Pelican Style Hardcase or Soft Padded gear bags

[ozziworld]

Am looking for a means to store and transport my U/W Gear and was wondering about the Pelican Style hard cases with the pluck n pull foam.

How did you decide which way to go? Soft padded case or hard case?

I have used the soft padded cases as I find they are easy enough to clean and wash. Also they can easily be adapted to different gear configurations

Have been looking at some pelican cases and was wondering if the weight is worth the added protection. I love the way it all sets up and the foam insert can be customized to a very snug fit.

Has anyone had problems with the foam "crumbling" ? I was also wondering if it can be washed without the blocks falling apart. I imagine that there is potential for soiling when the cases is opened in the field whether it be from salt spray or other cause.

Does anyone still use ice chests with the gear wrapped on towels packed inside?

 

[HerraduraDivers]

Depends for what you want it:

Travelling in Planes/public transportation -> Pelicase in a old torn bag to hide it's content
Travelling to the dive boat: -> hard cooler with a fluffy towel inside
Travelling and shooting on land: -> soft bag, in "dangerous" location, old torn bag with a towel
Storing: -> Never inside any closed bag/case, keep it on a dry airy place
That's the way i sucessfull do it

The foam does not crumble for years, but don't attempt to wash it as i guess that it will fall apart.
Never store the wet camera/housing in the pelicase as the foam get soaked, rott and will stink soon.
Pelicases - and similar products- are made for dry equipment and not for wet one and this is the reason that
i use them ONLY for trips by where the handling of it is out of my control.

P.S. The hard sided cooler protects the gear from "bangs" and make a nice personal rinse tank on the boat while the fluffy towel protects from sunlight, avoiding fogging quite well and you can use it to dry something (like you).

 

[diverdoug1]

Another problem with using Pelican on a plane is that they are quite heavy. If you pack a lot of gear, they will eat into your weight limit.

 

[HerraduraDivers]

Sure, as a UW-DSLR Photographer excess baggage is a common word....
Unfortunately...

Chris

P.S.
My Ikelite D90 housing, UCLS arms, 3 ports, 1 Ikelite DS125 strobe in a Pelicase is about 45 pounds, what mostly equals to 1 excess baggage what cost me on a intercontinental flight 50$ per way.

P.P.S D90, 3 lenses, land strobe, external disks, cell phones, various chargers, etc, etc travel carry on in a LoewePro Photobackpack.

 

[diverdoug1]

I carry-on strobes, housing, ports, lenses and camera body.

 

[Larry C]

I used to use a Pelican case for my P & S, but for it's too heavy for carry-on, so I packed all the stuff carefully in a soft sided wheeled carry-on, packed with socks and undies for padding. The Pelican worked well on our boat, but it does get wet inside, and the foam is like a sponge. You have to leave it open for a few days after diving to dry out.
My MDX D-300 is too big for a reasonably sized Pelican, so I started out by putting it in one of those tubs with a lid you buy at WalMart or Orchard Supply. They keep breaking, so my current solution is a big zippered cooler bag I bought at Costo for about $20. Everything fits, the bag is very light and it's padded and insulated from heat. I can rinse it out and wipe it with a paper towel to get the seawater smell out, and it bungies nicely to the boat. There isn't a lot of protection from the stuff banging into other pieces, but I've put the Dome port in a dollar store Rubbermaid type food container, with a neoprene cover between them and I just leave the vinyl cover on the standard port.
I'm still looking for a better solution and have thought about building a lightweight fiberglass custom case with pockets built in to fit the parts and spray foam (available at hardware stores for insulation) around them.

 

[knowone]

Pelicans are for sitting on lamp posts watching cars go by.

 

[Damselfish]

My husband has a large housed DSLR with 2 strobes. For air travel, he used to use a Samsonite hard rollaboard with pick and pluck foam. Lighter and less conspicuous than a Pelican, but it was getting to be a jigsaw puzzle if TSA wanted to check it out, and wasn't possible to carry on on small planes or some non-US carriers. Now he uses one of the special camera backpacks, I think a Lowepro. A few things (batteries, arms, tools) go elsewhere in luggage but he somehow gets the camera, 2 strobes, housing, dome and flat ports, several lenses, and other miscellany in there. It's like a freakin' clown car.

 

[vladimir]

Another problem with using Pelican on a plane is that they are quite heavy. If you pack a lot of gear, they will eat into your weight limit.

Yes, and they are overkill, as well. My housing, lenses, ports, and camera get carried on in an ordinary carry-on bag lined with foam cannibalized from an old hard-shell. Strobes, the dome port, and anything else that doesn't fit in the carry-on gets checked in a regular suitcase, wrapped in a wetsuit. Nothing has ever been damaged in transit.

 

[HerraduraDivers]

Some people in some airports manage to break a Pelicase...
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I rather pay the price for excess baggage than be worried the whole trip about my expensive gear and i find 50$ is not soo much considering that inside the case are about 4000$ of gear.

Chris