Storage, cases and travel
CAR-19How should I store my handpan?#
beginner
Short answer. Somewhere dry, at stable room temperature, out of direct sun, with nothing on top of it and nothing pressing on the ding. Never stacked, never in a hot car, and preferably not sealed in its case for months at a time.Never stacked. If you own more than one, do not put one on top of another, with or without cases. The load lands on the ding of the lower instrument, which is the most highly stressed and least forgiving part of the shell, and the ding is also the note most people notice going wrong. Store them side by side, upright in a rack, or on separate stands. The same rule applies to putting a bag, a box or a person on top of a cased instrument.
Never in a car. A closed car in summer sun reaches temperatures that permanently shift tuning, and one parked outside in winter turns the instrument into a condensation trap the moment you bring it indoors. Cars are also where instruments get stolen. If you must transport one, it travels with you and comes inside at the other end.
Standing or flat. Both are fine if done properly, and the usual guidance is to keep the ding side up rather than resting the instrument dome down on a hard surface. Standing it on its rim, leaning against a wall, is common, stable and takes no floor space, but put something soft between the rim and the floor and be honest about whether it can be knocked over by a door, a child or a dog. A dedicated stand is better than the wall, and a stand also makes you play more, which is the real argument for it.
Soft case or hard case for storage. Neither, ideally. A sealed case is a humid box that holds moisture against the steel and whose foam absorbs water. Multiple makers advise against long term storage inside the case for exactly this reason, and recommend keeping the case itself open and dry when it is not in use. If your only option is the case, put a moisture absorber inside it, and take the instrument out periodically to air.
Two smaller points. Keep it away from radiators, underfloor heating and sunny windows, because localised heat on one part of the shell is worse than uniform warmth. And if you have a rubber rim ring, do not store the instrument for months with the ring on in a damp environment, because the steel under it never dries.
CAR-20What case should I buy?#
beginner
Short answer. Match the case to the journey. A padded soft bag is fine for carrying an instrument to a friend’s house or a local session. A rigid hard case is what you need for flying, touring, courier shipping or anything that leaves your hands.Most instruments arrive with a soft bag, and for many owners that is all they will ever need. A good soft bag has thick foam padding, a stiffened rim, a protective disc or pad over the ding, a waterproof outer, and backpack straps that actually distribute weight. The weaknesses are inherent: soft bags do not resist crushing, and they do not protect against a fall onto a corner. They are transport, not armour.
Rigid and semi rigid cases are a different category and a different price. The reference products in the handpan world are made by Hardcase Technologies, whose semi rigid EVA models, the Evatek and the flight oriented Aviotek, are the ones most frequently named by makers when they discuss travel, alongside their rigid Cargo hardcase. Other makers and retailers offer their own hard shell and hybrid designs. What you are paying for is a shell that holds its shape, a suspension system that keeps the instrument off the walls of the case, and enough structural integrity to survive baggage handling. If you fly with an instrument more than once a year, this is the purchase that pays for itself the first time it does its job.
Things to check before you buy, whichever type:
- Fit. Handpans vary in diameter, commonly around 50 to 60 centimetres, and depth varies too. A case that is too big lets the instrument move, which is worse than slightly snug.
- Ding protection. Look for a pad or dome over the centre, since that is where any load lands.
- How it stands. Cases that will not stand upright end up laid on the floor and stepped over.
- Straps and handles. You will carry this on your back through airports and up stairs.
- Airline dimensions, if flying is the point. See CAR-21.
- Whether the foam breathes. Closed cell foam that traps damp against steel is a rust risk over long periods.
A note on the budget end. A cheap hard case with thin walls and no suspension can be worse than a good soft bag, because it feels protective and is not. If money is tight, a good padded soft bag plus care beats a bad hard case, and for a single shipment, a well packed cardboard box with heavy foam around a bagged instrument is a legitimate option that makers themselves use.
