Freeflow

Packing the Peli

When I first bought an underwater video housing last year, I ordered the kit by telephone from Cameras Underwater here in the UK. After looking at a few housings in the showroom in central London, we’d decided that Ikelite looked like an attractive way to go (on the basis of cost, simplicity and availability).

The one thing I wasn’t at all sure of when ordering was what size flight case we’d need to house all the kit. The lady at Cameras Underwater gave me the bad news gently: the housing we were after would require one of the larger cases they stocked. She suggested the Pelican (known worldwide as ‘Peli’) 1620.

When everything arrived a few days later, one of the first tasks was to fit all the bits and pieces into the case. The case comes filled with layers of foam, each of which is sub-divided into small blocks. The idea is to remove blocks as necessary to create a space for the equipment you need to house.

Now that’s one of those challenges that can have you puzzling for a while: which way to fit everything in? Once you’ve pulled your foam apart, that’s it. If it’s wrong, then time to order some more. I recall looking on the web for some guidance on how best to fit things in, but couldn’t really find any. So, in the very unlikely event that anyone out there would like to see an example of how you can fit an Ikelite video housing plus lights plus bits and pieces into a Peli 1620, there here goes:

1) The kit set out ready to pack: each piece is arranged roughly the same as its corresponding position in the Peli case:

2) All fitted in: the video light is hidden under a removable block of foam towards the front, right-hand side:

3) There’s still room for a few more odds and ends on top (housing protected under some foam blocks placed):

4) All set to go. The handle and wheels make trundling this about very straightforward.

The whole pack weighs in at 20kg (44lbs). It seems possible to get away with 30kg each on many flights, so we are able to take this plus a dive bag each at 20kg and make the allowance. Into the hall of shame goes British Airways (charged £41 excess outbound to Gozo) and Lion air (around £10 each way Manado to Sorong in Indonesia). Otherwise, we’ve been lucky so far…

Stephen · Sunday, October 29, 2006, 10:01 · Permalink

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