Pelican Cases

[Darnold9999]

I carry a couple smaller pelican cases for housing ports and other particularly fragile bits. One goes inside a duffle bag and the other larger one goes as a second bag if I am travelling business. Otherwise I just carry the one and stuff my carryon with heavy stuff and practice lifting a 50lb bag like it weighs nothing!

 

[happy-diver]

I only use Pelican cases for traveling. Pre-Corona season I would average about 50-70 plane rides a year. Pelican cases are the only thing that last. Yes I have tried, Tumi, Rimowa, Samsonite, etc.

Buy them when they are on sale and have a promo code, usually around this time or Black Friday. Almost all my cases I have paid around $200 +/- $50 for. I own all different sizes from the 1607 (now discontinued), 1627, 1615, 1637 and the price is actually A LOT cheaper than good quality luggage like Tumi, Rimowa etc. and there is many more size options to suite your gear

Personally I would rather have stuff like my rebreathers, DPV etc be safe in a pelican case that I know is not going to break then in regular luggage. I spend alot of time in remote diving areas think jungle cave exploration trips. Remote SE Asian diving trips requiring dodgy local transportation on public boats, buses, trains etc. with my pelican case on roofs, boat hulls, back of trucks getting full rain, dust, mud, snow, salt water etc. I would not want my equipment in anything but a pelican case. $200 for a good case seems like cheap insurance for such expansive diving gear.

Also as far as the weight goes check the specs on the Air cases I listed above. If you compare the weight to Samsonite, Rimowa or Tumi the weight is the same or maybe just 1kg more.

Also yeah I know companies like Samsonite make some ultralight $800 roller bags that are 3-4kg but trust me I have tried them after about 20 plane rides the wheels brake off, the corner get dented in and the outershell cracks. They are just not made to have heavy diving gear in them and be thrown around by gorilla airplane luggage handlers. The 2-3kg I will gladly take the 2-3kg extra weight of a pelican over the floppy ultralight bag. Remember most "luggage" is made for the once a year traveler that puts soft clothing in the there luggage not heavy chucks of metal like diving gear.

Most recent remote cave exploration trips I went on in SE Sulawesi.
View attachment 696437View attachment 696438View attachment 696439



Or sometimes I just wear my rebreather like a backpack and put it on the seat next to me

View attachment 696440

Bloody brilliant, and they just keep on talking, ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

 

[CanadaDan]

marsh9077 is spot on with the Pelican Airs. I just looked at the numbers comparing them to my travel case. The 1637 Air Case is about 9l smaller than my Samsonite S'Cure 28 and weighs 5lbs more.... but that should be fine. I can get a steel BPW , suit, fins, SAD kit etc (regs and computer in my carry-on) in my Samsonite S'Cure and it weighs in at 41lbs. So on paper there's enough spare weight capacity for the extra 5lb of the Air Case and stay under the 50lb no extra fee limit. The only thing I'm not sure I could get in would be my full size rec fins as I would loose 4" of interior length and it's already tight. I might have to switch to a shorter fin.

Prices are similar too. Think I may look into getting a 1637.

 

[Compressor]

Ha ha. I use Pelican cases for all my travel. Tired of my suitcases arriving torn or damaged.
I do put a piece of duct tape on the pelican label. I use Pelican Air case (1605) for checked bag (case) and a Pelican 1510 for carryon.

Most of my scuba gear is insured.

At the airport, I almost always get asked if I am carrying tools in the Pelican checked bag.
So far, I have never had an issue with theft.

When a plane is going to the Caymans or Bonaire, what do you think you will find if you could survey the contents of the suitcases? I would bet the majority would include scuba gear. Sometimes you don't really have a choice on what to carry. Try carrying a 8" dome port in your carryon bag.

 

[Manatee Diver]

Bloody brilliant, and they just keep on talking, ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

Because people could never have different experiences or requirements.

My 28" Samsonite bag is at least 15 years old, and has dozens of flights over the years. Thing cost me $80. Of course if I were doing expedition diving I would probably have different requirements. But for me the biggest threat is theft. And since real locks draw attention these days the best way to avoid theft is to be the grey man, with cheap common TSA locks and a suitcase that blends in.

 

[Cio]

Coleman coolers are wonderful BTW. If you watch planes being unloaded you will see there is a certain size one that is used for transporting medical stuff, organs ect. That size is almost the exact TSA limit (L+W+H)

Put your stuff in there, secure with a strap of your liking. (I use cam straps)

Arrive at destination
Remove belongings and put in a bag you packed in the cooler.
Fill cooler with ice and food.
Engauge party time

I also use Rubbermaid roughneck totes, I have one that has been everywhere. Cheap, durable and packed right will protect anything. They don't have wheels but slide across floors with ease. I use a bungee strap with carabiners to hold it closed as well as drag it around in airports. I also added four holes in each corner and use zip ties to secure it (throw a handful in there for repacking.)

FULL DISCLOSURE:
When your wife sees this, she will not be impressed and when your friends see it, they will laugh at you. however, when you are enjoying fresh fish in Hawaii that cost $2/# at the local food store, they will all admit what genius it is.

 

[kelemvor]

I use pelican cases, the ones that are somewhat lighter and sized specifically to be a carry-on. They're very easy to manage in airports and on the plane. All my more expensive gear goes in (regs, computers, cameras, etc). I've used them for 3 international trips, and plan to use them again this summer for the Scubaboard Invasion.

1535 Air Carry-On Case: Air Traviel Carry On Suitcase | Pelican

For travel lifestyles, take the rugged Pelican 1535 carry-on. Perfect for air travel, an automatic purge valve protects against water, dust and air pressure.

www.pelican.com

 

[Doc]

Certain very very delicate pieces of SCUBA gear, such as first and second stages, I first put in a small Pellicant case, then I put that in a bigger Pelliucant case.

and of course, i put them in the overhead in cabin carry-on.

Viola.

 

[BoltSnap]

I have used Pelican for camera equipment for carry on and checked luggage since the 1990's without ANY issues at all. I have also used "gear bags" made specifically for dive equipment from Scubapro and Stahlsac for decades without ANY issues, none.

 

[Doc]

And this: