"When I get to a place for the first time and know it like home, this is when I know my journey will be over"
– Unknown

"There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer."
Ansel Adams

"I was born lost, and take no pleasure in being found"
- John Steinbeck

"A computer lets you make more mistakes faster than any invention in human history - with the possible exceptions of 4x4's, handguns and tequila."

- Joaquin Suave

"A tourist does not know where they have been, a traveler does not know where they are going."

Pelican 1650 Review

Traveling non-stop with all your camera gear in tow, it starts to take a serious beating on your equipment.  Not to mention the fact that the stuff gets scattered between multiple bags and when you need something in a hurry, it can get very frustrating when rummaging through multiple bags to find that specific lens or filter.

What I needed was one bag or box, that was big enough to hold everything we carry with us and keep it safe, dry, protected and all in one place.

After looking at numerous options, we decided to pick up one of the Pelican 1650 dry boxes.  I bought it used so it came with the foam padding, but that got taken out and stored in a closet in case I ever need to pick & pluck it to fit a few items and hold them securely. 

The pick & pluck foam would be good if you were carrying your gear in an airplane and allowing baggage handlers to throw it around or had it strapped to the deck of a white water rafting boat, but the foam takes up more space than I think it's worth.

Empty the case looks enormous.  It's Interior Dimensions are 28.57" Long x 17.52" Wide x 10.65" Deep and I was worried that I might have went overboard with the size of the box. 

Pelican makes so many different sizes that the hardest part of this whole process was finding which size to order.

By removing the pick & pluck foam and replacing it with a padded divider insert, it allows you to use 99% of the box.  The padded divider is padded enough to protect the gear from banging around in the box, and the amount of Padded dividers that Velcro securely can leave one insane with the options you can configure the bag in.

I did keep the thin piece of foam that goes between the pick & pluck and the lid.  This way it keeps the lenses from bouncing around and keeps the lid organizer from scratching any of the gear on the bottom section of the case.

Foam Piece sitting over the bottom portion where the padded divider is.  Notice the dog has to be in every shot...Worse than a kid I tell ya!

My main goal was to be able to keep EVERYTHING in one area and keep it clean of dog hair.  Traveling with two dogs that like to shed tends to leave the camera gear with a fine layer of hair on everything.

Since the Pelican box is completely waterproof, I'm thinking it will do a good job of keeping out the dog hair and dust we encounter on our travels.  The rubber seal around the lid is replaceable incase it was to get damaged and you have to physically push down on the lid to get it to close.  It's not due to the amount of gear I have in it either, I checked before I even put anything in to make sure I was getting a good seal.

It has 7 latches that you need to press down on the lid to get them to click shut.

There is no "Half shut" or "I'm not sure if that latch closed all the way", these latches close with a resonating click that you know has clasped tight.  As you close the latches around the box, you can feel the air lock into the box, so if you live in a humid climate like we do here in Florida, it would probably be a good idea to get some of the large Desiccant (Silica Gel) Dehumidifier packets to keep in the box.

The 7 little black tabs are the latches which are all in the open position

Having a camera box this big gives me a spot to keep all the gear in one location and it gives me the option so everything can be taken with me at a moments notice.

On the past two photo shoots we did, I simply grabbed the entire box, wheeled it out to the truck, hoisted it into the back seat and had EVERYTHING with me.  All I have to do once I'm at the location is decide which ThinkTank Belt System I want to stuff the gear into that I'm going to use for that particular shoot.

During the shoot, if I need something that I forgot to put in the modular belt system, then I simply run back to the truck rather than kicking myself for leaving it at home.

The Pelican box is heavy when fully loaded!  This box empty weighs in at 24lbs.  With the amount of equipment I have stuffed into it, the case tips the scales at a back breaking 73.8lbs!

If  you have back troubles, it might not be a good idea to load a box this full and plan on moving it too much.   Maybe get multiple boxes to disperse the weight better.   Granted it does have wheels and multiple handles that fold out on each side to help in lifting or moving it.

When dragging it behind you on the wheels, it has one large handle that unclips from the side and makes moving it a bit easier.  I would like to see the handle extend out a bit farther to give you more leverage and I'd like to see the wheels be a bit larger in diameter.

On anything other than a smooth, tiled or wood floor, the wheels are so low to the ground that they simply make the box drag on what ever surface you're moving it over.

