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Amid a growing calendar of increasingly frequent environmental disasters, Pelican recently unveiled a new lineup of emergency readiness kits, dubbed Pelican Prepare. From single-person packs to hard-sided cases for full families, the Prepare kits promise safety and self-sufficiency for 72 hours of survival supplies curated in partnership with preparedness products from partner company Redfora.
The idea for a Prepare lineup stemmed from new CEO JC Curleigh’s personal experiences, as well as the devastating impact of recent Southern California fires that affected his neighbors and fellow Pelican employees.
“I have a little sign in my office that says, ‘Protecting all you value,’” Curleigh told me. “And I thought, ‘I value my family and my memories, the things that matter to me.’ In Nashville, where I was living previously, my home was flooded. Here [in Los Angeles], I was affected indirectly by the fires, but our neighbors were, and I had a number of evacuees staying with me, so it hit me that we could do more in this realm.”
I also received a “Get Ready” evacuation notice at my house during the Palisades fire, which revealed exactly how unprepared I was when the time came—despite my years of wilderness survival and exploration experience. So to learn more about the Prepare series ahead of the official launch, I visited Pelican’s production facility in Torrance, CA, for a behind-the-scenes look at the factory and product development process.
What It Is
We all know Pelican—the crazy expensive cases for everything from cameras to longbows, plus the mugs and coolers and the recent addition of travel rollers. For the new Prepare lineup, Curleigh set a 100-day target to bring the new kits to market. To do so, Pelican builds the packs and cases, and then stuffs them full of Redfora essentials plus a number of other key provisions.
Michael Teo Van Runkle
To meet that crunched timeline, Pelican selected existing cases based on size and ergonomics. The Prepare lineup includes a 1-person, 2-person, and 4-person preparedness kit complete with enough food, water, tools, and gear for 72 hours. The 1-person fits into a backpack or duffel bag type form factor, while the larger kits use Pelican’s hard-sided rollers with extendable handles to ensure ease of travel, even on foot. Each includes a fair amount of room to spare, for more personally specific items like medications, dietary needs, or weather-dependant provisions.
The unique VLBL concept, meanwhile, came more from Curleigh’s realization that he valued memories, too. It’s an office divider on wheels, including fireproof envelopes to protect the most important documents such as birth and marriage certificates, deeds and trusts, or family photos.
Pelican Prepare Overall Impressions
Pelican’s facility is pretty awesome, in the original sense of the word, to watch in action and runs on three shifts 5 days a week plus alternating Saturdays when necessary. Pelican believes they have the largest injection-molded plastic machine west of the Mississippi, which required physically lowering the floor to fit inside the factory.
The enormous contraption is jokingly nicknamed “Thor” and spits out cases at roughly 180 degrees Fahrenheit, with lids and bases made at the same exact time to maintain symmetry and ensure proper fit. The plastic cools quickly, so Pelican workers add details including latches, handles, and foam in 90-second stations as the plastic cools. As quickly as three hours, the cases get boxed up and shipped out the door, headed to anywhere on the planet.
Michael Teo Van Runkle
The speed of not just production, but also prototyping, allows Pelican to cater to a wide range of custom projects for the military, first responders, and even Hollywood production crews—often last-minute jobs. A nice little detail is that 100 percent of any plastic waste gets re-ground on site and recycled into the process again. Another one: An F-18 fighter jet has 36 different Pelican products onboard. Suffice to say, we’ve come a long way from the original scuba first aid kits that inspired founder Dave Parker to start producing tougher-than-tough cases almost exactly five decades ago.
The Prepare lineup lives up to exactly that expected quality level, with beefy handles and rugged wheels on the hard-sided cases. The 1-person kit can double as either a backpack or a duffel, and is constructed out of tough Cordura fabric. Inside, clearly identified ziploc bags house the different categories of supplies: Tools + Comms, Food + Water, Shelter + Hygiene, plus the First Aid kit. There’s even a preprinted list of other common needs, best practices, and pro tips to help critical decision-making in what might be highly stressful, distracting emergency situations.
Key Features
It’s key to understand exactly what goes into each Prepare offering in order to select the right package for any given situation that might arise. “In a moment’s notice, whether it’s a shelter-in-place order or evacuation, you can grab the Pelicans,” Curleigh commented. “Not in the extreme realm of doomsday preparation, which is important, or for the government or military. I’m talking about the average individual, the homeowners, the heads of households, are they prepared in a moment that matters most? Indicators show just almost 90 percent of homes aren’t prepared. Think about that—they’re more prepared for subscriptions or streaming, they’re more prepared for a vacation.”
