Pelican 1510 Protector Carry-On Case

Solid and dependable – Terrific for those who travel with a lot of gear and want to ensure it’ll be safe regardless if it’s allowed as carry on or placed below the plane. Rugged and well built, it also has pressure valves which makes accessing gear in the air or high altitude locations easy (this can be a real problem believe me!). Water proof and also flexible compartments. Highly recommend the investment.

Pelican 1510 offers the best protection for your gear – I have a couple of this cases. Didn't buy them together but one by one over time. That already tells you what I think about them. They are absolutely awesome on a number of accounts. They are indestructable, strong, waterproof with sturdy rollers, retractable handle. They are also maximum carry-on-able case with pressure purge valve if you do decide to check them in.

Given they are so tough, you can sit, stand, jump on them. I regularly use them to improve my height, sit on while in transit or at work. On rainy days, I would ditch my bag and go with the case knowing I don't have to worry about drying the bag afterwards even if the bag manages to keep my gear inside dry.

Their material almost look like carbon fibre and is much less scratchable than newer 1535 the air case. I bought mine when the local currency was on-par with USD which made the purchase a no-brainer.

Enough with the good. There are some minuses but they are not enough to drop one star of five. The case isn't light. At 4kg empty, it is not light and easily get to 12kg with gear inside - over the limit for many airlines for carry on. Thankfully, the handle are rubberised and is large making it a little easier to carry if you have to such as walking up and down stairs.

The worst part about this case is really the small clearance from the ground. It is barely an inch. So it can regularly bottom out and don't even think of dragging it over grass or pebbles. There is also a hole in the middle of the back plate that holds the retractable handle. This can collect pebbles and if it does, you will not be able to fully retract the handle. I have this experience and had to remove the back plate to clean out off the pebbles it collected. Since then my cases have this hole permanently taped up. Good to see newer 1535 doesn't have this hole.

Like many, I have replaced the wheels with inline skate wheels. This is a definite improvement. From the sturdy rollers to now silky smooth sturdy rollers even on bricked floor or bitumen road. They are not regular inline skate roller wheel size though and do keep the bearings.

1510 is 30% or so heavier than newer 1535 case but the case doesn't flex as much as 1535. There is some compromise / tradeoff for the weight lost. That said, I am super happy to see that Pelican has added back the top handle to 1535 so it is just like the 1510 except that it is much thiner. Guest no one will carry the case for any significant amount of time using the top handle but it does make lifting it out of car boot, etc easier. So good to see company responding to demand and feedback of the user community. Well done!