The present invention is a cost effective impact-absorbing insert which combines multiple functionality with parts consolidation and ease of customization that allows wide application anywhere tailored impact protection is desired. The impact-absorbing insert of the present invention mates with a user defined enclosure to produce a protective case for any fragile articles that are used in a portable environment, for example portable electronic devices such as cameras (35 mm and digital), instrumentation, tools, PDAs, web tablets, hand held computers, cell phones, pagers, gaming devices, electronic music players, voice recorders, global positioning systems (GPS), and the like.