Topic: Seal-Tight Equipment Cases for Housing Your Rig.

[thegreatgumbino]

Just curious if anyone uses these.  I saw some up on micsupply.com (http://www.micsupply.com/caseandracks.htm), although they are much cheaper elsewhere.  It seems like this would be a great option for housing your gear.  Water/dust proof, impact resistant, and the customizable foam makes for some interesting possibilities.  Do people choose the backpack/hip pack/cooler options only for the ease of carrying?  Any ideas about how the gear would react with the foam in regards to creating excessive heat? 

[mirth]

Lots of folks use Pelican cases, similar features, I think less expensive.

[hzgone]

i would like to see if i could find a pelican case to hold all my equipment.  I have seen some people come up with some awesome mods

[Tim]

those cases are very nice.

I think every taper buys one the first week they have their rig. Within a few months though most leave the pelican case at home and go with a bag of some sort.

The cases are heavy and not easy to carry for long distances. In venues with reserved seating they can be a real problem as they take up so much room and can't easily go under seats.

while nice for transport to and from the show and storage between shows they are just too bulky and cumbsersome to be practical at shows. this is all based on my experiences over the last 7 years of taping, just my opinion.. YMMV

[sickrick43]

I think the Pelican cases are the same, or less espensive, and of much better quality.  I've got a 1550 that fits the entire rig - D-10 Pro, V3, JB3, 2 EC-90's, 2 TLM-170's, & Cables.  It's a bear to lug and I only actually bring the thing to hold all the gear when I travel by air.  When I'm on the road by car, I carry everything in the case, and transfer to a bag for the venue (but festi's I use the case for extra anti-wook protection).  I've also got a small Pelican for just the mics, and if I'm not bringing the 10D also, I can get the Mics, V3, JB3, EC-90 and cables in a small-med size backpack.  I've got a foldup cart for air travel, and I bring the 1550, camera bag and lappy aboard carryon, but I'd have no problem checking the Pelican - as long as TSA does a hand inspection (like they do when I check my firearms) and lets me lock the case.

I've had various cases for various gear over the last 25 years.  I thought things were supposed to get smaller, and everything just gets bigger...

Rick

[rockumal]

those cases are very nice.

I think every taper buys one the first week they have their rig. Within a few months though most leave the pelican case at home and go with a bag of some sort.

The cases are heavy and not easy to carry for long distances. In venues with reserved seating they can be a real problem as they take up so much room and can't easily go under seats.

while nice for transport to and from the show and storage between shows they are just too bulky and cumbsersome to be practical at shows. this is all based on my experiences over the last 7 years of taping, just my opinion.. YMMV

quoted for truth!  I'm using my 1450 as a humidor now   +t Tim

[nickgregory]

and another one to agree with Tim...I have 2 pelican cases sitting in my closet right now for the reasons you stated....

[thegreatgumbino]

You guys have sold me on not getting one.  I was most excited about being able to see all your levels/lcd's etc.  That is the only drawback I see with a backpack/cooler type case.  I guess I will have to brainstorm on how to remedy that one.

[Brian Skalinder]

You guys have sold me on not getting one.  I was most excited about being able to see all your levels/lcd's etc.  That is the only drawback I see with a backpack/cooler type case.  I guess I will have to brainstorm on how to remedy that one.

Good move.  I, too, have a Pelican case sitting in my closet.  Biggest issue for me was setting everything up and breaking it all down every time I taped.  Much easier to set up the gear in-bag and only have to pull out the mics and plug in the power.  Whatever gear you  have, there's a way to situate it in-bag so you can see levels, maintain easy access to controls, etc.

[Tim]

check out the rig pics section, there are tons of photos that should be able to give you some good ideas!

[thegreatgumbino]

Yeah, I have seen some good ones in the rigs section.  I think I am going to get one of the cheap Wal-Mart coolers to start.  It should work well for the ACL Festival.

[nickgregory]

the only thing to be careful with when using coolers is remember their design is to keep temp constant...so if your gear gets hot, it is going to help keep that in...

not a problem for some rigs, but definitely keep it in mind...

[thegreatgumbino]

Thanks for the heads up.  I have seen a few used in the rigs section.  The plus would be water resistance and provides a somewhat hard exterior to prevent items being crushed. 

[John Kelly]

I'd be extremely weary of running a cooler if you have a JB3...

[Chuck]

One thing to keep in mind though. Figure out a way to project your stuff when you are carrying it in a cooler or backpak. You don't want to get all your new stuff all scratched up. It hurts on the resale value and things can get damaged when not protected.