The Pelican 1430 Case

So I've come to a few realizations. Funny, I seem to realize stuff all the time, I guess it's the acting on it that seems so rare these days. And here's the latest; From time to time, I leave my gear in the Vanagon. Some of my gear is subject to wear and tear from several sources. One would be UV light, another heat, and a third the mis-dventures and misfortunes that befall an item just left out in the open. (cuts, scrapes, and stains come to mind) So in the process of parting with the old Dodge van that the Vanagon's replaced I was cleaning out gear and whatnot. While doing this I found that I'd left one of my Rose full body harness's piled in a dark corner (thankfully dark & protected as the van's under a car port) where it had been since the last kiting adventure months back. Well in the Vanagon, this isn't going to be the case. I had been thinking when Friday (the vanagon) came into the family that I was going to do a few things differently as to how she carried stuff. Just look at the Land Rover rack on top of her and you'll see that. Well, being the fan of Pelican Cases that I am, it seemes that they'd have what I need to protect this equipment and do it with style. I know, I know, you're saying, "It's just a harness Rob", and yes it is, but I've actually got two of them and if you look around like I did years ago when I got them, brand new full body harnesses can be pricey. At the time, the lowest prices I found were near $80 per harness. A great example of what I use them for can be seen HERE on the blog, and HERE on youtube with Rebecca kiting. Seeing that kiddo actually got airtime in her harness you can see the value of protecting them. In the case of life safety gear, the price is worth it. So I'm betting they haven't gone DOWN in price in the years since, I'd might as well protect them. In fact, I have more gear that I'm needing to do this with, including my wings, so I guess I'd better keep my eyes open for some good cases. And speaking of good cases and thus getting back onto the subject at hand, I present the deal of the day, the Pelican 1430 Top Loader Case. I picked this one up brand new in the box on eBay. Yes, my local retailer had them too, at TWICE the price, so I took the eBay one. The 1430's a neat case to say the least. It's a slim profiled (but tall) case that can fit nicely into the various floor spaces one creates when packing a Van for travel (or in this case, flight). Looking at it, it resembles a heavy duty version of a file folder I've had for years full of important personal paperwork, you know, those acordion type, latching file folder critters with a carrying handle on top...(note to self, check and see if that folder system will fit in this 1430 and get more 1430's as handy hurricane protection.) But I ramble, again. So in go the harnesses and what have we got? What we've got is some bang up protection for the harnesses. They fit beautifully and even have room at the bottom to add a fleece for those colder mornings or evenings on the LZ. And believe you me, in the five years I've been at this now, I've found a little cold here and there. Of course, all nestled up in this case I'm betting the harnesses have protection from the heat too. I'll just say they're better insulated now, another layer of protection for those hot summer days when outside it's 100 degrees and inside the vehicles it's far more. So off now to continue the search, tires and cases. That's what I'm on right now. Friday needs tires and the gear needs cases. I'll keep you updated when I add either.
-Rob 'protect me' D.