Why buy a Peli Case?

This is a question that I get asked almost daily. People are constantly trying to save money and evaluate their spending by making sure that they are getting the most value for money possible when making decisions to spend.

The actual question that you are asking is – Do Peli cases and other high end protective cases provide enough value to justify the spend?

For now, I will not just talk about Peli, as Pelican cases are just one of the many high end protective cases on the market that are around the same price bracket.

When people say “Peli Case” 9 times out of 10 they are simply referring to high end IP67 rated plastic cases.

The leading brands of this type of case are Pelican Cases (USA), SKB Cases (USA), Nanuk Cases (Canada), B&W International (Germany), HPRC (Italy) & MAX Cases (Italy).

What do these cases offer that imitations do not?

There is a reason that these cases hold a premium price tag. They are designed to compete in an extremely diverse market.

All these cases boast a IP67 rating but what does that really mean?

IP stands for ingress protection – referring in this case to foreign objects and liquid.

IP-RATING

 

Premium cases are also accredited with a STANAG 4280 Def Stan 81-40 Nato level 1 rating. Meaning that the cases are drop, vibration, heat and low temperature tested to the following conditions:

 

VIBRATION TEST K DEF STAN 81-41

At 25ºC, 2 hours of vibration at amplitude of ± 0.23” (± 6 mm) peak (0.46 DA) from 5 to 9 Hz and ± 2 g peak from 9 to 350 Hz and a sweep rate of 0.75±0.25 octave.

 

LOW TEMPERATURE TEST G DEF STAN 81-41

Decrease temperature to -20±2ºC for 16±5 hours and afterwards return to 20±10ºC.

 

DRY HEAT TEST C DEF STAN 81-41

Increase temperature from 25±10ºC to 55±2ºC, humidity not exceeding 75%, and maintain conditions for 48±1 hours. Return temperature to 20±10ºC.

 

IMPACT VERTICAL TEST E DEF STAN 81-41

At 25±10ºC, the case is dropped from a height of 1000±5 mm making sure that the impact is received in all angles of the case.

 

So, are they worth it?

High end protective cases offer high end protection for high end equipment. It is as simple as that. If you have a camera or drone that is worth financially £1,000 but in addition to that equipment is a part of your livelihood would you not want the assurance that when you need it, it is ready to go?

For under £100.00 (depending on size) you can get a water & dust proof case with drop & vibration protection or for under £50.00 you can get an imitation case with none of the testing or protection that these cases provide.

In addition to the quality every single one of these brands offer at least 30 years to a lifetime warrantee on their products. This means if a clip breaks, or the case gets damaged simply send it back and the manufacturer will repair it or send you out a spare to repair it yourself. One case really will outlive the product going into it.

Concluding thoughts…

There is actually very little that somebody can do to convince you that a branded protective case is any better than a cheap one. However, there is a reason that these cases have been on the market for as long as they have, and the market continues to grow year by year.

Sometimes you must learn first hand that cutting corners on protecting your equipment is far from the most cost effective solution.