I got a Pelican Air 1535 and love it. I am now looking for a second case and I DON'T love (obviously the price but I'm ok to invest in something durable) that I can't find a lot of comparisons between Pelican models online and it's lead me here. I haven't developed any feelings of brand loyalty to pelican yet so if Nanuk sounds good then ... anything can happen.
I've used Pelican cases for decades but I've never owned one. I started to pull the trigger on a used 1510 recently, for photo gear, but I've decided to go with the Nanuk 935 with padded insert (and probably the lid organizer) instead. I'll have to get one for pistols someday.
Interesting, that Nanuk 935. I've been using a comparable Pelican 1510 (Peli in Europe) for a long time and was very satisfied. I think both are about equally sturdy. The Nanuk has a staged edge around the lid that encloses the body, which may give better protection against the lid being shoved off when a car drivers over these cases. I guess, in practice they will do equally well. The locks being silent is a benefit, but on site, having placed the case down, you are bereft of the warning when somebody else opens your case. If I had to buy a second one, I would first look how these cases would stack up. With 2x 1510, the bottom one keeps the top one in place. When I compare the numbers, the 1510 and 935 are very close. But, I find the empty weight of the 1510 high and now Pelican have a lighter material that gives 27% weight reduction. If we compare 935 with 1510 and 1535Air: gross volume liter 45.6 44.9 45.2 net volume liter 28.6 27.1 26.9 empty weight kg 5.3 5.4 3.94 These volumes are based on the maximum outer and inner dimensions. They, for example, don't take into account two smaller wells are lost to the wheels and a larger one to the extensible drag grip. With the 935 and 1510, the extensible drag strip and wheels are a bolt on kit that looks like an afterthought. In the case of the 1535Air, it looks more nicely integrated. I bought my 1510 with the foam insert, but replacement later on by the divider organizer from Pelican - which is more expensive than buying in a combination. That said, if I had to buy one today, I might opt for the 1535Air with the divider insert by TrekPak. This does not rely on Velcro, but on U-shaped pins and a hard-soft foam in a double layer with connecting ribs. The U-pins connect through the tubes between the foam layers and ribs. A tab on the pins makes them easily movable.
Great review and great effort, I valued your thorough walking through of the features and especially liked your comment around cases being essentially the same but the attention to detail that Nanuk has added to this category makes it heads and shoulders above the rest of the field. Bravo Zulu!!
I bought a Nanuk 935 a couple of years back; round about 2019. It's been amazing. I've been genuinely surprised how well its held up to some of my abuse. I've had cheaper flight cases like Duratool and although they've had less abuse I know what I'd trust. All that being said they're still very pricy. I love them but I just wish they were a little less expensive.
I think they're priced just fine, but I think most ppl go for HF Apache cases to save some money. No reason to ever buy Pelican anymore, when the competition is objectively better.
Simple pro tip, but I almost dumped out $3,000 worth of gear last night while on a shoot because it looked like my bag was closed! Thanks for the reminder. I follow Scott as well, subbing to you.
Nice Video, sir. I have a bunch of Pelicans and a Nanuk 935. I'm in the market another case for a new piece of equipment, and was trying to figure out if I was going to go with Pelican, as usual, or Nanuk again. At least for the application, I feel Nanuk will work better this time. Thanks for helping my decision!
Good info to know. I almost went with the 963 but when searching or reviews (there aren’t any) I saw this and decided on the 965. Hey, my travel case could always use another 4” on space.
I own a couple Apache cases from Harbor Freight Tools and will buy more. They cost about 1/3rd the price of Pelican or Nanuk and almost as good. I haven't seen extreme torture tests on the Nanuk and Pelican is a little better than Apache. That said how often do we run into those extreme situations they test for? All will protect your fragile gear in the normal situations, they were actually designed for. The added features of the Nanuk make them more appealing than Pelican but we're in similar price ranges. Love that divider system, way better than the pick apart foam. The latches are awesome and the extra handle is very convenient. Still not enough to justify the price for me but I'd definitely consider it before Pelican.
