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When I first saw one of these cases, in its foam guise, I knew they would keep my equipment bone dry, so it was just a question of getting the funds together.
Last week, I took the plunge, after making last minute comparisons with the Peli range of cases (the Peli 1610 is the im2720 equivalent) and spending much of the day researching for the best UK price.
Well the case arrived yesterday in a box a little larger than the case itself. It reminded me of the moment I came across one in the flesh. The packaging was simply the box plus a large cellophane bag, so within seconds, I introduced the case to the world!
The very first thing I noticed (apart from its 11kg weight) was how easy the four push and pull catches were to undo, an absolute cinch; just a mild thumb press on the square button and at the same time, a lift of the catch and done four times meant that the case was now open. Very useful for those freezing days when you don’t want any hassle!
You will also see a hole next to the catch. This is a padlock hasp, of which there are two, situated along the business face of the case and there is also a fully automatic Vortex pressure valve, which is particularly useful when in an aircraft, for adjusting altitude pressure inside the case.
The optional divider set came folded up and consisted of approximately 15 pieces; a main base with thick padded perimeter plus two centre strips and numerous section dividers, which I have to say were too thin for my liking.
Very keen to make the case as functional as possible for my needs, I opted to buy the optional utility organiser, which I felt would enable my various bits and pieces to be kept nice and neatly in the lid, which opens to an upright position. It is not possible to fully open it to a horizontal position.
Organiser contents (from left to right), Top row: Norfolk nature reserve map, Bird Of Prey guide, RSPB British Birds guide (rear folder), Canon 40D charger cable, Canon 40D charger, Hahnel HL-511 spare battery, pen, Spudz cleaning cloth, ExpoAperture Depth of Field Disks, Sun position compass, 77mm Expodisc.
Bottom row: Gepe Extreme card safe with 2 x 2GB and 1 x 4GB Sandisk Extreme 3 CF cards, 8 x Sanyo Eneloop AAA batteries, 4 x AA Sanyo Eneloop batteries, Genuine Epson battery, hotshoe bubble level, Lee filter cleaning solution, Visible Dust Lens Plus, Visible Dust sensor cleaner, Petzl Myo XP head torch, Canon RS-80E3 remote shutter.
The organiser has a male and female strip of adhesive backed Velcro which simply stuck to the case. Storm recommend that the organiser be stuck and allowed to set for a minimum of 24 hours before loading. I didn’t find this necessary and gave 6 hours before gingerly placing items in a certain order that I can easily get used to.
Ok, it was now time to test it out. I figured a nice 3 mile round journey to my local supermarket and back, fully loaded should do the trick and give me initial thoughts. After all, reliability shouldn’t really be an issue, since Storm (Hardigg International) provide a lifetime guarantee on all of their cases.
Finding out how to extend the telescopic handle was relatively easy. Simply on the rear of the case, there is little lever which you need to slide, whilst pulling the handle upwards. When I first did this, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the handle is made from the same material as the case itself; a super tough HPX resin, which I guess helps keep weight at a minimum but gives consistent durability and strength.
I found the case to be surprisingly manouverable; the inline wheels were superb, they look very durable and rugged and handled the rough roads typically associated with the UK. On such surfaces, the case was a little noisy (I figure it’s something associated with all cases), but on smooth roads, it was very quiet.
Of course, it was inevitable that sometimes I’d have to lift the case clear of kerbs. To be honest, I did have back niggles in doing so, but as these occasions were very few and far between, it didnt cause me too much concern and having excellent quality rubber carry handles certainly helped!
On a certain network sharing site and on quite a few occasions the case has been tested against extreme conditions, with someone even taking a sledgehammer to it and the case still didn’t have a mark on it. Another video showed the case being used to support a heavy truck! Stands to reason then that this case would double up as a seat (for those KitKat breaks) and maybe as a step for those occasions when I extend my tripod beyond my 6 foot.
So to conclude, the case does have its limitations. If like me, you’re a wildlife photographer and like walking with your gear, getting one of these will help save your back. The case is fully waterproof and will easily withstand a typical UK downpour. On occasions I found that the case caught my heel resulting in the case being moved off line, but took me about a mile to overcome that problem, but for walking to bus stops (I don’t own a car) and boarding the bus with it is permitted and I will be using this form of transport to reach nature reserves.
Another potential problem is when uneven surfaces are approached. With the wheels being relatively small, grass surfaces etc mean that the case will have to be lifted manually, which of course means lifting it!
Car owners will also like this case, as it keeps everything at a central point, as will photographers who have a wife at home who insists that all toys are kept stored away. Could potentially be a marriage saver!
Pros: Very very good build quality, mobility, easy to open catches, top quality handles, rugged wheels, relatively low cost outlay for a product which has lifetime guarantee
Cons: Padded dividers are too thin, uneven ground portability, heavy
Verdict: Overall, I would highly recommend this case.
