The LBS that I use rents the Thule hard-shell case. It was too cumbersome to take to Cape Town. I wish I had bought this case and taken my own bike for the Cape Argus. I too was leery of soft cases until I read about the Pika Packworks. I found the Aerus Biospeed to be almost identical except it included all the padding to wrap around my CF frame and forks. I got a much better price on the Aerus also. After the dry run of packing my frame, I am not nervous about using the Aerus.