[quote="NaH":4x041s0x]The thing that scares me about gig bags are:
1) Zippers
2) An inadvertent smack when carrying it to the gig[/quote:4x041s0x]
I was very much like you for a long time. In face, as long as it fit everything I owned went into an SKB44 style case and life was good. Along the way I was exposed to these gig bags but all of them were absolute crap. I still have a couple that are nothing more than fairly worthy dust covers. And, until recently, guitars and basses would travel to shows in the trailer with all the other personal gear and PA so there's no way a bag was even a consideration. At a couple points the pendulum or protection had swung far the other way, into the realm of ATA road cases for them. Ridiculously large and heavy.
But times and needs change and I don't know why or how I ended up with one but I got a Levy's CPS8 bass bag and it changed my entire opinion of these. It's a fabulously made and protective bag, made of quality materials and components, with well placed handles and any great features.I like them so much I now own three. The original blue/gray was discontinued a while ago so they were very hard to find. I was fortunate to find that they have been recently reintroduced and I bought the new version. Same great bag with some updates.
http://b2b.levysleathers.com/en/cps8-bl ... s8-blk-gry
https://reverb.com/item/1675448-levy-s- ... -rain-cape
To your two points, zippers on anything can be a weak spot. But good bags have heavy gauge zippers and treated respectfully should have no problems. I had some garbage Fender bag with one guitar that had a small junk zipper. My Levy's has no such issue. I have total confidence in their durability. On getting banged around, for me, employing a bag vs a hard case is a simple matter of what level of protection I feel I need for a given situation. Over that last three or four years mu bass travels safely with me behind my truck seat, and in and out of rehearsal and gigs is a breeze and I'm just mindful of where I leave it once I'm in. The overall protection of this bag is very good. I find all of these style bags can be a bit short of foam or padding on the bottom when standing upright. I have added an extra layer of dense closed cell foam, like a camping pad material, to all of them and I have zero worries in setting them down anywhere. I know, they should be perfect from the get go but I am fussy and this easy addition gives me great piece of mind. Many folks love the Mono M80 bag as well. Check out a high quality bag sometime. They do make transport a whole lot easier, especially in and out of buildings.
[img:4x041s0x]https://reverb-res.cloudinary.com/image/upload/s--gt8vM8yn--/a_exif,c_limit,f_auto,fl_progressive,h_620,q_75,w_620/v1455843658/uebvnsat828ouzubp6aj.jpg[/img:4x041s0x]
It looks like Dingwall basses came with this model at some point. I have also seen them in blue/gray.
[url=http://s652.photobucket.com/user/engage757/media/RANDOM%2001/DSC_0464_zps034d1b70.jpg.html:4x041s0x][img:4x041s0x]http://i652.photobucket.com/albums/uu243/engage757/RANDOM%2001/DSC_0464_zps034d1b70.jpg[/img:4x041s0x][/url:4x041s0x]