p.1 #1 · PSA: Canon Lens Pouches are made of cardboard inside
I found a Canon LZ1132 Lens pouch today at a store in the $5 discount pile. The kind that are yellowy-beige with the black zipper. My dog chewed 400mm f5.6L never came with a case, so that was a lucky find. It's not that I really use these pouches other than storing the lens long term, but more for completeness.
I thought, I'll toss it in the washer to clean it out.
Turns out the stiffening material in them isn't thick foam, but instead what appears to be layers of cardboard. Whoops. It's now taking a small trip in the dryer to see if I can dry it out. Anyways, in case you find yourself thinking about washing your official lens pouches.
p.1 #2 · PSA: Canon Lens Pouches are made of cardboard inside
Yes, and I'd never wash any of that kind. I have washed the neoprene kind. If the pouch gets that dirty, I'd probably just replace it. I have so many lenses and pouches it's too late to figure out which goes with which.
p.1 #3 · PSA: Canon Lens Pouches are made of cardboard inside
One of the reasons why I did wash it was that it had a light cigarette smoke smell to it. But in retrospect, out of the dryer, it doesn't seem to be that rigid. I should have noticed the regulatory tag which says 4.5% cardboard. Of course, that's the 4.5% which seems to hold the thing straight.
It's still reasonably padded, which is all I really want out of it, should I choose to store a bunch of lenses in a cabinet.
p.1 #5 · PSA: Canon Lens Pouches are made of cardboard inside
The old L series cases from the late 1980s and 90s were made of cardboard—called chipboard to make it seem nicer—and had fake leather glued on the outside with red velvet on the inside. After a decade or so, the fake leather peeled off to reveal the acidic and rapidly deteriorating cardboard. Luckily, I didn't keep any of my lenses in those crappy cases.
