1080

Well, there’s really not much else to say… it’s a Pelican.

Alright, for shits and giggles I did jump on my Pelican 1080 a few times, take it to the beach, bury it in sand, throw it in the ocean, rinse it off by throwing it in a pool, then test how hard it is to make the 10-pound buoyant case sink. I can honestly say now that if it matters, you need a Pelican. I am hooked and have since purchased several more for other sensitive gear. I had to go with charcoal/brushed aluminum since I could not find a black-on-black model anywhere (in fact, I was lucky to get this one). It doesn’t look bad, but it does reflect a lot more than I’d like. So far I have only had two problems with the case. Firstly, there is no shoulder strap option which seems downright silly. I have carried it alone anyhow, but having a shoulder strap would make this case just that much nicer. Second, the aluminum hinges did take on the sound of grinding sand after the beach “test”, though this is not a big deal as a quick blast from canned air took care of the problem in seconds.

For those of you wondering about sizing, yes it will handle nearly all 13.3 and smaller notebooks, including the larger ASUS models. If like myself you then want to put the little Pelican into another case, it will generally fit well in many notebook cases/bags designed to carry a 15-inch notebook and probably all designed for a 17-inch. My own personal preference is to carry it in a Maxpedition Operator (designed for a 15.4-inch), using the extra length of the larger bag to hold a small scanner.

I picked up the case from Southwest Public Safety for about $70 at the time of this writing, where I’ve purchased every Pelican case since.