Largest Pelican/Hardigg case as "carry on" luggage?

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Sid Post

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Oct 14, 1998
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I will be flying a lot on various airlines, mainly CONUS. I'm concerned about my carry-on baggage. Specifically, I need to travel with some medical equipment so protection is important. I have had the passenger in front of me spill a full cup of coffee on my soft-sided bad soaking everything in coffee :eek:. Add hits, bumps, knocks, people "cramming" oversized bags in overheads, etc. have all caused me much grief. :mad: Damage from these types of events easily cost me over a $100 each time and, I can't go without my medical gear so I don't generally have the luxury of time or flexible options.

I will see a lot of time in CRJ's, ATR's, and similar small feeder hub aircraft which is my main concern. I will also see travel on foreign and domestic Airbus and Boeing aircraft. I have had some mixed experiences overseas on the small Airbus aircraft so that is a concern as well.

The smallest package I can pack my medical gear in is 15"x8"x6". I would like a little extra room for one days worth of clothing (love off airport stays with no luggage :rolleyes:), some candy or light edibles, and a paperback book/newspaper/magazine. After great experiences with Hardigg Stormcase rifle cases, I'm thinking something similar will protect my medical gear from coffee, rain, baggage hazards, etc.

I am looking at the:
  • Pelican iM2500 Storm Trak Case with Foam (Yellow)
  • Pelican iM2600 Storm Case with Foam (Black)

Does anyone fly with either of these cases as "carry on" luggage? Does anyone have advice for me based on experience or observations with similar issues?
 
The Pelican 1500 was designed with the maximum FAA carry-on dimensions. I've used it a bunch for fragile electronics as a traveling audio engineer. You can't do much better, but be sure everything is well padded inside. Also, note that these cases scream, "Hey everybody! There's expensive stuff in here!" So be sure to keep an eye on it at all times.
 
i am literally looking at my (just packed) pelican 1510. it's pretty great -- served me well through all my travels.

make sure you get that mesh pocket organizer thing that mounts into the lid. worth the $20.

http://www.amazon.com/Pelican-1519-Organizer-1510-1514/dp/B0014D2WGW


i am about to fly with my 1510 as a carry-on in about 2 hours. i've never had an issue with it on board.

my only complaint is, there is something loose(?) about one of the latches on my case. if i do check the case, when i get it in the conveyor belt, it's frequently unlocked and sometimes the case is fully opened. i think i got a lemon. fortunately, i haven't lost anything, but this has happened to be on a fairly routine basis (when i check it). now, i carry a small handfull of zipties when i fly to hold the case shut. TSA frequently cuts those ties, but they are kind enough to replace them after inspection.
 
also, there is a trade-off for the protection you receive. the case is comparably sized to other carry on luggage, but the walls are thicker than typical roller luggage. so you won't be able to fit quite as much stuff in there as you might be used to.
 
Thanks! Yes, the thicker walls cut interior volume and add weight. I'm willing to accept both negatives to protect my medical gear.
 
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