Possible flight case option: Pelican V800

[JimmyM]

Has wheels and rolls very well Your posts on the Roto were some of several that I read with interest. As well as ALL of my bassist friends recommending it. I just couldn't quite get over having to buy a new gig bag to use it.

Me neither. I freaking loved my old Kaces gig bags, and they worked well with the Roto, but they were falling apart and I've yet to find one I like just as much. The Gator bag I use it with now has the straps mounted too low. And then I bought a Gruv Gear Sliver, which I love for in-town stuff but doesn't quite fit safely in the Roto, so I'm stuck using the Gator on fly gigs. At least it was fairly inexpensive. But I sure hate those straps that make me feel like Herman Munster through every doorway. But I already have the Roto case which makes me loath to buy this Pelican case, especially when my fly gigs have dried up to next to nothing. I get why you got that Pelican case. If I was doing it again today I'd certainly put it on the short list.

 

[Eric Moesle]

Are there TSA locks on the Pelican or the ability to put a TSA padlock on? I frequently fly through Puerto Rico, and they are always trying to take my bass - I had to chase a guy down the tarmack once when he unloaded it from the plane and started walking off the other direction with it. I'd hate for you to go to baggage claim to pick up an empty Pelican case...

 

[AcridSaint]

Are there TSA locks on the Pelican or the ability to put a TSA padlock on? I frequently fly through Puerto Rico, and they are always trying to take my bass - I had to chase a guy down the tarmack once when he unloaded it from the plane and started walking off the other direction with it. I'd hate for you to go to baggage claim to pick up an empty Pelican case...

Yeah, there are 4 steel reinforced hasps that will accept regular or TSA padlocks.

 

[AcridSaint]

Just an update, the case worked very well. There is a caveat that it's hard to get into small cars and some uber drivers were not appreciating it. TSA stole my TSA locks, so I flew back with no locks. I also ditched the foam and used clothes for padding it out, mostly so I would carry less baggage.

 

[cattrax]

Just an update, the case worked very well. There is a caveat that it's hard to get into small cars and some uber drivers were not appreciating it. TSA stole my TSA locks, so I flew back with no locks. I also ditched the foam and used clothes for padding it out, mostly so I would carry less baggage.

Helpful information... good to know. Were you charged an oversize baggage fee?

 

[JimmyM]

Just an update, the case worked very well. There is a caveat that it's hard to get into small cars and some uber drivers were not appreciating it. TSA stole my TSA locks, so I flew back with no locks. I also ditched the foam and used clothes for padding it out, mostly so I would carry less baggage.

Helpful information... good to know. Were you charged an oversize baggage fee?

Good useful update and followup question.

 

[AcridSaint]

Helpful information... good to know. Were you charged an oversize baggage fee?

No oversized baggage fee, but American just got rid of oversize fees for instruments, so I don't know if it was related. They did weigh it and tell me that they would have charged if it was over 50lbs. They did ask me both times what it was and I told them it was a "bass guitar" so that there was no confusion about it being an instrument

 

[cattrax]

No oversized baggage fee, but American just got rid of oversize fees for instruments, so I don't know if it was related.

Hopefully the other airlines will follow American's lead!

 

[gwangi]

Hey folks,
Hit and run post here, most likely, just thought some might be interested. I have been fed up with dealing with gate attendants trying to carry on basses (and fully expect someone here to post about how it's the law) and decided to figure out how to safely check my bass.

I learned about the SKB Roto/Bass Vault and it seemed like a perfect solution, until I found out that they don't fit the GruvGear GigBlade (or many other nice gig bags). So, I was faced with buying the Roto and also buying the nicest gig bag that would fit in it. I reached out to GruvGear and asked what it might fit in and they suggested that I back their new hard case/gig bag thing, which looks totally awesome, but won't be available until after my next trip and still doesn't allow me to use my dang (expensive) gig bag.

Next I reached out to my Sweetwater rep and got a couple suggestions that looked like they would work, but end up being pretty costly. One idea that he had was to use a keyboard case, which got me thinking about what other cases might work in lieu of a bass-specific case.

Enter the Pelican V800 Double Rifle case for $200:
View attachment 3418826 View attachment 3418827

Do you think a Reunion Blues Continental Bass Gig Bag will fit in the Pelican V800 case?



























































































































Fits perfectly. It also fits my SKB SC44, which has flown under planes by itself, and it fits the Ibanez hard case that my G&L lives in. I'd like to get my hands on a real G&L, Fender, or EBMM hard case just to see, but I think they will all fit. Your Mono bag will too, as does every gig bag I own

Just to fill out some extra space and keep it from banging around, I made use of a summer staple:
View attachment 3418832

The case does come with foam, but I couldn't bring myself to cut it up for such little space that needed filling.

I will know in a couple weeks how it holds up in air travel, but I've used a lot of Pelican cases traveling around and they all hold up and protect very well. No worries about breaking the Roto strap, or TSA not figuring out how to put it together. No need to own a gig bag that's only for flying.

 

[gwangi]

Do you think a Reunion Blues Continental Bass Gig Bag will fit in a Pelican V800 case?

 

[cattrax]

Do you think a Reunion Blues Continental Bass Gig Bag will fit in a Pelican V800 case?

The Pelican website reports the interior measurements are as follows:
Interior: 53" × 16" × 6"
Invalid Link Removed

 

[AcridSaint]

Do you think a Reunion Blues Continental Bass Gig Bag will fit in a Pelican V800 case?

