sdsliberty
FNG
- Joined
- Oct 16, 2014
- Messages
- 51
I haven't seen a lot of review on the Pelican Air 1745 Bow Case so I thought I'd share my initial thoughts. As a disclaimer: I did not receive the case for free, but I did receive a discount through a sponsorship. This is my first bow specific hard case. I have previously used soft cases for local travel and larger pelican gun cases for longer travel. I have also never used the highly recommended SKB cases, but have plenty of hands on experiences at local stores. I wanted to find a case that would fit my bow without having to remove my sight and have plenty of customization options for accessory and tool storage (neat freak).
Very clean, traditional looking Pelican case.
This is in comparison to a Pelican 1700. I used the 1700 because it weighs only 1 lb less empty than the 1745 bow case. It is, in my opinion, considerably more durable and beefier. Traditional pelican cases are basically bomb proof. The 1745 is much thinner but is still plenty sturdy for me to never worry about any damage while traveling commercial air or driving. I may be able to jump on the case and damage some items inside like the arrows in the lid or the sight's slider dial, but I would not worry about even the worst airline crews handling this case.
Another size comparison as a reference for a very common Pelican case size.
I believe the buckles are a huge improvement. They seem to hold just as well as the other style buckles and are much easier to open. It's a nice improvement considering there are 6 buckles on the case total, four in the front and two on the side. While I've never had major issues with the old style buckles, it is a lot more pleasant to not have to bang your knuckles up on every open. They close easily as well.
The TSA locks seem solid enough for me to be comfortable traveling without using additional locks, but for at home security I will still use a basic shackle key lock (and wire it through the handle to all my other cases). The ID tag spot is a nice touch too.
The accessories! Opening them up I was questioning the hold down ability of the bungees and the customization ability of the foam braces in the bottom right. The two pouches are very nicely made, and the foam seems pretty durable and long lasting.
Setting my bow in for the first time to get the alignment to set everything else up. My bow is a Bowtech Realm, so short ATA and longer brace height. My biggest concern was for the width spacing to fit my sight in.
BEWARE! The website advertises the interior dimensions at 44"x16.8"x7.9" (L x W x H), but I noticed these were the same dimensions as the standard 1745 Air case without the foam padding and bow cover. The measurements I took were 43"x15.9"x7". About an inch total lost in each dimension for the foam. Luckily my bow is about 15.5" wide and was able to fit in comfortably.
Picture of after setting the protective blocks and using the bungees to secure the bow. Because my bow is so short I was only able to use two bungees instead of the recommended 4 (you don't want to use the bungees on the cams!). It does hold it extremely well with only two though. The blocks, in my mind, are pretty gimmicky, they don't really hold securely on the "molle" and you can't really dial in the fit great. They may help with some crushing issues if you're packing some clothing and other gear above the bow cover. The slider knob on my Black Gold Ascent Assault sticks up past the blocks as well.
Here's the cover over the bow and you can see the sight dial sticking up. You can cinch the cover down and I'm pretty confident the bow, with the blocks, the bungees, and the cover, isn't going to move at all.
The lid is organized neatly and it works perfectly for what I need. My biggest complains about this case come from some of the details that emerged as I was setting up the lid.
For one, the molle straps that they have setup to attach the pouches, quiver, and arrow holder to are only anchored at the top and bottom, so in the middle it's just loose and free floating. It would be a huge improvement if the molle was attached all the way down the lid (and on the bottom). It makes it weird pulling out arrows from the foam holder and feels loose when opening the pouches.
If anyone has ever used molle on military gear before you attach pouches vertically, weaving the strap back and forth through the gear. It holds anything you put on it very securely. On the molle in the top (and the bottom) the loops are horizontal, so you just velcro the top and bottom of the accessory and the middle is loose. This accentuates my issue with the molle straps being loose in the first place.
With only 4 molle straps it drastically limits your ability to organize the top in whatever way you would like. There only seem to be a few combinations that would work, with the one I did making the most sense. If the molle was better thought out or the accessories were directly mounted in a logical setup the case would be perfect for me.
