Pelican 1040: Serious Pen Protection

[sketchstack]

First off, note the spelling of "Pelican" --this is not related to the popular Pelikan fountain pen brand. Though if you have a nice Pelikan pen, you may want to invest in a nice Pelican case.

 

Update: After posting I started looking for these cases outside of the US. It appears the brand is known as "Peli" in the UK. Probably due to some kind of trademark issue.

 

I take my pens with me out & about, and some of my commute is on foot. I throw various sundries into a bag or backpack and head out.

 

This poses a problem as I don’t want something heavy or rigid to crush a fountain pen that might be protected with only a simple leather or cloth case.

 

Of course I could use one of my fountain pen retail boxes, but I’d rather keep those clean for potential resale purposes. Not to mention those boxes aren’t really designed to withstand impact, and some pens don’t come with cases at all (or very flimsy boxes).

 

Enter Pelican Products.

 

I’ve had several of these over the years to protect electronics, and I believe they are the standard for some industries like scientific measurement tools as well as small firearms. They have a handful of cases that cater to smart phone users, and that’s where I started my search.

 

I ended up with the Pelican 1040. It should comfortably fit two large pens. As you can see my Conid King Size is nestled in there nicely. You use their “Pick-N-Pluck” foam to create the required size and shape for your pen. Note that I had to purchase two of their foam inserts so the pen is fully ensconced.

 

The end results is a crush-proof, and even water resistant, fountain pen case. No it’s not elegant, but the point is protection as opposed to presentation. (Though I think the Conid demonstrator looks “at home” in this case).

 

The whole assembly was about $20 US on Amazon.

 

 

https://youtu.be/vuivdm7LXro

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 26, 2016 by sketchstack

[inkypete]

Thanks - interesting product. I will check it out. Might have some other uses for this.

[sketchstack]

Thanks - interesting product. I will check it out. Might have some other uses for this.

 

Glad it was useful. I don't know why it took me so long to 'discover' these as I've got other Pelican cases for larger electronics.

 

Note that they have other similar models in different sizes --just be sure to check all of the inner dimensions against the pens you might intend to carry. The case and liner and foam can be quite thick, making the out dimensions almost irrelevant.

[Nokin]

I've used one of these (without the transparent lid) for ten years or so with my Pelikan Blue Panet LE with a 3B Nib. Quite apart from the obvious physical protection afforded by the Pelican case, I was amazed that even after being left inked with Diamine Registrars ink for more than a year whilst I was out of action and hospitalised myself, the pen wrote perfectly the first time I came back to it.

The case is bulky for every day carry but if you've got an appropriate means to take it with you, or just want to keep your favourite pen safe at home then I've yet to find a better option.

[sketchstack]

I've used one of these (without the transparent lid) for ten years or so with my Pelikan Blue Panet LE with a 3B Nib. Quite apart from the obvious physical protection afforded by the Pelican case, I was amazed that even after being left inked with Diamine Registrars ink for more than a year whilst I was out of action and hospitalised myself, the pen wrote perfectly the first time I came back to it.

The case is bulky for every day carry but if you've got an appropriate means to take it with you, or just want to keep your favourite pen safe at home then I've yet to find a better option.

 

I hadn't considered the benefit of the seal keeping the ink from drying out. That makes me want to possibly put my currently inked pens in a larger case.

 

And yes, they're a bit bulky. In case it's not clear from the images, it's too large to fit in a pocket. (Well, maybe it would fit in a coat pocket). But for my usage, the size isn't really an issue since I throw it into a relatively large bag before heading out the door.

[Tasmith]

Thanks! I can definitely see using these when traveling in a carry on bag.

[jmccarty3]

Might not be a good long-term storage solution for celluloid pens that need to "breathe."

[inkstainedruth]

I've looked into these for carrying ink sample vials. They sell them at sporting goods stores like REI. They aren't cheap, but I've considered them because they have some sort of vacuum system (they're designed for stuff like cell phone protection for backpackers and campers) to help protect the contents.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[sketchstack]

I've looked into these for carrying ink sample vials. They sell them at sporting goods stores like REI. They aren't cheap, but I've considered them because they have some sort of vacuum system (they're designed for stuff like cell phone protection for backpackers and campers) to help protect the contents.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

I considered finding one that allows for a small ink bottle (or vial). Maybe an extra nib, for people like me who like to change line widths from time to time.

 

I should mention that I also considered some kind of metal box for this purpose, or even wood. There are plenty of aluminum boxes used to hold paint brushes or other craft items. Or metal boxe designed to hold hardware or tackle.

 

But I found that many of those types of metal containers aren't really meant to be crush proof. At a certain size, their lid compresses inward when faced with something dense and relatively sharp (like the corner of a large hard cover book).

 

Thus I really like that these are designed for hiking, cycling, etc. so as to minimize impact damage.