For those vintage case collectors out there that claim Mark Leafs are superior to Caltons...check out this one on eBay:

Mark Leaf Jumbo Guitar Case
Item number: 130197316066

Anybody ever tote one of these around? What did you think of it?

They'll protect your guitar...but they are a coffin. You will not be able to be subtle, incognito, or carry them for miles. They are large.

The Mark Leaf is a very protective case. Properly fit, it fixes and cushions the headstock both front and back when closed.

I have a Mark Leaf banjo case, along with a Calton Deluxe and a TKL American vintage (the guitar version of which is the stock Collings case).

Weights:
-- Mark Leaf: 18 pounds
-- Calton Deluxe: 12 pounds
-- TKL AV: 11 pounds

Used to carry a 13 pound banjo in the Mark Leaf plus about a pound of spare strings, picks, wrench, 2 brack wrenches, tuning fork, mute, screwdriver. etc. (banjo pickers have to be ready to field strip the instrument at any moment). Those days are over -- I use the Calton for banjonic expeditions.

The Calton doesn't have the built in padding for the head stock, but I've rigged up some foam covered by pool table cloth (Simonis 860) as an insert.

Alex