storage cases

[mnclayshooter]

I've tried searching a bit and came up with a few loose end threads about storage cases - Neuro's about travel cases etc and a few notes about pelican/nanuk/storm cases.

I'm in the market for a long-term storage solution for lenses/bodies for my main equipment... something I can pull various pieces from and build a daily kit to take with for whatever adventure I'm on. Anyone have any concerns about long-term storage in a pelican case - they seem like the right idea, but I wondered if the air-tight enclosure actually has any drawbacks? - I know for other items/collectables etc having a little air flow or the ability to add a dehumidifier etc to the enclosure is a good thing to keep the storage environment from going "stale" and causing other issues.

Any recommended desiccants etc. for storage?

Joe

 

[neuroanatomist]

I use an Eva Dry E-333 in my large case (Pelican Storm im2720), and smaller dispoasble cartridges in the smaller cases.

 

[ahsanford]

Are you talking permanent storage in your home or office, or are you referring to portable storage you can take into the field?

If it's a just a home base / staging area for your gear before you head out to shoot, you have more options than Pelican/Nanuk/etc. cases.

- A

 

[mnclayshooter]

Are you talking permanent storage in your home or office, or are you referring to portable storage you can take into the field?

If it's a just a home base / staging area for your gear before you head out to shoot, you have more options than Pelican/Nanuk/etc. cases.

- A

It's really a hybrid of the two. On occasion, especially if on a trip by car, I would likely bring the whole kit (or most of it) with and then lock up the bulk of the kit and take a backpack kit with me on a trail etc.

The primary goal is to have in-home storage in my office.... my office is in the basement, which is usually pretty dry - I keep a dehumidifier down there and it is always on, ready to run if the humidity gets too high.

I think the Pelican case is about the perfect solution for what I'm trying to do, but I'm interested in the thoughts about other options though - I probably didn't consider many other alternatives.

 

[eli452]

I'm looking for such hybrid solution, home storage & full kit for photo shot by car.
Pelican came out with lighter version (40%) of its cases with the Air version
http://www.pelican.com/air/. I like the AirTP With TrekPak Divider System version.

 

[ahsanford]

So I'll give you my home storage solution -- it's not remotely portable. But it certainly addresses the storage / staging area idea. I also wanted something hard as I live in an earthquake area.

I wanted a tool chest / staging area and it turns out that DVD storage cabinets that movie rental places use are perfect for lenses unless you shoot the big whites with huge entrance pupils. So I bought two and cut a cutting board / counter top cut at a good task height (for staging, loading a bag, etc.). The monitor is not usually on it, I tend to keep it uncluttered to load bigger bags.

Top drawer = little widgets and doo-dads -- chargers, cable release, ziplocks, dessicant, L-plates, allen wrenches, cleaning/servicing stuff, etc.

Second drawer = lenses. See here for how that turned out:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/66374817@N04/22559325804/in/dateposted-public/

• Base material = a thoroughly aired out yoga mat I cut to shape (bought it new and it needed some significant outgassing outdoors)
  
  
• Divider material = custom order of TrekPak material -- that stuff is gold. No velcro noises to rearrange. No problems scaling up to a large cabinet. You are not at the mercy of the length of the foam pieces you start with. No permanency of the pick-n-pluck stuff. Pricey, but an ideal solution for my needs.

Third drawer = empty right now, but it's for future-proofing / expansion / if my G.A.S. runs wild someday. : Right now, it's just a graveyard of leftover yoga mat and a jillion bag dividers.

Bottom drawer = landscape hardware (except my pricey ball head, which I now keep up with the lenses) -- large landscape filters, tripods, sandbag, monopod, tarp for putting gear down on wet ground, camera rain cover, etc.

The cabinet is not airtight but humidity in the house is quite low.

And my empty camera bags -- too many to count -- are stowed in a storage closet with shelves.

- A

 

[mnclayshooter]

So I'll give you my home storage solution -- it's not remotely portable. But it certainly addresses the storage / staging area idea. I also wanted something hard as I live in an earthquake area.


- A

That looks really nice and organized. I might have a third option now. A permanent storage base, a hard shelled travel case for car trips and the backpack for immediate carrying needs. I'll have to do some measuring around the office area to see what will fit.

 

[ahsanford]

That looks really nice and organized. I might have a third option now. A permanent storage base, a hard shelled travel case for car trips and the backpack for immediate carrying needs. I'll have to do some measuring around the office area to see what will fit.

Full disclosure -- I am not professional photographer or have thirty years of gear experience to reflect back upon, and there may end up being longer term issues to my cabinet's design choices (longer term yoga mat may flake/deteriorate, open air could lead to mold even with low humidity, etc.).

So I welcome other ideas / perspectives this group has.

- A

 

[neuroanatomist]

I know people who use a gun safe, others who use a bookshelf. I think waterproof cases are a good idea – pipes burst, roofs leak, etc. I have too much gear for one big case (well, one massive case would hold it all, but having >1 layer isn't optimal. My big case holds gear used less often, my medium cases hold common lenses in one and flashes/accessories/video in the other, and small cases hold the camera+24-70/2.8 in one and the M kit in another (although with 4 M lenses and a 5th on order, I think I've outgrown it...).

 

[Memnon]

Hello,
Hopefully this will help as a cost effective solution.

