# The unbreakable is broken.



## gjones5252 (Dec 28, 2013)

So finally payed up and bought a few pelican cases. 1540 I think and the 1740. Sadly the 1740 got shipped to me cracked! I am blown away! I thought this was the unbreakable box. Super nervous now. The cracking happened when there was nothing in it and the cardboard shipping box had very little to no damage on it. Bought this so I can ship my stuff to Jamaica to do a job. Now wondering if I should switch! Any one had this happen to them ? Should I stay with pelican?


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## Don Haines (Dec 28, 2013)

gjones5252 said:


> So finally payed up and bought a few pelican cases. 1540 I think and the 1740. Sadly the 1740 got shipped to me cracked! I am blown away! I thought this was the unbreakable box. Super nervous now. The cracking happened when there was nothing in it and the cardboard shipping box had very little to no damage on it. Bought this so I can ship my stuff to Jamaica to do a job. Now wondering if I should switch! Any one had this happen to them ? Should I stay with pelican?


I have shipped electronics and tools all over the place in pelican cases and never had one break... Including weights of over 300 pounds in one, and having one fall 75 feet from the deck of a ship into the Atlantic Ocean.

Send it back! For that kind of damage to have occurred in shipping the cardboard box they ship them in would have been shredded!


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## gjones5252 (Dec 30, 2013)

Thank you for increasing my confidence. I sent the broken one back to bh and they will be shipping me a new one. The box wasn't barely scratched at all so I think it was a case of something dropped on it or a fork lift or something pressed down on it while moving something.


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## ahab1372 (Dec 30, 2013)

Weird stuff can happen during shipping - I have received a wooden desk with a massive dent, and the cardboard box looked almost ok. 
If someone ran the forklift into the case, it could possibly crack the Pelican case without to much deformation, so that the cardboard stayed more or less intact (most other items would have collapsed completely, causing more deformation, causing the cardboard to rip ==> more obvious damage on the outside).
Just get a replacement and enjoy


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## Seanlucky (Dec 31, 2013)

Wow, I've never seen anything like that! It's possible that there may have been a fault in the manufacturing process. I have about 30 Pelican cases of varying sizes at my work used to transport everything from audio recorders to strobe equipment, the only problem we've had with them is the occasional broken wheel (after many years of heavy abuse).

Glad to hear they're replacing your case no problem. I've had great customer service from them as well.


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## Botts (Dec 31, 2013)

gjones5252 said:


> So finally payed up and bought a few pelican cases. 1540 I think and the 1740. Sadly the 1740 got shipped to me cracked! I am blown away! I thought this was the unbreakable box. Super nervous now. The cracking happened when there was nothing in it and the cardboard shipping box had very little to no damage on it. Bought this so I can ship my stuff to Jamaica to do a job. Now wondering if I should switch! Any one had this happen to them ? Should I stay with pelican?



I use Pelicans extensively for shooting gear. I've never seen anything like this happen on a Pelican before.

My immediate thought is that this may be a counterfeit. There are some counterfeit Pelican products floating around online.

Barring that, it's probably been horrifically abused during its lifespan at some time. I've seen people drive cars over Pelican cases with no damage.

Personally, I buy HPRC or Underwater Kinetics cases now, as I find they are at least 95% the quality of the Pelicans, but well under half the price.


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## RunAndGun (Dec 31, 2013)

I have several thousands of dollars in Pelican(and Storm) cases for my gear, in addition to a few Thermodyne's for my big cameras, and a few other brands of hard cases. Nothing is truly unbreakable, but they are very tough and give your gear a fighting chance during transit. The cases(and padding) are designed to take the punishment so your gear doesn't, but you shouldn't receive a new, unused case in this condition. Send it back, they will replace it(Pelican or your dealer. But I would think the dealer would cover it in this case). They aren't kidding when they say they are guaranteed for life.


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## weixing (Dec 31, 2013)

Hi,
I remember when I got my pelican case a few years back, I saw this in the "LEGENDARY PELICAN UNCONDITIONAL LIFETIME GUARANTEE OF EXCELLENCE" disclaimer: "The above guarantee does not cover sharkbite, bear attack or children under 5."... ha ha ha 

Have a nice day and Happy New Year eve.


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## Oneand0 (Dec 31, 2013)

That damage is in a weird location. I too use Pelican all the time shipping anything from 50 lbs to 15 and never had anything break. Only the rolling wheels have cracked, but were replaced. My job buys mine for computer work and would buy my own if needed.


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## Stu_bert (Dec 31, 2013)

I would suggest the case was damaged before shipping, not during. Given what you say about the box it came in, and everyone's experience, it was like that when it was packed


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## bobby samat (Dec 31, 2013)

i bought a carry-on size pelican for a trip last year. i'm not used to jeep hatches and the pelican wound up falling out of the rental jeep and onto the concrete with all my gear inside.

the case landed squarely on one of the wheels. the wheel still works fine. the case itself is fine. all my gear was sung inside the case and was perfect. it fell from about 3.5 feet.

it's dissapointing to see one cracked, but at least it cracked on the way to you and not with all your stuff inside.


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## RustyTheGeek (Dec 31, 2013)

If I were you, I would be more concerned with all the ISO noise in the image! LOL!


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## gjones5252 (May 22, 2014)

RustyTheGeek said:


> If I were you, I would be more concerned with all the ISO noise in the image! LOL!


HAha yeah that when i am using the "best camera in the world- Iphone." -my wife.


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## AcutancePhotography (May 22, 2014)

Nothing is unbreakable. Our 2 year old grandkid can attest to that.


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## Don Haines (May 22, 2014)

We just got back a damaged pelican case at work.... Air Canada ran a forklift through it. Fortunately, they hit the box with the tools, not the one with the 60Ghz spectrum analyzer.....


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## kaihp (May 22, 2014)

Don Haines said:


> We just got back a damaged pelican case at work.... Air Canada ran a forklift through it. Fortunately, they hit the box with the tools, not the one with the 60Ghz spectrum analyzer.....



 Jeheezuz, forklift ramming a 60GHz spectrum analyzer would have been expensive.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (May 22, 2014)

Aluminum or composite cases are better than molded plastic ones. Plastic molding is susceptible to poor manufacturing processes, and a entire production run can be bad due to poor temperatures, or incorrect timing. You can inspect Aluminum for manufacturing flaws, but you cannot tell if the plastic cases have flaws because they show up weeks, months, or years after.

However, none are built to resist forklifts!


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## Lawliet (May 22, 2014)

Don Haines said:


> We just got back a damaged pelican case at work.... Air Canada ran a forklift through it.


We once had a case fall overboard - and promptly having an argument with the boats propeller. Ended not that pretty for either, but the gear inside the case was fine.


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