Yet another unsolicited cue case review . . . .

[Nick T.]

Friday the big brown truck brought me a Talisman leather 2x4 case (from Seybert’s of course) and I’m very favorably impressed. Fit and finish is excellent! The quality of the leather, the stitching, and the metal fasteners is great. I have a leather pilot’s chart case that I bought in the ‘60s for a little over $300 (in 1960’s dollars) and the Talisman case could have been build my the same craftsman.

I really like the fully opening pockets, the ease of access, and the six rubber feet. The case has three pockets; the two larger ones (8” and 15”) have belt type fasteners and zippers on both sides so they can be fully opened to easily retrieve small items that may fall to the bottom, and the smaller pocket is perfect for a couple of chalks and a Willard tip tool. The two carrying handles are sturdy and well padded. The two shoulder straps also have very nice leather pads. Included is a sturdy appearing cloth bag with a drawstring top to be used to protect the leather case from scarring and marring - - but in my opinion this is a case that will handle the marks of life well and will only gain character and personality from the scars that it acquires.

Since the interior is covered with a very soft leather I asked Tony Jones about his product, and here is an extracted quote from his email response, “If you need a new interior for any reason I would send you one free of charge, if replacement was needed to misuse then I would ask you to pay shipping, if it was because of any defect arising from original manufacturer I would cover shipping also. Sounds to me like Talisman is prepared to fully support their customers.

If you’re looking for a nice looking, sturdy case that will serve you for many years, then I think that the Talisman case deserves your consideration.

[New Kid In The Hall]

I'll probably get one when they offer more than 2x4. 2x4 is too small on capacity for me.

[DZ314]

They need to make a 10x20 or so for you, New Kid in the Hall. :lol:

[skor]

When John of Instroke checked the Talisman case, some of the problems that he found : "Quality - the lid did not fit the case very well. With the buckle completely closed it was possible for me to lift the lid on either side so that the cue was revealed. The rubber feet on the bottom were easily pulled out with very little effort which makes me think that they won't last long. The buckle area seemed to be a little weak which indicates that it won't be long before it begins to wear out. "

Nick do you see any of these problem with your case ?

[Nick T.]

Skor . . . . .
1) The lid fits snugly, but not so tight that it is difficult to open. When lifting with the top handle and the lid buckled there is a little less than 1/8” movement of the lid - - far less than the 7/16” that would be needed to bring the edge of the lid even with the top of the case.

2) The rubber feet are fairly large and are attached with Phillips head screws. I removed and replaced one and they seems pretty secure to me.

3) All three buckles look to me like high quality brass belt buckles. When I’ve had buckle failure on cheap belts it’s been due to the tang being flimsy or short. The Talisman tangs (and entire buckles) do not look to me as though they are likely to fail.

I’ve never looked closely at a used Instroke case, but the one that I did inspect in a local store looked pretty good, that is, until I received the Talisman.

I also own a leather Predator case which is built by Instroke, and although it’s pretty, it falls far short of the Talisman in workmanship and apparent quality when directly compared to the Talisman. The Predator case is fine for my LE-8 and LE-9, but I wouldn’t want it for my daily use case.

==============

When I go back and reread the above it sounds like salesman’s hype - - but it is NOT hype. I have no connection with Talisman and don’t know Tony Jones other than exchanging two emails. The bottom line is that the Talisman case is truly a quality product.

[skor]

Thanks, Nick
I am looking to get a new case in the future and the Talisman was one of my options but I wasn't sure any more after I read Johns post, but I guess now Talisman is still an option, I like the Instroke cases but all the cases out there are either Instroke or something that looks like instroke and I realy like how the Talisman looks, I also like the predator case and I would love to put my hand on one of the 3x5 prototypes like Francisco Bustamante has :)

[audiopro]

How about a Widowmaker? What is everyones opinion on those? They look to be pretty well made, but you can only tell so much from a pic. They run about 450 bucks.

[Tanar]

Nick,
What color of case did you decide on? I got the black/green case and it is a beauty. I do agree that this case is built to last and I am extremely happy with my purchase. The free cue tips that came with the case are one of the big reasons why I started re-tipping cues; to replace some cost.

[dags_lax]

I purchased the black/brown Talisman and am very satisfied with it. I have yet to see another Talisman around so, for the time being at least, I have something unique. It doesn't look an Instroke at all and I get losts of players asking to take a closer look at it.

[Nick T.]

Tanar . . . . I got the brown case, and it was a little too red looking for my taste, so I hit it with a little cordovan Kiwi shoe polish and a shoe brush and now I really like the color.

[dags_lax]

The brown is a little reddish but looks great as an accent to the black.

[KGeeEd]

How about a Widowmaker? What is everyones opinion on those? They look to be pretty well made, but you can only tell so much from a pic. They run about 450 bucks.



Call Greg at the Billiard Warehouse http://www.billiardwarehouse.com/index.htm

He has a 800 number and carries Porper, Instroke and Widowmaker.

[audiopro]

Yeah, thats actually where I nabbed the pic from.. I was wondering if any has had or know anything about these cases.. I have ordered from Greg actually quite a few times..

[New Kid In The Hall]

The Jack Justis cases are some of the best looking cases I've seen. Brought home my Black Boar in one.

[instroke]

You guys need to remember that I only had one Talisman to look at and those were my observations based on one case. I also said that overall I feel as though the Talisman is a good case but that I feel that Instroke is the better cue case.

Even though that is my opinion, based on the fact that I am a cue case maker, if I were not then I am sure I would have purchased a Talisman and been very happy with it.

John

[dags_lax]

That is a nice comment about the Talisman case John. I am very happy with my Talisman but I would have been very satisfied with one of your buffalo cases as well. It was really a toss up when I between the Buffalo and the Talisman but I thought the buckles would serve me better and I wanted something a little different than what everyone else had. The Instroke is definitely a quality product. That's why there are so many imitations out there. Keep up the good work.

[Tanar]

I agree with Dags. I bought my Talisman case because of the workmanship, but also because one of my teammates has a cowboy Instroke and I wanted something different. Also, I have to admit, the whole discussion about the snap breaking on this site kinda scared me off.

[instroke]

I agree with Dags. I bought my Talisman case because of the workmanship, but also because one of my teammates has a cowboy Instroke and I wanted something different. Also, I have to admit, the whole discussion about the snap breaking on this site kinda scared me off.

It probably would have scared me off too. That is ALL behind us now as the new Diamond Latch is the dead nuts. There is literally no stronger latch on the market that I have seen.

Bottom line - The new Instroke latches are pratically indestructable. We couldn't find them, we had to invent them.

John

[KGeeEd]

Yeah, thats actually where I nabbed the pic from.. I was wondering if any has had or know anything about these cases.. I have ordered from Greg actually quite a few times..

I bought a tooled leather Instroke from Roy at Indyq. I constantly get complements on the case. It gets a lot of attention. Sometimes this may not be good if you are trying to keep a low profile. I have a Porper case and 2 It's George. I don't think either compare with the Instoke. The only advantage of the other 2 is the weight.

Give Roy a call. The case will really complement your new cue.

[audiopro]

Thanks KGeeEd!