Roller case - Pelican vs ThinkTank

Cameron

I've outgrown my photo backpack and am looking for a roller-style bag. I'd use it for both local shoots and for air travel. I like the looks and features of the Think Tank Airport International 2.0 (or Airport Security) but the ruggedness of the Pelican (1510). It seems like I frequently end up on a regional jet for a connection and I'm scared I'd have to gate-check the Think Tank - the Pelican would fare much better in these situations. Looking at the internal dimensions of the Airport Security it seems I could fit a bit more in that than the Pelican 1510.

The other option that is intriguing is the LowePro Pro Roller x200 - it seems somewhat similar to the ThinkTank bag but the inner-case is actually a removable backpack. If I had to gate check the bag I could just remove the contents by unzipping the pack from the shell and check the shell. Still, the x200 is twice the price of the Pelican case..

Thoughts? Experiences?

CoryUT

I don't have any experience with any of these cases in particular, but my experience with Pelican stuff in general tells me that it's a good way to go at half the price of the others. It looks like if you get the 1510 with adjustable Velcro inserts, a lid organizer and a TSA lock you'd have a flexible, rugged setup for under $200.

Cameron

CoryUT wrote:

I don't have any experience with any of these cases in particular, but my experience with Pelican stuff in general tells me that it's a good way to go at half the price of the others. It looks like if you get the 1510 with adjustable Velcro inserts, a lid organizer and a TSA lock you'd have a flexible, rugged setup for under $200.

Thanks for the reply. The Pelican seems like a great option. Any thoughts from Pelican owners out there? Any regrets?

Art Scott

Pelican is an "old" tried and true company.....my only experience with the pelican 1510 is with pick and pluck foam and sound equipment....wireless mics and receivers for the mics.....most for homeland security conferences on SEMTEX (seminars [SEM] on Terrorism [T] and Explosives [EX]........

Scott_Quier

I have the Pelican 1510, with the padded dividers. I ordered the case with the pluck-n-pull foam and found that to be a HUGE waste of space/volume.

Bought the dividers from the same folks from whom I purchased the case.

Here are three images that might help you a bit.

1. I pack the case in 2 layers. This is the first layer. Under the 70-200, I have 3 or 4 camera batteries and 3 4-packs of AA batteries for the flashes. Between the case the dividers I have my WhiBal card and an envelop (not seen here) of gels for my flashes.


2. The second layer - not a lot of change here, but I've added a lot of bits-n-pieces in the lower-left area. There's two or three DYI Better Bounce Cards, 2 Newton Di100FR2 Flash Rotator flash brackets, 2 off-camera E-TTL shoe cords, corn starch powder, some headache pills, lens cleaner, and some nits-and-knats


3. Inside the lid and under the foam, I store flat stuff. Here is a DIY light scoop. I also use this area to store a copy of the contract I'm shooting under.


To date, I've had to gate check this only once or twice when flying on small regional aircraft. Size-wise, it fits inside the measuring cages at the gate so I've had no issues there. I've yet to have to let them weigh the case when loaded as seen here .... and a good thing too because when loaded as seen here it weighs in at about 40 lbs. I've used it for air travel to MT (for the Glacier shootout), two or three trips to AK, car travel to ME (for the Acadia Shootout), and to 20+ weddings. So far - no dings, no dust, no worries.

I'm not trying to say this is a better solution than any other case, just that this is my solution to the problems I needed solving.

Cameron

Scott - thanks for the pics, that helps to see how I could use the space. It looks like a good solution for me as well. I think I'll put this on the birthday wishlist...