Good review and great tip at the end too! Thanks for showing the interior bottom - I have been trying to find a video or photo of the interior to see if the retractable handle impacts the interior at all. Glad to see it does not!
Thanks for taking the time to comment, Garry! I hope to update this video with higher quality in the near future. Is there anything else you would like to see mentioned?
@@wunzagain Hi Wunz, I'm getting the 950 tomorrow, and it's deeper than the 935 case which I also have. I find that the 935 and the Pelican 1510 still are not enough space, so I'd like a deeper case so that I can put some things in vertically to squeeze more in like my zoom lens. I'm most interested in how people pack their gear into their case to maximize space. I've already learned to like the padded dividers more than the pick and pluck. In fact I've also ordered padded dividers for my 935 so that they all have padded dividers.One thing that I wish that they had is colored padded dividers so that it's not so dark when you're looking for your gear. With that in mind, I went for a bright yellow 950 as a first step.
Thank you for the feedback. I always try to level my audio with several different speakers, but it appears headphones pick up more of the song. I will certainly bear this in mind for the future!
I have a Nikon d750 w/battery grip, Nikon 24-120 f4, sigma 14-24 f2.8, Tamron 70-200 f2.8 lenses, and a godox flashgun. I’m also lookin at getting two godox ad200’s. Will this all fit in the 935 case?
@@wunzagain you not believe the odds! I go into work today...we are filming and live streaming graduation. My coworker is sitting stills happened to have the nanuk 940 with him! Played with lock downs and put my hands on the case. For sure, buying the 935 with the dividers in these next couple of weeks. I'm excited to buy and start slapping stickers on it!
To me it's very important where the cases are made. I'm very happy to spend a little bit more money for something not made in China. So pelican(USA) and the nanuk (Canada) are the only options for me. It just happens that they both are the gold standards in cases. I have both and I prefer Nanuk which is also less expensive.
With a name like Nanuk, not sure how I can NOT buy it. Nice, hadn’t heard of them. I think UA-cam prompted me to watch your video because you mentioned pelican.
Question for everyone here: : Do you pick a color that stands out so that if your carry on gets lost or stolen it can easily be Identified? Or you go for a stealth color (black/grey) to not draw to much attention to your camera bags and expensive equipments ?
Before cases had pressure relief valves they could pop open violently when unlatched. Now most, if not all cases do have automatic valves, but some older cases may have only manual valves or none.
I love how the same thing can be a turnoff for someone and a pro for someone else! Tastes are so interesting! Very nice cases overall but I still will go with pelican, there are way too many moving parts in a Nanuk for my tastes. The button operated trolley handle is a big nono for me for instance, it is one more cheap mechanism that can get messed up, I love the pelican brutish plastic plank, the spring loaded handle is again needlessly complex for me a simple foldable one I think is best. Last thing the latches, for you the ease of operation and silent action is a plus for me is the opposite 😂 I love closing my 1510 with a couple satisfying,well placed, Fonzie punches, and I love the fact that opening them makes me emit a loud "hnnnng", otherwise I would not trust them to withstand a hit on the latch itself for example. That said I am sure nanuk are great cases just as much, if pelican was not availavle for me I would go for nanuk in a heartbeat. One more thing that makes me more confident in pelican products is that they have the simplicity down to an artform at this point and that they also deal a lot more than nanuk (in my view but I could be wrong) with stackability, military logistics and design cases for much more rugged and heavy duty applications (military cargo, air drop crates, marine cargo storage, etc). Great video regardless and very informative 👍
Pelican is an American company, so it's no surprise it's ubiquitous for military operations. It's a rather overrated brand atm, that desperately needs to hold on to its name, because it has serious competition nowadays. Of course we're entitled to our opinions regarding aesthetics and certain features, but I don't think that Pelican is objectively the best brand anymore. The quality isn't the same anymore, as they have decided to cheap out on certain parts, and the warranty doesn't seem to be lifetime for a lot of customers.
