Peli Soft Bag – your camera wants one
by Johnus Maximus
Peli, or as they are known outside of Europe, Pelican Products, are the manufacturers of a wide range of sturdy protective cases and torches. Famed for being manufactured to the highest quality, their products are designed with one thing in mind – keeping your “stuff” safe, dry and in one piece. That’s just the sort of assurance you want when travelling with your favourite iPod/computer/rifle.
As well as their hard cases, which are water proof, dust proof and rather fetching, Peli also manufacture a range of soft cases which seem to be designed for use in a more day to day situation, providing the same level of security for your stuff, but giving you additional comfort.
Recently, we at Gadgetoid were able to get our hands on a sample of Peli’s PCS152 soft sided case and I was asked to give it a trial run and write up my opinions. As I had a holiday lined up, this was the ideal time to try it out, especially as I always take my camera with me when I travel.
The first thing that I was impressed by was how very light the bag felt, because at first glance it looked quite bulky (external dimensions: 43cm (expands to 59.5cm) x 32cm x 15cm). The bag has padded carry handles and an over the shoulder strap included, both of which were really comfortable. I was lugging the bag about for hours at a time and not once, even on a hot day, did the handles become irritating, nor did the bag feel cumbersome.
Internally, this bag is equipped with enough space to make an astronaut happy (internal dimensions: 37cm x 28cm x 13.5cm). Open the bags main compartment (which opens from the top or the side) and you’ll find a spacious area which has several dividers with Velcro sides, allowing you to resize the interior dimensions to meet your own specific set of requirements. Additionally, the side pockets open out and extend, adding the extra 16cm mentioned previously.
If you have a tripod, on the underside of the bag is an adjustable strap which will snugly hold your tripod in place, stopping it from bouncing all over the place when you are on the move. The bag also includes tuck away backpack straps, but I found that because I was opening and closing the bag regularly, it was much more convenient to carry over my shoulder.
So, how much stuff can you realistically fit in the bag? Well, there’s enough space to fit a couple of digital SLR cameras and some additional lenses and filters in there, and you’ll still have plenty of space in the front and side pockets for cables, adapters, batteries and whatever else you may need to bring with you.
Whatever you choose to put in this bag is going to be very secure and very safe, as long as you don’t go crazy and throw your bag into the sea – for that you should get the matching Peli 1520 hard case, which this bag is designed to fit snugly into.
After having the bag for just a day I was convinced that I wanted to buy one, and using it for the rest of the week was a real joy. To say that I was extremely satisfied with this bag is an understatement. It is light, comfortable, practical, robust, useful, secure, what more could a bag offer? I honestly believe that your camera wants one and you should too!