Pelican Case - Foam vs Padded divider - Best protection

There are some variables that enter the consideration

1. Fundamental firmness of the foam (in pick-and-pluck vs. in padded dividers)
   
2. How much / how little distance you allow between adjacent equipmnent in layout of pick-and-pluck
   

The case manufacturer decides #1, but your prudence/imprudence defines #2

I made an illustration showing that a pick-and-pluck foam shaped for the equipment might result in greater G's from deceleration than padded dividers with generic flat surfaces, even if the foam density was identical! The pre-conformed pick-and-pluck might distribute the weight over a larger surface area, so deceleration ends up happening in a shorter amount of time (and travel of the decelerating equipment) and that results in more G's, whereas when the pressure of the equipment is mostly at certain points on the foam divider, the distance of deceleration is greater and that leads to less G's.


Regardless, I still think it is impossible to generalize that one type of foam is better/worse than the other type of divider...it is highly situational especially given the fact that owners might want to use less space to divide equipment in order to accommodate more stuff in the pick-and-pluck case.