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How strong are Pelican cases for travel? Would drive on one?
Steven E. Frischling, Photographer
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Live HVN : Work SFO-NYC | | | Posted: 1:21 PM on 04.16.09 |
->> I have written about the Pelican 1514 quite a bit over the past few years in various forums, and like many others I have found the to be exceptional in terms of durability.
After writing about the Pelican 1514 yesterday on Flying With Fish , I decided I needed to prove how much I trust my Pelican 1514...so this morning I went out and drive a full-size Chevy Pickup over mine...TWICE!
For some photos click here: http://1514Truck.notlong.com
The case, and its contents, came through perfectly...except a tire scuff mark on one of my stickers. I am sure there is a ramp handler at PHL who can prove this test wrong, but according to GM the rear section of a Chevy 1500 pickup would create a downward pressure of more than 2000lbs if the truck was empty (gas tank was full and there was some stuff loaded in the bed). Either way, using the base weight from GM regarding the rear wheels of the truck, the case is in perfect working condition, as are the two 1D series bodies, lens, macro tube, flash and batteries that were inside the case. |
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David Harpe, Photographer
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Louisville | KY | USA | Posted: 3:58 PM on 04.16.09 |
->> Neat test, but it doesn't really tell you much. Even, static pressure is far different than uneven, dynamic force. You can ease a truck on a bridge made of cardboard, but that doesn't mean the bridge will hold up when the truck drives over the bridge at 30 miles an hour. Rolling the truck onto the lid gives you some indication of what might happen if the case hit exactly flat, but a far more likely impact is on a corner or an edge. It is doubtful the case would survive with that much pressure on a corner.
The real test for this type of case is to drop/throw it several times from typical heights fully loaded. Figure out how far the fall is from the inside luggage bay of an airplane and throw it from there. That kind of test would tell you how good your case might be.
Even if the case holds up, how you pack the inside is a much bigger factor when you have a dynamic load. Unfortunately it's hard to know if you have it right without risking your gear...although "egg tests" can be helpful. |
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Steven E. Frischling, Photographer
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Live HVN : Work SFO-NYC | | | Posted: 4:28 PM on 04.16.09 |
->> David,
The test was not meant to be a scientific bench mark. Pelican makes all sorts of claims of durability, which is why I went with this test.
The first time over the case the bricks barely moved, which is why we did it a second time. I wanted more speed, I wanted the truck to hit the case in such a way that it would be torn away from the bricks and bent and twisted and that is what happed on the second pass.
While I wasn't clocking the trucks speed, it was a good indicator to me that Pelican's claims were factual.
As you mention packing is very important. How something is packed is always important. Items packed tightly do not shift as much and incur less damage. Items packed loose, or incorrectly get banged around and can get damaged due to impact even in the strongest of cases.
I have discussed packing quite a bit, including this entry discussing the hazards of packing a body attached to a lens when traveling:
http://boardingarea.com/blogs/flyingwithfish/2008/09/16/packing-your-camera.../ |
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Thomas E. Witte, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Cincinnati | OH | USA | Posted: 5:41 PM on 04.16.09 |
->> Poor test.
I say that because A: while it's crush resistant, how often is it going to be in a crush risk situation, and B: while it's a 5276 lb truck, you only put 1107 lbs on the case due to weight distribution (yes it's slightly higher than that but I don't to get in to vectored forces). If you tuck your arms in correctly you can support that kind of weight on your chest. If you want to "drive" over the case, take the bricks out of the equation and just run over it. Chances are it will still survive but you'll beat the shiitake out of your truck.
Pelicans stand a far greater chance of being in an impact situation since they're rolled down steps, tossed on to loading docks, bumped against walls, driven over by idiots trying to prove a point, etc. While I own several of them and suggest everyone who ships gear owns them, it needs to be pointed out that they are breakable. Ask Jody Grober about the case I used one time and had it broken by Air France's baggage monkeys. The gear inside was unscathed though, so that's good.
In another incident with another photographer I was flying with, United managed to pierce a case and impale two speedlights. Whatever it was was yellow metal about 3/4" in diameter.
While the case is hyper rigid, that isn't always a good thing. US Airways managed to break a 600mm inside the case while not damaging the case itself. Like David eluded to, I had just gotten off the plane (an A330) and stopped to check something on my laptop. I saw a ramp worker run and a big black object land on the tarmac. Then I saw the identifier markings and knew it was mine. Somehow it never made it on to or slipped off of the conveyor. Just like your brain, even though the skull stops, the brain is still moving and impacts the inside of the skull giving you a concussion. The front protector ring bent in and broke the front element even though there was a double layer of foam between the lens and case wall. |
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Steven E. Frischling, Photographer
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Live HVN : Work SFO-NYC | | | Posted: 7:39 PM on 04.16.09 |
| ->> Tomorrow I am considering tossing my loaded Pelican 1514 off the 2nd floor deck of house. Its a hard grass/dirt landing, not the hardest impact I can think of, but I don't feel like paving my lawn for an informal impact test. |
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Chuck Liddy, Photographer
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Durham | NC | USA | Posted: 7:50 PM on 04.16.09 |
| ->> Fish, I gotta ask dude. What exactly was the point of this thread again? Why in God's name would anyone run over their Pelican case? I mean I sit around getting bored a lot. Get people mad at me on SS. Rag people on FB. Exercise. Watch TV, you know regular stuff you do when you're bored. But I have never just been sitting around and said to myself, "HEY!!! I'm going to go out in the garage and grab my Pelican cases and RUN over them with my truck!!! And after that I think I'll take that old Halli case and smack it around too!" Get out of the house man. It's springtime!! 8) |
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Steven E. Frischling, Photographer
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Live HVN : Work SFO-NYC | | | Posted: 8:04 PM on 04.16.09 |
->> Chuck,
I have written about the durability of the Pelican cases a quite a few times. Yesterday I revisited the functional use of the Pelican 1514 and between posting about the case and when I went to bed I received 31 e-mails from people (at least 7 from SS.com that I recognized the names of) asking me, in various ways, exactly how durable I though the Pelican 1514 was.
