Originally Posted by
beachmouse
It's easy enough to pack around a tripod in a suitcase and check it, but a nice pro or semi-pro DSLR can run you $5K or more after a couple of lenses. That counts as enough money for many folks that they don't want to risk losing it, Pelican case or no.
This! And a good tripod can run $500 or more. Checking that is like checking a laptop or an iPad. (And the Pelican case just advertises to a baggage thief that the case's contents are well worth stealing. Once he's stolen the entire case, he'll have time enough to open it at leisure later.)
The only way I would check camera gear or computer stuff is if I could put a handgun in the case with it. Funny how the airlines take such great care of THAT particular checked luggage (because they are in deep doo-doo with the Feds if they have to report a stolen firearm). But that tactic introduces an entirely different set of headaches (not the least of which is having to completely avoid traveling through several major US airports), and of course it can't be used internationally at all.