Pelican cases

[Matt Weasner]

Can you do this with it?

In all seriousness, I'm sure the Harbor Freight is fine for most situations, but the Pelican cases are a fair step above. Compared to the cost of replacing an antique (or other) bagpipe, it's a relatively cheap investment.

Matt

Originally Posted by Hebridean Society Piper

I admit I have not tried to float it or drop it off a cliff but it affords a reasonable level of protection and it is airtight enought for my humidifier to stay at 58 per cent. Besides my combat days are over. My focus has been more towards preserving a tropical hardwood from the extremes of the California climate. It has aluminum siding which reflects heat and a pretty sturdy frame.You have to break down the pipes with this case but I don't think that is necessarily a bad thing since the next step is to swab out my drones after playing. Forrest Decker dispatched me to Home Depot years ago to get one of these and it works great. Well within FAA limits

[Hebridean Society Piper]

Originally Posted by Matt Weasner

Can you do this with it?

In all seriousness, I'm sure the Harbor Freight is fine for most situations, but the Pelican cases are a fair step above. Compared to the cost of replacing an antique (or other) bagpipe, it's a relatively cheap investment.

Matt

Holy crap I didn't think of that. How much? In all seriousness, in terms of humidity and such, does one really want a case that it airtight and watertight? Apologies to Austin. You ask: " What time is it?" on this forum and you get the history of the watch

[Hebridean Society Piper]

Originally Posted by Hebridean Society Piper

Holy crap I didn't think of that. How much? In all seriousness, in terms of humidity and such, does one really want a case that it airtight and watertight? Apologies to Austin. You ask: " What time is it?" on this forum and you get the history of the watch

I think the emphasis should be not on improbable catastrophic events but preserving a tropical hard wood with tendencies to split and crack with vagaries in temperature and humidity. I think young pipers, those that play for prolonged periods in difficult, hot, climates, should understand, that the best way to keep their pipes healthy is to swab them out ,oil them, then maintain a tropical hardwood climate say

55-60 per cent humidity. For Godsake I get better instructions on my hardwood floors(Dave Atherton is exempt here)

[MPpiper]

I have used these cases for literally dozens of functions. They are heavy and tend to be very size specific however they offer outstanding protection. I believe they are well worth the investment.

[Hebridean Society Piper]

Originally Posted by HughSStewart

I have used these cases for literally dozens of functions. They are heavy and tend to be very size specific however they offer outstanding protection. I believe they are well worth the investment.

What if the try to steal your bitchin' looking case? Not to be a fear monger here

[pancelticpiper]

Originally Posted by Hebridean Society Piper

What if the try to steal your bitchin' looking case?

It's why I bought a beat-up looking old used one. Well, no, actually, I bought a beat-up used one because it was cheap, and structurally sound.

I love having the handle and wheels, and the fact that I don't have to worry about things falling on my case etc. (Years ago a drunk guy fell flat on top of my semi-rigid case out at a Highland Games... luckily my pipes somehow escaped damage.)

The drawbacks to that style of case are 1) having to break down the pipes 2) the case is heavy.

[pancelticpiper]

Four years on I'm still using my Hardigg case, which I bought used and beat-up but cheap (on Ebay). When a used Pelican case came up cheap on Ebay I bought it, and two of my pipes have great protection.

I don't know if it's come up on any of the threads here about Pelican and Hardigg cases, but there's a thing about the wheels.

Hardigg cases use very nice wheels, I think they're inline skate wheels, with nice tyres so that the case rolls quietly.

Pelican cases use hard plastic wheels, noisy and jittery.

So there's a thing (more in the worlds of cameras and electronic equipment) about replacing the wheels on the Pelican case with the nicer wheels as are used on Hardigg cases.

Here's a video about it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnADw403uxg

I replaced the wheels on my Hardigg case (the originals were too worn) which is a different process. On the Hardigg there's a large plastic back piece, holding the wheels and the telescoping handle, and you have to remove this whole assembly to replace the wheels. The assembly is held in place by a dozen Robertson screws (square head). Still it only took 10 minutes to replace the wheels.

Here's the back of my Hardigg Storm iM2500 (with its shiny new wheels)

[bob864]

Another option you might want to consider is military surplus stores. The military uses hard cases similar to Pelican (sometimes more durable; sometimes less) for various pieces of equipment. After the equipment is used (or disposed of when obsolete) they sell the cases at property disposal auctions and they end up in surplus stores. Sometimes you can get some really nice cases that would fit pipes for $50 or so.

[Matt Weasner]

I have two of these cases, love them. I found a cheap used im2500 on Ebay too, but the wheels on it started crumbing soon after i bought it. I called Pelican just to see if I could order some new wheels and they replaced them under the lifetime warranty. Sent me two sets.

The replacement surgery was pretty easy.

Cheers,
Matt

Originally Posted by pancelticpiper

Four years on I'm still using my Hardigg case, which I bought used and beat-up but cheap (on Ebay). When a used Pelican case came up cheap on Ebay I bought it, and two of my pipes have great protection.

I don't know if it's come up on any of the threads here about Pelican and Hardigg cases, but there's a thing about the wheels.

Hardigg cases use very nice wheels, I think they're inline skate wheels, with nice tyres so that the case rolls quietly.

Pelican cases use hard plastic wheels, noisy and jittery.

So there's a thing (more in the worlds of cameras and electronic equipment) about replacing the wheels on the Pelican case with the nicer wheels as are used on Hardigg cases.

Here's a video about it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnADw403uxg

I replaced the wheels on my Hardigg case (the originals were too worn) which is a different process. On the Hardigg there's a large plastic back piece, holding the wheels and the telescoping handle, and you have to remove this whole assembly to replace the wheels. The assembly is held in place by a dozen Robertson screws (square head). Still it only took 10 minutes to replace the wheels.

Here's the back of my Hardigg Storm iM2500 (with its shiny new wheels)

[pancelticpiper]

Originally Posted by bob864

Another option you might want to consider is military surplus...hard cases similar to Pelican...for $50 or so.

That's about what I paid for that Hardigg IIRC.

The Pelican was around $100, which I didn't mind, being a genuine Pelican in near-new condition.

The cool thing about Pelicans is that they make that accessory-pouch assembly that fastens inside the lid.

I put one in my Hardigg too, but it's more jury-rigged: I had to put screws through the lid, the Hardigg lacking the lugs inside the lid that the Pelican has.

BTW I just wanted to note that the wheels on my Hardigg were in good condition when I bought it, but four years of regular use and the tyres started coming apart.