Transporting Old Consoles
So, as I have posted before, I am a college student; I go to school about 2 hours away from my home. Now, my question is this: does any body have a good set-up they use to transport consoles? I keep my NES, SNES, 64, and Cube with me at school, but over breaks (xmas, summer), I usually want to bring them home to use. I feel super sketchy just letting them ride in my car, so I wanted to know your thoughts.
I keep any loose consoles that are not currently set up in laptop bags on a bookshelf. If I want to take one of those somewhere I just grab the bag and a couple games I feel like playing at my friend's and go. All the cords needed are in the bags with the systems.
[quote name='Shidou Mariya' date='Nov 17 2010, 10:05 PM' post='4889940']
I'm a collector, but only to a certain extent.
Not as extreme as Rickstilwell though.[/quote]
Cart based consoles like nes/snes/n64 are pretty solid. Just wrap them up in something so they dont rattle around and they will be fine. The GC should be fine as well.
Link to the laptop bags you use, by chance? This sounds like it would be a great setup for me as the bags could be stored easily schoolOriginally Posted by Rickstilwell1
GCN's got a perfectly good handle built in!
But seriously, I've moved multiple times, and just packing them in a cardboard box has always done me well. Just be delicate.
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I bought a bunch of Icon brand laptop bags for $20 each when Radio Shack carried them for most consoles, then I bought $50 Targus bags for the larger consoles.
[quote name='Shidou Mariya' date='Nov 17 2010, 10:05 PM' post='4889940']
I'm a collector, but only to a certain extent.
Not as extreme as Rickstilwell though.[/quote]
The original question made me chuckle a little ... what's to worry about with chunky plastic toys, but using a laptop case for all the loose cords and stuff is a nice idea.
Monoprice has cheap, decent quality stuff. Also look at Amazon Basics. Neither brand is beautiful or stylish, but they're well made and functional.
Just get bags such as laptop bags mentioned earlier. There are also dedicated bags for various consoles that can also be used to transport other consoles.
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I have tons of dedicated bags for my systems that I transport them in. I usually put them in the original boxes if I still have them. My electronics are usually the first or last thing I pack up when moving and I put them in myself. I have never had someone move my stuff for me.
Cool people I have bought stuff from on this board: orrimarrko kyosuke75 dave2236 video_game_addict cloudstrife29661 NESCollector75
If you're on a budget being a college student and all these might fit the bill:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Nintendo-64-...item339791cbce
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Z-BAG-Ninten...item3396f20625
http://www.amazon.com/G-Pak-Console-.../dp/B000JWLDNM
However, if your budget is a little more flexible these would be awesome:
http://techtripper.com/wp-content/up...7025215665.jpg
http://cdn.hypervocal.com/wp-content...8/0Q1gjh1.jpeg
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Travel-Maste...item4d1ec6cadb
I've got to agree with the laptop bags, they're the best. The only exception would be for the N64 after as there are licensed and unlicensed bags you can get and not for a big pile of cash either that are meant to hold them. I have seen plenty of the N64 and PS1 bags about over the years.
I gotta say, that buying bags to transport Nes,SNES,N64 systems sounds like a waste of money.
Just transport them home the same way you transported them to school.
Just wrap them up in your laundry or something soft. As long as they dont get dropped or smashed they will be fine.
It's sort of overkill IMO to worry about how classic consoles fair in a car. With that said, I'll admit, I have a penchant for carry cases made for each console. I can't resist a branded carry case for any system if I don't already have one.
In any event, I find that retro laptop bags work REALLY well. The older ones are wider (since laptops used to be thick as hell) and give you lots of space for peripherals, power supplies and cables. I got an old school pleather latop case from the Goodwell that's amazing for transporting my 360 and controllers/cables AND MY LAPTOP and tablet, too, so it would work just as well for any classic system. The original poster seems to need several cases, but for anyone just looking to transport one console AND maybe a modern laptop and/or a tablet/pad, too, keep an eye out for vintage laptop bags at thrift stores.
Clearly the only way to do this right is with dedicated bags, licensed and specifically made for the purpose. The first I know of for sure is the Z-bag for your NES.
I'm not aware of another dedicated bag until you get to the PS1 and N64, because I own one of each of those. (unless you count handhelds, those had a plethora all along) Gamecube also had an official bag that was quite nice, it let the handle stick out to carry the whole works. I suspect there must have been one for the Sega systems along the way, so I googled it and yes, genesis had a hard case. SMS also had a hard case, two of them exist from what I found, so you should definitely get one of those. And don't forget the rental case for your Virtual Boy.
Or you could use a high tech corrugated cardboard cube in conjunction with the deployment of low density polyethylene containing hemispheres of entrapped air for shock and vibration mitigation.
I'm just screwing around, but yeah, most of those old systems are incredibly robust from the transport perspective. So unless you have a pristine console that you need to keep that way, don't sweat it too much. I'd actually never transport mine in their original boxes without secondary boxing up, because those get screwed up really easily, unless they are beat up in the first place, then it isn't a big deal.
Last edited by Cornelius; 12-07-2014 at 10:45 PM.
I don't have a car so it's all about transporting them on a bus. Carrying them over the shoulder in addition to my laptop in my backpack while walking.
[quote name='Shidou Mariya' date='Nov 17 2010, 10:05 PM' post='4889940']
I'm a collector, but only to a certain extent.
Not as extreme as Rickstilwell though.[/quote]
Wizardofwor1975, thank you for your links; I picked up an N64 bag that I think will do the trick for my toploader and SNES as well!
Glad to help. Personally I think the official/retro bags look pretty slick.
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