good but cheap Spark transport case

[Virtual1]

I picked up a $40 ($32 with their 20% off coupon) pelican-ish case from Harbor Freight today and just finished getting the foam knocked out, it looks good!

It's an Apache 3800 case, sold here: Watertight Protective Case - Large

The case is VERY solid outside, I would trust it to take a significant fall or impact without damage. Two hefty (but plastic) latches, beefy carrying handle, heavy lid with spring assist hold-open. It's got a gasket around the side to make it somewhat water-resistant, and even has a pressure-relief valve so they seem to be serious about it being water (and AIR) tight.

Holds:
- Spark with props and battery (no prop guards, props protecte)
- DJI charger sled, pack, and AC cord
- remote (with sticks protected)
- DJI prop guards (with remote and iPhone charge cables)
- OTG cable (with micro-sd card reader)
- extra SD card in holder
- tablet bracket (with iPhone sun hood)
- full set of 4 spare props
- FIVE spare batteries (plus 1 on the Spark)

There's enough room left in the prop guard area for a tablet cable and OTG adapter, and I could set a tablet in the lid behind the lid foam if I wanted to also.

This is everything I'd need for a fun-fly or shoot except for external power. That'd be in a marine battery box holder though, along with a little 240w inverter to run the charger. Not visible in this photo are some pieces of foam I reinstalled at the bottom of some of the pockets to bring everything up to the same level - the camera/gimbal for example aren't touching anything. (the lid also has egg-carton contoured foam in it that just comes into contact with everything you see here)

Compare to this case case on Amazon for $37, that isn't a hard case and holds a lot less gear:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073RF595N

 

[rsmith7226]

Looks nice!

 

[Spark 317]

I purchased a similar case from Harbor Freight a while back for my Samsung Gear 360 camera, but wasn't water tight like the one you have. Very Nice.

It took me awhile of laying out everything before plucking the cubes out for the final setup.

And like you stated, the space behind the foam is perfect additional storage. Mine actually had an insert to hold pens, paper, etc.

 

[Virtual1]

I purchased a similar case from Harbor Freight a while back for my Samsung Gear 360 camera, but wasn't water tight like the one you have. Very Nice.

It took me awhile of laying out everything before plucking the cubes out for the final setup.

And like you stated, the space behind the foam is perfect additional storage. Mine actually had an insert to hold pens, paper, etc.

Yeah I'm a bit OCD with the foam. I come from a background of rarely having new things and having to make due with what I can salvage or am given, so I'm always extremely careful not to ruin or waste things. I spent a good half hour considering different arrangements before arriving on the above to make maximum use of the space while minimizing the compromising of the structure. I made (but was able to recover from) two goofs during punch-out. First was I thought I had plenty of space to put two of the spare batteries left and right of the spark, (batteries need 2x3) but as you can see I can only punch out 2x2 because the area was actually 2x2 there, so all batteries moved to the bottom where I intended to put some of the cables. (cables then going beside the Spark instead) And the area where the prop guards went was always a bit tricky, you can see it's not entirely symmetrical (another of my OCDs!) because to punch out that last corner on the right would compromise the structure of the foam, but it fits without that last cube removed so I will tolerate the aesthetic imperfection in the name of sound design

 

[Virtual1]

I wanted to get a second case to put my battery and charging gear in, and since there seems to be no way to get replacement foam to try another arrangement, I just cleared out the foam in my "version 1" case and put the battery stuff in there, and got another case since they're so cheap.

Version 2 foam knockout uses space better and gets me another pocket for cables, a better fit for my prop guards a spot for my ND filters, and a spot for an SD card adapter. This makes nearly perfect use of the available foam so I doubt it can get much better. (my last layout wasted around 24 blocks, this wastes 6... I challenge you to do better!) If you're wondering what's in the lower right area, that's a tablet mount along with a sun shield slipped in beside it. The charge sled's pack cord has a dedicated pocket, there's a cable pocket to the left of the spark, and the area inside the prop guards is a catch-all for more cables and a spare SD card. (the little red card up from middle is a cheap USB to micro SD card adapter)

I've taken a pic of the case as installed as well as a drawn layout to make it easier for you to punch out the foam. Be sure to save your foam in as large of pieces as possible so you have something to use to set in the bottom of many of the pockets to boost everything up to the same height. Many pockets have a single foam booster at the bottom, but the Spark lays on a bit of a "couch" to support it just in the middle. Other pockets (like the prop guard) go clear to the bottom.

