Battlefoam Painters Bag Review

The Battlefoam bag for paints always struck me as an oddity.  My armies are all always tucked away securely in foam, but I never really thought there was any need to incase my painting supplies in squishiness too.  Initially, it seemed like overkill for the price and I really didn’t see any value in the bag.  When BigD got a couple of them in at the shop, I looked the bag over but just wasn’t really all that impressed.

Then it happened.  I got snowed it at my house in one of this year’s eleventy snow storms and a good buddy of mine also happened to get snowed in with me and my family.  When it came time to paint, my bottles were all resting willy-nilly in the clear plastic drawers I kept them in.  His were all nicely tucked away in their specially designed and cut crevices in his Battlefoam bag, with the colors easily visible for all the world to see.  We sat at the same table painting and as I fumbled and searched for the paints I my collection, I saw that his were easily kept at hand and easily found.

Reason #1 to buy this bag:  You can find the paints you need or want very quickly.

The next weekend I was at the shop, holding down the fort, while Big D played in a fantasy tournament.  While he was away, I decided to paint up a test color scheme for grey knights using his paints.  He also keeps all his materials in a battlefoam bag.  I found that my usual annoyance with searching for paints was not only gone, but that I enjoyed the order and neatness of the bag.  The bag even has little slots for all your brushes to be stored in.
I was able to paint at a table, and pull trays from the bag quickly to get to anything I needed.  The bag is perfectly designed to store paints of all types.  Big D had a tray for privateer press paints and 2 for GW paints.  Everything was snuggly and securely held and there was really no danger whatsoever of the paints spilling. I’m afraid at this point I was beginning to have bag envy…. Not a good situation.

Reason #2 to buy this bag:  It’s structured perfectly - Almost a thing of art.  It keeps all your paints upright and the organization will appeal to your inner OCD. Everything fits very well.

The following day I was sitting at the kitchen table fiddling with a model when I looked up to find my three year old attempting to use my pin vice on one of her Barbie Dolls.  Before I could respond appropriately (“Give me that before your mom sees”) my wife began the ‘Your stuff is everywhere’ speech and how I needed to keep it up and out of the hands of the toddler.  Of course, she was right.  Although Barbie might have needed a lobotomy, my hobby stuff has a tendency to expand when I start a project.  First I have one or two paints out, then the next thing you know the counter is covered in clippings, spilled paint, paperclips, superglue, used sprue, cutting boards, a water cup, paper towels and an assortment of hobby tools.  It becomes a mess very quickly.

I’ve tried numerous fixes over the years and you can see a few of them here and here.  However, the painting thing always gets out of hand.  This time I just happened to know the solution.  “I will buy this cool bag at the shop and everything will be great”.  Her response was dutifully “How much will it cost”.  Here I find the only downfall of the bag.
Con #1: The bag is expensive.  All things Battlefoam usually are just a tad bit out of my budget, but after having purchased the malifaux battlefoam bag and loving it, I know that the product is the superior one on the market.  It is well made and, well… its just the most fancy option to boot.

So I bit the bullet and ordered the Battlefoam bag.   I ordered a normal bag which comes with a hobby tray and 2 GW painting trays.  I also ordered an extra GW tray to make sure I would have enough room for all of my paints.  It came in very quickly -  in under two weeks.
When it arrived my daughter and I sat to organizing my paints into the bag.  She sorted them by colors and I placed them in the compartments, colors up so I could locate them easily.  I was very pleased to discover that my privateer press paints fit perfectly in the GW tray, as well.  The dropper bottles that I have (reaper) fit side by side if one of the foam pieces is cut in the middle.  You can turn a pair of droppers sideways in two gaps and they also fit splendidly.  The Hobby Tray has cut outs for my sprue clippers, greenstuff tube, paperclip tube, pin vise, razor saw, files, sculpting tools and etc.  And it all zips up and out of the way even when it is crammed full of paints and tools.

 Reason #3 to buy this bag:  It provides some safety if you have little ones around the house and it will also make the missus happy that your stuff isn’t scattered about.  If you are having company over, you can easily get all your supplies up and out of the way, too!
The end result is that I now have a really neat bag full of paints.  It has certainly helped with my organization and it has made my hobbying safer for my daughter.  My wife is happier that my ‘junk’ is cleaned up.  The bag is fancy and it also makes it possible for me to just grab my stuff and head to the hobby shop or take it to the in-laws or parent’s house when I travel.

So, in summary, If you haven’t checked out the bag, I highly recommend it – two thumbs up!