I'm not a lab, I didn't set out to do a scientific test, just one to sort how durable the case its self was. I had a few ideas, but the only accessible idea was the truck test.
So that's what brought this on in a nut shell. |
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George Bridges, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Washington | DC | USA | Posted: 8:27 PM on 04.16.09 |
| ->> The best test is to send it through Fed-Ex. They have managed to crack a couple of my Pelicans in the last year. |
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Chuck Liddy, Photographer
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Durham | NC | USA | Posted: 8:33 PM on 04.16.09 |
| ->> I can top that...my Ex tried to crack a couple of my ribs once...badabing! Don't worry....I'll be here all week folks! |
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Alan Look, Photographer
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Bloomington | IL | United States | Posted: 8:35 PM on 04.16.09 |
->> This is truly enjoyable reading.
While the test might not be scientific, etc... Don't we all agree that Pelican is probably one of the best you can buy for protection? I'm sure that something can destroy it, but it's certainly tougher than my padded canvas bag!
Fish, go out and shoot something with the contents of the case. It's gotta be more productive than throwing things out the second story window - unless your in a destructive mood, then maybe the 2nd floor idea may be more gratifying.
AL
http://www.alanlook.com
http://chimperscage.blogspot.com |
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David Harpe, Photographer
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Louisville | KY | USA | Posted: 9:53 PM on 04.16.09 |
->> Packing
Tight packing is not what you really want. Safe packing should never be about keeping the object completely static with respect to the case, particularly if you know the case is going to take a hit. This is a recipe for disaster...all of the force of the hit is transferred to the object immediately.
The way to keep the protected object safe is to reduce the acceleration/deceleration of the object on the inside when the outside box gets hit. To do this you use relatively soft materials and plenty of room so the object can speed up/slow down less abruptly.
I regularly photograph glass artwork for artists and galleries. One of the most delicate things I've ever photographed were four large, intricate Lucio Bubacco sculptures. These things are thin, fragile flameworked pieces with figurines that have details fractions of an inch thick. They were shipped freight from Venice in a wood crate and arrived completely undamaged.
How'd they pack them? With loose fill straw and cotton. The crate had at least 2 feet of clearance on any side and the sculptures just floated in the middle. They took hits and smacks but the fill was gentle on the sculpture, and there was enough fill to keep the sculpture from hitting the sides. |
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Steven E. Frischling, Photographer
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Live HVN : Work SFO-NYC | | | Posted: 10:00 PM on 04.16.09 |
->> David,
When packing camera equipment it must not be free floating. When packing 'tight' it is not packing hard lenses on lenses, but using the padding available to you to protect the equipment, but not to allow it to slam into other hard objects.
This type of packing allows a cases space to be maximized, while protecting the gear from damage.
Your sculptures were packed with proper packing materials, rather than being allowed to bang around. If you pack a Pelican case, and just toss a 50f1.4 into one of the slots with room to move around, without proper padding the case can have no problems, while the lens can have significant impact damage. So when I say pack tight I do not mean pack your lenses next to bricks. |
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David M. Russell, Photographer
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New York | NY | USA | Posted: 10:13 PM on 04.16.09 |
| ->> I want to see somebody drive a truck over Witte with his arms tucked in properly. |
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Steven E. Frischling, Photographer
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Live HVN : Work SFO-NYC | | | Posted: 10:00 AM on 04.17.09 |
->> ...for the 'impact test' people I'll have 16 photos up shortly of my Pelican 1514 being thrown off the second floor of my house this morning.
Woke up, packed up some gear in the Pelican, threw it off the house, got my boys dressed, made lunches, etc etc etc...you know normal morning stuff.
Oh yea, all the gear is perfectly fine, 2 bodies, 3 lenses, a flash, all functioning perfectly after a violent shove from a height taller than falling from the back of most airliners. |
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Chuck Liddy, Photographer
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Durham | NC | USA | Posted: 10:15 AM on 04.17.09 |
->> "and for my next test I will throw my pelican case out of a moving airliner at 35,000 feet......."
8) |
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Steven E. Frischling, Photographer
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Live HVN : Work SFO-NYC | | | Posted: 10:17 AM on 04.17.09 |
->> Chuck,
No, I think I'm done. I have a few shoots coming up where my gear might be useful...although I am shooting Bobcat Goldwait shortly, so a bent lens might be ideal for capturing his personality. |
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David Harpe, Photographer
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Louisville | KY | USA | Posted: 12:49 PM on 04.17.09 |
| ->> Note to self: Never buy used gear from Fish. |
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