comfort advice for my lenses & accessories

[Regnis]

I am after some foam for my pelican case. It currently has bits and pieces of the pick n plug stuff that come with it. i am not a fan of this foam (as it just falls apart easily) and am looking for something else.

I have been looking at the Vanguard foam inserts (which i have heard are a bit like the pick 'n' plug but are better) just wondering if anyone has had experience with this foam?

or if someone could recommend some other foam which is highly customisable??

[jjnic]

I have the vangard case with the pick and pluk foam. Great case, did well keeping out the dust on our recent trip out bush, but i'm thinking of replacing the foam with the padded insert that you can get http://www.vanguardworld.com.au/index.php/pv/products/detail-1-2-33-186.html Not too happy with the foam, you can't change your mind once you've pulled the bits out.
jj

[Regnis]

thanks for the reply jj

just a couple of questions....

is the foam pretty durable?

how big are the little pieces of hexagonal foam?

[Bennymiata]

Why don't you try Clark Rubber?
They have all sorts of foams in big sheets and different thicknesses and hardnesses, and if you take a pattern of the inside of the bag, they'll even cut it to shape for you.
You'll have to cut the internals yourself, but that's half the fun.

For the price, you can buy a few different inserts, and cut them up in different ways to suit what you are carrying with you.

The foam is easy to cut, especially if you have a hot knife, or even an electric knife (just don't let the wife know).

Once you've got your foam, lay out the items you want to carry in the bag in the correct positions, and mark around the items with chalk or a white pencil, then start cutting.

It'll save you a fortune.

By the way, Clark also have foam which has the little squares cut out too, but I have also found these hard to use as when you start pulling out the squares, lots of the ones you didn't want to pull out, come with the ones you want to pull out leaving you with a big mess!

[jjnic]

Hi Regnis,
The hexagonal foam pieces are about 1 cm in diameter. They are pretty durable if you pluck out the foam with your fingers carefully, but you don't get straight lines if you do that because of the hexagonal shape so you have to cut it to make square , round or other shapes to fit your equipment. Therein likes the problem! Also you need to get the depth right - not easy! and in the end it just looks a big mess - while mine does anyway :o
Some tips on cutting the foam here. it's a good read. http://www.amazon.com/Pelican-1510-Case-Foam-Black/product-reviews/B0014D2WE4/ref=cm_cr_pr_redirect?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0#RLRJVMG3M2JYR
jj

[Regnis]

Hey guys thanks alot for the help. And thanks for the link jj.

i'm going to have to look into this a little more. the case is mainly for my filming gear (i have a bigpack for my camera/lenses etc)... just picked it up on ebay for $260 and its 66 x 42 x 18 so it is rather large.

really would like the foam just so i can have everything snug...but its not looking all that practical. got a quote on the Vanguard foam replacement for my size case and it was $88. so it's not too bad but will go into clark rubber and see what they have to say

[sufran]

Jjnic, so you cannot buy direct from Vanguard - you have to buy through a retail outlet? I would like to get some indication of prices, but I could not locate any prices on the website. (Thanks if you have time to reply).

[jjnic]

Jjnic, so you cannot buy direct from Vanguard - you have to buy through a retail outlet? I would like to get some indication of prices, but I could not locate any prices on the website. (Thanks if you have time to reply).

I Bought mine from Diamonds Camera shop in at Marion in Adelaide. Can't remember what size it is (i'm at work) But i saw it there for $149, googled the make and model and found an online shop in aust selling the same one for $129 plus $20 postage, so back to Diamonds i went and haggled them down to $120.

jj