bag or carrying case for audio kit.

renegadewill

renegadewill

Well-known member
I have a small production sounds audio kit, and need a good way to carry it. I thought about going pelican, but the case is a 1700 and it is just too big. Are there any like bags or I dunno that will hold boom, mic and cords?


What do you use?

Thanks Will
 
I keep my kit in a Pelican 1650. It holds my mixer an essentials with PortaBrace Audio Organizer, cables, straps, etc. I also pack my wireless units in a Pelican 1400, which fits in the 1650 with everything else. I did get the 1650 with foam, but pulled out all the pick-n-pluck, leaving only the outer layer for shipping protection.

If the 1650 gets too crowded with the zepplin rig, you can slim down the packing for the wireless units. Just make sure they're protected.

The fishpole is a different story, depending on which one you have. Some do collapse down enough to fit in the 1650. But for the longer ones, got to Lowe's or Home Depot and get a custom length of PVC pipe, along with two end-caps for the same diameter of pipe, and you have a protective tube. A little gaff tape around the caps and it'll even fly safely.
 
My recorder & mixpre are in an over the shoulder PortaBrace. But that and everything else I need goes in a PortaBrace SZW-3. It's a "firm" rather than "hard" case. I don't check it but it conforms to the carry-on restrictions so I don't need to. In the field it can expand out to be more field friendly. It offers a lot of protection is easy to carry and has a lot more room for the size than a hard case. I also have a hard suitcase that I use when I have more than I can carry-on or have items that they won't let you carry on. I've talked to a number of camera people (they tend to carry more than I do) who have switched to hard suitcases over pelican cases for checked travel. The reason is weight and capacity. Pelican is an excellent case with great protection, but it weighs a lot. Not everything needs that level of protection and a hard suitcase holds about twice as much at 1/2 the weight.
 
The PortaBrace offerings are a fantastic investment. And in the last year or two, they've really expanded both their audio and multi-purpose case offerings.

I've never had weight problems checking my Pelican 1650 unless it's been weighted down with 9v batteries (in the days when I packed an FP33 with old-school Lectro UHF units... all 9v). But, they do add weight in and of themselves. I like the Pelicans more for road trips because they stack neatly and can be bumped and knocked a bit. And they're great for boat trips as well, since they're water-tight.

But also, since I started shooting my own stuff for some projects, I've found that I have to check my audio gear as I refuse to check my DVX-100A. I trust the Pelican for that. So it really depends on how much you carry on your own as well. Noiz2 brings up that camera guys carry more, and that's totally valid. And the more you have, the more the weight of the case comes into play. If you find yourself packing the whole kit-n-kaboodle, you gotta figure out what checks and what goes in the overhead bin.

Batteries and cables are what add up the weight quickly.
 
I use the Portabrace hard cases for everything, and I love them. Occasionally B&H (yes, I know...not my favorite either) will do a two for one offering and that is always a great deal. The Portabrace cases are at least 25% less than the equivalent Pelicans.

I also use the Portabrace hard cases at my day job for trade show equipment. I've been shipping a 24" monitor in a Portabrace case for 2 years now, and both the case and the monitor are holding up very very well.

Phil
 
I use a pelican 1620 with the internal velcro divider kit which can be changed to suit different storage requirements, no more pick and pluck and then deciding its not suitable! I am able to carry a wendt x4 / portabrace, fully rigged rycote with 416 in pvc tube , remote audio cans , power distro box and 2 x np1 batts plus portable audio replay unit including 12 compartment plastic storage box. For the lid organisor I velcroed in a piece of ultra thin ply and covered with 1/2 inch foam with 4 large black canvas pockets with velcro flaps to carry cables and extras. This includes 3 x sennheiser g1 wireless systems. The built in wheels are a bonus. Also have pelican 1510 with velcro divider kit which apparently is the largest allowable for carry on luggage.
 
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