Hey Wayne, good question. Short answer: it's great! I've found Nanuk's customer service to be excellent. I come off sounding like a fan-boy, but the one thing I ever had happen (a used case I bought came with a broken non-essential part.) I called and Nanuk sorted out a replacement with minimal questions or fuss. Very polite & helpful.
If you already own a Pelican/Peli, 1510 like I do, and want to "silence" it, watch: "New Locking Latches for Pelican Cases" by channel DeviantOllam - here the UA-camr shows a 3rd party replacement that can be locked with a key without having to use a padlock. Skip to 7min 30s to get where he is going to. The intro talks a lot about locks, valuables and guns. I feel that this is not relevant to me, when I travel. I want to know if, and when, somebody tampered with my suitcase, for instance in order to put something into it.
Music plus informative video, sigh Sounds like your upstairs neighbor is playing really bad music. Especially loathed when the music got louder between your talking. P.S did you pay license fees to use that music or are you stealing it? BTW, a lot of us listen to stuff like this at really high speeds and music sounds bad enough at regular speeds and at high speeds, well... Also, at high speeds, the music obscures what you are saying. And frankly, I just hate other people's music. The only time I want to hear music on a youtube video is if I searched something about music. It is usually an instant jump forward if music is playing on an intro and a quit video if overlaying the speech. Or if no speech it is an instant mute. In your case (no pun intended) it was your video title that even alerted me to the Nanuk cases by including the word "Pelican", so I thank you for that. Made it through, barely. I especially like your comment on the quietness of the closures (an astute and discerning observation) and the good pro tip.
Thanks for the view & comment, I appreciate it! As to the music, this was over a year an a half ago, and was one of the options. I have adjusted the levels on all videos going forward. Multiple camera angles is normal in the industry and was used to show the details I was pointing out. Would you have preferred one long angle, single shot only of me explaining? Why is that?
Jesus, thanks for the feedback. I'm sorry the music wasn't to your taste. I've not uploaded in a while, but I was planning on dong another updated review and will keep the music in mind! (although I would appreciate everyone refraining from profanity.) Thanks again, enjoy your day!
What is your case of choice for camera gear? Leave a comment below & let us know why!
I got a Pelican Air 1535 and love it. I am now looking for a second case and I DON'T love (obviously the price but I'm ok to invest in something durable) that I can't find a lot of comparisons between Pelican models online and it's lead me here. I haven't developed any feelings of brand loyalty to pelican yet so if Nanuk sounds good then ... anything can happen.
I've used Pelican cases for decades but I've never owned one. I started to pull the trigger on a used 1510 recently, for photo gear, but I've decided to go with the Nanuk 935 with padded insert (and probably the lid organizer) instead. I'll have to get one for pistols someday.
Excellent review, although I would lose the background music altogether.
Thank you for the watch, I'm glad it was helpful. I will certainly take that feedback to improve more in the future!
I agree.
Interesting, that Nanuk 935. I've been using a comparable Pelican 1510 (Peli in Europe) for a long time and was very satisfied. I think both are about equally sturdy. The Nanuk has a staged edge around the lid that encloses the body, which may give better protection against the lid being shoved off when a car drivers over these cases. I guess, in practice they will do equally well. The locks being silent is a benefit, but on site, having placed the case down, you are bereft of the warning when somebody else opens your case.
If I had to buy a second one, I would first look how these cases would stack up. With 2x 1510, the bottom one keeps the top one in place.
When I compare the numbers, the 1510 and 935 are very close. But, I find the empty weight of the 1510 high and now Pelican have a lighter material that gives 27% weight reduction.
If we compare 935 with 1510 and 1535Air:
gross volume liter 45.6 44.9 45.2
net volume liter 28.6 27.1 26.9
empty weight kg 5.3 5.4 3.94
These volumes are based on the maximum outer and inner dimensions.
They, for example, don't take into account two smaller wells are lost to the wheels and a larger one to the extensible drag grip.
With the 935 and 1510, the extensible drag strip and wheels are a bolt on kit that looks like an afterthought. In the case of the 1535Air, it looks more nicely integrated.
