Pelican 1700 case/ how much foam 4 flight case?

W. Van Horn · Post by **W. Van Horn** » 29 Jun 2014 11:11 pm

I have been trying to find info on this on the thread and only saw one mention of it...Is anyone using that case? I know Bob Hoffnar is using an SKB Rifle case but I'd like to go with Pelican if I can.
My concern is if the case is deep enough to fit my carter while keeping enough foam between it and the wall of the case.
I have done measurements etc but am not sure what the minimum amount of foam would be/how thick the pelican foam is. Thanks!

W. Van Horn · Post by **W. Van Horn** » 30 Jun 2014 12:50 pm

Bump - need to order asap. I could probably find one in Houston to look at but don't have the time - can anyone give me a guideline for the amount of foam needed between the steel and walls of the case? I can probably figure it out from there.
They make a coupe that are deeper, but those are significantly longer and none of them meet size requirements for all airlines, which means $.
My goal here is to A. protect the instrument and B. quit making my singer have to pay extra fees when he flys me somewhere!
Old school road cases won't do and as I said the other Pelican rifle cases are too large.
I have e-mailed pelican and they have not gotten back to me yet.

Paddy Long · Post by **Paddy Long** » 30 Jun 2014 3:07 pm

Will, myself and a lot of other guys are using the SKB drum stand trap case .. it doesn't come with foam but it does have 3 straps in it... just add the foam as you need it for your guitar.
If you do a search on here you will find a lot of info on it .... if you dont have any luck with the Pelican.

W. Van Horn · Post by **W. Van Horn** » 30 Jun 2014 11:16 pm

Thank you paddy. I have seen the skb drum hard wear case as I've researched light weight flight cases and it certainly looks good. I just like the fact that you can run over a pelican case w/ a jeep and it doesn't flex.

I'm gonna change title of post to reflect my inquiry about how much foam should be between the instrument and the wall of the case, perhaps those in the know regarding case design could chime in.
Thanks again paddy!

Kevin Mincke · Post by **Kevin Mincke** » 1 Jul 2014 4:31 am

Here's a pic of the SKB rail pack trap case. Fits double Emmons and S~ P but is not wide enough to accomodate my Pro III. Got mine at PlanetOptics.

Kevin Mincke · Post by **Kevin Mincke** » 1 Jul 2014 4:35 am

Getting back to the original post I used 1/2" high density closed cell foam. It was actually an Army bed roll. Any thicker and it takes up too much interior space.

Dave Grafe · Post by **Dave Grafe** » 1 Jul 2014 11:40 am

I have looked at that option, too, will, but never got one to try it out. Pelican quality and protection with wheels is about as good as it could get I figure

Paddy Long · Post by **Paddy Long** » 2 Jul 2014 3:32 pm

Yes I went with about 1/2" high density foam as well ... that way you get the protection without taking up too much "steel space" in the case ... especially if your trying to shoe horn a D10 in there which I do.

The other thing to think about with the SKB is to change out the axles in the handles - they are just a carbon type pin which break really easily, I changed mine to stainless bolts with nylock nuts on them.

Kevin Mincke · Post by **Kevin Mincke** » 2 Jul 2014 7:37 pm

Good idea Paddy! Where did you get them? Think I'll do the same before any problems! Good to know...,

Bob Hoffnar · Post by **Bob Hoffnar** » 2 Jul 2014 8:21 pm

Will,
The pelican case looks exactly like the i series skb case I use. Both come with layers of foam already. What I did was cut the middle layer foam so the steel fits right in it. Leaving a layer on the bottom. The top layer was dimpled so I left that also.

For flying I cram socks and tee shirts around the corners to snug everything.

The easy way to cut foam is with an electric turkey carving knife. Just trace around the steel and then carve out what you need. Whole thing takes maybe 10 minutes.

Bob Hoffnar · Post by **Bob Hoffnar** » 3 Jul 2014 5:00 am

BTW: the skb I series and pelican cases are substantially more heavy duty then the skb trap case. Waterproof , better latches , better wheels and more rigid . They are also thinner leaving less room for internal padding.

David Mason · Post by **David Mason** » 3 Jul 2014 7:54 am

I bought a Pelican 1720 that the MSA SuperSlide "soft" case fits in just perfect. and then cut the foam they gave me to carry a custom bloodwood/ebony/walnut fretless "slide" guitar I built... but the harder the foam the better, you'd want about 1" of protection from all sides but no option of banging around within the case.

W. Van Horn · Post by **W. Van Horn** » 3 Jul 2014 9:05 am

Thanks for the info everybody. While the SKB trap case looks good, the Pelican/SKB i series is made of serious plastic...You can drive over the pelican in a Hummer and it won't flex. There is a video of a someone driving over the SKB in a jeep, it flexes but doesn't break. Then again, as Bob points out, the trap case has more room for foam around the top and bottom of the gtr.

There are a lot of rifle cases that are deeper that would be great - but I'm paranoid about over-size bag fees. They are nearly double the overweight fees.

