Should your Carrying Case have a Foam Insert?

Hard Sided Carrying Case with a Custom Insert
Hard Sided Carrying Case with a Custom Insert

At Fieldtex, we manufacture many different styles of carrying cases and create custom inserts for hard cases. When developing a case to protect specialized equipment or medical devices, we use only industrial grade fabrics for maximum durability. At times, the the bag alone may not be enough to protect the equipment, and it may require extra protection; a customfoam insert can add that extra level of protection and insulation.

The insert allows you to hold every item in the bag in place and ensure that there is nothing bounching around inside to damage other componenets. it is fairly common that our own carryinc case customers opt to add foam. In this day and age it is increasingly rare that a piece of equipment doesnt come with a handful of small peices and connectors needed to operate the device.  allowing those small peices to float freely can leed to scratches of screens or crushing of key components.

We offer four different styles of foam padding (polyurethane, polyethylene, polyester, and crosslink) in three different styles.

The first style of padding is integrated during the construction of the case by creating padded foam walls, sewing the foam into the case between fabrics (the outer and inner wall of the outer wall of the case). This gives the soft-sided case an improved rigidity, a fixed shape, and provides a non-intrusive outer protective later. This padding would be ideal for a case custom fit to an object that would not have shifting pieces.

The second style of protection is the use of custom foam inserts. Custom foam inserts are designed to fit directly into the case. These inserts feature indentations cut specifically to the size and shape of items to prevent them from shifting in the case. This is ideal for transport of something with smaller pieces that could be damaged during transport if not fixed properly in the case. This is also ideal for cases that are going to carry multiple items: the insert holds the objects at a safe distances from each other.

Pick-N-Pluck foam is similar to the custom foam inserts, but rather than it being cut by the distributor, you receive a sheet of foam with pre-scored divisions for easy customization and removal. This is ideal for someone with very specific measurements who want to be able to design the layout to fit their equipment and accessories in the case themselves.

For pick-n-pluck foam in action: here’s a short video.

Click here for further reading on all the Materials we offer for our Sewn Products.

If you are having trouble deciding whether or not your case needs a foam insert, the answer is most likely “yes”. Most equipment that necessitates a case is likely fragile and travels, and while a durable case will protect it against the elements, a foam pad can protect it from any bumps it gets along the way.