My wife and I recently purchased a Pelican hardshell carrying case for our binoculars and camera gear. It has internal upper and lower thick foam pre-cut into 1/2" cubes. (You remove cubes to form-fit the equipment you are packing into the foam.) We checked the case as luggage on our flights to/from our Arizona birding trip. Worked great! Also served as our gear transport as we trekked around in our rental car. Unfortunately, we started our trip at the beginning of Spring Break, and the TSA folks were so overwhelmed with luggage that they refused to inspect our case on the spot so I could lock it before it went on the conveyor belt. We had to send it on its way unlocked (it was eventually inspected, it turns out). We subsequently learned that there are TSA-approved locks that they can unlock to inspect the case -- the TSA website lists them.
Al Ferber
