Hardshell vs TRIC

You can get a Gator at Musician's Friend for 79.00.

www.musiciansfriend.com/accessories/gator-gwe-classic-hardshell-classical-wood-guitar-case?rNtt=Gator%20classical%20case&index=4

The least expensive Tric case is 88.00.

well look at country of origin
in Canada, last time I looked, Gator cases were ~~~125 |+ shipping

and all TRIC case were 99$, at store

terryd ,That was a major point of my reviews the too short lid strap. They corrected that two years later.

@sleigh ,
it is easier to correct too long, than too short. I still havn't extended my Amber Trails TRIC lid strap.

terryd, I'm actually afraid that if I just the lid flop open, it might tear off the hinges. I keep meaning to shorten the ribbon, but haven't yet -- I'm just really careful about not letting it open too far.

I don't think there's anything wrong with hard cases; heck I have three or four of those myself, and they certainly aren't as bulky as the TRICs. I just prefer the lightness of the nylon/foam cases, the outside pockets to put stuff in, the humidity control, and the straps that allow me to carry it on my back. I don't think you can go wrong either way. 

I have to respectfully disagree with this statement due to experience.

I have a Tric case, a hard shell case and 2 gig bags.  (Those numbers have varied over the years, depending on how many guitars I've had at the time).  I live in an apt which gets very, very dry in the winter due to the building being like 50 years old and the heating system in here.

Long story short, from years of testing, the order of how well a case keeps humidity and allows the guitar to take humidity with guitar case humidifiers is as such:

Tric case** = best.  Because it has such a great seal, foam insulation and open insides (no areas completely sealed off from others) this case keeps my guitars best. **Granted this is from the old, non-tight-fitting-non-fur-lined cases.  Don't like the new ones.

Seagull or equivalent gig bags = 2nd best.  The padded insulation and again, the open area inside allows the guitar to more evenly take humidity and stay good.

Hard shell cases = last or worst.  Having no foam insulation, but rather the "fur" that comes with most hard shell cases plus the fact that they are so tight fitting and have these little walls on the inside that seem to cordon off certain areas when closed has lead to the worst scenario for my guitar taking humidity evenly.  Often, after a week in the case, sealed, one of the guitar case humidifiers will be completely dry and another will still be very damp.  I'm not sure all that fur is helping the even distribution of humidity inside the case.

I've had to "fix" a couple of guitars that got too dried out over the years and the padded gig bags and, even better, the Tric cases (if the guitar fit in there) showed by far that they allowed the guitar even exposure to the inside humidity.

It's not about the "seal" so much.  It's about the ability of the guitar to receive even exposure of the climate your creating/protecting inside the case.  Even though gig bags don't technically seal as good as solid cases, in dry conditions, they are much better for humidifying guitars.

After having said all that, let me be clear, I'm not saying hard shell cases are bad.  Just disagreeing that they are better than a Tric case or good quality padded gig bag in all circumstances.  As a blanket statement I am just disagreeing that a padded gig bag is no good for protecting your all solid wood guitar regarding humidity.  In some cases, it's much better.  That's all I'm saying.

Now, if in humid conditions where you need to do the opposite and dry the guitar and/or keep it dry, I can't comment on that as that issue does not exist where I live.    Maybe in that case (pardon the pun     ) a hardshell case would be better.