Flight cases

I am now at my limits for carry on aircraft allowances for my gear.

Does anybody use dedicated flight cases for their gear booked into the hold?

I've had a couple of bags pilfered in the past at airports with nothing of value missing.

I was wondering if anyone had problems with Camera Flight Cases?

If not what case do you use?

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Paula Moss on February 16, 2011 at 14:06

You are a brave man to put any of your camera gear into a hold. I would rather leave it at home, would be interested to see what others say.

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Permalink Reply by Alan Benson on February 23, 2011 at 13:41

Hi Roger,

I went to Kenya five years ago and put most of my gear in my Peli case which was lockable i put my second camera and a 18-200 lens in my backpack just in case something went wrong,nothing did go wrong and my gear was safe also it took a lot of hard nocks while on Safari so i was pleased to know it was safe in side of the case.Five years on and I still use the case and i can safely say that nothing has ever happened to my gear you can do anything to that case if you break it they will replace it.It is very good to stand on,sit on and even fall of one and still know your gear is in one peice.

Alan

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Permalink Reply by Ric - UK Wildlife Film School on February 23, 2011 at 21:27

Hi Roger,

Alan is right ‘Peli Cases’ they are Bomb proof, literally, I spent 14 years in the army and they never let us down.

I try to carry everything in a Peli case that isn’t in a ruc-sac.

I have even towed one behind my sea-kayak with video kit inside, in the water on the end of a piece of rope, the kit in it was perfectly safe.

They come in different colours and the black ones fit well into an airport scenario.

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Permalink Reply by Roger Free on February 23, 2011 at 21:55

It is not so much the Peli case, I have one, but the security of the case as booked in luggage.

I'm sure the problem lies with the xray machines, we have 2 matching rucksacks I palced a damaged camcorder in one of them & that bag had been forced open & cut the camcorder pilfered.

It was the only bag from the flight to come through wrapped in security tape!

Luckily in a way the camcorder was worthless but it does concern me about booking a case full of equipment into the hold.

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Permalink Reply by Roger Free on March 23, 2011 at 8:26

In a recent discussion with a film company I'm told they use locked peli cases for all their equipment with out problems.

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Permalink Reply by Howard Kennedy on March 26, 2011 at 9:44

Another option nowadays is to ask for "gate-checked" hand luggage. When your camera gear is too heavy/bulky for the airline's hand-luggage requirements, you can arrange to hand it to a handler as you board the plane and it is put in the hold; then when you disembark it is handed back to you, so it never goes through the standard baggage handling.

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Permalink Reply by Roger Free on March 26, 2011 at 10:16

Thanks Howard, I'll look into that.

My next trip is into Thailand & as my equipment is insured through the business I'm going to take a Peli case with my camera traps, batteries & mounts in it. I will definitely ask the airline about Gate checked luggage. Thanks.