CAR-21How do I fly with a handpan?#
intermediate
Short answer. Aim to carry it on, in a hard case, boarding as early as you can, and be prepared to gate check it as a fallback. Most people fly without incident, but no airline is obliged to give you cabin space, so plan for both outcomes.What the rules actually say. In the United States, a Department of Transportation final rule issued in December 2014 requires airlines to let passengers bring small musical instruments into the cabin and stow them in an overhead bin or closet, provided there is space at boarding and the instrument fits the carrier’s approved carry on programme. Crucially, instruments are handled first come, first served like any other bag, and airlines are not required to prioritise them or create space. Outside the US the picture is a patchwork of individual airline policies, so check your specific carrier before you book rather than relying on general advice.
What happens in practice. A cased handpan is usually over the stated carry on dimensions, and whether it goes in the cabin comes down to the aircraft, the load and the crew. Makers who fly a lot report that a medium hard case fits many overhead bins on larger aircraft and rarely fits on small domestic ones, and their experience of the outcome differs: some report that limits function more as guidelines and that staff are generally curious and accommodating, others report that on most domestic flights there simply is not room and gate checking is unavoidable. Both are true, on different routes.
How to give yourself the best chance. Book a seat with early boarding or pay for it, because overhead space is gone quickly. Get to the gate early and speak to the crew before boarding rather than arguing in the aisle. Say what it is, that it is a fragile musical instrument, and ask whether there is a closet or a bin they can suggest. Be pleasant. Crew have enormous discretion and almost never use it in favour of someone who has just been rude to them. Put it in a bin near your seat if you can see it.
If it has to go below. Gate checking, where you hand it over at the aircraft door and collect it there on arrival, is much better than checking it at the desk, because it skips most of the handling. Either way it needs a hard case, ideally with the straps taped or wrapped so nothing catches, and extra padding around the ding. Inspect it before you leave the airport and report any damage immediately, since claims made on the spot are far easier than claims made later.
Going deeper. Shipping the instrument ahead by courier, insured and boxed, is sometimes cheaper and always calmer than flying with it. Damage is uncommon and usually repairable, but the risk is real and it compounds with every journey.
CAR-22What about temperature shock and condensation?#
intermediate
Short answer. Let the instrument reach room temperature before you open the case and before you play. The danger of cold is not the cold itself but the condensation that forms on cold steel when it meets warm, humid air, and the danger of heat is that sustained heat can permanently move the tuning.Why condensation happens. Warm air holds more water than cold air. Bring a handpan in from a cold car or a winter walk and the air touching it is chilled below its dew point, so water condenses out onto the metal. You get a fine film of water across the whole surface, including places you never wipe, and unless you dry it that film is doing exactly what CAR-08 describes. A cold instrument taken straight out of its case into a warm room is the classic version of this.
What to do instead. Leave it in the closed case for a while and let it warm up gradually, which buffers it from the room’s moisture. Guidance varies on the interval; twenty minutes is a common suggestion and longer is better if the instrument is genuinely cold. Then take it out, wipe the whole surface with a dry microfibre cloth even if it looks dry, and give it a few minutes before you play. Do the reverse when packing up somewhere cold and damp: dry it before it goes in, not after.
Heat is the more permanent risk. Steel expands as it warms, and a warm handpan reads slightly differently on a tuner and can sound subtly off. That part is temporary and resolves as it cools. What is not temporary is prolonged exposure: handpans are heat treated during building, so leaving one in direct sun or a closed car applies an uncontrolled version of a tuning process and can shift the tuning by several cents permanently. Playing outdoors in summer is fine if the instrument stays in the shade and you check it with your hand occasionally. If it is too hot to touch comfortably, stop and move it.
Also worth knowing. Adhesive matters at temperature extremes. Most makers use glues rated for outdoor conditions, but if you regularly play in harsh heat it is a fair question to ask your maker about your specific instrument. And do not try to warm a cold instrument quickly with a heater, a hairdryer or a radiator. Uneven heating is worse than the cold you are fixing.