Lowell cases: worth the money?
 

Santa brought some lighting gear and now I have to figure out how to organize it an move it. I think I want a hard case, for the lights at least, and was looking at the Lowell cases wondering if they will suit my needs.

Right now I have:
Lowell Pro
Lowell Riffa 55 (which has its own bag but the Pro doesn't fit in it)
Assorted clamps and extension cords, gels, dimmers etc
Manfrotto boom stand
Matthews C-stand with detachable base

In the near future, I'll add either another pro or Riffa or a Coolights fixture. I'd like to keep everything self contained, if possible.

Is it reasonable to expect to pack all the stands with the lights, or should I plan on a duffel bag for the stands and keep the fixtures separate? The Riffa is pretty long to begin with.

I don't expect to every have to ship any of this stuff. It will ride in my car.

Thanks
Bob

I got one of the large hard cases with my Lowel kit. I like it a lot. It's no Anvil case, but it does roll, has nice compartments to hold the fixtures, a small area for spare bulbs, and a strapped down section just for the stands. It also stores things like small reflectors, umbrellas, gel holders, etc. in a separate area with a hard plastic divider so they won't get beaten up by the lights and stands.

I don't know what the case costs on it's own, but I'd probably part with $200 for the one I have.

I don't think they are worth the money I have two of them and they crack very easy.

If you want something cheap but good, get a hard golf club case for your lights or a Home Depot rolling tool case.
If you want something awesome but expensive, get a Pelican case or a Kata lighting bag.
IMHO, the Lowell cases are the wrong part of each (though it's been 2-3 years since I've seen one, they may be better).

I have a Petrol PLC-4 for my lights (and some of my sound gear). I really wanted one with good strong wheels built in - like it has as I'm not getting any younger and my kit seems to be constantly expanding in variety/getting heavier! It is a really excellent semi-hard case with lots of internal padding/configurability and looks "the part", i.e. "professional" when I'm wheeling it into a clients office etc....but it was not a cheap buy... so you pay for that!!!

Hey Bob,
Hi to a fellow NYer. I have a couple of the Lowel 4 light cases and they work well if I don't overfill them or travel them by plane too much. . My question would be what kind of vehicle do you want to move them in. I have a Minivan so the Lowel 4 light case fits easily and I have a DP, Omni, 2 or 3 Prolights and an Arri 300, a couple of Chimeras ,stands, gels etc. I used to have an Arri Kit but it was too heavy to take on planes and the Lowel kit was more flexible. It fits on the handtrucks I have and becomes the base so I can stack other stuff on it. Biggest problem is the handles and latches need replacement over time so be prepared to learn how to Rivet.
I also have a smaller 3 light case which is not as good as the long stands don't fit it in the smaller case.
I of course have also been bringing Kinoflos on most of my shoots the last few years so I may be changing what I carry in the Lowel case.

I have an SUV and minvan so size is not so much an issue as durability, cost and fitting the gear in. I looked at the Lowell soft cases but it appears they don't hold nearly as much as the hard cases.

Unfortunately, it looks like these are items you buy based on specifications, since I was in B& H last month and they did not have them out on display to inspect.

The C-Stand is likely to be a "carry separately" item, due to it's size.

Look at the KATA "bags" as well. I'm probably buying a couple for my 2 and a half light kits (one Ianiro Redhead, one and a half Lowel Pro Light + RIFA + assorted)