I was looking at the Harbor Freight 9800 as well. $119 with coupon in this weeks ad. Haven't seen it in person, but seems to get good reviews. I have a single rifle case from cabelas that was around the same price and I took it to Wyoming, held up quite well.
OP here.
I've been gone for a couple of days.
But have been spending a lot of time tracking down ALL the RECOMMENDATIONS y'all threw out. Thanks.
Having crunched and researched a lot of data... I HAVE THREE QUESTIONS:
1- Whatever case(s) I buy, I'm going to be going after one with the cut out/customizable middle layer of foam, not the egg crate foam kind.
AND I know that am going to want multiple "middle" pieces cut out for various uses (one gun, two guns, barreled actions to ship, etc.).
Carolina Custom Foam has exact pre-cut replacement pieces for a certain number of Plano and Pelican cases.
Is it worth just narrowing down my selection and getting one of those cases to where you can just get the precut foam.
I'm wondering if it might be worth it if cutting this foam is tedious and the results are... so-so.
You'd still have to cut out the outline of what the foam was going to "hold", but at least you wouldn't have to do the cutting to make it fit the case.
OR... is this foam
easy to cut
well? In which case maybe just get whatever case you want, and then just get generic sheets of the the Appalachian Tough Foam and cut it to size yourself.
Never seen this foam. Don't know what it's like. Don't know how it cuts. What the best tools and techniques are.
So I just though I'd ask the question.
2- OR... what's the deal with this Kaizen Foam ? ? ? ? ? for your "middle layer" for cutting the outline of your rifle, etc. to sit down in?
Or, for that matter, do some of y'all like Kaizen for all 3 layers?
Kaizen vs. Appalachian Tough?
3- I guess this sort of piggy-backs on Q#2.
I have a couple of "decent" Plano cases, that things got shipped to me in.
And I'd rather have them than not.
But, man, the foam is pitiful!
It's the flimsiest egg crate foam you can imagine.
So...
I'm thinking about throwing the egg crate out, and just putting three "proper" layers of foam in there.
But the cases are pretty shallow. The pieces of my foam would still have to be pretty thin.
Y'all like Appalachian for this or Kaizen.
If you can even picture what it is that I'm going to try to do at all.
I'm getting close to pulling the trigger, and just trying to understand a few additional details.
Much obliged.
James
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