It’s been a few months since the Traktor Kontrol S8 came out, and with a lot of them now floating around many owners noticed – there are not many good carrying options! With the Kontrol S8 being considerably larger than your average controller, it does not fit in any common backpacks and will require it’s own special protection. In today’s article we cover a couple of the options you have now, and start up a community discussion where YOU get to help us design the perfect mobile solution.

THE KONTROL S8 BAG OPTIONS NOW

The pickings are slim, and nothing fits perfectly but there are a couple commercial products in the market that will do the job of protecting or carrying your investment.

THE UDG EXTRA LARGE CONTROLLER CASE

Available here
Price: $79
Weight: 2.27 kg / 4.994 lbs
Outer Dimensions: 72.7 x 42.7 x 14 cm | 28.6 x 16.8 x 5.5 inch
Inner Dimensions: 71.5 x 41.5 x 10 cm | 28.2 x 16.3 x 3.9 inch
Material: Durashock molded EVA foam
Protection: Water repellent laminated nylon exterior. Egg Crate interior protects jog wheels, faders, buttons
Extra’s: Easy grip zipper pulls. Convenient carry handle
Fits: NI Traktor Kontrol S8, Pioneer DDJ-SX2, XDJ R1, DDJ S1/T1, Numark N4, NS6

This case will do in a pinch but it’s oversized, and the controller may shift around a bit since it’s not a very snug fit. It also does not look the best in our opinion.

UDG Urbanite MIDI Controller FlightBag Large

Available Here
Weight: 3.80 kg/8.36 lbs
Outer Dimensions: 73 x 43 x 20 cm | 28.7 x 16.9 x 7.9inch
Inner Dimensions: 70 x 40 x 11 cm | 27.6 x 15.7 x 4.3 inch
Material: Water repellent laminated 600D Polyester exterior
Protection: Egg Crate interior protects jog wheels, faders & buttons. Adjustable foam inserts to customize main compartment to your gear
Extra’s: 3 compartments: main for controller, rear for 2 laptops up to 19”, front for headphone, hard drives, cables, control vinyl & accessories. Easy grip zipper pulls. Convenient carry handle & padded shoulder strap
Fits: NI Traktor Kontrol S8, Pioneer DDJ-SX2/SX/SR/S1/T1/Ergo, XDJ-R1/Aero, Numark NS6/N4/4 Trak

This is the better looking of the two with a more snug fit and more compartments for storing laptops, headphones etc.. It’s twice the weight though, so your total carry load will be fairly heavy.

MAGMA RIOT DJ_BACKPACK XXL

Available Here
Price: $279
Weight: 5.7 Pounds
Material: Sturdy and 100% waterproof Tarpaulin and PVC-coated (waterproof zippers)
Extra’s: Sturdy carrying handles, Detachable trolley sling, Corner protectors and rubber feet, Three large accessory pockets with numerous mesh pouches
Outer Dimensions: (H/W/D): 72 x 38 x 20 cm /28″ x 15″ x 8″ /
Internal Dimensions: 68 x 33 x 8 cm / 26,7″ x 13″ x 3,2″ (controller compartment)
Fits: DDJ-SX, Kontrol S8, DDJ-SR, DDJ-S1/T1, XDJ-R1, NS6, Mixdeck Quad/Express etc.

A hybrid backpack, carry case – this offers the most carrying room but comes at a hefty cost: nearly 6 pounds. We like that it’s actually designed for the larger controllers and appears to fit the S8 quite well. There are a lot of compartments for your laptop stand, headphones, cables and just about anything needed for a gig. Full loaded however, this might well tip into roller bag territory.

THE COMMUNITY DESIGN OPTION

As many of you know, DJ TechTools has made a few bags of our own over the past few years. We made the first Kontrol S4 backpack, and now have a really popular controllerist backpack – which I am proud to say: totally rocks. Instead of designing a new bag for the Kontrol S8, and hope we get it right, I want to bring you the choices and let this community take part in the development process. We have 3 questions for you:

Which of the following design styles do you prefer?
What do you want in a Kontrol S8 Carrying bag? (laptop, headphones, rollers etc.)
What would you change about the detail of designs? (materials, color, size) etc.

THE KONTROL S8 BACKPACK OPTION

This backpack would be very similar to our Controllerist Backpack V1, except taller, slimmer, and in black/grey. Like our other backpacks it would accommodate the laptop in the rear of the bag, leaving room for other controllers up front. The objective would be a very light bag that is comfortable to cary.

THE KONTROL S8 SHOULDER BAG

Since the Kontrol S8 is so big, you may want a design style that accommodates the controller, laptop, headphones and saves as much size as possible. That is the shoulder bag, which would come out smaller and have a nice tight fit for the S8. It would be very similar to our very first Kontrol S4 shoulder bag, but without as much extra room in front to conserve weight and size. The front flap would be large enough to fit a laptop, and headphones but little else.

Those are our ideas, please tell us in the comments what you would like from a Kontrol S8 bag or case!