Has anyone tested the new Harpo trolley?

[unknown-user]

The buzz on this new harp cart sounds amazing, but I’m curious to know if anyone owns one, or has tested one in person. The Harp Connection carries it, as well as several of the London harpmakers, and I found a detailed photo gallery >> here.

I desperately need a new cart – my current one is a K2 6-wheel version with over 10 years of wear and tear. I love the ability to maneuver stairs easily, but the short base (the original 4 inch one) is impossible to use with a base cover. The harp slips off too easily. Thanks to an older thread here, I found out about the custom model of the K2, which you can order with an extended, 8-inch base.

The front-runners are:

• K2 6-wheel version with extended base
• Williams Harp Cart
• Harpo Trolley

I’m intrigued by the Harpo, but it feels a little like shopping for a BMW. The price seems absurd, but I just keep thinking, “Six pounds? And it could collapse neatly into the space behind one of my seats?” The larger metal carts are clunky and take up too much space.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

[bernhard-schmidt]

The Harpo is well known here in Germany as the best harp cart.
Yes, the price

[Briggsie B. Peawiggle]

If I were moving my harp every week, I’d find a way to get this cart, but omg….$895 + $35 shipping? YEEEEEEKS!!!!!

Briggsie

[carl-swanson]

I recently used one that belongs to a client of mine. I love the really large wheels which make it easy to go up and down stairs and over curbs. It does handle nicely. I have a K2 with the extended shelf and with 2 wheels instead of the triangle of 3 wheels on each side. I also ordered mine with both handles; a center one as well as the bar. I did this not knowing which one I was more likely to use. As it turns out, I never use the center one. I took the straps off my K2. So I hold the harp on the cart with my left hand and pull the cart with my right hand on the right side of the bar, even going up and down stairs. I’m very happy with the K2. Given the enormous difference in price, I think I would stick with the K2.

[chester churchill]

I’ve had the Harpo trolley for about 5 years now and I love it. It’s great for bumpy sidewalks and curbs, and the harp sits very securely on the base. It’s very important to not inflate the wheels tightly, both for suspension and stability. The stagehands at Carnegie say it’s the best trolley they’ve ever worked with!

[unknown-user]

I know, it’s ridiculously expensive. I’ve had all the frustration I can take with my old cart, though, and I sometimes end up having to move my harp three or four times a week.

[unknown-user]

Thanks, Carl and the others, for your responses. The K2 with the extended shelf does sound nice. I wish I’d known about that option a few months ago when I had one purchased at work for our work harps. I’m going to contact the company and see if we might be able to exchange it for one with a larger shelf.

[barbara-brundage]

I haven’t used the harpo, but since you mention wanting something to move a harp in a base cover, the harp connection website specifically mentions that it doesn’t work well for that.

[carl-swanson]

I think the most important qualities for any harp cart are that it be light(and easy to throw into the back of a car), that it have a large enough shelf to securely hold the harp feet(at least 6 inches wide), and that it have large enough wheels to roll up and down stairs and over curbs. It would be nice if the K2 had even larger wheels(with the 2 wheel arrangement), but the wheels they use are adequate. I would not order it with the 6 wheel arrangement(3 on each side in a triangle) because it doesn’t go around corners easily with those wheels, and it also snags on carpeting, particularly oriental carpets and throw rugs.

I can’t believe they are still making the K2 with the very narrow shelf. The wider shelf, which you can special order, should be standard. But overall, the K2 is an excellent cart, and given the high cost of the harpo, much of that due to the terrible exchange rate, I’d go with the K2.

[rod-anderson]

I bought one about a year ago to move a Horngacher, and am pleased with it.

[emma-graham]

My own trolley was custom

[Saul Davis Zlatkovski]

What is the price? I’m not too impressed by the tires, they look too small for stairs. I think the Harp Porter may be lighter than six pounds, or is about the same. I like a cart where you hold the harp, mainly.

[luanne-oreilly]

Saul – the Harp Porter is much heavier – it weighs about 23 lbs.

[Saul Davis Zlatkovski]

I’m sorry to hear that. The best ones always seem to come to an end. Maria Pinckney once made a brochure for a dolly that was simply a pair of small bicycle wheels connected by a small tray for the rear feet only and a clamp to go over the feet to hold it on. You would simply tilt the harp back and roll it. That is the simplest approach. I have an old dolly made by Wayne Barrington that was similar, but had a wooden tray and was a little heavier. Maria’s husband apparently never made any of them. It was called Harp-On-It. Maybe some of the St. Louis harpists will know more about it.

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