Need to purchase hard case for lights -- Suggestions?

Hi,

I travel pretty much every week on airlines and need to buy a hard case that can survive baggage. I'll be carrying two AlienBees B800s, 3 lightstands, four umbrellas, and possibly my camera gear as well -- not sure if I can do that, tho, as I normally take that with me as carry-on.

Does anyone have any suggestions of specific cases that are ideal for this?

I cross-posted this in the Pro forum, but thought it belonged in here as well.

Thanks!
--
Ron

a rolling Pelican or Storm case w/ dividers (not foam).

cases4less.com

It it's AB light the first thing that comes to mind is to use their own hard case for lights. Look for travelware on their website. About the cameras I'd rather take them with me.

vadim_c said:

It it's AB light the first thing that comes to mind is to use their
own hard case for lights. Look for travelware on their website. About
the cameras I'd rather take them with me.

Click to expand...

Thanks Howard and Vadim,

I'd like to use an AlienBee case, but the dimensions are 28x20x9, which appears to be too small for me to include their 10-foot light stands that draw down to 37 inches. Further, they recommend that it not be used for airline travel --which is exactly why I"m buying this.

I've been checking those sites provided by Howard.

Thanks,
--
Ron

FR-

Photoflex Transpac is a sturdy, lightweight, and inexpensive solution for your lighting-

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/253512-REG/Photoflex_FV_SLBAG1KIT_Transpac_Single_Kit_Case.html

a stronger, heavier and expensive product would be the Pelican 1650-

http://www.adorama.com/PL1654CH.html?searchinfo=pelican%201650&item_no=4

You may want to buy shorter stands for travel purposes.

For your camera, I would recomend a totally seperate bag. I love my Lowepro Roller 1 that is airline spec-

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/149687-REG/Lowepro_1920010_Pro_Roller_1.html

or another bag more specialized for camera + laptop.

-Scott

FriscoRon said:

Hi,

I travel pretty much every week on airlines and need to buy a hard
case that can survive baggage. I'll be carrying two AlienBees B800s,
3 lightstands, four umbrellas, and possibly my camera gear as well --
not sure if I can do that, tho, as I normally take that with me as
carry-on.

Does anyone have any suggestions of specific cases that are ideal for
this?

I cross-posted this in the Pro forum, but thought it belonged in here
as well.

Thanks!
--
Ron

Click to expand...

Scott G Spellman said:

FR-

Photoflex Transpac is a sturdy, lightweight, and inexpensive solution
for your lighting-

a stronger, heavier and expensive product would be the Pelican 1650-

Click to expand...

Scott,

Thanks for your suggestion. The Photoflex has the right dimensions, but it is polyester and won't protect my lights from airline baggage.

The second one is just too small for the lightstands. I've seen a couple others that might work, but would always appreciate a recommendation from someone here on the forum.

Thanks!
--
Ron

I use some luggage manufactured by a company called Rimowa. They are about as close to indestructible as it gets, though not waterproof like the Pelican. However, I have travel stands, and a relatively small tripod. One thing to keep in mind though, is that you should check with the airline about the maximum dimensions they allow without extra charge. On my last trip, I had one case that was over the allowance, and it was about $120 extra each way. Depending on how much you travel, it could get really expensive having a case that was larger than the standard allowance.

Of course if you have already taken that into account, and built that into your budget, then feel free to ignore me.

--
The goal is to overcome the deliberate nature of the process.

L M Lloyd said:

One thing to keep in mind though, is that you should
check with the airline about the maximum dimensions they allow
without extra charge.

Click to expand...

Yep, checked that. It's 62 inches total (length + width + heighth).

Thanks for that, tho.
--
Ron

A hard case for golf bags would work. I picked one up on eBay for $50

With oversize (62in) and overweight (50lbs) fees, a softshell case is about the only way to avoid extra charges on each trip. You could even buy a spare B800 in case one is damaged, or cary a spare light in your cary on. You could also use the Pelican 1650 which is undersized by purchasing stands that are shorter when closed, such as a Bogen 3373.

-Scott

FriscoRon said:

Thanks for your suggestion. The Photoflex has the right dimensions,
but it is polyester and won't protect my lights from airline baggage.

The second one is just too small for the lightstands. I've seen a
couple others that might work, but would always appreciate a
recommendation from someone here on the forum.

Thanks!
--
Ron

Click to expand...

Scott G Spellman said:

With oversize (62in) and overweight (50lbs) fees, a softshell case is
about the only way to avoid extra charges on each trip. You could
even buy a spare B800 in case one is damaged, or cary a spare light
in your cary on. You could also use the Pelican 1650 which is
undersized by purchasing stands that are shorter when closed, such as
a Bogen 3373.

-Scott

Click to expand...

Oh boy, I hadn't thought about the weight restrictions yet -- and you're right, that will likely be a problem. I'll check out the Pelican 1650 again, but I may go back to that Photoflex (I think that's the one) that might work best as a softshell case.
--
Ron

Thanks to everyone for their input on this.

The Pelican 1700 is sturdy enough to withstand airline baggage, was within size and weight restrictions, and yet is long enough to put in my lightstands and large umbrellas, as well as my AlienBee lights.
--
Ron