Review on Pelican 1300 Camera Case With Foam (Orange) by Beth Martin

I would give this 5 stars if it weren't for the one flaw this case has. This case is very secure and advertised to protect your valuable products. Good: I bought this to protect my $600 camcorder and accessories on an overland trip where we spent a lot of time outdoors in all the national parks. . The journey was 12,000 miles and took 8 weeks, and the pelican's cover did the job perfectly, not only protecting it from physical injury, but also protecting it when left in the car in the 95-degree heat. A few notable examples of amazing protection: Hike 10 miles down the Grand Canyon with a 3 night stay. The sand on the hike was like powder and got absolutely everywhere except for this cover, the cover also protected against knocks and bumps that would be inevitable on this type of outdoor excursion. Another more realistic example was when I threw my $600 camera bag into a giant hill in South Dakota's Badlands National Park and the camera didn't even flinch, it fully protected everything inside. The Bad: A weak point in this case is definitely the latches that snap to close (I'll add a picture soon so you can see for sure). Closing the case requires some force, which is ok as it's very secure when closed, but it puts a lot of pressure on the thin spot on the clasp, which eventually caused the clasp to break. Luckily this was after the trip ended and didn't affect my gear but I called Pelican and they were very responsive and immediately sent out some replacement fasteners and said they were pretty easy to replace yourself. It's definitely not easy to replace as the pin that holds the latch is embedded in thick plastic making it impossible to unscrew it with a wrench or needle nose pliers and even if it sticks out a little the pin is round, making it almost impossible to get a handle on. You definitely need special equipment for that, which I still haven't found 3 years later (assuming I didn't need the suitcase that much after the trip). Verdict: Overall the case is as advertised aside from being bulletproof and I love it for that. Unfortunately, the quality of the case's solid construction makes it very difficult to swap out the latches. Hopefully I have an update on how to replace them if I ever do I'll look into it.