Purchased from www.galeforcecases.co.uk
Last week, I took the plunge, after making last minute comparisons with the Peli range of cases (the Peli 1610 is the im2720 equivalent) and spending much of the day researching for the best UK price.
Well the case arrived yesterday in a box a little larger than the case itself. It reminded me of the moment I came across one in the flesh. The packaging was simply the box plus a large cellophane bag, so within seconds, I introduced the case to the world!
The very first thing I noticed (apart from its 11kg weight) was how easy the four push and pull catches were to undo, an absolute cinch; just a mild thumb press on the square button and at the same time, a lift of the catch and done four times meant that the case was now open. Very useful for those freezing days when you don’t want any hassle!
You will also see a hole next to the catch. This is a padlock hasp, of which there are two, situated along the business face of the case and there is also a fully automatic Vortex pressure valve, which is particularly useful when in an aircraft, for adjusting altitude pressure inside the case.
The optional divider set came folded up and consisted of approximately 15 pieces; a main base with thick padded perimeter plus two centre strips and numerous section dividers, which I have to say were too thin for my liking.
Very keen to make the case as functional as possible for my needs, I opted to buy the optional utility organiser, which I felt would enable my various bits and pieces to be kept nice and neatly in the lid, which opens to an upright position. It is not possible to fully open it to a horizontal position.
Organiser contents (from left to right), Top row: Norfolk nature reserve map, Bird Of Prey guide, RSPB British Birds guide (rear folder), Canon 40D charger cable, Canon 40D charger, Hahnel HL-511 spare battery, pen, Spudz cleaning cloth, ExpoAperture Depth of Field Disks, Sun position compass, 77mm Expodisc.
Bottom row: Gepe Extreme card safe with 2 x 2GB and 1 x 4GB Sandisk Extreme 3 CF cards, 8 x Sanyo Eneloop AAA batteries, 4 x AA Sanyo Eneloop batteries, Genuine Epson battery, hotshoe bubble level, Lee filter cleaning solution, Visible Dust Lens Plus, Visible Dust sensor cleaner, Petzl Myo XP head torch, Canon RS-80E3 remote shutter.
The organiser has a male and female strip of adhesive backed Velcro which simply stuck to the case. Storm recommend that the organiser be stuck and allowed to set for a minimum of 24 hours before loading. I didn’t find this necessary and gave 6 hours before gingerly placing items in a certain order that I can easily get used to.
Ok, it was now time to test it out. I figured a nice 3 mile round journey to my local supermarket and back, fully loaded should do the trick and give me initial thoughts. After all, reliability shouldn’t really be an issue, since Storm (Hardigg International) provide a lifetime guarantee on all of their cases.
Finding out how to extend the telescopic handle was relatively easy. Simply on the rear of the case, there is little lever which you need to slide, whilst pulling the handle upwards. When I first did this, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the handle is made from the same material as the case itself; a super tough HPX resin, which I guess helps keep weight at a minimum but gives consistent durability and strength.
I found the case to be surprisingly manouverable; the inline wheels were superb, they look very durable and rugged and handled the rough roads typically associated with the UK. On such surfaces, the case was a little noisy (I figure it’s something associated with all cases), but on smooth roads, it was very quiet.
Of course, it was inevitable that sometimes I’d have to lift the case clear of kerbs. To be honest, I did have back niggles in doing so, but as these occasions were very few and far between, it didnt cause me too much concern and having excellent quality rubber carry handles certainly helped!
On a certain network sharing site and on quite a few occasions the case has been tested against extreme conditions, with someone even taking a sledgehammer to it and the case still didn’t have a mark on it. Another video showed the case being used to support a heavy truck! Stands to reason then that this case would double up as a seat (for those KitKat breaks) and maybe as a step for those occasions when I extend my tripod beyond my 6 foot.
So to conclude, the case does have its limitations. If like me, you’re a wildlife photographer and like walking with your gear, getting one of these will help save your back. The case is fully waterproof and will easily withstand a typical UK downpour. On occasions I found that the case caught my heel resulting in the case being moved off line, but took me about a mile to overcome that problem, but for walking to bus stops (I don’t own a car) and boarding the bus with it is permitted and I will be using this form of transport to reach nature reserves.
Another potential problem is when uneven surfaces are approached. With the wheels being relatively small, grass surfaces etc mean that the case will have to be lifted manually, which of course means lifting it!
Car owners will also like this case, as it keeps everything at a central point, as will photographers who have a wife at home who insists that all toys are kept stored away. Could potentially be a marriage saver!
Pros: Very very good build quality, mobility, easy to open catches, top quality handles, rugged wheels, relatively low cost outlay for a product which has lifetime guarantee
Cons: Padded dividers are too thin, uneven ground portability, heavy
Verdict: Overall, I would highly recommend this case.
Purchased from www.galeforcecases.co.uk
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