[narual]

Looks somewhat similar to the Porter. By the way, on sale at Pelican now, for anyone interested:
Pelican 1510 Carry On Case and Lid Organizer | PelicanCasesForLess.com

Why do you like the Pelican over, say, Thinktank designs?

I'd love to see Pelican buy Porter out. If Pelican added the cart conversion to their cases, that would be *so* fantastic. The inventor of Porter said he's been trying to sell his company for years - he's been making these things since the 80s (only started adding photographer specific stuff in the 90s, I think) and wants to retire.

---------- Post added 07-01-15 at 05:55 PM ----------

I like them for the shear reason that they wont cost you an arm and a leg like pelicans or porters would. Also they are less paparazzi-ish. As in won't catch much attention from the thieves.

Yes, nothing attracts attention from thieves like a plain black suitcase, right?

[Bob from Aus]

I went in a different direction due to the cases with wheels being so heavy. They take about half your carry on baggage weight when flying. I have 2 different size Lowepro stealth bags. They slide onto a small fold up travel trolley. There is a sleeve on the backs of these bags that is designed for the purpose. It fits on the trolley very snugly. As they don't have external pockets they don't catch on anything. It's not perfect but very adaptable. The folded up trolley while travelling is the biggest issue.

[sholtzma]

I went in a different direction due to the cases with wheels being so heavy. They take about half your carry on baggage weight when flying. I have 2 different size Lowepro stealth bags. They slide onto a small fold up travel trolley. There is a sleeve on the backs of these bags that is designed for the purpose. It fits on the trolley very snugly. As they don't have external pockets they don't catch on anything. It's not perfect but very adaptable. The folded up trolley while travelling is the biggest issue.

Do you have any photos this setup that you could share here?

[LaurenOE]

Thanks, Lauren. Why, though? Did you try other brands? What do you like and not like about the Thinktanks? Flight-capable? Lockable? Detachable from wheels? Size problems? Weight problems? Talk to us....

The Think Tanks are very customizable, and very robust. The locking abilities of their built in cables as well as the high quality of the bags themselves make for an awesome combination.

I've flown everywhere with them, and I like the fact they are fabric and look like luggage. They are just plain awesome.

Hard cases, and gun cases on the other hand - for my Ronin, lights, grip and scrims, tend to be harder to move around since externally they don't have any give and sometimes have problems with pressurization and air travel.

A few flights back, my lights came out of the baggage chute and the pressure valve did not work right. It looked like all the air was sucked out and the hard case seemed like it was about to implode.

Nah, I much prefer soft cases that have some give to them, and do not have pressure problems.

[Bob from Aus]

I have two size bags, the smaller is a tighter fit which works extra well in crowded airports but a struggle to dismantle when in a harry to store baggage on a plane.

[sholtzma]

I get it now. Is the trolley/dolly by Lowepro too?

[Bob from Aus]

I get it now. Is the trolley/dolly by Lowepro too?

The trolley came from a shop that sold suitcases and bags. It has been very durable. It has been on at least a couple of dozen flights and visited every continent (induces Antarctica) other than Europe. It has been on dozens of trains and countless photshoots. It has crippled a few feet belonging to very rude people cutting me off in crowded places, one teenage girl in particular pushing me aside to get onto a plane.My wife has taken a couple of knocks which I'm not allowed to forget. It has been through a few adventures and I'm surprised at its resilience.

[sholtzma]

The Think Tanks are very customizable, and very robust. The locking abilities of their built in cables as well as the high quality of the bags themselves make for an awesome combination.

I've flown everywhere with them, and I like the fact they are fabric and look like luggage. They are just plain awesome.

Hard cases, and gun cases on the other hand - for my Ronin, lights, grip and scrims, tend to be harder to move around since externally they don't have any give and sometimes have problems with pressurization and air travel.

A few flights back, my lights came out of the baggage chute and the pressure valve did not work right. It looked like all the air was sucked out and the hard case seemed like it was about to implode.

Nah, I much prefer soft cases that have some give to them, and do not have pressure problems.

Do you check your Thinktank softcases or are they carry-on?

[Macario]

If you can find one, the lowepro pro roller liet 150 or 250 are very good (I have the 150 version). The problem with most roller bags is, that they are just too heavy. A camera and a big lens will already get it very near the weight limit for carry on. So that the size is ok for carry on is of no good anymore if it is too heavy. But as they are discontinued, it is a little search to find one (some stores still have them)

the other solution is to buy a cheap carry on rolelr, and then put something like this in it http://www.coordinategear.com/ranger/

[LaurenOE]

Do you check your Thinktank softcases or are they carry-on?

Both.

[bdery]

I'm always a fan of custom-made solutions.

In your shoes, I'd get a small rolling suitcase of the right size, and get one or more inserts to go in it.

[sholtzma]

I'm always a fan of custom-made solutions.

In your shoes, I'd get a small rolling suitcase of the right size, and get one or more inserts to go in it.

It's certainly one of the options I'm considering.

[narual]

It's certainly one of the options I'm considering.

just make sure it's something that can handle being checked (that is, thrown as hard as it can be against hard, uneven surfaces, placed upside down, etc). Even if it's carryon size, chances are it'll end up gate checked someday. My last trip to Mexico, I think I got to actually carry on my carryon on 2 of the 5 planes we used. Every other time, it was gate checked. The Porter handled that fine. (My wife was using my old Tommy Bahama carryon, and I think every time that thing gets checked, the handle gets damaged more.)

Basically, if you just buy a standard suitcase and inserts, make sure you have enough padding above, below, and all around to keep things from bouncing/shifting around when the lid is closed)

I'm a big fan of putting lenses in neoprene pouches. Everything except my 60-250 has a neoprene pouch (the 40mmxs usually shares a pouch with my 15mm ltd using the double lens cap from optech; the 60-250 sits in the nylon padded pouch it came with). They sit in those in my bag, in the drawers of the cabinet I use for storing gear that's not in my bag, and sometimes, just clipped to my camera strap or belt if I'm just going out with a couple lenses. It's not going to save them from catastrophic damage, but it keeps them from rubbing against each other and getting scratches, and adds extra protection for a drop.

[Mallee Boy]

I have a Crumpler wheeled bag, it is large enough for all the gear you would need and have carried it on as hand luggage on both domestic and international flights. Bought it from the Crumpler store in San Francisco in 2013 but can not find any images of it on their website now.
It locks with TSA locks, is solid and practical, keep an eye out for a Crumpler store and check them out.

[hjoseph7]

Have a look at the Pelican 1510, wheeled, tough, watertight and cabin walk-on permissible with most airlines.

+1 on the Pelican 1510. You want something that you can carry on the plane believe me !