Pelican Cases

[Dazzler]

I am considering a Pelican Case for my EPs etc and was just wondering if anyone could give me an opinion on what colour suits astronomy best.

This is probably not overly important but given the price of these cases I don't want to get it wrong.

I imagine that black will hide bumps and scrapes better than the brighter colours but will most likely absorb heat better in the back of a hot car in transit.

Pointers and tips on things like the above are really what I am after.

Thanks for your help! :thumbsup:

[koputai]

I've got an orange 1500 that I'm making into an eyepiece carrier. My thinking is that bright is good, as you're less likely to trip over it in the dark. Heat reflectivity is also an issue as you pointed out. I have a yellow 1450 that would be better than orange, but it's too small.

Cheers,
Jason.

[Dazzler]

Thanks Jason

I'm leaning towards yellow for that reason.

Keen to hear any other thoughts or experiences from anyone else with these cases too.

Cheers.

[acropolite]

I bought a clone from Bunnings, as per this thread (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=16211), at a fraction of the cost of a genuine Pelican case. The local store no longer has them but I understand that they are available at other outlets.

[Dazzler]

Thanks Phil. I'll have a look through Bunnings as well before purchasing.

Still does anyone have any further comments on colour?

[Tannehill]

With Peli cases the darker color black shows more scrapes than lighter. I had a black case (small one) in the past. My current yellow case reveals scrapes and such much less.

Orange always looked like a paramedic pack to me in the US, so that's why I got the yellow. It's great and very visible at night. And fairly easy to spot if someone tries to casually walk off with it!

So, two votes for yellow.

My 1600 Peli case is perfect for me, with plenty of room for EPs, collimation stuff, filters, etc etc. Lockable. Room to grow. But it's heavy.

[citivolus]

I'd go with yellow if it will be exposed to daylight, as it will reflect the heat better, assuming the black case is black through the far infra-red. I can stick a black and a yellow one in the sun (maybe) tomorrow for a while and measure the temperature rise, if you are interested.

Theoretically the black case will cool off faster at night, though, which I've had cause dew on the outside of my black eyepiece case before. The pick and pluck foam is likely a very good insulator, though, so quicker cooling of the case is likely to not result in the contents cooling by much.

Ultimately I think yellow is the best bet for visibility and lowest heat absorption, but that visibility may sometimes be undesirable, such as when it is in the back of your car. If it can keep someone from tripping over it into your scope at a star party, it is likely worth the trade-off.

edit: I should note I've had a couple 1550s, a 1600, a 1650, and several smaller cases, and loved them all. I can't fault Pelican much except for how expensive they are as an import due to shipping costs. My 1650 cost me under $200 USD! Great candidate as excess baggage on a business trip.

Eric

[rumples riot]

I have 3 cases two black and one yellow. None of them make any difference to the temperature. In terms of how it all looks, who really cares really. The idea is to stop your valuable gear getting knocked up Darren. Also I consider this fairly important, bright coloured objects in the back of vehicles are attractive to the odd tea leaf and if you go OS and use them they are non descript enough to remain inconspicuous. Yes they cost lots of money, but they do have a life time warrantee too.

Just my thoughts

[[1ponders]]

I have a black pelican and yellow kincrome safe case (at about 1/3 the price). Cant see much difference between them as far as safety of equipment but the yellow ones are easier to see that is for sure.

[erick]

When I am out by myself in public places after dark, I don't want to be seen. :ship2: I'm aiming to go black - already black car, black beanie, black coat, dark chair, dark blanket etc. I don't plan to buy a bright white shiny scope - dark grey suits me. In my case, I'll avoid yellow/orange etc.......

[duncan]

Hi All,
Just a thought but has anyone enquired to the people who make scope cases to see if they have anything similar?
Cheers

[Dazzler]

Thanks all. :thumbsup:

Some differing points of view and comments which all helps.

Eric thanks for your offer but no need to go to that much trouble for me.

I appreciate everyones feedback.

Cheers.

[citivolus]

No worries, its all cloud today anyway :P

[Kal]

I bought a yellow one purely because of low light visability.

[ausastronomer]

If you can see the case, it isn't dark enough to observe :)

I have a black Pelican 1600 case and it works fine. I do my best not to bang and scratch it with $10k worth of eyepieces in it :)

Cheers,
John B

[Kokatha man]

Something just happened to my first attempt to post on this thread.....

Are pelican cases some sort of weird accessory that you can purchase in the souvenir shop at Mawson Base....?

Or are they the equivalent of the "CR'A'FTECH" impact resistant (as well as everything else resistant) cases that incorporate an airlock release knob to open and close them - complete with carry handle - available at Bunnings for $99?

I use one to cart around the head of my HEQ5PRO GoTo - makes me feel real "safe n sure."

[Kokatha man]

Oh-oh! I should have read the thread and followed the thread's thread!!!

Acropolite is on the money - my case is the selfsame one he has the piccies of: mine's the largest one ($99)

It was a cow to open at first (a few busted nails) - but if you don't open the airlock knob first it's bloody well harder.....and you can padlock it.

[Kokatha man]

Obviously pelican plastic is highly superior to Chinese plastic, and even though Farmer Brown would have to be even weirder than some of the belief systems one encounters; he's hardly likely to use the Chinese one for chisels.....

Still, populist opinion often knows no bounds and rarely budges: some people still maintain the Japanese make rubbish, so don't even mention the Chinese!?!

I like the quote of the old fella (who's most probably older than me) who said: "when he started out he thought that astronomy was a science untill he realized it was a religion!"

No more pelican jokes for me, or even my new mate Omnivorr will be after me!!!

Regards, Kokatha man.

[madtuna]

I just spotted 4 of the Craftech clones in a tiny little Bunnings outlet in a small country town.

