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Disclaimer: Before I begin, I need to disclose that I did not directly pay for this bag or the foam for it, but rather I received it as a gift from Battlefoam due to the working relationship between Dakka and Battlefoam. However, I will still strive to write as fair and unbiased review as I possibly can based on my experiences, as I know Battlefoam expects nothing less from me.


My History with Miniature Carrying Cases
For those who don't know me personally, I've been playing miniature games since 1992 and I'm the type of gamer who believes that once you get an army painted you never get rid of it, even if you don't use it anymore (because you never know if you will in the future).

That means I've got several armies dating back many, many years. Back when I started I used the good old Chessex miniature cases for most of my miniatures. Later, I picked up a few plastic pistol cases to carry some of my Imperial Guard vehicles. When Sabol finally rolled out their line of miniature bags with their pluck-and-pick foam I bought a few of those and a ton of foam trays with the clear intent to replace all my old Chessex and gun cases with Sabol bags and trays.

However, after 'plucking' a case or two worth of the Sabol foam, I realized that it was actually kind of a time-consuming pain in the butt to design and pluck all those trays. Not only that, but I found that in my OCD induced need to pack as many models into a tray as possible, that I frequently ended up with trays that would only fit certain models in certain positions, and once those models were removed from the tray, I can never figure out how to get the right ones back in the right slots. In other words, the trays have ended up being kind of a pain to use at times. Needless to say, my enthusiasm to go back and put all my older models into Sabol trays quickly dwindled and my old models have remained in their Chessex/gun cases.

And that's where I've been since: I have old, old, old Blood Angel & Eldar armies both in Chessex cases, an IG army in Chessex/gun cases and Ork, Tyranid & Tau armies in Sabol foam (and two Sabol cases to carry that foam in: the Army Transport and the Army Battalion). In addition, I have a whole lot of unused Sabol foam ready to be 'plucked'.

So when Battlefoam hit the scene a while ago, I quickly recognized that this would be a product that could replace my grand idea of putting all my miniatures into a single case system. The reason I thought this is because Battlefoam allows you to make custom trays with thinner (but more durable) 'walls' between each model, that means I'd be able to fit more models on a single tray then ever before AND I wouldn't have to perfectly custom-fit each foam slot for each model...I could actually go with a more generic tray that would fit a wide variety of models and it would still end up fitting more models per square inch than I can by plucking my own foam trays.

And besides, at this point in my life, I have a bit more money on my hands than I have time, so spending a little extra on a quality product where they put in the time to cut out my trays as I need them sounds like exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for.

Of course, I can also be a master procrastinator (and I don't buy too many new models these days), so despite my desire to get all my models into Battlefoam foam and bags, I just never got around to it yet.

So when Romeo from Battlefoam offered me one of his new P.A.C.K. 720's, I knew this was finally my chance to find out for sure if Battlefoam is the choice for me.


My Ideal Miniature Carrying Case
I've been attending Adepticon every year for the last few years and I plan to continue for the forseeable future. Living in Los Angeles, (with Adepticon being in Chicago) I obviously have to fly out every year so that means I need a bag to carry any models I want to bring out to the convention. Having checked some miniature cases in the past, I know that no matter how strong the case is, those damn airline handlers can be so rough with it that while the case will probably be structurally fine when the flight is over the models inside will have gotten such a jostling that you end up having to repair half your army once you reach your destination.

So my ideal miniature carrying case is one that carries as many models as possible and can still be brought as a carry-on onto the plane...something that is no small feat considering that many airlines have differing standards for the dimensions of their carry-on cases.

Up until now, I've been using the Sabol Army Battalion bag to carry my models on plane flights and I've never had any issues with getting it into any overhead bins or trouble with any airline personnel as far as getting the bag onto the plane.

So with my decision to move ahead with getting all my models into Battlefoam bags, what case would fit this ideal?

I've always planned on getting a Battlefoam P.A.C.K. 1520 at some point, but I envision using it mainly to store my older armies that I rarely use. Because from what I've witnessed of other people using the 1520 at tournaments, it feels a bit too large for casual transport for my own needs (I tend to like smaller bags in general...it's just the kind of person I am). Plus it definitely won't be fitting into any overhead airline compartments.

Conversely, I also want to get a P.A.C.K. 432 for transporting smaller armies. This bag would definitely fit into overhead airline bins but it definitely doesn't push the limits of what is allowed by the airlines and I'm not entirely sure it will allow me to bring enough minis in a single bag (since you typically are only allowed one carry-on bag).

