christo™
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 p.2 #4 · Anyone have Pelican Case photos? | |
Hi, Teriba:
You've already bought a Pelican, and they are great cases, but I've found better prices on equivalent cases in the Seahorse line, as well as a lot of other neat cases and ideas. I own two Pelicans and a Seahorse. I found the Seahorse through eBay over two years ago, and ended up exchanging e-mails with the company owner, Michael B. He's a great guy, a plastics engineer by trade who ended up founding his own case company, and he really knows his stuff.
See:
http://www.fuertecases.com/
The SE line is a little "lighter duty" than the Pelicans, though my case has seen pretty bad abuse in the last 2.5 years, and not a single part has broken. I specifically wanted the lighter case. The SX line is heavier duty, though short of white water rafting and parachuting, I don't know what you'd need the extra strength for.
I have no affiliation with this outfit other than being a happy customer, but I highly recommend that anyone looking into hard cases check them out. Their cases are great, cost less than the Pelicans, and you can get spare parts like O rings and foam insert material inexpensively right off the web site. Even if, like me, you made the mistake of buying Pelican cases before knowing about Seahorse, the Pelicans can use the foam from Fuerte just fine (I buy the largest inserts for all cases, and cut them down with a bread knife).
As far as the foam inserts, I usually end up changing around my foam often enough that I've never had any wear out, and I keep a couple different inserts around for each case so I can load them differently depending on what I'm going to need along. After finding Fuerte Cases, I ordered a case of foam inserts of the biggest size, and have been using them up replacing the inserts in my Seahorse and Pelican cases. I called Michael before making this post, and he says that UV exposure is the major problem in foam deterioration, but obviously that is not much of an issue unless you are a moron: the case isn't doing you any good when it is lying open exposed to the sun! Even a lazy bum like me can manage to flip the lid closed after swapping lenses. According to Michael, you should easily expect 3 years out of the foam, and 5 wouldn't be unreasonable unless you like to leave your case open in the sun.
I bought all pick-a-part foam inserts, but I usually use a serrated paring knife to cut out holes for my equipment. As far as getting bits of foam all over the equipment, I find a much bigger problem with the mess right after cutting the foam than down the road with deterioration of the foam. After making the foam mess mistake once, I thoroughly clean off the foam with my air compressor after cutting and before loading it with equipment. I haven't had problems with the foam getting into my equipment, but it sure gets all over the lenses if not cleaned up ahead of time, and static electricity makes sure it sticks.
When I told him about this post, Michael mentioned that he has one customer that covers his foam inserts with a silky material like coat lining fabric and pins it underneath the insert. He also mentioned that Fuerte Cases now has foam padded liner inserts similar to what are in a camera bag available for their hard cases.
Well, this is getting too long, but there are two points I'd like to make come through: First, if you have any questions about hard cases, Fuerte Cases is the best source I've found for cases and knowledge (call Michael!). Second, if you really plan on getting use out of your case, buy extra foam inserts right off the bat, and make yourself inserts for a couple different loadings.
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