I bought my 1510 with the foam insert, but replacement later on by the divider organizer from Pelican - which is more expensive than buying in a combination.
That said, if I had to buy one today, I might opt for the 1535Air with the divider insert by TrekPak. This does not rely on Velcro, but on U-shaped pins and a hard-soft foam in a double layer with connecting ribs. The U-pins connect through the tubes between the foam layers and ribs. A tab on the pins makes them easily movable.
Thanks for the comment! Once I get the lid organizer I plan on doing a new review video, so we will see how that compares!
Great info , been pondering the pelican but now after seeing your video I’m gonna order the Nanak thanks
Enjoyed your review..ordered 2x 909 with strap and TSA padlocks after this. Thanks!
Great review and great effort, I valued your thorough walking through of the features and especially liked your comment around cases being essentially the same but the attention to detail that Nanuk has added to this category makes it heads and shoulders above the rest of the field. Bravo Zulu!!
Thanks so much! It didn't come out quite like I had hoped, but for a Daily upload, I'm proud of it. I'm glad to hear you appreciate the same details!
Thanks for the nice video!! I have both cases, and love both. On Nanuk the locking mechanism is great!
You sold me on the locks. Thanks for the helpful video!
I bought a Nanuk 935 a couple of years back; round about 2019. It's been amazing. I've been genuinely surprised how well its held up to some of my abuse. I've had cheaper flight cases like Duratool and although they've had less abuse I know what I'd trust.
All that being said they're still very pricy. I love them but I just wish they were a little less expensive.
I think they're priced just fine, but I think most ppl go for HF Apache cases to save some money.
No reason to ever buy Pelican anymore, when the competition is objectively better.
Simple pro tip, but I almost dumped out $3,000 worth of gear last night while on a shoot because it looked like my bag was closed! Thanks for the reminder. I follow Scott as well, subbing to you.
Nanuk makes a great product. I have a 935, looking to get a smaller one when I just need to take one camera and a lens or two.
Nice Video, sir. I have a bunch of Pelicans and a Nanuk 935. I'm in the market another case for a new piece of equipment, and was trying to figure out if I was going to go with Pelican, as usual, or Nanuk again. At least for the application, I feel Nanuk will work better this time. Thanks for helping my decision!
Glad I could help! They may not be for everyone, but I can't help but lean towards Nanuk everytime.
Excellent review Chris! I really like how you personalized your 935 with all these stickers... You felt very genuine in yout review btw.
Thank you!
Good info to know. I almost went with the 963 but when searching or reviews (there aren’t any) I saw this and decided on the 965. Hey, my travel case could always use another 4” on space.
I own a couple Apache cases from Harbor Freight Tools and will buy more. They cost about 1/3rd the price of Pelican or Nanuk and almost as good. I haven't seen extreme torture tests on the Nanuk and Pelican is a little better than Apache. That said how often do we run into those extreme situations they test for? All will protect your fragile gear in the normal situations, they were actually designed for.
The added features of the Nanuk make them more appealing than Pelican but we're in similar price ranges. Love that divider system, way better than the pick apart foam. The latches are awesome and the extra handle is very convenient. Still not enough to justify the price for me but I'd definitely consider it before Pelican.
Good review and great tip at the end too! Thanks for showing the interior bottom - I have been trying to find a video or photo of the interior to see if the retractable handle impacts the interior at all. Glad to see it does not!
Thanks for the view & comment! Glad I could help with your decision!!!
I like your puns. Great info. I have a lowpro backpack that I use and should upgrade to a case.
i ordered one getting sun i hope ity will fit my 2 dslr 1 telephoto lens and my 3 prime lense
935
I agree. I love the Nanuk latches.
Thanks for taking the time to comment, Garry! I hope to update this video with higher quality in the near future. Is there anything else you would like to see mentioned?
