DJzone DJ Magazine

It may be hard to believe but those cardboard boxes your lights arrived in three years ago were not meant to be transport cases. I know, I have done it too. I have purchased a new light or piece of gear and instead of dropping the money for a case, I figured, “Hey they shipped it in the box, it must mean it’s good enough to take it to events in the box.” This has lead to many broken knobs, bulbs, clamps, and dented, paint chipped enclosures.

Arriba, a division of American DJ, just sent over a wonderful alternative to boxing your gear from event to event. The Arriba stackable rolling series bags are a lightweight padded set of soft-side cases that allows you to safely transport your lighting or gear to events without looking like a bag lady– all while keeping it safe.

I was able to place just about any light I owned inside the bags. Since they are soft-side bags, they can adapt and move to the contours of larger odd-shaped lights and gear. Just because they are square does not mean your gear has to be. The fact that the second bag in the pair can be attached to the one with wheels and rolled into a venue was a plus. It was as easy as taking carry-on luggage through an airport, but without the pat-down and groping.

As with all Arriba bags, they are very well made and can hold up to the rigors of DJ and band life.  The heavy-duty zipper closes up the bag to keep the dust and elements away. They come in two sizes, the one I reviewed was the smaller of the two and I found it had plenty of space for my gear.

It’s time to lose the old boxes and move up to a classier, yet inexpensive alternative, the Arriba stackable rolling series bags.