Looks like most airlines say the maximum size is w + h + d = 62" . And the fee for oversize is 200-250

#*@$ing #$@holes!!!!

Things get complicated when I have flown my steel over seas - suddenly .5 lb overweight, or an inch oversize, becomes a big deal depending where you are. It has adding some sizable expenses to our tours in the past. So i'm weighing the options based on that.

The SKB depth is 5.5, the Pelican 5.2 . Bob has had success with the SKB. It's exterior dimensions add up to 62.6, but I think I could sweet talk/ tip my way out of that if it was ever an issue. I think we can consider it to work, and the pelican to be too shallow.

All the larger Pelicans come up at an inch or more over 62". Although a promising one is the im3100 coming in at exactly 63".

http://www.starlightcases.com/AllCases.html

This may be the way to go. I'm going to e-mail them today. I'll post the response.

W. Van Horn · Post by **W. Van Horn** » 3 Jul 2014 9:13 am

Websites online list varying dimensions for the starlight cases and when I called, they said the model numbers are the EXTERIOR dimensions, so they are out. Just gonna go with the SKB.

Tucker Jackson · Post by **Tucker Jackson** » 3 Jul 2014 10:09 am

Hey, Will, what's the model number of that SKB iSeries case that fits your guitar? I can't seem to find it on their site...

Thanks!

Damir Besic · Post by **Damir Besic** » 3 Jul 2014 1:50 pm

this is a great thread, question, what would be the best case for S-10 Sierra Session, keyed??? thanks

Db

Paddy Long · Post by **Paddy Long** » 3 Jul 2014 3:00 pm

How does the Pelican case compare to the SKB trap case weight wise ?? if your flying you need the lightest rig you can put together --- but if your not flying then it's not an issue.

Kevin Mincke · Post by **Kevin Mincke** » 3 Jul 2014 10:29 pm

SKB H3611 rail pack is what most have been buying. As stated above mine fits both dbl Emmons and SuperPro but is not wide enough for my Pro III which I recall is just under 12" wide.

John Macy · Post by **John Macy** » 5 Jul 2014 11:51 am

I was thinking of trying these guys out for a foam insert...

www.skbcustomfoam.com

Anyone tried them?

W. Van Horn · Post by **W. Van Horn** » 5 Jul 2014 6:25 pm

Tucker - the SKB case that Bob Hoffnar has been using, which I am most likely going to use, is the iseries model 3614.

Damir - That should fit in a lot of rifle cases, though I recall the bodies being kind of deep so you may have to get larger one such as the Pelican 1720, which is over the size requirements for flying. The price of oversize items is greater than over weight ones, most airlines charge $200 if you are over size. :/

Paddy - according to the internet the SKB is 15.2 lbs and the pelican is 18. The trap case is 12? Starlight cases are around 13 lbs I believe, but the sizes donâ€™t really work for flying a steel.

John - Those foam inserts look nice but I think you can cut your own foam with a mechanical carving knife pretty easily. Pelicans come with pluck foam, Iâ€™ve watched people prep it and itâ€™s super easy.

Scott Shipley · Post by **Scott Shipley** » 6 Jul 2014 3:23 am

I've been carrying my S-10 Shobud in an SKB trap case since 2002. The same case with no hitches. I made my own insert and have nothing but good to say about those cases.

Jonathan Lam · Post by **Jonathan Lam** » 23 Feb 2015 10:57 am

resurrecting this thread. I just ordered an m3100 and i want t copmare the quality of it vs a pelican/SKB. Post photos if you got em!

Malcolm McMaster · Post by **Malcolm McMaster** » 23 Feb 2015 11:59 am

Damir, the SKB case was the one used by the Sierra Company for their steels, they called it wheeleze or something like that.

Jonathan Lam · Post by **Jonathan Lam** » 8 Mar 2015 8:47 am

Got an IM3100 and it was totally fine, but there were just some things I didnt like, the lid flips all the way to the floor, where as the pelicans and the SKB have a lock a bit past halfway open which is easier. the clasps are nicer on the pelis/skb and the edges around the lips is better on the peli/skb.

my Show Pro S10 with regular legs and 3 rods, weighs 49.2 lbs in the SKB 3614 pelican style case.

I bought 2" PE foam which i cut with a bread knife, and some 1/4 inch sheets to fill some padded sections out.
It took a while to plan it out, but im pretty confident it will not move.
the bottom of the guitar is pretty close to the top, so I put some foam blocks into the body cut a little bit higher than the bell cranks, so they will take the force of the impact if anything hits the top of the case.

And its got wheels. Now im waiting for the glue to get everything set into place.

W. Van Horn · Post by **W. Van Horn** » 10 Mar 2015 6:35 pm

Jonathan - the skb has the added advantage of only being ~ 1" over the total size restriction. As you surely know, regulations get pretty strict when traveling internationally.
My steel sits really close to the top as well, but I haven't had a problem so far. That's great that you can get a showpro s10 w/ legs and pedal board underweight in there, further heightens my already piqued interest in those guitars.

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