I use a marine plastic airtight trunk to store my gear. Along with my gear, I have a couple of large (1KG/2.2lb) silica gel bag to help keep things dry.

The disadvantage is that it’s not neat; your gear will not be fixed in place. I get around that problem by having things like neoprene lens bags, padded filter bags etc.
Plus you can get foam sheets dirt cheap from Amazon and eBay and cut them to size if you want extra padding.

The silica gel is reusable. Bake in an oven at about 100c/212f for an hour and they are as good as new. How often you do this depends on how humid/moist the environment is.

The company I used in the UK for the chest is Solent Plastics
http://www.solentplastics.co.uk/airtight-plastic-storage-boxes-and-trunks/

The trunk I have is product code 008431OP, a 65 litre/14.3 UK gallon trunk.

The silica gel is readily available from Amazon/eBay.

Hope that helps!

 

[d]

Hi Joe,

If you're going to be storing gear in your basement, a waterproof container is a must IMO, to guard against flooding. This allows you to use desiccant packs to control humidity as well.

I'm going through a similar process as yourself at the moment, wanting a something to store everything and load out from, but also something I could potentially take with me if desired. I've pretty much narrowed it down to something within the Pelican 1600 series of cases, and am just working out how much volume and what layout I want.

d.

 

[mnclayshooter]

Hi Joe,

If you're going to be storing gear in your basement, a waterproof container is a must IMO, to guard against flooding. This allows you to use desiccant packs to control humidity as well.

I'm going through a similar process as yourself at the moment, wanting a something to store everything and load out from, but also something I could potentially take with me if desired. I've pretty much narrowed it down to something within the Pelican 1600 series of cases, and am just working out how much volume and what layout I want.

d.

That's exactly where I'm at... trying to determine if the 1550 series or 1610 series is right... or maybe two 1510's for the added flexibility? Right now if you catch it at the right time you can get two 1510's for about the same price as the larger 16 series cases.

 

[Mikehit]

• [*]Divider material = custom order of TrekPak material -- that stuff is gold. No velcro noises to rearrange. No problems scaling up to a large cabinet. You are not at the mercy of the length of the foam pieces you start with. No permanency of the pick-n-pluck stuff. Pricey, but an ideal solution for my needs.

That Trekpak stuff looks ideal! Currently my drawer is divided with some rather flimsy plastic cutlery drawer dividers but that looks much better. Thanks.

 

[neuroanatomist]

Hi Joe,

If you're going to be storing gear in your basement, a waterproof container is a must IMO, to guard against flooding. This allows you to use desiccant packs to control humidity as well.

I'm going through a similar process as yourself at the moment, wanting a something to store everything and load out from, but also something I could potentially take with me if desired. I've pretty much narrowed it down to something within the Pelican 1600 series of cases, and am just working out how much volume and what layout I want.

d.

That's exactly where I'm at... trying to determine if the 1550 series or 1610 series is right... or maybe two 1510's for the added flexibility? Right now if you catch it at the right time you can get two 1510's for about the same price as the larger 16 series cases.

Throwing in a plug for the Storm series of cases (Pelican bought the Storm brand a while back, Hardigg brand too, but keeps them as separate lines). I started with a Peli 1604 case (1600 with dividers), then got the Storm im2500 (equivalent to the Peli 1510) as a carry on case. Ended up swapping the Peli 1600 for the equivalent Storm im2720.

Overall construction is equivalent, both have the Peli warranty. The Peli double-throw latches are called 'knuckle-busters' for a reason, and also they are loud, you can't open/close them without an audible SNAP that my wife did not appreciate when heading out for pre-dawn shooting.

The other main difference is that while the Storm padlock holes are just case plastic/resin, the Pelican holes are reinforced with metal, so arguably the Peli is a bit more secure. I'm not too fussed about that, since I figure if someone is going to go at the case with a hacksaw they probably have plenty of time anyway.

 

[Luds34]

Second drawer = lenses. See here for how that turned out:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/66374817@N04/22559325804/in/dateposted-public/

Nice setup!

I need to rework my office area, lens situation. Some are hanging out in a shelf in a closet, some are in various bags. Not real consistent. Sometimes I need to check up to 3 places to grab a particular lens, 4 if you count it may just be sitting on the kitchen counter from real recent use.

In any case I think seeing that pull out drawer has inspired me to do better.

 

[ahsanford]

• [*]Divider material = custom order of TrekPak material -- that stuff is gold. No velcro noises to rearrange. No problems scaling up to a large cabinet. You are not at the mercy of the length of the foam pieces you start with. No permanency of the pick-n-pluck stuff. Pricey, but an ideal solution for my needs.

That Trekpak stuff looks ideal! Currently my drawer is divided with some rather flimsy plastic cutlery drawer dividers but that looks much better. Thanks.

I use the cutlery dividers up top for the smaller doo-dads. Much cheaper.

I save the TrekPak for lenses, bodies, flashes and my Arca head in the second drawer. TrekPak has premade kits to fit all sorts of Pelican cases, but given the odd/unique dimensions of my cabinet, they recommended a custom order of very long pieces that I could cut to fit with their handy-dandy in-line cutter. The cabinet was roughly 30"x18"x5" (I think I only bought 3.5" high pieces) and I think my total out of pocket was about $150. Not cheap, but I'm delighted with how it came out.

- A