Compound Bow Cases: Features you want

After you’ve gone to all the work of getting a nice bow you should make sure and protect your investment.  Your bow can give years of enjoyment, so just make sure to take care of the things you own.  There are a few features that you want in bow cases and these are the things that you should look for.

Features to look for include:

• Level of protection
• extra space
• weight
• Proper fit
• Value
• Best use

There are two different types of cases.  Hard cases and soft cases.  Each has its own purpose and doesn’t work for all situations.  What you want to find is the case that covers as many of your needs as possible.  If you need to carry your bow out into the field a long distance, then the soft case will be better.  If the case will mostly be for storage into and out of your vehicle, then a hard case would be a good choice.

A hard case

The hard bow case is heavy and very sturdy.  You can stack it out-of-the-way and it will be very safe.

The pros: It has an increased amount of protection for your bow.  Almost nothing is going to crush your bow inside.  You don’t have to worry about water damage. Many of the hard cases also have space built-in for your arrows.  These are great for long-term storage, throwing the bow in with other hunting or camping gear, and piece of mind.

The cons: You don’t have much extra space and its very difficult to squeeze extra things in.  Hard cases are heavier and can be bulkier than a soft case.  The other problem is several people have to take their bow apart to fit into the case.  The stabilizer, quiver, and sometimes the sight must be removed for the bow to fit.  You can buy an extra-large case to help compensate for these issues, but if you have a larger bow it could be a challenge.

I’d recommend something like the SKB Hunter Bow Case if you decide you want a hard case.

The soft case

The soft case offers less protection, but some good options.  The case is normally pretty dust proof and water-resistant.

The pros:  The soft case is light weight, has extra pockets to put arrows and squeeze in extras.  In soft cases like the Primos Soft Bow Case that I recommend, most people can fit their bow in with the stabilizer, quiver, and other extras still attached.  It’s great if you need to carry your bow a long distance or if you don’t want the hassle of needing to re attach things all the time.

The cons:  The case is not designed to protect against getting knocked around.  That’s why it’s called a soft case.  There will be padding inside the case and you will be able to secure your bow in the case just don’t plan to stack things on top of your bow.  You will want to buy a small arrow container as well for your arrows.  The case isn’t completely waterproof, but that’s completely irrelevant most of the time.

So it really comes down to what your preference is.  Both cases will get the job done, except that one will do the job better.  Feel free to get both cases if you want.  I hope this helps you in deciding what bow case you want.