So with the P.A.C.K. 720's, I wondered if this would finally be the perfect bag for me?


My 4,000 point Tau Army
A few years ago, my 'Dakka' team created a new Tau army for the Adepticon team event. After the tournament was over, I was eager to own the entire army. The whole thing clocks in at just a bit over 4,000 points (as I've added a couple of Pathfinder units since then). If you want full details on what models are in the army, you can check out the army profile here.

We assembled and painted this army by having one person do part of the work and then shipped the models to another person to finish up the work. Therefore we used Sabol pluck-and-pick foam to put the models in for shipping. A heroic effort was made to make these Foam trays as efficiently organized as possible, at the end of the day 4,000 points of Tau just didn't fit into a single Army Battalion case.

So I decided that this Tau army of mine would be the target for my new PACK 720.


The full 4,000 point army nearly fit into the case, but a few trays just wouldn't fit.



The P.A.C.K. 720




If you haven't read up at all about Battlefoam bags in general, then I'll go over some of the things that I really appreciate about them:

1) The have a hard interior 'shell' inside that makes all sides of the bag rigid. This makes the overall bag much, much more durable then other 'soft' cases, like those made by Sabol.

2) The way the zipper is designed on this case it allows it to be opened just at the top to pull the trays out like a traditional (Sabol) case OR you can unzip the bag fully which gives you access to all the trays at once. This is very handy feature that has already made me much happier with the case on a day-to-day basis then my experiences reaching all the way down into Sabol's Army Battalion bag.


The case with just the top unzipped.


The case totally unzipped for access to all of the trays inside.

3) Many of the Battlefoam cases are designed to link together and the 720 is no exception. On the bottom of the case is a zipper that would allow me to attach it to a 1520 for ease of transport between the two cases. I still think that is an awesome feature that I'm looking forward to utilizing in the future when I get a 1520.

4) The Custom Trays. One of Battlefoam's most famous features, is their ability to make custom cut trays. I got several of them made and this was my first experience working directly with Battlefoam to have a tray custom designed and I have to say that I was pleased and impressed with how easy it actually was. I wasn't exactly sure what would be the best way to fit all the models, but Romeo was actually able to suggest how to organize them because of the experience he already has built up doing just that on a daily basis. So mainly Romeo was able to do all the design work and I just had to throw out suggestions if I saw something he was thinking of that I thought wouldn't work for me.


One of the custom cut trays I ordered.


Of course, the big question is: Did my entire Tau army fit into the 720? The answer is yes...sort of.

While we were able to get all the models of the army into an incredibly small amount of trays, one of the trays just wouldn't fit into the case. Of course, after talking with Romeo via email he suggested checking each of the trays to see if we ended up with any trays that could be trimmed a tiny bit once I was able to look at the models physically sitting in the trays.

Sure enough, there were a couple of trays that could lose a bit off the top and Romeo graciously offered to trim those trays down and send them right back to me. Of course, with me and my procrastinating ways I haven't actually sent the trays back yet, but once I do, the entire army will fit into a single PACK 720, which ain't too shabby!


The foam for my Tau army in the old Sabol foam vs. its new Battlefoam.


My Rating of the P.A.C.K. 720
How do I rate the PACK 720 and does it totally fulfill my needs?

Overall I have to give the bag 4 Orks out of 5.



The quality design of the bag is top notch and having seen the rest of their line at conventions I know that they're all just as good. I feel totally comfortable buying Battlefoam bags knowing that I'm getting a very nice product.

I was also thoroughly pleased with the process of creating custom trays through Battlefoam. I wasn't exactly sure how easy it would be, but having gone through the process now I know that it is far, far easier than 'plucking' trays myself and the final product I end up with is vastly superior.

For carrying an army around town and the ability to link the 720 up with a 1520 when I buy one makes the case itself a 5 out of 5.

So why is my overall rating a 4 out of 5?

Because for me, my ideal bag needs to fit into an overhead compartment on an airplane and the 720 definitely doesn't fit that bill. Now, Romeo assures me that the 720 is designed to fit under the seat of every single airline. While overhead storage space varies between airlines, the space under the seat is apparently mandated to always be the same dimension, and the 720 will apparently fit there nicely.

Of course, I haven't had the opportunity to test this out yet myself (and likely won't get to until Adepticon next year), but I'm also just concerned about being stopped by the Flight Attendants and them not letting me take the case on the plane. They are under no legal obligation to allow me to bring the case on the plane and as it is larger than what they allow for carry-on luggage, if someone spots the case I can totally see them forcing me to check-it.

