Durability of the Pelican 1514 Case

aktseaktse Registered Users Posts: 1,928 Major grins
edited August 10, 2009 in Accessories
There has been some discussion about carry-on luggage for camera gear.

Steven Frischling actually tested his Pelican 1514. He's trusts it enough to check the case while flying...

He decided to prove it to people that he wasn't crazy...

Gusty or stupid -- you pick.

1. He drove his truck over it
2. He threw it off of a balcony

He did both while the case was filled with his camera gear!

<object width="425" height="344">

<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2o0fz581vWI&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&feature=player_embedded&fs=1&quot; type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></object>
http://aktse.smugmug.com/

Comments

  • rc madrc mad Registered Users Posts: 9 Beginner grinner
    edited April 17, 2009
    Neither, he knew his gear would be fine.






    Its good stuff, I use pelican gear as panniers on my motorbike, completely watertight, virtually crash proof and it you do manage to break it they have a lifetime guarantee

    I also use one for work tools, that's been checked in with a few airlines and has always come out the other side unscathed
  • RobinivichRobinivich Registered Users Posts: 438 Major grins
    edited April 17, 2009
    The only thing you can't do with a pelican case is scuba dive with it. And I suspect that even if you did, it'd be fine for the first 15-20 ft anyways. They're sweet!
    http://taylorinlight.com
  • ShimaShima Registered Users Posts: 2,547 Major grins
    edited August 7, 2009
    I've outgrown my LowePro Slingshot 300AW and have been eying the pelican cases... now all I need is a free Saturday to go to the nearest camera store that sells them! (since that store is sadly closed on Sundays)
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  • FLYING EYEBALLFLYING EYEBALL Registered Users Posts: 183 Major grins
    edited August 9, 2009
    Shima wrote:
    I've outgrown my LowePro Slingshot 300AW and have been eying the pelican cases... now all I need is a free Saturday to go to the nearest camera store that sells them! (since that store is sadly closed on Sundays)

    This is a great place for getting the deals on Pelican cases.

    http://www.cases4less.com/
    http://jskustoms.smugmug.com/
  • ziggy53ziggy53 Super Moderators Posts: 24,132 moderator
    edited August 9, 2009
    FLYING EYEBALL wrote:
    This is a great place for getting the deals on Pelican cases.

    http://www.cases4less.com/

    They seem to have just started. What is your affiliation with them?
    ziggy53
    Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
  • ZanottiZanotti Registered Users Posts: 1,411 Major grins
    edited August 9, 2009
    ziggy53 wrote:
    They seem to have just started. What is your affiliation with them?

    When I priced mine, B&H was comparable to all the discounters. (and I prefer to do biz with B&H!)

    Also - Shima - the 1510 is pretty small, so check it out first. I bought a 1550 to store at home, no way its fitting on an airplane, but no way my stuff is fitting in a 1510!

    Also, if you search flickr, there are many setups with each case so you can see what they all put in.

    Good luck, show us pics of what you buy.

    Z
    It is the purpose of life that each of us strives to become actually what he is potentially. We should be obsessed with stretching towards that goal through the world we inhabit.
  • hgernhardtjrhgernhardtjr Registered Users Posts: 417 Major grins
    edited August 9, 2009
    ziggy53 wrote:
    They seem to have just started. What is your affiliation with them?
    I don't know about "flying eyeball", but I've purchased all my recent Pellican cases through cases4less over the past 4-5 years or so. Their prices and delivery have been excellent. (And I am in no way associated with ANY vendor.) Their 1520 with travel bag insert is used all the time, while the others are mostly storage anymore.
    — Henry —
    Nam et ipsa scientia potestas est.
  • ziggy53ziggy53 Super Moderators Posts: 24,132 moderator
    edited August 9, 2009
    hgernhardtjr wrote:
    I don't know about "flying eyeball", but I've purchased all my recent Pellican cases through cases4less over the past 4-5 years or so. Their prices and delivery have been excellent. (And I am in no way associated with ANY vendor.) Their 1520 with travel bag insert is used all the time, while the others are mostly storage anymore.

    Thanks Henry. They don't show up on ResellerRatings and a quick scan of their web presence shows few hits/month. Google found then easily enough though. I note that they are going through a name change so maybe that's a part of it. (They are changing to "4LessDepot".)