Michael Teo Van Runkle
The 1-Person SRVL kit comes in a 45-liter Cordura Aegis pack, which can be carried either with shoulder straps or as a duffel. The weight as specced comes in at 13.5 pounds, which includes water pouches, 3,600 calories of food bars, a personal water filter, a tent, a lightweight mylar sleeping bag, and a poncho. For communications, Pelican throws in a radio and charger, plus a 2740 headlamp. Other tools include a whistle, mirror, duct tape, goggles, gloves, 100 feet of paracord, and an N95 mask. Toiletries and a small first aid kit also slip in, rounding out the $300 price tag.
The SRVL 2-person features similar content, but doubled for two people (or one person and twice the timeframe) within a 1560 Protector series rollable hard case. This kit weighs more than double, though, at 33.8 pounds and measures 22.1 x 10.9 x 18.4 inches. The 2-person costs $500. Similarly, the SRVL 4-person quadruples the supplies, weighs 58 pounds within a 1650 Protector series case that measures 21 x 12.95 x 32.95 inches, and costs $700.
Now, anyone can go ahead and buy a Pelican case, or something similar from a competitor, and cram in a bunch of camping or survival gear. But possibly the most unique consideration, which goes back to Curleigh’s original concept for the Prepare lineup, is the addition of the VLBL case. This crushproof, waterproof, and fire-resistant 1440 Protector also features wheels and an extendable handle. Inside, the VLBL houses an office-style divider system, lid organizers, and two fire pouches constructed out of a non-itch fiberglass fabric with a silicone-coated exterior that’s designed to withstand intense heat while protecting critical documents such as identification, birth and marriage certificates, photographs, and memorabilia. The VLBL weighs 19.4 pounds empty and costs $400.
Michael Teo Van Runkle
It’s important to note that these kits do not include everything that everybody might need in an emergency, though. Pelican recommends viewing them as a starting point for last-resort evacuations. What exactly to augment the kits with depends on personal needs, but typical additions might include prescription medications, any dietary-specific needs, and age-related items such as baby formula, diapers, or mobility aids.
In my prep kits, I’ll throw in a few more significant items as well, including fire starters, more batteries—always more batteries—some common tools, considerations for vehicles like a jumpstarter box and multimeter, and some form of self-defense. I might even include additional canned foods, to provide a bit more joy than simply eating for calories’ sake. And supplies for my pets, too. But I will also make a note on the outside of each case before I squirrel it away, to specify when Redfora’s food and water reaches the end of its five-year shelf life.
Pros
- Grab and go convenience, with confidence
- Typical Pelican quality, beefy and sturdy
- Combines gear, sustenance, and critical valuables storage
- Includes preparedness advice and pro tips
Cons
- Kits are expensive, like all Pelican products
- Five-year shelf life for food and water requires keeping track of dates
- Though comprehensive, the kits still require significant personalization
Final Verdict
Emergency readiness comes down to more than just what gear and sustenance to keep easily at hand when time comes. Planning rendezvous points and longer-distance communications also fits into the mix, and many families lack even this basic semblance of preparedness. In the long run, though, Curleigh believes inspiring people to consider the prepared mindset will be equally as important as raking in the dough from selling to those who can afford the official Pelican Prepare kits.
Michael Teo Van Runkle
Though they’re definitely not cheap, the Pelican Prepare kits provide exactly the right combination of satisfying ubiquitous needs for 72 hours of survival, allowing space for customization, and yet still a grab-and-go mentality for when the going gets tough. Other companies certainly offer similar, if slightly less comprehensive, variants of preparedness kits but none do so with the same trusted quality as Pelican.
Why You Should Trust Me
I test gear, cars, trucks, SUVs, and motorcycles year round from the deserts of the Southwest to the snowy peaks of Idaho, from Baja dune charging to the F1 circuits of Europe. But I grew up splitting time between the city and the mountains, typically running out into the woods every day after school and not coming home till dark. Then as an Eagle Scout, I spent weeks each year camping in the wild and became obsessed with ultra-lightweight backpacking. More recently, I bought my first home and adopted three rescue kittens, so I’ve started stocking up on the best gear that I need for the unique challenges of homeownership, including how to prepare for increasingly common natural disasters.