 

[nutsnbolts]

I wanted to get a second case to put my battery and charging gear in, and since there seems to be no way to get replacement foam to try another arrangement, I just cleared out the foam in my "version 1" case and put the battery stuff in there, and got another case since they're so cheap.

Version 2 foam knockout uses space better and gets me another pocket for cables, a better fit for my prop guards a spot for my ND filters, and a spot for an SD card adapter. This makes nearly perfect use of the available foam so I doubt it can get much better. (my last layout wasted around 24 blocks, this wastes 6... I challenge you to do better!) If you're wondering what's in the lower right area, that's a tablet mount along with a sun shield slipped in beside it. The charge sled's pack cord has a dedicated pocket, there's a cable pocket to the left of the spark, and the area inside the prop guards is a catch-all for more cables and a spare SD card. (the little red card up from middle is a cheap USB to micro SD card adapter)

I've taken a pic of the case as installed as well as a drawn layout to make it easier for you to punch out the foam. Be sure to save your foam in as large of pieces as possible so you have something to use to set in the bottom of many of the pockets to boost everything up to the same height. Many pockets have a single foam booster at the bottom, but the Spark lays on a bit of a "couch" to support it just in the middle. Other pockets (like the prop guard) go clear to the bottom.

I would have loved to have gotten a spark hardcase but I had misc accessories that I need to have a pocket versus slots. Also the spark is such a small drone that I wanted to keep it minimal.

 

[Virtual1]

I would have loved to have gotten a spark hardcase but I had misc accessories that I need to have a pocket versus slots. Also the spark is such a small drone that I wanted to keep it minimal.

Considering all the stuff you can get into the case and that the case really isn't that terribly large, it really does work well even if you're trying to keep things to a minimum. Harbor Freight also sells two other cases. The small one isn't big enough for a spark, but I think the medium one would do.

The most portable solution though would probably be the bag you get with the flymore, but then you get the Spark in there and a few batteries and the controller, and you have to start packing things in like the charger sled and its pack and cord, and at that point all you can do is start piling things on top of each other in hopes you can still zip it shut. That makes it too easy to damage or lose things. Even just tossing in the prop guards makes it a mess inside.

Probably my two biggest hangups with the bag are that there's no good place to put more than two spare batteries, and how you basically need to empty out the bag on the ground to find anything. If you're going to use that bag I'd also strongly advise using a gimbal cover. I don't know why DJI didn't supply one with the flymore package. Considering how you have to basically stack accessories, it's essential to keeping your camera lens scratch-free during transport. At least place it camera-side-down in the bag.

That and the Apache case gives me great peace-of-mind when transporting my Spark. I'm not worried about it getting dropped or crushed.

 

[Aran]

My only problem with a case like this is the inevitable falling apart of the pick and pluck foam. I'm very gentle on the case I have my AR15 in and it's still coming apart on me after only a few range trips with it, and it's a legit Pelican. The solid cut-it-out-yourself style foam is better in my opinion.


Can't beat that price though!

 

[Virtual1]

I'm expecting the pick-n-pluck foam to have a limited lifespan, but this isn't quite so heavy so I hope I'll get more life out of mine. I've already explored getting replacement foam and it appears to be impossible.

But yes you can't beat the price for a hard case. I already tried one of the precut foam cases and I was not impressed. The foam was very rigid and I'm not convinced that it would absorb the shock of a hard fall. If something's going to fall apart, I want it to be the foam, not my spark.

 

[Spark 317]

I haven't purchased any yet but the Kaizen foam looks very nice with different thicknesses and colors.

There are knives and other tools that allows you to adjust the cutting depth and curves.