Any suggestions: Travelling with an Ikelite D7000 and looking for a safe way to travel with it

I have been doing some research on previous posts and have seen that a lot of people suggested the Pelican 1510. I have heard that getting the ikelite into the case is a tight squeeze, does anyone currently use this setup to travel with their Ikelite SLR housing? I have a Lowpro backpack to transport my camera already but I was wondering if anyone has come up with any other carry-on options to fit an Ikelite rig. I really don't want to have to check the housing.

If you have pics of your setup in a Pelican 1510 I would love to see it to get a better feel for the size of it/what I could fit in it. Thanks!

I used to use a 1510 but found that 1) I had to take the handle apart (Ike housing was for a Canon 7D - so the housing size is similar) and 2) the 1510 contributed 13.5 lbs in weight (empty - with foam insets). Also I could not fit my 8" dome into the Pelican. So, I switched to using an Akona <7 lb. carry-on and I cut to fit additional foam padding for the bottom, top and sides myself. Padding was gotten from Walmart (1/2 " thick blue semi-hard foam meant for sleeping bags and inflatable mattresses). Now I can carry my 7D housing (nauticam), strobes, domes and ports in one bag that fits in all overheads, has a solid build (including hard bottom) and rugged wheels/retractable handle. Here is a link at Akona for the newest version. Mine, which is burgundy and a couple of years old, is $137 at Amazon with free shipping http://www.akona.com/product.php?product_id=297

I also carry multiple cameras and lenses along with computer. My other carry-on of choice for those items is the well-padded Cinebag CB 27 Lens Smuggler. I can get 2 SLRs, GoPro, 4-5 lenses, chargers, cards, batteries, computer and tablet with room to spare. The case is expensive and well worth it ($229). Here is an Amazon link. http://www.amazon.com/CineBags-CB27-Smuggler-Cameras-Charcoal/dp/B00ANJIC3U/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1415375887&sr=8-11&keywords=cinebags

So - with these two carry-ons I feel very secure in case either need to be handed off for puddle jumper flight, but I have found both will fit easily in the smallest overhead bins and the Cinebag will even fit under the seat in front of me (thus it has replaced my backpack).

The Pelican is great - but way too heavy for today's weight restrictions. Good luck and this setup has travelled probably 50-60K miles with no issues and much piece of mind over the last couple of years. If you have any questions let me know!

I usually travel with a little larger suitcase if I take the housing with me and wrap it in 3 towels and put it between the cloths in the middle of my suitcase. Never had any issues with that. And you should never travel with the housing closed. The o-rings can get damaged when you fly in high altitudes. My friend o-ring got damaged when he did that and next thing that happened was water in his housing.

Cheers

Thank you guys for all the input, can't tell you how much I appreciate the detailed responses. I'm really glad I held off buying the pelican I had no idea it weighed 13 pounds without anything even in it! I think suitcase is definitely the way to go, do you have any pictures of your setup inside the Akona bag by any chance? Just curious to see how much more room there would be after housing/strobes etc. I have a lowpro backpack that fits my camera/lenses/gopro etc so the Akona looks like the best option for the housing and dome port.

Ray, wrapping it in a towel seems like a good way to reduce damage from bumping/moving around in the suitcase. I have been diving with an Olympus housing so I already know to take out the orings.

Akona bag (including blue foam padding) with Nauticam housing, 2 dome ports (4" & 8"), 2 Inon strobes and lots of room for more. I use micro fiber towels for padding the strobes and other "delicates"! Toes added for reference!

I have a Thinktank Airport International 2.0, and while great it's a bit heavy. The Cinebag linked above is a good bag too, as it appears as a laptop bag and is generally not weighed as a carry on.

Carry on weight is becoming more and more important. Flying with Singapore Air I can carry on two pieces of 7kg each in business or one if flying economy, while Philippine air only allows one at 7kg and they're pretty strict about it, regardless of what cabin class you're in.

A photo vest loaded down with glass, bodies, and so on is a good option evidently, to make your carry on bag appear lighter, then pack it all back up once you're through security and in the terminal, or better in a lounge with less eyes on you!

As CamelToad mentioned,
carry on weight allowance becomes lower and lower and this lead to a serious problem for me (and much of us ).
I have usually 2 23 kilos/50lbs pieces containing my dive gear, clothing and a smaller pelicase for the D800 housing while my LoewePro Vertex200 Photobackpack
1 D800 + Sigma 15mm + Nikon 24-70 + Nikon 70-200 + Nikon 105mm makro + SB-800 strobe, 1 G1X + OEM housing, several hard disks, Hugyfot glass minidome, 2 Z240 strobes + 1 HP Zbook17 laptop
Weight of it is around 18 Kilos/35lbs ...
To save weight i put most of the heavy prime lenses in my photographers vest and the laptop in a messenger bag as 1 trolley and 1 personal piece(laptop) is still in most US airlines allowed.

The end of this story with the weight limits for carry on will be to put everything in checked luggage but i feel very uncomfortable with the idea because of theft and rough handling.
Also, as far i know IATA rules still prohibit electronic gear in checked baggage so basically camera, disks, strobes, laptops etc HAVE to go in carry on.

I move this weekend back to Costa Rica with the gear above, but this time also my rebreather, so there will be some interesting discussions with airline personnel and customs.

Chris

Thanks for the photo of your setup in the Akona Bag Megtooth, That's a perfect size to fit my rig in with room for expansion if I get more ports/etc. Basically the only things going into the carry on would be Housing, port, strobes (S&S YS 110a's nice and light) and arms. So I'll save all of the camera body, lenses and all the heavier smaller things in my Lowepro Backpack. thanks again for the help picking out a travel rig. when it comes in ill post a pic of the setup in the akona <7 carry on I ordered for people who are travelling with an Ikelite Setup and looking for a lighter option

De Nada! BTW - nice website, photos and carvings. Very impressed!

Thanks, I'm glad you really liked the carvings! It's been a fun little hobby I picked up a few years ago, started with the hawksbill and have been adding more animals to it whenever I photograph something different.

I finally got the Akona <7 bag in and it fits the Ikelite perfectly! I'm going to grab some foam this weekend and add some padding to it. If anyone is looking for a bag where you don't have to remove the tray and handles from the housing I would definitely suggest this bag. Really light too going to be great to travel with. Sorry for the bad photo I took it with my phone, will post photos when I have all the padding and gear setup in it.

Very nice! glad you like it. You will enjoy it even more with the foam padding from the "mart". And go over to the automotive dept for cheap microfiber towels.