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Pelican Cases (Carry On & Check in)

M

Michael Frymus

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So, I want to get some Pelican cases for my camera gear.
I am hoping on getting a Large case for checked in luggage and a smaller one for carry on.

Although I don't currently have a lot of gear, I want to future proof myself and get a case that I can add more to than buying a new case all together. Gear such as: DSLR/RED Camera, Lenses, Matte Box, Follow Focus, Filters, Shoulder Rig, etc.

For a checked in luggage, Id want to go with the biggest one I can without it being oversized and the biggest I can for carry on. Any recommendations on which Pelican case? ...I believe that these may work for most airlines, but I am not sure;
Small Carry On: 1550
Large Checked In: 1650

But, I am wondering about those who travel with their own equipment how you guys deal with it all?
- How many cases of equipment do you have?
- What goes in your checked in luggage, & how big is this case?
- What goes in your carry on, & how big is this case?
- Normally how many checked in/carry on items are you allowed? - What about clothing?
 
The 1510 is a good case. I fly with two, body and a few AKS in one, and glass in a second one that my AC takes. The Data guy usually has one as well with drives and a laptop. Small regional jets make you gate check them and I feel much better about that in a pelican case than I do in a soft case. If I have special or extra expensive glass I usually pull it and put it in a soft bag that will fit under my seat.

Different airlines have different rates, but on average, to fly with one camera, and a sound package with a 3 person crew, it costs between $180-$500 each way in XS baggage. I usualy travel with

Lenses, body, and drives carry on

Tripod 1 case
Camera AKS 1 case
Batteries 1 case
Depending on trip duration, 1 personal bag per crew member
AC tools case (because you can't carry on any good tools)
Then one case for sound
And finally a case for a location LED package if we are on a little doc shoot.

That's for a low impact small shoot where we are hiring G&E and additional crew locally.

If we are all going on an adventure, then it's like 6 guys and 25-30 cases or so ;-)

Nick
 
7571263776_fb115d4778_c.jpg
 
That pic gives me a migraine. I HATE checking gear...
 
Notice too that several of those cases in the photo are actually Storm cases, not Pelican. I'm a fan of the Storm over the Pelican. Both are great cases, but the Storm latches win hands down in my book. No knuckle busters or lost fingernails like with the Pelicans.
 
LOL! @the picture

What if you were flying for personal reasons, non-hired gigs.
Such as going away to Europe for a month or so on vacation and you wanted to bring some gear around if you wanted to do some quick guerilla style one-man shoots?
- I don't have a lot of gear, so it not like i'm going to put everything separately in a case and just pay the extra fees. If I'm travelling, and need to bring only a case or two, (this type of scenario) how could I do it?

Since if you are travelling because you got hired, and have to bring your own gear, the client should pay for the extra luggage fees (I guess).
 
If you're flying with gear for personal reasons, you should be able to keep it down to two Pelican 1510s. The Pelican 1510 with Padded Dividers is my go-to, and I will almost always travel with at least one with the camera body and a few core accessories. I will not check the camera and media if I can help it. I have not tried yet, but I believe I will be able to carry two 1510s on... guess it'll depend on the airline. If you fly Southwest, they give you free additional checked bags if you're "media" - which, as a filmmaker, you qualify for. Pretty sweet.
 
What are the advantages/disadvantages of their 'Pick-n-Pluck foam' vs the standard movable dividers?
 
Mike Van Laanen said:
How do you all handle the battery check-in issue? Nick do you check that battery case?
Click to expand...

You can't check lithium ion batteries. This has been discussed a lot here. You can carry on quite a few, I think it's 2 red batteries and as many under 90Ah as you want. Check the tsa guidelines. I usually carry 2 red batteries and 3 bebop rouge in a pelican 1510 case and my epic and lenses in a think tank airport extreme backpack. Everything else goes in a tumi suitcase with my clothes around it. Tripod gets checked in a hard case.
Of course, for your carry-on you have to make it look light as there is a weight limit.
 
Each airline has its own regulations, carry-on luggage dimensions, weight and limits on the checked-in baggage. Even within the same country each airline has different allowance. I found it helpful to have very large pockets as most of the airlines do not set the limits on how much you have in them :)

Although, I acknowledge that with the amount of gear on Milan's picture, at least some of it would have to be checked in. LOL
 
Thanks guys. I did remember reading all the posts about FAA requirements and was just confused about Nick's battery pelican case. Thought he was packing Red Bricks or comparable bricks.
 
Trevor Meeks said:
Use 90wh batteries and you can check without any limit.
Click to expand...


Not true, if the batteries contain lithium ion, if caught you can be fined $250,000 & ten years in prison.
 
Stephen Williams said:
Not true, if the batteries contain lithium ion, if caught you can be fined $250,000 & ten years in prison.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I was thinking carry-on. There is no limit to the number of <100wh batteries you can carry on. However, I know a number of people who check 90wh batteries without issues.
 
If you are going to get the Pelican 1550, I have some padded dividers that I am not using (since I switched to Foam interior). I was going to put them on eBay, if you want to buy them just PM me -- then you will just need to buy an empty 1550 case.
 
The padded dividers are my new go-to. I used to love custom foam, but it was way too limiting if something in my kit changed. For carry-on purposes, padded dividers FTW!
 
Trevor Meeks said:
Sorry, I was thinking carry-on. There is no limit to the number of <100wh batteries you can carry on. However, I know a number of people who check 90wh batteries without issues.
Click to expand...

It's not an issue until they don't show up on location and/or you go to jail.
 
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