On 17/4/05, Jim Colwell, discombobulated, unleashed: >I use Pelican and Otter cases extensively for sea kayaking. They are >waterproof, dropproof and bombproof, but all of mine are relatively small. > >I recently customized a rolling airline carry on bag for my outfit. The two >primary criteria were (1) it should look nondescript and ordinary in every >way (much unlike a rolling Pelican), and (2) it should be sized to fit in >both overhead and underseat storage. The most commonly stated carry on size >limit is 22"x14"x10" (which is sufficient for the 1510), but a survey of >many international airlines for both overhead and underseat size limits >established my target maximum external dimensions to be 22"x13"x8" (I'm >using inches, as most data I find are from the US). > >My solution is a common soft side rolling carry on with max. external >dimensions of 20"x13"x7.5", and with fairly tough and stiff internal side >liners. It will fit into the overhead and underseat bins on virtually any >airplane, except for small commuters, where you typically see the bag >hand-loaded into the small rear luggage compartment. The inner surfaces are >lined with 1/4" dense sheet neoprene (used for shop floor mats) and layers >of the same material with custom cut-outs are built up to fit the lenses and >bodies. It holds two EOS bodies with grips, 3 L zooms (17 to 200), 4 primes >(300/4L IS, 100/2.8 macro, 50/1.4 & 24/2.8), two EF extenders, hoods for >all, and a little room for cords & etc. The two heaviest lenses (300/4L IS >and 80-200/2.8L) lie flat and are secured with bungie cord, and the rest are >secured by the custom fit neoprene and the case itself. Flash & a few other >things go in my backpack, and my LowePro bags get stuffed into each other >and put in checked luggage.
Many thanks for your thoughts Jim - interesting the way you 'camouflage' your carrier. I suppose another way would be to glue black ripstop nylon to the outside of a Peli :-) Cheers, Cotty ___/\__ || (O) | People, Places, Pastiche ||=====| http://www.cottysnaps.com _____________________________