    Good to know that you had a good experience with them.
    ziggy53
    Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
  • Scott_QuierScott_Quier Registered Users Posts: 6,524 Major grins
    edited August 9, 2009
    I bought mine a couple or three years ago from Cases by Pelican - the first order was the case with the pull-apart foam (that was a mistake). A year or so later I ordered the divider set and had the same excellent service and delivery time.

    As for what you can pack into a 1510 .... check out this post.
    Scott
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  • ShimaShima Registered Users Posts: 2,547 Major grins
    edited August 9, 2009
    Scott_Quier wrote:
    I bought mine a couple or three years ago from Cases by Pelican - the first order was the case with the pull-apart foam (that was a mistake). A year or so later I ordered the divider set and had the same excellent service and delivery time.

    As for what you can pack into a 1510 .... check out this post.

    Thanks for posting that! I actually took a drive out to Calumet Photo today, and since I had to go to the Oak Brook store instead of the Chicago store (silly Chicago store isn't open on Sundays, but the Oak Brook one is) I decided to humor them since they didn't have the pelican I wanted to look at in stock, but they did have the Think Tank Airport Security v2 in stock. I was originally really set on picking up the Pelican... but after making sure the Think Tank would actually fit all my gear (photo to come later, my husbands re-arranging of dividers is really quite impressive... him and the Calumet sales guy were playing w/ that bag with me for a while to see if it was feasible or not) I really started to like the bag... and the fact that it looks like normal luggage instead of some obvious not luggage bag... was kind of nice in that I can probably get noticed less by everyone at the airport when toting that as a carryon (which I will have to do next March when I photograph a wedding in Dallas and all gear shall come along).

    I'm still very intrigued by the insane durability of the Pelican's and I think if my stuff ever outgrows the carry on size that I will very likely upgrade to one of those next.

    Thanks again Scott for posting the photo of the gear inside, greatly appreciate!
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  • FLYING EYEBALLFLYING EYEBALL Registered Users Posts: 183 Major grins
    edited August 10, 2009
    ziggy53 wrote:
    They seem to have just started. What is your affiliation with them?

    hey Ziggy,

    Sorry if I came off Spam(my) :spam

    I've had friends buy from them and have read of a lot of other ADV people having really good luck with them.

    I have no connection with them at all.
    http://jskustoms.smugmug.com/
  • ziggy53ziggy53 Super Moderators Posts: 24,132 moderator
    edited August 10, 2009
    FLYING EYEBALL wrote:
    hey Ziggy,

    Sorry if I came off Spam(my) :spam

    I've had friends buy from them and have read of a lot of other ADV people having really good luck with them.

    I have no connection with them at all.

    Yep, my radar perks right up when a first post simply endorses a vendor.

    Good to have you here and I hope you tell us more about your photography and we especially would love to see some of your images. thumb.gif
    ziggy53
    Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
  • rpcrowerpcrowe Registered Users Posts: 733 Major grins
    edited August 10, 2009
    The Pelicans are great but...
    The Pelicans are great but, they are also fairly heavy. Airlines are becoming increasingly frugal in the weight of gear that are allowing on the plane - even as carry-on baggage.

    Additionally, when I flew on a bush plane in Alaska, my maximum weight was 250 pounds - including me! That didn't leave much weight for a 200 pound guy like me to carry on. Unfortunately, my three companions were equally as large - so I couldn't borrow against their maximum weights.

    Also, I don't need quite as much protection for my carry-on gear since I am usually the only one handling it. I carry my camera gear like I was transporting eggs.

    I pack my gear in smaller shooting bags such as a TAMRAC Zoom-19 Holster Case (30D with 70-200mm f/4L IS lens) and another small Tamrac over-the shoulder 600 series bag (40D with 17-55mm f/2.8 IS). These two bags, in-turn, are placed in a small size roller suitcase - often leaving room for packing other goodies. I will carry a 420EX flash and one additional lens (12-24mm f/4 Tokina) on my trips. These three lenses and two bodies do me just fine unless I expect to shoot wildlife in which I would need a longer lens.

    Although I have a Calumet Monopod which will collapse to 20 inches, I don't attempt to carry this on the plane. I once received a lot of static from the security folks who claimed that it was a "weapon-like implement" and should not be allowed as carry-on baggage.
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