At 10:33 AM 5/16/2014, Mike Hord wrote: >I find myself in the need for a new piece of luggage for the occasions >where I need to travel with gear (scope, power supply, soldering tools, et= c >etc). Zero Corporation makes some very expensive but very nice gear=20 cases. Think of a Pelican case, but made of a thin but very durable=20 aluminum. They are about 70% lighter than an equivalent-size Pelican case. FWIW - Zero Corporation is part of the Halliburton group. Kinda=20 explains the high prices. I currently use (and have been using) a soft-sided case that was=20 originally intended as a travel case for Apple II computers. They=20 are made of a green Cordura nylon material with decent=20 zippers. There is thin padding on all sides and bottom and top. I purchased 3 of them about 25 years ago and I'm on the last one -=20 which is dying. Its actually in great shape, except that its last=20 trip with Air Canada destroyed (crushed) the zipper on the top=20 compartment. I may get it fixed or I may go with a similar-sized Zero case= .. I used to travel a lot for commissioning our oven control systems and=20 that Apple II case stood up very well to the rigors of=20 travelling. The first case died when some security minion at a US=20 airport decided that cutting the ty-rap holding the zippers closed=20 was too difficult and instead cut the bag open. I know this because=20 of the nice little printed cardboard tag inside the case that said=20 that they were allowed to destroy baggage while inspecting it. I honestly don't recall why the second bag died - but I think that it=20 was just old age. And this third bag has held up well, except for=20 the crushed zipper on the top compartment. My tool kit is heavy. It contains a full complement of hand tools=20 sufficient for most electronic and electrical installation and=20 repair. I did have to retire the original 30-year-old Fluke 87 a=20 couple of years ago - it still works but was getting flakey. I=20 replaced it with the then-current Fluke 87-4. There isn't much test equipment in this case. A Fluke 87 and three=20 different sets of test leads and a bunch of EZ-hook jumper=20 cables. There is a 100A clip-on AC ammeter that works with the Fluke=20 for measuring AC current and a suicide cord (cord with AC mains plug=20 on one end and alligator clips on the other). The rest is tools and=20 ancillary stuff (ty-raps, ty-rap bases, number tag books, some wire,=20 some components, etc). I think that the tool kit currently weighs in about 40 pounds. And that's the other reason that I use this re-purposed Apple II case=20 rather than the Zero case. This case came with a shoulder strap=20 rather than a carry handle. Its a lot easier to carry for extended=20 distances than it would be with only a carry handle. dwayne --=20 Dwayne Reid Trinity Electronics Systems Ltd Edmonton, AB, CANADA (780) 489-3199 voice (780) 487-6397 fax www.trinity-electronics.com Custom Electronics Design and Manufacturing --=20 http://www.piclist.com/techref/piclist PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist .