Pelican 1650 case...

[Lisa M]

I was thinking about getting this case to travel with, but I have read some people posting that the airlines are getting more strict/uptight about their 62" dimension limitations (L+W+H).

Knowing that the 1650's dimensions are 64"...has anyone experienced or know if this case creates problems? I just read that penalties can run $80 per leg of a trip for an "oversized" case!

Also, does anyone have any experience with this case...good or bad case to carry gear (drysuit, fins(quattros), bc, etc...)?

Thank you very much!!:)
Lisa

[Stone]

Lisa,

Do a search on "Samsonite" and you will get four threads that have info on travelling with your gear.

[kwesler]

I cannot speak to the airline question, but so far I have traveled with two of them with no issue. I pack in one: mask in case, BP?wing, 5 m or dry suit, jet fins, reg bag, booties, gloves, dry box save a dive kit, lights etc. with no problems.

Ken

[seabass]

I use a 1650 case. My guess is that 2" is too close for them to measure accurately. In addition, there are always quite a few pieces that look larger, the 1650 is big but not really bigger than normal suitcases. The 1650 just barely holds 1 set of gear. Keep in mind that the case itself is pretty heavy. I use a BP/wings which are pretty light, and my gear in the box still weighs in at about 62-66 pounds. This means it has to be completely dry otherwise I will go over the 70 pound limit.

[jeffsterinsf]

Remember that Pelican cases almost certainly indicate "something valuable inside." My personal preference is to travel with a generic-looking hard or semi-hard bag and do my own padding on the inside, if needed. In any event, avoid stickers on the outside that make your bags more "attractive" by shouting "hey! $3000 of dive equipment inside"

Covered in the "search for samsonite" theads in greater detail.

[BOATS313]

I have been traveling for work with Pelican cases of various sizes for years with few problems.
The biggest problem is weight, the case itself weighs more than a suitcase, putting you closer to the dreaded 70 pound limit. Some airlines love to charge the heavy bag fee.
Once the box is full there is very little give to squeeze in the extras you pick up on your trip.
You can't beat the security (short of stealing the box or cutting the lock) and protection of a hard case. You would be surprised at how easy it is to open soft luggage and close it again without any signs you've been there.
Be carefull of the lock you use. If it sticks out from the case the lock holes can break, Pelican will replace the case for free (less shipping) but it is a hassel. IME

[jeffsterinsf]

BOATS313 once bubbled...
...
You can't beat the security (short of stealing the box or cutting the lock) and protection of a hard case.
...

That's exactly what happens -- they steal the case then cut the lock. Often the airlines will call it a "mysterious disappearance" of your luggage. As it isn't a "theft" you are usually SOL with trying to collect from your insurance company for the loss.

[BOATS313]

jeffsterinsf once bubbled...


That's exactly what happens -- they steal the case then cut the lock.

After over 50 international trips with 5 Pelican cases and 4 no-name hard cases on each, I have never lost one. Could just be good luck. Not marking the cases, or any luggage for that matter, with anything to hint at the contents helps too.

[herman]

BOATS313 once bubbled...
Be carefull of the lock you use. If it sticks out from the case the lock holes can break, Pelican will replace the case for free (less shipping) but it is a hassel. IME


I travel with a 1650 as well. I use the long shank locks that pelican sells for the case and tape them down with duct tape. It keeps them from flopping around and prevents them from getting snagged.

While marking them in ways that suggest that there is dive gear inside is not a good idea, you do need to boldly mark them in a manner that prevents other divers from picking up yours...they do look alike unless you see mine. Lots of fun things you can do with model car paint and stick on letters. I can spot mine across the airport.

To find the size of the case, just go to Pelican's web site.

[detroit diver]

jeffsterinsf once bubbled...
Remember that Pelican cases almost certainly indicate "something valuable inside." My personal preference is to travel with a generic-looking hard or semi-hard bag and do my own padding on the inside, if needed. In any event, avoid stickers on the outside that make your bags more "attractive" by shouting "hey! $3000 of dive equipment inside"

Covered in the "search for samsonite" theads in greater detail.

I couldn't agree with you more. I don't even use a "dive" bag-just a rolling duffel with all my stuff. No stickers, no dive flags, no indication at all. Same with my car.

As much as I like diving, I like keeping my stuff even more!

[Aquamaniac]

2 Plain Black Samsonites here as well, homemade foam inserts. Definatly NO marking, never had a problem.

Dave

[Rich]

I have traveled with my 1650 and not had any problems...but that was pre-strickdum by the airlines.

I took my 1660 (yes there is a new 1660) to St. Thomas with me a couple of weeks ago and got zapped $80 twice. Both times it was at the same airport...Harrisburg, PA.

Not at thing was said at my originating location Fayetteville, NC.. or by the US Air reps at St. Thomas....just Harrisburg PA.

So I wrote US Air and they apologized for the inconsistancy and gave me a $160 voucher for my next US Air flight.....

[reefraff]

I may have missed a trip, to the best of my recollection...

Dive travel from Chicago since 9/11 traveling with multiple Pelican 1650's:

Bonaire (Air Jamaica)
Tampa (American)
Hawaii (United)
Raleigh (United Express)
Seattle (United)

No charges for oversized, never measured.
No charges for overweight, weighed once. I know for a fact that I was overweight on a couple of these trips, being nice to the skycap pays off again.

Non-dive trips from Chicago since 9/11 with at least one Pelican 1650:

Detroit (United twice)
New York (United)
Dallas (American once, United once)
Phoenix (United)
Atlanta (United)

No charges for oversized, never measured.
No charges for overweight, never weighed.

Your results may vary.

Steven

[Lisa M]

Thank you all very much for your replies!!

I have read with much interest all of your replies! I have been using a regular pullout handle bag with wheels but recently snapped the handle off when the case started to fall and I grabbed the handle...at $50 to replace it did not seem worth it. :(

One of the things I thought was nice about Pelican style cases is the ability to pack wet gear. My regular bag (a Service Merchandise going out of business special) isn't too happy at the end of the day after traveling with a wet drysuit (my CF200X, while an awesome suit takes quite a while to dry ...as many of you know).

$80/leg is pretty painful...but it sounds like most of you have not had problems.

Is there a Samsonite bag (which some of you have mentioned) that anyone finds is particularly suited for dive gear?

Thank you all very much once again!!
Lisa :)

[ScubaDawg]

Just got back from Bonaire where I took 2 1650's (the wife and I). Both cases fully loaded only weighed 62 and 51 lbs respectively.
(Ranger BC, fins, masks, weight belts, lights, spare regs, etc..... in each).

Never paid for any additional cost for the flights at all.

Sure glad that I had my Pelican 1650's that I got from www.Cases4less.com and LP for around $150 each.

Lisa mentioned carring wet gear.... well one other nice thing is to use it for a rinse tub when you only have a shower in your room and want to soak your wetsuite in some "SINK THE STINK".

I would go with the Pelican 1650's if I was you. They have a LIFETIME warranty for a reason. ;)

--dawg

[seabass]

Regarding carrying a wet drysuit in a pelican. My case is about 62 pounds with my gear dry. That means if it is wet I might go over the limit. The 24 hour no fly is perfect for completely drying out my gear.

I have found though that my gear will not dry overnight unless I have air circulating around it. This means either blow a portable fan on your gear or if your hotel bathroom has a vent, turn that on. It makes a big difference to keep a little air movement going around wet gear.

[sylvester]

I also use a pelican 1660. with just my stuff it pushes about 78 lbs, spare batterys and stuff like that. But its size is great since I am also my wifes gear caddy, I can put everything in one box and roll it away. Also the Pelican can be locked / cabled in to my jeep to keep it there when we are away from the jeep.

When I travel by air I always pay the over wgt fee, on AA. however I dont use locks, I use big cable ties and wait for TSA to conduct thier inspection hand the agent a hand full of ties and ask him to attach 2 per locking hole. Never had anything disappear yet.

[swsurgeon]

One thing I like about my 1650 is that if I am leaving it in the hotel while using a mesh duffel on the boat, I can lock up the leave-behind stuff. I travel light (except for the 1650!) and anything I lose is an inconvenience. Sometimes hotel staff might be inclined to slip something in their pocket or cart, but wouldn't try to break open or take an entire locked 1650 case.

I get weighed EVERY time I use the thing, so I try to stay well under 70 lbs. I also get searched occasionally. A baggage guy once told me there was a movie or TV show in which they showed how the SEALS use the 1650 to transport their H & K MP5 SMGs. As a result, some people think of the 1650 as a "weapons locker".

The 1650 has some drawbacks, but the protection is very good.

[Sibhod]

Just came back from Grand Cayman, I flew AA all the way. They did'nt charge me for over size or over weight. I don't mark the case with anything to indicate whats in it. I put all my dive gear and clothes for the week in it. I think it's a great case.

[RPanick]

While I love the Pelican case, they do have a down side. If you end up on a small prop plane, and they are even close to having a weight restriction, guess what gets left behind. You guessed it the big black box. This usually isn't a problem on the big jets. However, you can have some problems with rental cars and moving the silly things, espcially if like me you have two of them. (3 Divers in the family).

Now, I did get the case a day later, but that was one less day of diving using my gear. Yes I had regs and a mask, but no fins or BC.

So here is my solution, I use one of the standard roller bags that will fit in the overhead. I can get my BC, mask, reg, and computer in it. One trick to get the BC in, suck the air out using your inflator. I'm still trying to figure out how to handle my fins yet, they are about two inches too long for the bag. Everything else goes into one or two small duffels that get checked. Small duffels almost always make it, where big bags seem to have problems.

I can throw a shorty and a few other items of clothes in a small bag to carry on with the rollerbag, and never get hassiled. If you want put your computer in it and tell them its your computer bag.

In short, I try to get as close to checking nothing as I can. I came real close until I realized that they wouldn't let me carry on my dive tool for some reason. Seems they think they could be used as a knife.

One other suggestion from people on my last trip. Let your gear stink on the way home, inspections seem to go much quicker if the smell reaches out and smacks them around a bit. Of course you have to deal with it when you get home.

[swsurgeon]

Good point on the stinky stuff. I just got back from Belize early this morning and noted that the guys who packed a bunch of dirty, nasty stuff on top of their gear seemed to get through pretty quickly. One other note concerns plastic quick ties. I secured a soft-sided bag with one of them. None of the inspectors in Belize City had anything with which to cut it, so they simply x-rayed the bag rather than inspecting it by hand.

[army_roofus]

1650- For the Rugged Durability. Ever seen some of those bags get thrown around? Glad I have a hard case.

All of the Dive magazines hate it. They say it does not fit all off their gear or not well at least. I have no problem. As long as you pack it neat and organized you can not go wrong. Even when I thought I had no more room I had no choice but to fit a small pelican camera case in also. I got it to fit with everything secure and nothing damaged.

My case fully loaded- 55 pounds. I don't possible know what else I can buy in diving to put in there. I am sure I will find something though.

Airlines - The weight never goes over unless you travel with weights. Thats a no-no. But they always look at the case funny like there is something of importance or a safty hazard so you will get questioned from time to time. The size is no problem. Fits in the smallest planes for an island hop.

www.Leisurepro.com $150.00 with the Foam(which you will have to remove of course. But can be used for other things.):)

[army_roofus]

Above I said the smallest plane? not true. Did not think of the Cessna 182 you might have to take for a hop. Thats a consideration. RPanick has a great idea. Watch out for the smell. The Water in Belize stinks and taste terrible.:confused:

[gsxr1997]

if you fly delta they charge $25.00 if its over 50 lbs.

i used my 1650 on a cruise last year and it fit my oceanic probe bc,fins,,reg set,a 3mm shorty,3mm full ,mask ,reefmaster camera and strobe, and a 13 cu ft pony with reg set, and a gear bag to put it all in for the dive boat.

[geraldp]

I was thinking about getting this case to travel with, but I have read some people posting that the airlines are getting more strict/uptight about their 62" dimension limitations (L+W+H).

Knowing that the 1650's dimensions are 64"...has anyone experienced or know if this case creates problems? I just read that penalties can run $80 per leg of a trip for an "oversized" case!

Also, does anyone have any experience with this case...good or bad case to carry gear (drysuit, fins(quattros), bc, etc...)?

Thank you very much!!:)
Lisa
Hi Lisa: I was set to purchase a 1650 earlier this year and my LDS recomended against them (even though they sell a lot of them). The 1650 weighs in at 29.4 pounds EMPTY! (see Pelican Case Specs (http://www.pelican.com/cases/cases4.html)). Since domestic travel dictates a max of 50 pounds, that doesn't leave much weight for gear. Instead I got a Deep Outdoors Hail Mary case. It's slightly larger than the max size also (H+L+W = 64"), but on the two trips I've taken it on nobody has noticed (one domestic and one international) - probably because it's a soft-sided case. The case weighs in at 9 pounds empty, and has multiple pockets, including the main area for wet stuff. The rest of it is broken down into smaller dry compartments that truly keeps your stuff dry. It's got a pair of wheels on both ends so you can pick up either end and roll with it.

It also has a zip-out expand-o area that can increase the volume to over 9200 cu. in. (vs. the 1650's 5500 cu. in. internal dimensions). Of course fully expanded out it's too large to carry on an airplane, but you can still use it on road trips and on live-aboards.

The price was identical to the 1650. The only drawback that I could see was that it isn't hard-sided.

Jerry

[geraldp]

if you fly delta they charge $25.00 if its over 50 lbs.
United Airlines is the same (for domestic). 70 lbs for international.

[ChrisA]

I travel with a 1650 as well. I use the long shank locks that pelican sells for the case and tape them down with duct tape. It keeps them from flopping around and prevents them from getting snagged.

While marking them in ways that suggest that there is dive gear inside is not a good idea, you do need to boldly mark them in a manner that prevents other divers from picking up yours...they do look alike unless you see mine. Lots of fun things you can do with model car paint and stick on letters. I can spot mine across the airport.

To find the size of the case, just go to Pelican's web site.

That's the key to anti-theft too. If there are two bags, one is generic black and the other day-glow pink with green strips. No thief is going to risk walking out with the unique brightly colored bag.

For cruising sailors the number one thing stolen is the dinghy and/or outboard motor. But if you spray paint some stripoes on the engine cover it will make the engine very hard for a thief to sell. Same with a dinhy if the larger boat's name is prionted a foot tall on both sides.

The thing is that if a guy is going to steal some luggage he will steal some luggage you just have to make sure it some other guys luggage that gets swipped so make your less attractive.

Photographers have the same problem but thier stuff is even more expensive and esier to break. I saw one who had a nice official New York City seal and professional looking lettering that reads "sewage samples".