I also now have a reason to use the cleaner that I made from a string, heavy beads, and a piece of cleaning cloth because the case cannot contain a cleaning rod.

When you close the hinged case, the lid will close down onto the lower half, and in this process the cleaning rod will fall out of its slot every time!

Second, no slot for the cleaning rod.

It would get 5 stars if it had a place for the cleaning rod.

Although this case was definitely a nicer upgrade to the first brand we tried, the issue was with the cleaning rod storage...inside the case there are cut-out slots for the 3-piece C-flute, and there is also a cut-out slot for the cleaning rod, HOWEVER, the cleaning rod slot is cut out of the lid of the case, which is a cause for a problem.

The outside pocket is too small to fit cleaning rod and the space intended inside the case does not hold it in place so the metal cleaning rod falls out every time you open the case

The only con for me was that the zipper pocket is not long enough for the cleaning rod.

I also posted a question about the location of the slot for the cleaning rod and overall response is a "slot above the lid where the zippers are" - which we did not find without success.

As other reviewers have commented about that there is no place for the cleaning rod that does not hit or touch the instrument

I wish the outer storage pocket was long enough to accommodate the cleaning rod, but sadly it is not.

the cleaning rod occasionally slips free.