The Pelican V200 Case is a burly, fully featured briefcase sized case, priced affordably, and appealing to gun owners and enthusiasts on a budget looking for a case that won’t break the bank, but will give solid performance. I put the V200 case through its paces in the slushy spring in the foothills of the Colorado rocky mountains.

Built for hard use, high impact and supreme weather resistance, new Vault series gun cases are the most rugged and secure in their class. Equipped with a host of premium protective features at a price more hunters and shooters can afford, as only the 42-year veteran of hard knocks could deliver.

First Impressions

For its accessible price and light weight, it’s remarkable solid. Secure latches, stainless steel inserts for locking, and a burly handle – all pretty good, and in line with what I’d expect from Pelican. On first pass, the case seems to look and act like any other main-line Pelican case I’ve used. I also appreciate the full compliment of foam included – although these five layers of foam are solid slabs – not the tear away small blocks of foam some other cases come with, The o-ring feels soft and supple.

Field Test

After packing the case up with a few glasses from my kitchen to check for breakage, as well as a few sheets of newspaper (to check for leakage), I headed out to to a half snow/half slush/half mud hill outside of Boulder, Colorado.. and chucked the case down the hill. It bounced a few times, tumbled through some mud, slid on a bit of snow, and finally came to a stop – scratched, wet, and upside down. But the contents were perfectly intact, with not a single scratch or break, or drop of water permeating. I’d say that’s a perfect win.

Going forward, I’ll be putting this case to use for a variety of gear on camping trips in Colorado this season, as well as probably a rafting trip or two. And I’m confident it will do a fine job.

Features

High-impact polymer – feels thinner than other pelican cases I’ve used, but just as sturdy. I’d still trust it.
Crushproof, dustproof, and weather resistant – I can stand on it from any angle, and it only flexes the smallest amount. Throwing it around in the mud and snow was no match – nothing got in.

Heavy duty handles – the handle is definitely heavy duty, and even has a nice little detent keeping it in the stowed position without flopping around.
Five layers of protective foam – it’s not the grid foam, but it works just fine, and I don’t think it would be a pain to cut the foam to fit a custom sized piece of gear.
Two push button latches offer secure closure with easy-open access – they’re easier to open than I was expecting, but it seems like once it’s closed and latched, it’s very securely closed.

Should You Buy It?

Unless you’re buying more of the same cases you’ve been using, you should grab a vault series over a more expensive Pelican case. In my tests, it seems to give mostly the same performace for moderate use cases, and it’s lighter and less expensive. Grab it – and they come in a range of sizes.

Review Summary

Brand & Model: Pelican V200 Case
Price: USD $57.95

Who we think it might be for: Budget concious owner of a handgun or sensitive gear who wants to keep everything looking and feeling fresh.
If I could make one design suggestion, it would be: Offer a few colors of the plastic marker strip near the handle. The strip that ocmes installed is orange – make a few other colors too.
What spoke to me the most about this: For the price, it’s darn near the performance of the more expensive ones.

Specs

Ideal for a large handgun, or multiple handguns with extra magazines
High-impact polymer assures protection of your firearm, via road, trail or air
Crushproof, dustproof, and weather resistant

Heavy duty handles are ergonomic and will stand up in even the toughest conditions
Five layers of protective foam
Two push button latches offer secure closure with easy-open access

Interior (L?W?D)14.00 x 10.00 x 5.50 in (35.6 x 25.4 x 14 cm)
Exterior (L?W?D)15.41 x 13.08 x 6.16 in (39.1 x 33.2 x 15.6 cm)Lid Depth 1.57″ (4 cm)
Bottom Depth 3.93″ (10 cm)