In the forums in the Fall of 2009, there were a few thread about BattleFoam (BF) and another company Outrider Hobbies (OH) and who made "better" foam trays. During one of the threads, Bryan from Outrider made an offer of sending a free tray of his to 20 folks if they would post a review about his product. Since I have a fair number of Sabol transports, and these were the right size, I thought this would be a good idea.
Being perpetually looking to save funds in this hobby, I volunteered to take a free tray. This is the comped review.
First off, let me say I have NO connection to either Bryan or anyone else at Outrider, NOR do I have any connection to Romeo or any of his staff at BattleFoam. And, to cover all bases, neither do I know anyone at Sabol Designs (SD).
I come to this review purely as a customer.. I purchased 3 BattleFoam 1" trays at GenCon, have oodles of Sabol 1" trays, and now have one from Outrider Hobbies thru this offer. I do own many Sabol cases, so I am only focusing this article on the Sabol compatible trays.
I am part of the staff on Bartertown, if you don't know.. and neither BattleFoam, Outrider Hobbies, or Sabol advertises on that site.. so no connection there either.
On to the review!
I got the OH tray thru the US mail. It came in a manila envelope, securely taped. It has 40 spots for basic trooper models, each one plugged by a foam rectangle. Came pretty securely, but since a bubble mailer was not used, there is a crimp in the bottom of the tray, as you can see in the lower left.
The plugs are clean and smooth, no stray foam whiskers to deal with. The side shot shows the denser foam (almost Craft Board Foam) that makes up the bottom layer.
I did ask my rambunctious 8 year old daughter to turn the OH tray upside down and bang it on the table to see if the cells would pop out. They didn't. Just a slight pressure from my fingers was required to remove them cleanly..
Here is the OH tray with all the cell blocks removed. I timed myself, and it took less than 60 seconds to remove all.. they really were nice in that regard.. (and afterwards, it took about 3 minutes to put them all back.. the thin walls crumple easily so there was a lot of fiddlyness)
The Battlefoam trays I purchased over the summer have been used, so I grabbed the one used least for the comparison. It had only been storing 8 models..and just along the left side (why this is important will be revealed in at the bottom of the article)
and it also has a denser foam on the bottom, as seen here.. the foam on this tray is darker, but has then same texture as that of OH.
Between the 2 trays, I have to say that the OH tray LOOKS cleaner, but that is due to my use I would imagine. The foam on the OH tray is lighter in color, and a bit less dense. The BF foam "feels" softer, but the cell parts look rougher..
Also, my photos do NOT show this, but the BF tray is about 1/2" wider top to bottom than the other trays.. I think this is for BF's custom army names to go on. Nice, but makes the trays scrunch up in the carry bag.
so.. a direct comparison, you ask for?
Here is the BattleFoam tray sitting on top of the Outrider one. BF has thicker cell walls, and their cells are a hair bigger (like 1/16 of an inch taller).. this also shows the foam composition and color differences too.
So, how sturdy are these trays? Lets put them to the test..
Here is a basic Sabol 1" tray, used by me to hold models, this tray has been used by me for over a year...
Holding it out over the edge of a table, empty, it stays pretty darn flat..
This MAY be because of the interior still being partially filled with unplucked foam, but I think mainly it is so rigid becuase of the backing foam.
Putting 4 Sisters of Battle (Metal models) on the end, causes it to droop about an inch.. it barely drops lower than the table top.
Here is the BF tray, same situations.. Empty it droops more than the SD tray
and with the same 4 models inside on the end, a LOT more droop happens..
the harder foam base on the tray is not nearly as rigid as SD tray.
and now for the OH 1" tray...
Empty, it droops more than the SD but less than the BF tray
However, that was with the foam blocks still in the cells.. without the blocks, it droops as much as the BF tray.
However, with the models inside the end, it was the most startling droopage.. even WITH the blocks inside..
and.. blocks removed..
As you can see, the cells where I was holding it were pulling and stretched. The bottom foam also retained its bend for several minutes and the tray sorta curved until I physically bent it the other direction and put the foam squares back.
So.. what would my conclusions be..
Based on the 1" troop trays I have reviewed, I would likely want the Outrider trays OR the BF ones. ... but it would be SOLELY dependent on the price. BF has better quality foam, their bottom tray is pretty rigid while being soft for models, and I am not concerned with the foam coming unglued from the bottom layer. I am also comforted that the BF tray has more padding between cells than the Outrider one.
My older Sabol tray has the best base, but the worst glue, and the least number of models that can fit inside. The best I have been able to fit on a Sabol pluck tray is about 32 spots, and these both have that beat.
Outrider has a few things going for it, though. The tray fits better in the Sabol Cases without the 1/2" extra, his foam cells have plugs that don't move, and you can leave in until the cell is needed. The OH tray does seem quite well glued in itself.
I am a bit concerned about the floppiness of the bottom of the OH tray, especially with say, an all Sister loadout. I have loaded a BF tray with 40 Sisters, and I really needed to use 2 hands, I was afraid the bottom might rip if I only one-handed it. If I felt that way about a BF tray, I suspect the OH tray would be much more likely to go, as the foam density is less.
So, Pork... Which One Would YOU use?
If price were not considered, and we assume they are all the same cost.. as well as all equally available to me in central Ohio..
I would go with BattleFoam. I like the way those trays feel, and the carrying capacity is high. I do like the companies Customer Service, but have had no other communication for problem fixing with Sabol or Outrider Hobbies. So, no direct comparison there.
Then, second, I would do the Outrider tray. Once again, contains a lot of models, and the foam is pretty good. I don't think the cell walls can hold up over time, but that will just have to be a "test and see" duration.
Lastly, Sabol, becuase the pluck foam limits how many models I can fit, but it IS more customizable. The other trays can be sliced into bigger cells, carefully, but something like a Dire Avenger Exarch is just NOT going to easily fit there. Sabol was designed to fit exactly that type of difficult model.
Now, Factoring in the Almighty Dollar.
Sabol runs about $8.50 per tray, price is not related to thickness .. and I can get it locally and support my FLGS.
BF has a nice deal for 1 Sabol Sized tray for $10, or 5 for $49.. but looks like shipping would add another 10-15 on to that. I cannot get their trays at my local FLGS, I have asked. If I COULD get them locally, these would be my most purchased tray. I also think that BF charges more based on the thickness of the tray, but I may be misinformed.
Outrider sent me a PM outlining his proposed price, which is $12 for up to 2" thick, $14 for thicker. Shipping will cost on top of that.
So.. BattleFoam wins the usefulness award, Sabol wins the cost/availability award..
(Caveat.. There was some glue blobs in the BattleFoam tray I reviewed, and the company sent me replacement trays for that. The new trays provide exactly the same experiences as the one tray I used in my review.)