Granted, the box is built pretty indestructible, but I still don't like dragging it over rough concrete or gravel.

Since moving to Florida, we've spent ALOT of time out on boats shooting the birds and the local aquatic wildlife.  Carrying a normal bag while on the ocean is just asking for trouble.

Thank God we've been lucky so far, but there was the last boat ride we went out on before we got the Pelican box when the wind picked up and waves started splashing over the sides of the boat.  I had my ThinkTank Streetwalker HardDrive Backpack with me sitting on the floor of the boat loaded with camera equipment.  I had to pick it up and wear it to keep it somewhat dry and away from the saltwater spray.  I was freaking out the entire time that I was going to lose an entire bag worth of gear to Mother Ocean.

Now that we have the Pelican box, we simply wheel it down the dock and throw it in the bottom of the boat.  It acts as another seat if needed and we have no worries of our gear getting wet or damaged.  I've heard that it will float even when loaded, but I'm too wimpy to actually toss it overboard loaded with 70+ pounds of gear just to test the rumors it'll float.

The Pelican website says that the 1650 has a Buoyancy Maximum of 181lbs, so I'm guessing I'll just trust their calculated measurements.

We've also found that the dog learned real quick that it gives him a safe place to sit so his butt isn't in the saltwater that always seems to collect on the bottom of the boat.

I read on one of the photography forums that a guy loaded all his photography gear in his Pelican case during Hurricane Katrina before the floods came.  He wasn't able to get it out and it sat in his house underwater for 3 weeks before the waters receded and he was allowed to go back to retrieve it.

He said when he opened it, everything was safe and dry and he's still using the stuff today.  I'm thinking that if it can survive for 3 weeks underwater, then it's gonna keep my gear safe in the bottom of the boat with the occasional splash.

If I was to bring the case with me for a wedding shoot or something where I'd have to leave it and go shooting, it has multiple locations to put locks to keep the contents safe.

For my next few wedding shoots I have, I'm thinking I'll get a heavy duty bicycle cable lock and simply find a place to leave it at the reception so it doesn't go walking off yet I can still have it close to me.

For those who wonder how to keep their gear safe and in one place while in their house, this is really the perfect box to do it.  Except for a fire, it's safe from flood, dust and everything is in one spot.

Simply load your choice photo bag for that particular day and you're good to go.  Make sure when you get home everything goes back into it's designated spot and you have a pretty fool proof way to keep track of everything.

Here is the way we have ours loaded.  This picture is clickable to bring you to the gallery where it's hosted incase you want to enlarge it to read it better.

There is still lots of open space left in this case that I simply have filled with odds and ends to keep the gear from being thrown about in the case while in transport.  So far when I get to where we're going, everything is in the exact same spot where I left it no matter how rough the boat ride was.

I could fit a few more bodies if I had too and I have two flashes in for repair right now that will all ride down the center section where that collection of lenses and extension tubes sits right now.  I find myself changing around the way its set up every few weeks as I figure out a better pattern to store it.  Sort of like an ever changing puzzle.

What I'm thinking I'll end up doing is keeping a small bag or even buying another Pelican box to simple hold all the little odds and ends like battery chargers, lens attachments, collars, cleaning supplies and lens/camera body caps.

One other option we added was the Lid Organizer.  I have mixed reviews about this because of the way it hangs on the 1650.  On some of the cases it actually has tabs for the organizer to screw into the lid without piercing the outer structure of the box.  On my particular model, it was simply sent with some 3M Two Sided Tape to stick it to the lid.

Problem is once it's loaded up, the two sided tape tends to start peeling away from the lid itself.  I don't even have it loaded with all that much either.  After numerous times of the two sided tape they provided coming unglued from the lid, I finally found some industrial strength Velcro and put one long strip along the top and another long one along the bottom.  This has held great.

You should see the amount of stuff the Pelican Website has it shown holding.  I'm simply carrying extra batteries, press passes, some note pads, a ThinkTank Pixel Pocket Rocket to hold extra media cards and some more odds and ends.

It does really help to bring stuff that we all need with us while on shoots, but I'm wishing the tape would hold it better.

All in all, I'm thinking I've found the perfect way to store all our gear safely and make sure it's clean and dust, and dog hair free while staying protected from water.  From here, we simply load the ThinkTank bags from the Pelican box and go out shooting.
 

Every Miles A Memory