Any racing pilot putting together their kit builds up an inventory of gear they want to have with them in the field. When you’re out for a race, you have to not only carry your drone, radio, and FPV goggles, but also the accoutrements as well. Batteries, tools, parts, wiring, props… you want to make sure you have everything you might need – because nothing is worse than cutting a day short because you’re missing a prop nut, or a battery connector, or an extra zip tie.
Generally, pilots put together their own tool kits. A box for the drone itself, a bag for batteries, a reused tackle box or similar for parts and support, maybe another bag for your ground station. There are custom backpacks for carrying some of the gear (and certainly lots of chatter on forums about the best way to bring your workbench out to a race), but in the end, it tends to be cobbled together from what you have lying around.
But, there’s another option…
If you’re really interested in stepping up your game, Battlefoam Designs, a company well known in the miniatures and gaming circles, has updated their offerings to include custom made field cases for drones that can be configured in a bedazzling number of setups to carry everything from small indoor toys up through full on outdoor track racers, while providing space for all your parts, batteries, radios, video gear, and associated cables. Lets check it out.
The first step in getting your own custom Battlefoam carrying case is selecting type. BattleFoam offers a variety of cases for your gear, ranging from small hard sided versions up to full multi tray systems. Since the company started out supporting miniatures and the gaming market, they offer a lot of options for smaller items. For your standard racing pilot, you’ll need the larger tray size offered by their P.A.C.K. bags. These bags feature large trays that can be stacked and arranged in any way you’d like. In addition to the large tray offering, several of the cases come with military-style MOLLE strapping, which allows for external bags and accessories to be attached easily. Handy!
Once you’ve decided on your bag size, it’s time to start figuring out the tray configurations to go in the bag. Battlefoam’s website has an interactive tool that lets you lay out your trays any way you’d like using standard shapes and templates, and you could probably end up with a pretty kicking setup using those shapes. But if you want truly form-fit cutouts for your quad, radios, and other gear, you’ll need to send in custom templates. Battlefoam offers a paper template system where you download and print template sheets, trace your items on the sheets with a magic marker, then scan / fax them back to the manufacturer. They’ll cut the foam to match your outlines, and voila! You have a set of cut foam trays that exactly match your gear. Need a place to store your tools, allen wrenches, and antennas? Just trace those out on paper, send them to Battlefoam, and they’ll cut the trays for you.
The turnaround time from order confirmation to receiving your custom bag is usually a little over a week. We found the process straightforward and our interactions with the company pleasant and supportive. And you can’t argue with the results! The bag holds all our gear, is easy to modify and add to, and looks kick ass. Here are some pictures from my Battlefoam experience!
