Pelican 1510 Carry-On Hard Case Review

I love Pelican hard cases. Made of high impact structural Copolymer Polypropylene, they are nearly indestructible, watertight, dustproof and guaranteed for life. The Pelican 1510 Hard Case is no exception.

Not long after purchasing my first 1510, I purchased the second (because I wanted 2, not because the first one failed). Having the second case let me expand to two similarly-sized cases. I now have 5. The 1510 is simply the ideal size for many of my small shoots, travel excursions and storage requirements.

Although I have the padded divider version of this case, I sometimes remove the dividers (they simply lift out as one piece) and put items in the bare case. When doing this, I usually use smaller padded cases such as the Lowepro Toploader 75 AW and assorted Lowepro Lens Cases.

Size is a great benefit to this case for an additional important reason. Pelican advertises the 1510 as meeting the carry-on requirements of most airlines. This is very important to many photographers as airline travel is risky to expensive gear. Most photographers will not check their expensive camera equipment with regular luggage.

The 1510's dimensions are listed as follows ...
Exterior (LWD) 22" x 14" x 9" (559mm x 355mm x 229mm)
Interior (LWD) 20.2" x 11.4" x 7.5" (513mm x 290mm x 190mm)
If you get a padded version (the 1510 is available with padded dividers as pictured below, foam or empty), subtract about 1" from the foam in the lid and an additional 1/2" from the bottom for the padded divider version.

The Pelican 1510 Hard Case is rated to float in salt water with 64.2-lb. (29.1 kg) load and is watertight to 30'.

Pictured in the 1510 above, from bottom-left and going counterclockwise around the case, are the ...

Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM Lens with hood reversed
(room for a Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II Digital SLR to be attached for a snug fit)
Canon TS-E 24mm f/3.5 L Tilt-Shift Lens with hood reversed
3 filters in their boxes
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM Lens under a Sto-Fen Omnibounce and microfiber cloths
Canon 12mm Extension Tube and Canon 25mm Extension Tube
Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8 L USM Lens
Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0 L USM Lens over a Canon 580EX Speedlite Flash in its padded case
Canon EF 35mm f/1.4 L USM Lens with hood reversed
Canon 1.4x Extender under a Canon Speedlite Transmitter ST-E2

The padded dividers version will hold a Canon EF 500mm f/4 L IS USM Lens with hood reversed along with some smaller items. The fit is snug at the large end of the lens, but it seems to work fine. This is a good option for traveling with the 500 L.

The Pelican 1510 Hard Case weighs about 14.8 lb (6.7 kg) with no gear. Loaded in the above-pictured fashion, the 1510 is not certainly not light - but quite compact and very rugged. Manueuvering the 1510 is aided by side and front handles as well as an easy to release extension handle (pulling the case on its wheels).

My equipment is valuable to me - I relax more when I know it is in a Pelican hard case.