Pelican or not Pelican??

[Andrew]

Need advice re: plane/cabin size box with wheels for photo toys...

Thanx!

And

[charlie]

If you ever need to check it then a hard case pelican is a good idea. If you always plan to use it as a carry on I've read lots of good things about think tanks rolling cases, probably worth looking into.

[PedroS]

If your planing as a carry on, forget Pelican's and the like... you'll be dead at the end of the corridor... look instead to ThinTank's or similares.

[Bjørn Rørslett]

The smaller Pelican case suitable for carry-on is very heavy (approx. 5 kg), so be prepared always to exceed the usual weight limits. Otherwise it works perfectly.

[Andrew]

Thank you, Guys!

[pluton]

Be aware that the Pelican and other cases promoted as "carry on allowed" may not be now, due to revised carry on size restrictions. 
Unfortunately, each airline company is in charge of what is allowed, so get good information ahead of your planned use.
http://www.travelpulse.com/news/airlines/watch-is-your-carry-on-luggage-about-to-get-smaller.html

[Erik Lund]

The Pelican and Storm cases have custom inserts for photo gear, so they are very well suited to provide perfect protection.
The inserts fit DSLR equipment well, for instance a series of f/1.4 lenses fit perfectly along with the new 300PF.
A 15 inch size laptop fits within the case under the lid as well.
Yes they are heavy - but as stated they can survive to be shipped and handled…

[elsa hoffmann]

My Storm case came with "pluck" foam - so you can pluck out exactly where you want for your gear to fit  - nicely custom made. Means your gear has NO chance of moving about.
But ya - carrying that around is impossible for me

[Alex Cejka]

I have the Pelican 1650 with dividers and it is a nice storage for my lenses. I bought it few years back when it was on introductory price special thinking of using it as a car case but did that only handful of times.

On the other hand I have Pelican 1030 Micro and it is great storage for my Ricoh GR/wallet/phone and coins when camping/traveling.

[pluton]

The only problem with Pelican cases is that, in some contexts,  they have come to symbolize "Valuable Stuff Inside".

[tommiejeep]

Keith +1
On a trip from Mexico City to Mumbai (handled 3 times by the baggage people) I had three TSA locks broken off but the TSA Pelican Lock was not broken (I still use it today) .  Funny thing was that the case was filled with computer gear and all of my camera gear was in a LowePro insert inside of a no name, beat up, roll on.  I was travelling business class and that was before the airlines started trying to make ever buck they could   

I rarely use the case these days unless I am travelling by car in India.
Tom

[Jan Anne]

I have several Storm cases, now owned by Pelican.

At home they store my lenses, the smaller cabin sized one has a photo insert and holds most of my lenses. The bigger one, the iM2720 fits my Gurargear Kiboko bag perfectly and contains the rest of my gear.

When travelling they are mainly used as a tough suitcase which can also protect my 3 series Gitzo, head, hiking equipment, etc.

The Storm cases are slightly lighter and have nicer locks which are easier to use while the Pelican cases are less noisy when rolling down the street due to their softer rubber wheels, the Storm uses easy to replace skating wheels but they are very hard and thus noisy as their vibrations are resonated by the case.

[Michael Erlewine]

I have five or six large Pelican cases, include some with wheels, mostly for video gear. Recently I have started to use Nanuk cases and really like them. They can take two locks, and are just very nice.


As for dividers that are very flexible and still sturdy, I like these from Trekpak. I don't know about throwing them around on an airplane, but for truck or car they useful.  Th first shot is my gear in the studio. The second is a promo shot for Trekpak.

http://trekpak.com/

[pluton]

I bought a number of Storm cases because I liked the latches better.
According to a well-documented test done a few years ago by Overland Journal magazine*, the Storm cases showed a slight amount of leakage with water being sprayed directly at the lid-body junction, while the equivalent Pelicans showed no water ingress in the exact same test.  So, if I have to leave my Storm cases out in the rain, I set them flat on the ground, not standing on the spine.
*Not available online, unfortunately.

[Alex Cejka]

Pelican cases are supposed to be build to US military specs.
Angry laptop owner: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QevWViWv8ms