I definitely don't want to deal with the hassle of having to worry about whether or not my bag may or may not end up having to be checked...I want the peace of mind to know that on every plane flight I'll be able to get the bag on with no possible issues (if anyone else has experience with trying to get the 720 onto a plane please post about it!).

So while I'm very pleased with the 720 it may not just be the perfect bag for me. This experience has definitely made it clear to me that Battlefoam will be the product I will be using to store and carry my miniatures in the future, but I may have to look into trying to fit armies into the 432 (as that bag definitely is approved for airline carry-on). With the amount of miniatures you can fit on a Battlefoam tray for the most part it should be possible to fit many types of armies into a 432.

The standard Battlefoam tray is designed to be big enough to handle a wide variety of models like vehicles and monstrous creatures, but its generous size also makes it tough for the guys at Battlefoam to ever create an overhead airplane compartment bag that utilizes their core tray. Of course, my dream is still is for Romeo and his crew to come up with a bag that is designed to be as large as possible but still fits into an overhead compartment.

I think the only way to do that would be to essentially take the 432 and then add a row of smaller custom trays (similar to the Flames of War trays) above the standard Battlefoam trays.

While this type of case might not end up being everyone's cup of tea (since you'd essentially have to deal with two different sizes of trays for your army), I know for me, and maybe others out there if Battlefoam was to make that case I'd be all over it in a heartbeat...so think about it Romeo!


In summation, I am very pleased with my 720 and my overall experience with Battlefoam and would gladly recommend both to everyone. While it may be iffy to try to get the 720 onto a plane, for around-the-town, I would say the 720 is an absolute perfect size to bring a seriously large amount of models to the table without having to carry around too large a case.

good review. I own a 1520 atm, which holds pretty much all of my 6,000 points of mechanized & biker space marines... but its damn near full, so I've been wondering what case I should get to expand... looks like this might be it.

Just out of curiosity, what is the total value of the bag, including custom trays, that Romeo sent you?

It'd be important for people like myself thinking about making the switch to Battlefoam

the 720 with custom foam retails at $175.

I'd advise waiting till black friday... last year they did 25% off all purchases, with free shipping. I got a $300 bag for 225 shipped.

Of course, they might not do it again this year... but i'd hope they will

I love the review especially on Romeo's insistance that all of his bags are Airline Ready. I can tell you that none of his bags will fit under the seats of a Beechcraft 1900 or my regional prop driven aircraft. While the bag might be "strong" enough to survive the baggage handlers if left unopened since check in these bags will always receive a once or even a twice look over by TSA. They will cut your lock off if it is not a TSA approved lock and the zippers can and will most likely come open on the baggage belts. Most TSA will not know what they are and I have seen TSA break minis thinking they are like G.I. Joes and try to move the arms. So, in all no bag is safe being checked in and most of Battle Foam's bags will not fit into the overhead or underseat compartments so I never ever fly with my 1520.

Before people start to BF nerd rage on me I was a Ramper and Baggage handler for Midwest Airlines and Great Lakes Airlines only a year and half ago.

I remember when i first told Romeo to add the luggage rollers everyone laughed at me.

Whose laughing now :'D

LunaHound wrote:I remember when i first told Romeo to add the luggage rollers everyone laughed at me.

Whose laughing now :'D

Not I, I said the same thing after getting my 1520 loaded with Apoc goodies... it's just way to bulky to wear as a backpack , and if you are over 6' tall you tend to run in to door frames with it on.

The airlines do a lot of bs advertizing about what they let you carry on. A lot f times the space under the seat in front of you does NOT meet the specs they quote. Some times that space is partially occupied by various airplane"bitz" that arent under all the seats bit are stuck right where you need to place your bag. And not all overheads are created equal, some of them just do not meet the spec.

Yak,

Why do you need to cart 4000 points of tau with you anyway....? ;-)

I'm more worried about whether a 432 will completely fit one of my mechanized heavy armies. I have mech eldar and Khornezilla. The defilers and wave serpents are the problem. I'd had to get a 720 and not be able to fit both armies, or get two 432's and still not be able to get them all in. Maybe I just need to spend more time designing a tray, as I've just been looking at their precut stuff.