I have yet to see a gig bag that wouldn't fit inside. For that matter, all of my rigid cases do too. It's a huge case. I would suspect nearly any single instrument bag or case (for electric bass ) will fit inside. I tried with the gigblade, with my SKB rigid foam "soft" case, and an Ibanez tolex case. I no longer have a big Fender or G&L hard case to try. But, yeah, the dimensions @cattrax listed are accurate and what I used to decide on ordering it. Just check your case with a tape measure to be sure

 

[gwangi]

The Atlas Case Company in my town has a V800 that I'm going to try out next week and see if my Reunion Blues case will fit in it, thank you so much for the info.

 

[gwangi]

Hey folks,
Hit and run post here, most likely, just thought some might be interested. I have been fed up with dealing with gate attendants trying to carry on basses (and fully expect someone here to post about how it's the law) and decided to figure out how to safely check my bass.

I learned about the SKB Roto/Bass Vault and it seemed like a perfect solution, until I found out that they don't fit the GruvGear GigBlade (or many other nice gig bags). So, I was faced with buying the Roto and also buying the nicest gig bag that would fit in it. I reached out to GruvGear and asked what it might fit in and they suggested that I back their new hard case/gig bag thing, which looks totally awesome, but won't be available until after my next trip and still doesn't allow me to use my dang (expensive) gig bag.

Next I reached out to my Sweetwater rep and got a couple suggestions that looked like they would work, but end up being pretty costly. One idea that he had was to use a keyboard case, which got me thinking about what other cases might work in lieu of a bass-specific case.

Enter the Pelican V800 Double Rifle case for $200:
View attachment 3418826 View attachment 3418827

Fits perfectly. It also fits my SKB SC44, which has flown under planes by itself, and it fits the Ibanez hard case that my G&L lives in. I'd like to get my hands on a real G&L, Fender, or EBMM hard case just to see, but I think they will all fit. Your Mono bag will too, as does every gig bag I own

Just to fill out some extra space and keep it from banging around, I made use of a summer staple:
View attachment 3418832

The case does come with foam, but I couldn't bring myself to cut it up for such little space that needed filling.

I will know in a couple weeks how it holds up in air travel, but I've used a lot of Pelican cases traveling around and they all hold up and protect very well. No worries about breaking the Roto strap, or TSA not figuring out how to put it together. No need to own a gig bag that's only for flying.

Quick question where did you get your blue foam tubes at?

 

[JGbassman]

I have flown quite often with a standard fender ata hard case. I don’t check it, but take it to the cabin, where it’s about a 50/50 they will put it in the closet or not.

When they don’t, they put it in cargo directly from the boarding dock, so it’s not going through baggage. Same goes with baby strollers. Anyway, bass gets stowed, and st the end of flight it gets returned while I’m on the loading dock. It’s last in, first out and goes back in my hand for the connecting flight. Added bonus is no chance it gets put on the wrong plane.

This is my preferred method of flying. I’d never do that with a gig bag, but the hard shell adds just enough to satisfy my ocd.

 

[AcridSaint]

Quick question where did you get your blue foam tubes at?

Walmart

 

[AcridSaint]

I have flown quite often with a standard fender ata hard case. I don’t check it, but take it to the cabin, where it’s about a 50/50 they will put it in the closet or not.

When they don’t, they put it in cargo directly from the boarding dock, so it’s not going through baggage. Same goes with baby strollers. Anyway, bass gets stowed, and st the end of flight it gets returned while I’m on the loading dock. It’s last in, first out and goes back in my hand for the connecting flight. Added bonus is no chance it gets put on the wrong plane.

This is my preferred method of flying. I’d never do that with a gig bag, but the hard shell adds just enough to satisfy my ocd.

This is what I have done, minus the 50/50 part (one leg of one trip ever has allowed me to bring a bass on, and it was a short scale). But, I had one checked as you describe and spent 40 minutes in the jetway waiting for them to find it, nearly missing my flight and stressing me out to no end. It's just not worth it to me to keep trying to drag it on.

 

[JGbassman]

This is what I have done, minus the 50/50 part (one leg of one trip ever has allowed me to bring a bass on, and it was a short scale). But, I had one checked as you describe and spent 40 minutes in the jetway waiting for them to find it, nearly missing my flight and stressing me out to no end. It's just not worth it to me to keep trying to drag it on.

Wow you have had really bad luck with that compared to my experiences. I've flown out of Miami, Dallas, Denver, Chicago, Atlanta, New York, and Washington DC without any problems. The longest I ver had to wait for my bass was 10-15 minutes. I normally got it in 10 minutes or less. It was a hassle if I had to run to my next flight with it, so I can feel your pain and hesitance considering your bad luck. It's been about two years since I've flow, so maybe things have changed.

 

[AcridSaint]

Wow you have had really bad luck with that compared to my experiences. I've flown out of Miami, Dallas, Denver, Chicago, Atlanta, New York, and Washington DC without any problems. The longest I ver had to wait for my bass was 10-15 minutes. I normally got it in 10 minutes or less. It was a hassle if I had to run to my next flight with it, so I can feel your pain and hesitance considering your bad luck. It's been about two years since I've flow, so maybe things have changed.

Just bad luck on my part, probably, but I feel like I gave it the ol' college try

 

[Garret Graves]

Quick question where did you get your blue foam tubes at?

Something I would be cautious about in packing any case that TSA opens- they are very bad-outright negligent, about repacking complicated bag packs. Tape or glue the foam together in the shape you need, if they are loose, TSA will not take the time to realign everything, they will stuff it in and jam it closed the best as they can, and move on. My world traveler Sax playing friend has a semi complex pack job with a group of expensive and delicate instruments into a single flight case. On one leg of a trip, TSA opened a sax case that was inside the larger travel case- they couldn’t figure out how it went back together, so loose pieces of his sax were floating around in the case, sax heavily damaged. The main point I’m trying to make- don’t use a dozen loose pool noodles that need to be precise in their placement to offer protection, when TSA gets their hands on it, that protection won’t be rebuilt with loving care.