I don't see outer dimensions listed but that doesn't seem to be one of the selling points for them.

Most airlines have significantly cut down their fees for bikes. I'd rather just pay up and not sweat it..

[FlashUNC]

Have you had any luck dodging airport fees? I don't see outer dimensions listed but that doesn't seem to be one of the selling points for them.

FWIW I dodged fees on the Post Carry case on a flight to Europe. Already halfway paid for the case.

[jpritchet74]

I have had an Armored Ruster Hen House for a few years and I dodged bike fees for a while, but the folks at Southwest Airlines all seem to recognize the Hen House now as a bike bag. And technically when measured like a sane person would measure, it is "oversized" - and they do love to measure way more than they used to. So now mostly you get stuck paying the fee as oversized on that bag.

It's not a "bike" though as it is just a "frame". Wheel bag is not oversized so no fee on that.

Because if this I leave a bike at my 2 most frequented work travel locations so I don't have to deal with luggage.