Just picked up an Eylar 53" case. Not real impressed with the pluck-n-pull foam. I'm thinking of picking up some firmer replacement foam that I can cut out for a better fit. Should I be looking for closed cell foam? Are there particular ratings for foam "stiffness"? Never looked at different foam for a case, this is all new to me.
- Thread starter lazyMlazyK
- Start date
Polyethylene foam i believe is what your looking for if you want a close match to the contents with a more solid feel after stencil and cut out.
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I’m really liking Magpul Daka grid organizer. They have a kit for a couple of cases, but you can buy the pieces piece meal too. This is 3 of the “end panels” and a block expansion kit. I have several rifles and none of them are shaped the same. The daka system allows me to configure the case for the rifle I have that day.
What about using the pluck foam on the bottom and then tracing and cutting out the solid piece?
I thought about that, but the firmness and thickness of those two sheets is different. For now I just went ahead with the pluck foam, but will definitely be considering the Daka like @hlee used. Looks like it's trim-able, so I should be able to make it work.
It is definitely trimmable. It kinda has the texture of styrofoam, but not crumbly, and more resilient.
My DAKA kit should be delivered today and this is the exact reason why I ordered it. I can't visualize things, I need to actually see it. So cutting foam is an anxiety ridden stress ball for me and then once I change something on my rifle I'm starting all over again. I'm excited to get it all put together in my Pelican 1750.
Well it got delivered, just not to my house. Luckily I recognize that door so I know where it’s at
Adding the photo from my phone and I’ll type out my first impressions from the computer in a minute.
Okay so here we go: If you approach this wrong, it can be an incredibly frustrating experience. I I approached this with the mindset that I would use for any standard foam case. I wanted to maximize my space and efficiency so I can cram as much stuff in here as possible. The more I have in the protective hard case, the more I'm protecting right? Well, that's only right when you have the luxury of cutting custom lines.
With the DAKA, you're bound to the increments of the grid. I moved these blocks and rifles around for about an hour and a half with ever increasing frustration before I walked away and reapproached it some time later with a different frame of mind. I even tried splitting the uppers from the lowers, having them sit straight vs. at an angle, scopes facing in, scopes facing out, ugh... This time, I just wanted to get the rifles to fit. I'm already packing another hard box with all of my soft goods, so there's no reason why mags and electronics can't just go in there. The case just needs to protect the rifles and nothing else.
With that frame of mind, I was successful. Don't worry about efficiency of space or block usage, just make the rifles fit. I'm pretty happy with the overall result. Both rifles are extremely secure with no wiggle room in any direction and they even go in and out of their respective spots with ease (no needing to "push" foam out of the way to make section squeeze into place). Everything is within the raised outer boarder of the foam, meaning no parts are close enough to touch the plastic case itself (the Holosun looks close in this picture but it's just the lighting).
I do plan on removing the mags to see if I can fit my pistol in there. Mags can go in the soft goods box, especially since 3 isn't what I'm taking with me anyway (I'm taking far more than that).
Some notes and a complaint:
- Magpul forgot to add the base layer of foam to my box. I need to call them about that and see if they can rush one to me, I need this case this weekend. The system does still work without that bottom foam, but the grid angles up on the left edge due to the wheel humps in the case. Also the hold against the lid isn't as tight as it could be without the supporting bottom foam, but it's tight enough to handle a ride in the trunk. **Called Magpul and they're sending the bottom foam and putting that order in front of the line so it should get to me before this weekend**
- I honestly didn't need the angled block kit for this. I used three pieces of the angled kit because those pieces just fit the spot slightly better than the standard 1x2 and 1x3 blocks, but I could have done this with everything the case kit includes in it. That's not to say those angled blocks won't work great for a future setup with different guns, just my findings in this instance.
- With stippling and rough textures being the standard now days, I see those spots wearing out the blocks eventually. You can try to avoid block contact in those abrasive locations, but sometimes you just can't help it ( the rough stippling on my B5 grip is on the front and back, contact couldn't be avoided). Luckily spare blocks are cheap so this isn't really an issue, just an observation.
- You definitely have to be careful with buttons and switches. The rifle with the light on it, I needed to block the top side somehow and my only real option was forward of the optic. Right in the middle of that large space is my light's switch and the most convenient place for a block was right on that switch. This material is absolutely 100% stiff enough to actuate a momentary light switch if the weight of the rifle is pressed into it. This Cloud gets HOT so I can see some melted foam if that were to happen. Luckily I was able to find a spot on the muzzle (not too crazy about that either) where a block would fit and keep things secure. I'd much rather block the rail, but I just couldn't get anything to fit and clear the light switch at the same time, and I don't trust myself to remove the battery every time I put the rifle in the case.
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Okay added my impressions. Sorry it's a bit long.