Yakface, Since you no longer need that mountain of useless sabol foam, and you have that awesome new battlefoam bag... would you like to do a poor brother a favor and send it to me? I'll make sure it is disposed of properly...

Thanks for the review, I never quite understood what all the talk was of the battlefoam setups, You've illustrated quite nicely what the advantage is. Probably going to end up buying some if and when I have some cash.

BTW, I was serious about the sabol foam thing...

I just wish that BattleFoam would stop stating that their stuff is good for use on aircraft. It is deceptive at the least. I would love to see what a plastic miniture in a 1520 that is one the bottom of a 1000 pound stack that has been exposed to an unpressurized cargo hold environment across the country. The company lodged a complained and got laughed out of court complaining about a competitor over deceptive advertising while the company is doing itself.

Battlefoam was kicked out of court because the judge ruled he didn't have jurisdiction to rule on the case... but thats offtopic, and the topic its in was locked, so lets refrain from bringing that up, shall we?

If you're trying to figure out what size case you need, keep in mind that the counts they give for their trays are pretty accurate. If a tray says it will hold a valkyrie and two chimeras, it will. The infantry trays are a little wonkier, in that any larger models require cut outs, but that's to be expected.

When I bought a 1520 (which came with more foam than will comfortably fit, btw), I broke down every possible IG tournament list I'd run, and figure out how to maximize what fit. It's not a perfect system, but you can get a really good idea of what you want fits if you do the research.

Battlefoam is the gold standard for quality. If you're looking for the best case on the market, don't let the shenanigans they're involved in dissuade you. Just do your research first...

No need to go on about it, Pipboy... you've definitely made the point and the original review also states that the bag won't likely fit an overhead compartment (or at least isn't guaranteed to) and so it's a risk to try to carry it on. Previous quality reviews have gotten bogged down over this issue, and I think the point is made (by yakface, and by you).

The 432 will fit, so if someone's definitely flying, imho that's the BF bag for them!

I've been severely tempted by BF bags. I continue to be... if mikhaila has some in stock, I'm going to drool over them the next time I'm up there. The major detriment to me getting one is obviously the price... I have a pretty good magnetic tray right now, and since I always drive, it's worked well. But I will definitely be considering BF... especially if there's a Black Friday sale . I completely missed it last time!

I'd say i've worked for my 25% off telling people about battlefoam when they see my case. Everyone who sees it, who doesn't know about it already, wants one.

Thanks, Yakface. I've been really curious about the 720, for precisely the same reasons as you.

What I'm pondering now is getting a 432 and a PACK Plus, instead of the 720. If I take them as my 2 carry-ons, I shouldn't have any issues, and my clothes can ride in the cargo hold. Now if only the 432 got a "refresh" to allow it to attach to the PACK Plus.... *hint*

I'm not going to carry on the issue. I am wondering if there has been a true cross country flight test for the 1520 case in checked baggage? If not I am willing to put mine through the test.

Pipboy101 wrote:I just wish that BattleFoam would stop stating that their stuff is good for use on aircraft. It is deceptive at the least. I would love to see what a plastic miniture in a 1520 that is one the bottom of a 1000 pound stack that has been exposed to an unpressurized cargo hold environment across the country. The company lodged a complained and got laughed out of court complaining about a competitor over deceptive advertising while the company is doing itself.

What are you talking about?
Nowhere in Yakface's review did I see a caim about 1520's fitting under a seat. That would be absurd.

The claim is that the P.A.C.K. 720 will. As to whether it does or not, I don't know. I do know that the P.A.C.K. 720 is not the Battalion 1520.

So again, What is the issue here?

Pipboy101 wrote:I just wish that BattleFoam would stop stating that their stuff is good for use on aircraft. It is deceptive at the least. I would love to see what a plastic miniture in a 1520 that is one the bottom of a 1000 pound stack that has been exposed to an unpressurized cargo hold environment across the country. The company lodged a complained and got laughed out of court complaining about a competitor over deceptive advertising while the company is doing itself.

Stop trolling.

Their bag is just as good as any other bag on an aircraft. How many other consumer luggage cases would withstand the force you are describing. None. You take a risk when you travel, and if you bring fragile items in checked luggage, the reality is that they will get thrown around. The bags are made to withstand a little rough and tumble, but nobody knows whether it will be at the bottom or the top or what have you. So just stop posting your insensical nonsense and cluttering up this thread.

whitedragon wrote:

Pipboy101 wrote:I just wish that BattleFoam would stop stating that their stuff is good for use on aircraft. It is deceptive at the least. I would love to see what a plastic miniture in a 1520 that is one the bottom of a 1000 pound stack that has been exposed to an unpressurized cargo hold environment across the country. The company lodged a complained and got laughed out of court complaining about a competitor over deceptive advertising while the company is doing itself.

