Padded picnic cooler for 4x5 holders?

[Ulophot]

My 4x5 camera case is taken compactly care of; easy, since I have a folding field camera and only one lens. But with my spot meter aboard, not much room for holders. I have 14, which, stood up together, measure about 14x5x6 inches. Two side-by-side rows could be about 7x10x6. Since my work is primarily location portraiture (just moving back into it), hiking is not involved and settings will mostly be indoors. (28 films may raise an eyebrow among some of you, but I will be exploring posing and composition a good bit in a somewhat new direction for my LF work.) I have a holder apron for 4-6 holders while working.

A rectangular padded cooler would be fine, and I just thought I'd see if anyone else has already found an inexpensive one that might fit my needs.
Thanks.

[Two23]

My Chamonix 045n often lives in a Sponge Bob lunch case.


Kent in SD

[Liquid Artist]

With my 8x10 I have it in one of those soft plasticy day coolers, and that inside a hard cased cooler that is big enough to hold 6 additional film holders.

With my 5x7 I just store it in a hard cased cooler. It fits in nicely without any padding.
No room for film holders.

At least in Canada that sort of thing is starting to go on the end of season sale.

[jp]

I use plastic ammo boxes for 7 4x5 film holders. They are $5-10 each at Walmart/HarborFreight/Cabellas.
A picnic cooler would be fine too, but I prefer something a little tougher.

You may wish to keep the film holders in anti-static plastic bags when they are not in the camera. I even bag them back up between shots when they are stored in a pants or jacket pocket. Keeping things dust free is my primary consideration for storage and transportation. It's easier for me to keep film holders clean than to thoroughly clean them after each use.

[Bruce Barlow]

I have an abundance of picnic coolers, cheap at Walmart. The inner solid liners make great small wastebaskets.

One for 4x5 holders is smaller. 24 5x7 holders in another, 2 store 11 8x10 holders apiece, another stores 3 plastic boxes with 8x10 lenses. The outside pockets store tools, reducing backs, etc. I think the most I paid for one is $9.

I actually have another with my folded Richard Ritter 5x7 tucked in it. Easy to carry.

Easy to grab what I need and carry. With minimal care, I haven't found them less than strong enough, especially since I tend to work pretty close to the van.

[Tin Can]

I use kid sized lunch coolers with soft sides.

They are small. 10 4X5 holders fit perfectly.

Back to school shopping is nearly over. They will be discounted.

[BradS]

I have a generic padded cooler bag suited to hold a six pack. It can fit twelve film holders.

[Peter Collins]

I use a small 6-pack hard-sided cooler. The price was right--it was already here, paid for, and just lying around. It can hold all the 4x5 holders I can use in a day. Here in NM summer temps mandate protection of film from heat.

[John Kasaian]

I've used soft lunch coolers for 5x7 holders and found them adequate and certainly cost effective.
I don't use any labelled Igloo or Coleman because the bears here know how to read (unlike public high school seniors)
and I don't want to disappoint the critters if they should mistake my stack of Liscos for a Dagwood.

[jim10219]

I almost went that route. Instead what I did was I bought a small, hard shell, roller suitcase, some closed cell foam (the kind that goes under a sleeping bag while camping), some fabric (I used some fake suede leather), and contact cement. Then cut and glued the foam to hold my camera (Sinar F1), several holders, some lenses, and other accessories, each with it's own padded section, and when it was all spaced out properly, I wrapped it in that fabric and glued it down. The result is a very safe, secure, and nice looking case to hold everything in. I've even flown with it and checked it several times(though I kept the film with me). It's great for storing everything together in one case (I can strap the tripod to the top), and the wheels make rolling it around on hard surfaces a breeze. For longer hikes, I bought a backpacking frame and secure it to that with some belt clips.

You may not want to do all of that in one case like I did. But I think that idea of using closed cell foam, soft fabric, and contact cement is a really good one, and worth considering.

I also bought an "Amazon Basics Large DSLR Gadget Bag" that I use to hold a lot of my gear. It's a lot smaller and may be more what you're looking for. I use it to hold 5 of my lenses on those 4" x 4" wooden Graflex boards (some two are pretty big, three are pretty small), a Grafmatic film holder (under the top flap), and a bunch of other stuff like filters, cable releases, notebooks, tools, light meters, etc. It's about the right width for a film holder, so if you only put film holders in it, you could probably store 20 or so. They're fairly inexpensive and very well made. Anyway, it's something else to consider.

[Graham Patterson]

I have a couple of small 'six pack' cooler bags that are used for film. One carries 4x5 holders in bags. I keep an eye out for useful cooler bags at the end of the summer. My main 5x4 kit is in a large one that has it's own cart. They are cheap, reasonably robust, lightly padded, and do not say 'Nikon' or 'Canon' on the outside...

[Ulophot]

Thanks to all for ideas and sharing solutions. I stopped by a "five below" store (all items $5 or less) today, coming across a soft nylon-web fabric lunch box that's 10+" long and just the right height. Quasi-padded and lined with plastic. In two even rows, my holders fit side by side with room to spare. I happened to have some open-cell foam 1 1/2" thick and about 5" wide, enough for two 10" blocks, which I wrapped in some left-over rip-stop nylon fabric and glued the fabric on. The two strips pad the front and back of the case. On order now is a $6 sheet of 1/4" closed-cell foam from Grainger, which delivers for free to an outlet fairly nearby. This will pad bottom and ends. So, for now, I'm all set. I'll post a photo when it's finished.

[Vaughn]

Just another fun find -- freebee baby bottle insulated bags (helped that the ex-wife was a maternity nurse). Zippered top, holds two baby bottles or four 4x5 film holders.:cool:

[John Kasaian]

I have a couple of small 'six pack' cooler bags that are used for film. One carries 4x5 holders in bags. I keep an eye out for useful cooler bags at the end of the summer. My main 5x4 kit is in a large one that has it's own cart. They are cheap, reasonably robust, lightly padded, and do not say 'Nikon' or 'Canon' on the outside...

But do they say Hamm's, Olympia or Schlitz? The bears can read that, too!

[Graham Patterson]

California Innovations or Arctic Zone. Not many bears locally. Mountain lions and coyotes, yes. I don't think they read as well as bears 8-)