@@wunzagain Hi Wunz, I'm getting the 950 tomorrow, and it's deeper than the 935 case which I also have. I find that the 935 and the Pelican 1510 still are not enough space, so I'd like a deeper case so that I can put some things in vertically to squeeze more in like my zoom lens. I'm most interested in how people pack their gear into their case to maximize space. I've already learned to like the padded dividers more than the pick and pluck. In fact I've also ordered padded dividers for my 935 so that they all have padded dividers.One thing that I wish that they had is colored padded dividers so that it's not so dark when you're looking for your gear. With that in mind, I went for a bright yellow 950 as a first step.
Was the 915 that road nicely on top of the 935 when rolling it around?
Thanks for the info. Great honest review.
Good info but your music is TOO loud and damn distracting
Thank you for the feedback. I always try to level my audio with several different speakers, but it appears headphones pick up more of the song. I will certainly bear this in mind for the future!
I have a pelican for my mirrorless camera, 1400 series. I find it a bit to bit and hard to open for my uses....really like the easy latches
Right-o! I love the latches, biggest plus in my book, as you probably picked up. ; )
hi. we are the regional distributor for Nanuk in ASIA. THANKYOU for the honest review.
Yessica, sure thing! I've been very impressed by Nanuk and while no product is perfect, your cases come close for me! Thanks for the view!!!
I have a Nikon d750 w/battery grip, Nikon 24-120 f4, sigma 14-24 f2.8, Tamron 70-200 f2.8 lenses, and a godox flashgun. I’m also lookin at getting two godox ad200’s. Will this all fit in the 935 case?
Decision paralysis! Lol totally get that. Thanks for helping me make me decision 🤙🏽
Sure thing! I get totally hung up for every purchase of video-related gear, but when I saw Nanuk, I knew! Thanks for the comment!
@@wunzagain you not believe the odds! I go into work today...we are filming and live streaming graduation. My coworker is sitting stills happened to have the nanuk 940 with him! Played with lock downs and put my hands on the case. For sure, buying the 935 with the dividers in these next couple of weeks. I'm excited to buy and start slapping stickers on it!
Tati Photography Excellent! I’m glad you were able try the latches out. They are 100% what sold me, too!!!
Thanks for your thoughts on nanuk.
Thanks for the watch & comment! I'm glad I was able to be helpful!
I hope to update this video with higher quality in the near future. Is there anything else you would like to see mentioned?
I do like these Nanuk cases, the latches better than Pelican cases.
I hope to update this video with higher quality in the near future. Is there anything else you would like to see mentioned?
To me it's very important where the cases are made. I'm very happy to spend a little bit more money for something not made in China. So pelican(USA) and the nanuk (Canada) are the only options for me. It just happens that they both are the gold standards in cases. I have both and I prefer Nanuk which is also less expensive.
Do the smaller cases stack on the top edge of the roller?
With a name like Nanuk, not sure how I can NOT buy it. Nice, hadn’t heard of them. I think UA-cam prompted me to watch your video because you mentioned pelican.
Thanks for the watch! I had never heard of them before either, until I stumbled across one used on B&H. Nice to know my key-wording is working!
great video brother
Thank you
Nice review. Thx man!
Thank you! I appreciate the vote of confidence, I hope it's been helpful to you!
Question for everyone here: :
Do you pick a color that stands out so that if your carry on gets lost or stolen it can easily be Identified?
Or you go for a stealth color (black/grey) to not draw to much attention to your camera bags and expensive equipments ?
I went for silver, a sort of in-between of stand-out and stealth! Thanks for the watch!
I have now bought one over the pelican
"Doesn't blow open after being on an airplane "? ..that's not how that works...
Before cases had pressure relief valves they could pop open violently when unlatched. Now most, if not all cases do have automatic valves, but some older cases may have only manual valves or none.
Just wanted to say I was view 9,999!
That was the fastest road trip yo
I love how the same thing can be a turnoff for someone and a pro for someone else! Tastes are so interesting!
Very nice cases overall but I still will go with pelican, there are way too many moving parts in a Nanuk for my tastes.
The button operated trolley handle is a big nono for me for instance, it is one more cheap mechanism that can get messed up, I love the pelican brutish plastic plank, the spring loaded handle is again needlessly complex for me a simple foldable one I think is best.
