[brentinps]

I am torn between these two, and have read all I can... here and elsewhere online.

There are several written and heard rumors that Instroke makes WIN cases but it has not been verified. They do look to be quite similar.

The new WIN tooled cases I am thinking of is a rich reddish rust color unlike most production cases I have ever seen (VLC24ENC-4 2x4) but looks to have a very hard leather almost starchy looking.. but I have never seen one in person. Only photos.

I am not interested in a leather that reminds me of a new Luis Vuitton luggage back in the day.

Does the WIN soften up at all or are the pictures deceiving me??

I am moving up from an Instroke Cowboy 3x5 Vinyl that has served me perfectly in over 7 yrs. Thinking of a 2x4 because it may be lighter and a slight bit easier to maneuver in getting in and out of the car when it is not in the trunk. Perhaps I am wrong in this... as the difference in weight of a 2x4 v 3x5 may be not very much.

I presently have a player and a J/break cue, and not sure I need to plan for any extra case slots. Unless I am going to have a masse cue or something one day. Just not needed for my present league and tournament play.

The Instroke case I am looking at is older, tooled and appears to have a softer or certainly antiqued character.

The insides of both the Win and Instroke look identical.

Any comments would be greatly appreciated. Pool is a game in which experience matters.. and I would love to know what experienced players think.

I would choose to buy american but unfortunately, I am not sure either of these cases are made in the US, and I plan to spend under $260 for either of them.

[brentinps]

UPDATE FYI. I spoke to Instroke today and they confirmed that they do indeed make the WIN cases.

However, the Instroke is better at "protecting the cues" and the WIN does not have dedicated full length PVC and full lined in their slots.

In addition, the older Instroke cases DO have a bit softer leather, and the tooled cases of today use a harder leather than in past and has a type of clear-coat type protectant on them.

I verified that the WIN case is a hard leather, when compared to the used Instroke case I am looking at....so I am staying with Instroke for sure and this is all info I could not find out online.