You can also strap an arrow tube into the lid - something I do not have to show examples of.
Summary: Molle system needs a thought out upgrade, but out of everything I've seen this is the best on the market. Very protective, lightweight, holds everything very securely and allows a tremendous amount of organization.
Very clean, traditional looking Pelican case.
This is in comparison to a Pelican 1700. I used the 1700 because it weighs only 1 lb less empty than the 1745 bow case. It is, in my opinion, considerably more durable and beefier. Traditional pelican cases are basically bomb proof. The 1745 is much thinner but is still plenty sturdy for me to never worry about any damage while traveling commercial air or driving. I may be able to jump on the case and damage some items inside like the arrows in the lid or the sight's slider dial, but I would not worry about even the worst airline crews handling this case.
Another size comparison as a reference for a very common Pelican case size.
I believe the buckles are a huge improvement. They seem to hold just as well as the other style buckles and are much easier to open. It's a nice improvement considering there are 6 buckles on the case total, four in the front and two on the side. While I've never had major issues with the old style buckles, it is a lot more pleasant to not have to bang your knuckles up on every open. They close easily as well.
The TSA locks seem solid enough for me to be comfortable traveling without using additional locks, but for at home security I will still use a basic shackle key lock (and wire it through the handle to all my other cases). The ID tag spot is a nice touch too.
The accessories! Opening them up I was questioning the hold down ability of the bungees and the customization ability of the foam braces in the bottom right. The two pouches are very nicely made, and the foam seems pretty durable and long lasting.
Setting my bow in for the first time to get the alignment to set everything else up. My bow is a Bowtech Realm, so short ATA and longer brace height. My biggest concern was for the width spacing to fit my sight in.
BEWARE! The website advertises the interior dimensions at 44"x16.8"x7.9" (L x W x H), but I noticed these were the same dimensions as the standard 1745 Air case without the foam padding and bow cover. The measurements I took were 43"x15.9"x7". About an inch total lost in each dimension for the foam. Luckily my bow is about 15.5" wide and was able to fit in comfortably.
Picture of after setting the protective blocks and using the bungees to secure the bow. Because my bow is so short I was only able to use two bungees instead of the recommended 4 (you don't want to use the bungees on the cams!). It does hold it extremely well with only two though. The blocks, in my mind, are pretty gimmicky, they don't really hold securely on the "molle" and you can't really dial in the fit great. They may help with some crushing issues if you're packing some clothing and other gear above the bow cover. The slider knob on my Black Gold Ascent Assault sticks up past the blocks as well.
Here's the cover over the bow and you can see the sight dial sticking up. You can cinch the cover down and I'm pretty confident the bow, with the blocks, the bungees, and the cover, isn't going to move at all.
The lid is organized neatly and it works perfectly for what I need. My biggest complains about this case come from some of the details that emerged as I was setting up the lid.
For one, the molle straps that they have setup to attach the pouches, quiver, and arrow holder to are only anchored at the top and bottom, so in the middle it's just loose and free floating. It would be a huge improvement if the molle was attached all the way down the lid (and on the bottom). It makes it weird pulling out arrows from the foam holder and feels loose when opening the pouches.
If anyone has ever used molle on military gear before you attach pouches vertically, weaving the strap back and forth through the gear. It holds anything you put on it very securely. On the molle in the top (and the bottom) the loops are horizontal, so you just velcro the top and bottom of the accessory and the middle is loose. This accentuates my issue with the molle straps being loose in the first place.
With only 4 molle straps it drastically limits your ability to organize the top in whatever way you would like. There only seem to be a few combinations that would work, with the one I did making the most sense. If the molle was better thought out or the accessories were directly mounted in a logical setup the case would be perfect for me.
You can also strap an arrow tube into the lid - something I do not have to show examples of.
Summary: Molle system needs a thought out upgrade, but out of everything I've seen this is the best on the market. Very protective, lightweight, holds everything very securely and allows a tremendous amount of organization.
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