Last thing the latches, for you the ease of operation and silent action is a plus for me is the opposite 😂
I love closing my 1510 with a couple satisfying,well placed, Fonzie punches, and I love the fact that opening them makes me emit a loud "hnnnng", otherwise I would not trust them to withstand a hit on the latch itself for example.
That said I am sure nanuk are great cases just as much, if pelican was not availavle for me I would go for nanuk in a heartbeat.
One more thing that makes me more confident in pelican products is that they have the simplicity down to an artform at this point and that they also deal a lot more than nanuk (in my view but I could be wrong) with stackability, military logistics and design cases for much more rugged and heavy duty applications (military cargo, air drop crates, marine cargo storage, etc).
Great video regardless and very informative 👍
Pelican is an American company, so it's no surprise it's ubiquitous for military operations.
It's a rather overrated brand atm, that desperately needs to hold on to its name, because it has serious competition nowadays.
Of course we're entitled to our opinions regarding aesthetics and certain features, but I don't think that Pelican is objectively the best brand anymore.
The quality isn't the same anymore, as they have decided to cheap out on certain parts, and the warranty doesn't seem to be lifetime for a lot of customers.
hahaha...I'd rather say pelican a million times than nanuk. Which sounds more like a cartoon sound effect. :D
How is the warranty?
Hey Wayne, good question. Short answer: it's great!
I've found Nanuk's customer service to be excellent. I come off sounding like a fan-boy, but the one thing I ever had happen (a used case I bought came with a broken non-essential part.) I called and Nanuk sorted out a replacement with minimal questions or fuss. Very polite & helpful.
If you already own a Pelican/Peli, 1510 like I do, and want to "silence" it, watch: "New Locking Latches for Pelican Cases" by channel DeviantOllam - here the UA-camr shows a 3rd party replacement that can be locked with a key without having to use a padlock. Skip to 7min 30s to get where he is going to.
The intro talks a lot about locks, valuables and guns. I feel that this is not relevant to me, when I travel. I want to know if, and when, somebody tampered with my suitcase, for instance in order to put something into it.
I like Hazel.. 😂😂😂
Music plus informative video, sigh Sounds like your upstairs neighbor is playing really bad music. Especially loathed when the music got louder between your talking. P.S did you pay license fees to use that music or are you stealing it? BTW, a lot of us listen to stuff like this at really high speeds and music sounds bad enough at regular speeds and at high speeds, well... Also, at high speeds, the music obscures what you are saying. And frankly, I just hate other people's music. The only time I want to hear music on a youtube video is if I searched something about music. It is usually an instant jump forward if music is playing on an intro and a quit video if overlaying the speech. Or if no speech it is an instant mute. In your case (no pun intended) it was your video title that even alerted me to the Nanuk cases by including the word "Pelican", so I thank you for that. Made it through, barely. I especially like your comment on the quietness of the closures (an astute and discerning observation) and the good pro tip.
The music was licensed, and I have taken feedback on the soundtracks going forward on all videos.
Did you really have to switch between cameras so much? It was also distracting and annoying just like the stock music.
Thanks for the view & comment, I appreciate it!
As to the music, this was over a year an a half ago, and was one of the options. I have adjusted the levels on all videos going forward.
Multiple camera angles is normal in the industry and was used to show the details I was pointing out. Would you have preferred one long angle, single shot only of me explaining? Why is that?
You love those latches
Brad Brizzle True story!
I just got my Nanuk 923 today and went straight for the latches. They are amazing
Except my handle doesn't snap into place.
@@bradbrizzle658 Huh, I'd contact Nanuk. Literally all my handles snap shut. Their customer service has always been amazing for me!
Instantly put off by the f*cking music.
Jesus, thanks for the feedback. I'm sorry the music wasn't to your taste. I've not uploaded in a while, but I was planning on dong another updated review and will keep the music in mind! (although I would appreciate everyone refraining from profanity.) Thanks again, enjoy your day!
Lose the music. It’s just awful.