Hey All, So I have an M10 with full cage upgrade and TITH, but everything else is an older set up (no tool-less pan knuckle, no quick release top handle, short roll bars) and wanted to find a smaller format case that would accommodate it. Living in NYC and frequently relying on cabs/ubers to get to and from set, I needed something portable. I found a custom case built inside a Pelican 1610 shell by Jason Cases called the M15 Compact. I spoke with Jason over the phone to see if it would work and we agreed it might need some modifying but should be ok..and it is totally fitting the bill, with a few caveats. 1) I had to notch the foam to fit my shorter cross bar. 2) I had to place some additional foam to support the tilt and pan motors since the shorter roll bars don't make it all the way across the gap in the case. Overall I am very happy. Necessary mods aside, this was the best compact option I could find without doing the whole thing myself. Is it perfect? No. Does it fit my needs at present? Absolutely . Please let me know if you have any questions.
Hey Drew, Thanks for posting this. How has it been working out for you? I'm thinking about doing the same thing. Also, I have the full cage, and as well as some of the upgrades that you say you don't have (tool less pan knuckle, quick release top handle). Do you imagine any issues with that?
Hey Jacob, So far so good truthfully. Tool-less pan-knuckle and quick release top handle shouldn't be an issue as best I can tell. The only slight drawback is lack of extra space for storage (which I knowingly sacrificed for portability) so you may have to get a little creative to store things like monitors, extra cables/tools, etc. I'm quickly building out my own kit with a Spektrum remote and so forth and I will need to get a little crafty but for a small, simple kit I think it's great. Also, again, I had to take a leatherman and cut out my own notch for my short handle bar. If you have the wider "M15 style" handle bar it should fit in no problem. Hope that helps!