I have always packed my camera gear in a backpack meant to fit in the overhead compartment of airplanes and never had trouble getting on board even though my pack is pretty much at the maximum size for overhead bins. However, in October I will be going on a workshop in the Smokies and there are no direct flights from here to there and so I find myself with one leg of the journey on a regional jet. The jet info has a warning that overhead storage is quite minimal and I am therefore concerned that I will be forced to have them stow my pack with the regular luggage for that leg. Of course, it is possible that I get the pack into the plane, but I think this is not at all certain. So I am now of the mind that perhaps the time has come to get a hard Pelican case and check my gear with the regular luggage from the start.
From what I have read it seems to be perfectly safe to do so in terms of damage to my 1Ds MkII and lenses etc, but, of course, it doesn't protect against theft or loss by the airlines. In addition, I have read that one method of transport is to get a Pelican case without the foam liners and put your regular photo backpack into the Pelican case.
So a few questions....
I am a bit concerned about the idea of putting a fully loaded backpack into a Pelican case and having it thrown around....is it really safe to do so without everything fitting snugly (ie the pack is just in the case) or is it better or safer to get a Pelican with the foam inserts so everything fits snugly? Just throwing the bag in the case does seem very convenient....but is it safe?
Do people generally feel comfortable checking their gear in a Pelican case in with the regular luggage? Are the TSA locks useful in providing some protection against theft?
Thanks for any help with this...I am a bit nervous about the whole thing, if you couldn't tell.
Howard