Stop trolling.

Their bag is just as good as any other bag on an aircraft. How many other consumer luggage cases would withstand the force you are describing. None. You take a risk when you travel, and if you bring fragile items in checked luggage, the reality is that they will get thrown around. The bags are made to withstand a little rough and tumble, but nobody knows whether it will be at the bottom or the top or what have you. So just stop posting your insensical nonsense and cluttering up this thread.

I think Pipboy101's problem is that they state it's suited for aircraft travel when the evidence would be to the contrary. I really don't see that as trolling.

Honestly, I wouldn't travel on a plane with any case. I would box it up and ship it to the hotel or wherever I'm staying with tracking. I've done that in the past when travelling for work and it works out fine. It's also packed securely enough as to not worry be that concerned with breakage.

Neconilis wrote:I think Pipboy101's problem is that they state it's suited for aircraft travel when the evidence would be to the contrary. I really don't see that as trolling.

Problem is that the review is about the P.A.C.K. 720, not the Battalion 1520 he keeps mentioning. So yeah, it is clogging the thread with nonsense.

Modquisition on.
Lets move off the eairplane discussion now thank you.

To OP: Can you provide a photo showing the actual size of the 720?

Also, do Battlefoam provide international shipping?

Thanks,

whitedragon wrote:

Pipboy101 wrote:I just wish that BattleFoam would stop stating that their stuff is good for use on aircraft. It is deceptive at the least. I would love to see what a plastic miniture in a 1520 that is one the bottom of a 1000 pound stack that has been exposed to an unpressurized cargo hold environment across the country. The company lodged a complained and got laughed out of court complaining about a competitor over deceptive advertising while the company is doing itself.

Stop trolling.

Their bag is just as good as any other bag on an aircraft. How many other consumer luggage cases would withstand the force you are describing. None. You take a risk when you travel, and if you bring fragile items in checked luggage, the reality is that they will get thrown around. The bags are made to withstand a little rough and tumble, but nobody knows whether it will be at the bottom or the top or what have you. So just stop posting your insensical nonsense and cluttering up this thread.

Thats not entirely fair, Whitedragon. He is raising a valid point even if it is a bit extreme. One of which you are dismissing out of hand as trolling but we will leave out that bit of the debate since your own post is of questionable virtue in that regard.

Pelican cases can do and will withstand the pressure you think is impossible to avoid because they are designed for such treatment...and more.

The veracity of the claim regarding Battlefoams cases withstanding such extremes has already been debated in the past however in this thread:
http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/279887.page#1346916

whitedragon wrote:
I'm more worried about whether a 432 will completely fit one of my mechanized heavy armies. I have mech eldar and Khornezilla. The defilers and wave serpents are the problem. I'd had to get a 720 and not be able to fit both armies, or get two 432's and still not be able to get them all in. Maybe I just need to spend more time designing a tray, as I've just been looking at their precut stuff.

It does not. I have a 1500 SM mechanized, and no matter how much I fiddle with the tray creator, it will NOT fit into the 432... but I blame GW mostly. Drop pods are some of the most case space wasting minis out there.

Anyone happen to know off-hand if Battlefoam will cut custom trays for non-standard cases, such as Pelican or SKB Mil-Spec?

As long as the shape fits into thier max capable size, I am pretty sure they can.

You won't be able to use the custom creator web tool, but you can check thier site for what they do in custom sizes.

Valkyrie wrote:To OP: Can you provide a photo showing the actual size of the 720?

Also, do Battlefoam provide international shipping?

Thanks,

You can get a good idea of the scale of the case from this pic:



Or from Battlefoam's youtube video of the 720:





The dimensions of the case are: 16W X 12L X 12H


And I believe that Wayland Games carries Battlefoam products in the UK if that's where you're interested in purchasing them (guessing that from your flag).

It does not fit under the seat either. I recently flew with this bag and was unable to get it to fit in the overhead compartment OR under the seat as described.

Let me edit this real quick. I have bought a lot of stuff from BF and will continue to do so as I need it. The bag is solid, will keep your troops safe, but it is NOT that great for airline travel.

Unfortunately there just aren't a lot of bags that are going to be good for traveling around the country with mech armies.