Foams to Avoid
Most case owners are familiar with only one type of foam—the type that comes with most cases. Almost invariably, this material is of open-cell construction, which is to say that the plastic forms a scaffolding in which the many tiny compartments are interconnected. The type of plastic used to make such foams is called polyurethane.
Although a great variety of open-cell polyurethane foams is available, equipment-carrying cases typically contain foam that is dark gray and has a density of 1 to 2 pounds per cubic foot. This type of foam is normally quite soft and flexible, which makes it relatively easy to fit equipment into pockets, even ones that aren't cut very accurately.
The principal advantage of this type of foam is that it is very flexible. The principal disadvantage of this type of foam is also that it is very flexible—perhaps too flexible to properly protect your gear should you drop your case. The little protection it offers explains why you would never find such foam used in, say, shoulder pads or shin guards.
The image at right shows just how easily such foam can be compressed (here by a spring-driven hand clamp). The result is that 
heavy pieces of equipment will have a tendency to bottom out if they are not surrounded by large amounts of foam. Another potential problem with this type of foam is that its open-cell structure can absorb moisture, which might happen for example if you were to open the lid of your case in the rain. (The foam acts, in essence, like a big sponge.)
Recognizing these concerns, you might rightly ask: Why have manufacturers chosen to use this type of foam on stock carrying cases? The short answer is that they have no other choice. Given that most case owners will have great difficulty cutting the foam to fit their gear, case manufacturers must make sure that the foam is soft enough that ill-fitting pockets will still work. And although many cases come with foam that is pre-scored so that the owner can simply pluck out pieces, the resulting pockets will rarely match the equipment they are supposed to hold. A foam of great flexibility is thus needed, despite its rather obvious drawbacks.
Proper Packing Foam
Unlike most individuals, equipment manufacturers can (and almost invariably do) use firmer foams for packaging their products. The reason, of course, is that they can precisely engineer their packing materials, which usually consist of Styrofoam inserts and a corrugated cardboard box.
Similarly, custom-designed equipment cases often contain foam inserts that are much more resilient than those made using squishy polyurethane foam. The makers of custom carrying cases know that firmer foam provides better protection. This option was not, however, readily available to people or businesses that needed to outfit just a small number of cases—until CaseCAD came along.
Because the CaseCAD software allows you to design your case insert with great precision, and because we offer an 
integrated fabrication service that cuts the foam for you, we can offer better foam than you are probably used to seeing in carrying cases. Our case inserts are constructed using a premium-quality packing foam made of polyethylene. Because this foam is of closed-cell construction, it doesn't absorb liquids. What's more, the variety of foam we use is engineered to present a surface that is soft and smooth to the touch, rather than the abrasive one that is characteristic of other polyethylene packing foams.
The foam we use (Pregis PolyPlank® SFT, seen close up at left) weighs just 2 pounds per cubic foot, but it is firmer and more durable than the squishy polyurethane that one finds in factory-supplied 
foam sets. This can be seen in the photo at the right, which shows the same hand clamp applied to this more resilient type of packing foam. So with a CaseCAD insert, you'll be treating your equipment better—and treating yourself to the pleasure of seeing your gear housed in an enclosure that is truly of professional quality.
When it comes to protecting delicate equipment in transit or in the field, soft-sided carrying cases just don't pass muster. After all, you'd cringe if you had a delicate piece of equipment in a soft-sided case and accidentally dropped it. With a hard-sided case, the possibility of damage is much reduced—if it’s encased in the right foam.