Peli Air 1535 - The dream carry on?
Before I headed to Australia the Peli 1535 appeared at the Death Studios door (finally after a couple months the DPD delivery guy knows where we are without having to type our address in a weird way, so even a child could follow it). I didn’t get a chance to rig it up before heading to the land down under because the list of things I had to do was far too long. I got back on Wednesday afternoon and first up was setting up this case.
For years, without fail, my ‘go to’ flight case option has been the peli 1510 which has done no wrong. The case is without a doubt one of the most reliable things I’ve EVER used. The real problem though with the 1510 is once it’s fully loaded with a cinema camera (something like a FS7 or RED) its total weight is greater than legal carry on limits. This consequently has resulted in me pleading with countless numbers of staff at check in desks around the world. You almost have to guilt trip the people into letting you take it onto a flight (”I have about £10k of gear here can you guarantee it will reach the other side” etc etc).
When the announcement came that Peli were releasing a line of cases called the ‘AIR’ range, I knew that any of the cases would be a likely choice as a filmmaker who travels extensively. At 40% lighter than the standard peli they give you breathing space to be nice and legal when it comes to flying with your equipment as a carry on. The 1535 is actually much shallower than the 1510 which at first concerned me. The FS7 body sits perfectly in the 1510, so this would be rearranging my already perfectly formulated trek pak system into something new for the 1535. Happily though this worry turned out to be completely unfounded because by laying down the FS7 on it’s side I managed to fit everything into the case.
The 1535 air comes minus a few things you’d get on the 1510 to save on weight and space. There is no top handle which at first can feel a little strange, but when you consider the fact you’re gaining so much more in other areas, it quickly becomes irrelevant. There are also no pre-drilled screw points in the lid for the organiser zip pockets (purchased separately), so I had to attach mine with strong double sided tape. Also as stated before, the layout of the case shell is different than the 1510 meaning you lose depth; but again this is all in the best interests of weight management. This is a product that’s made for flying and transport.
But the by far the best thing about all this is that after loading the case with my FS7 and everything I need to run it; the total weight of the case and contents came to 11kg! International flight carry on rules state a carry on must be no more than 12kg. So there you have it, the perfect carry on is here folks. I’ve yet to take it on the road but that’s going to be next up. It’s looking like I’ll be travelling internationally in May, so once I’ve had a chance to give the case a whirl on the road and in the air I’ll be dropping info here and there on my other socials.
If you’re spending big money on film equipment, it makes sense to not cut corners when transporting it around. Therefore be smart and get some peli protection.
You can learn more about the case and purchase one direct from Peli UK at the following link: https://peliproducts.co.uk/1535-air-case.html