They apparently were a promotional item and can't be ordered anymore, each Bunnings was only supplied with a limited number. This Bunnings was only supplied with 4.

They had an inch of dust on them so I approached the manager and said "obviously they aren't a big seller and you could probably use the shelf space so how about you part with the lot for $80.00 each?"
He tickled a few keys on his computer, looked at the cieling for a minute, then said "they're yours!"

Honestly, after looking at a Pelican and comparing it with the clone, I could not justify spending an extra $200 for what is basically the same thing and in my humble opinion every bit as good.

Farmer Browns chisels would arrive every bit as safe in the Craftech clone as they would in a genuine Pelican. The only difference I could see, is that with the huge saving, farmer Brown could afford a new hammer aswell ;)

[acropolite]

John, We have the pelican cases at work and side by side with the Kingkrome/Bunnings clone, they're pretty well identical, this isn't a chinese chisel set type case, it's well made, I'm guessing a direct or very close copy of the pelican complete with the O ring seal and insert foam. Here's a direct link to images of the case (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showpost.php?p=179637&postcount=7) I deliberately stood on mine to see how strong it is with no ill effects (in my case 82 very odd kilos)

[Kokatha man]

Aaaaahhhhh!!! - but what about those amazing stories John (also) relates about the good burghers in the wake of hurricane Katrina that found their Pelican-encased equipment in mint condition miles down-wind after the event: some of them even found new Nagler ethos ep's amongst the recovered goodies; a sort of "star-fairy" gift from the Patron Saint of Pelican Cases (and this aint no apocryphal story!)

No Chinese-chisel-case constructor could trump that "fantastic testimony!" And remember, knowledge (or experience) is no substitute for money: cheers, Darryl.

[madtuna]

Now that's great that you can afford a Pelican, three cheers for you:)

What I was getting at is basically where you pretty much summed them up as rubbish fit only for farmer Browns chisels when that is clearly not the case.
Members here contemplaiting purchasing them could also use a true appraisal from people who actually own them.
Remember a lot of members here have them, as well as the cheap Bintel EP's and barlows, myself included.
So in affect you're running down our equiptment which we are quite proud of.

I can afford a Pelican, but honestly even if I had 10k worth of EP's it still would make more sense to me to put them in my clone which is EVERY bit as good and infact holds an edge due to price point, With the money I saved I could have 10.2K worth of EP's ;)

[norm]

Well said Madtuna.

Here's another baseline on whether to get yourself one of these Pelican cases:

1. are yoy likely to drive your car over it?
2. are you likely to be caught in a flood?

If the response is no or not likely - save the $200 and use it towards premium eyepieces.

A lot of stuff in China is made of rubbish, but here is an interesting story:

A well known electrical manufacturer of powerpoints etc found a clone copy of their product in shops. After investigations and research, the clone product was found to be superior in every way as the original and a fraction of the price.

I sometimes wonder when we pay top $$$ for brand names at so called reputable places if in fact we are getting the real deal - I think most of us would be none the wiser.:rolleyes:

[Kokatha man]

How about a new twist on this thread? From my perspective it is resolving nothing: even though at least someone on this post thinks that never having eyeballed a Cr"a"ftech/Kingchrome case is no impediment to opinionated views.

What about changing it to "can you match my ability to dilate my pupils?" - a sort of "mine are bigger/better than yours."

John starts the ball rolling with his post (on another thread) which, I think, (apologies if I get it wrong mate) is a dilation of 6.5mm. Let's see if one of us can top that - but beware of trying to trump him; for as someone cheekily retorted at the time "that's better than a teenager's capacity!"

Of course, whoever wins may have to acknowledge that pupil super-dilation could be symptomatic of ingesting mind-altering chemicals!

Peace and love brothers, Darryl.

[madtuna]

oh come on now, please be serious, this was hardly a hijack.

The original posters 2nd post asked for any thoughts, granted he did say Pelican.
Acropolite kindly suggested an alternative (which he owns) and the original poster thanked him and also stated he was looking at Bunnings.

This thread was not hijacked, it took a turn. There is no need for another thread.
All I was doing was giving an honest counter apraisal of the Bunnings clone of which I own and have experiance with.

As this is getting beyond the rediculous, I will reply no further:doh:

[Kokatha man]

Well, well, well - actually John, quite some posts back I enquired as to whether the Pelican cases were similar to the Bunnings "equilavent." And it was "a couple of busted nails at first" not "skins his knuckles everytime he opens it." (please be factual at least John, refer posts: 23/01/08 @ 9.29 & 10.16pm)

The joke about "are they some sort of weird accessory from the Mawson Base souvenir shop..." was just that, light-hearted humour: only someone with a very thin skin and over-inflated opinion of themselves could possibly have twisted an honest question posted with a humorous introduction, into something they saw fit to reply to with what was unequivocally a sneering, pompous response!

Subsequent posts by others confirms the tenor of your reply! Again, and admittedly in an attempt to gently chide you about this tendency by lampooning; I introduced the substance of my last post: I, and I am sure others, value some of your contributions John; but despite the pervading tenor of omniscience in them you are neither the most knowledgable nor experienced of amateur astronomers.

I am sorry, but I feel many of your responses that seem to refer to the cost of your personal equipment impart an air of superiority which is not only off-putting but actually quite misplaced: but I must add that despite this I think you have many valuable contributions as well.

I personally will desist now in adding further to this thread, and genuinely express the desire for a spirit of mutual respect towards each of us in our postings.

My best regards to all, Darryl.

[ausastronomer]

In the best interests of "being civil" I have deleted all of my recent posts in this thread.

Cheers,
John B

[xstream]

Enough Said!