The Best Drone Carry Bags for Transport & Travel
USA Gear Drone Backpack
Ape Case ACPRO1500W
Monoprice Hard Case
Drones might be meant to be unleashed into the world, but they are nonetheless expensive investments. That’s why one of the best things you can get for your drone is some decent protection while it’s in transit.
And a good, sturdy travel bag is the one that does the trick.
Sure, you can just pack that drone away in your suitcase, but that’s like rolling dice with fate. You never know what’ll happen, especially with airport personnel not exactly having stellar track records in handling fragile baggage.
Choosing a dedicated bag that can protect your drone will give you better peace of mind.
Best Drone Travel Bags
The key to a safe drone during your trip is to place it in a travel bag. The best one will protect it from any harm during transit (we all know how rough airport personnel can be!), while also holding all the essential accessories.
Here are some that we really liked.
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A lightweight, weather-resistant travel bag perfect for almost any drone transportation.
- Dimensions (exterior): 13.5 x 10.5 x 6.5 inches
- Dimensions (interior): 11.5 x 10 x 4.5 inches
- Suitable for: almost all recreational drones
The USA Gear Drone Backpack Case is an affordable yet efficient way for a casual user to carry a drone plus all the essential accessories.
But is it sturdy enough? Fortunately, it is. The outer shell is made of a rugged material that provides reasonable protection to your drone from the occasional bumps while you’re in transit.
This travel bag is made to withstand the elements. The exterior has a waterproof lining that shields your delicate electronics from rain and wind. Even the base of the bag is water-resistant, preventing moisture from seeping in. This is great if you accidentally place your bag in moist, damp surfaces.
What we love best about this is the customizable interior. You can move dividers around freely, so it snugly holds a wide variety of drones in different sizes. Soft cushioning and scratch-resistant padding prevent the various components from bumping into each other.
Aside from keeping your drone safe, the bag is also comfortable to carry. The padded shoulder pads feel especially lovely and don’t wear you out as much.
And you know how annoying it is to have a sweaty back when you wear a backpack for too long? Well, this travel bag has a moisture absorbent and breathable fabric, so you don’t perspire as much.
So there’s a lot to love about the USA Gear Drone Backpack Case. It’s an affordable and flexible way to protect your precious investment.
+ Pros
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This is a large backpack with a dedicated drone compartment and room left over for accessories and other items.
- Exterior: 12 x 9.5 x 18 inches
- Top compartment: 10.5 x 6.5 x 7.5 inches
- Laptop compartment: 11 x 1.5 x 17 inches
- Drone compartment: 14 x 7 inch
- Suitable for: drones not exceeding 17 inch diagonal and 7 inch tall (most recreational drones will fit)
If you need to carry a few more extras, the Ape Case ACPRO1500W is for you. This travel bag has enough storage room and compartments to bring an entire drone rig, perfect for the mid to pro user.
The ACPRO1500W sports the traditional Ape Case color scheme of yellow interior and black exterior. Instead of dividers, the interior makes use of a strap harness to secure your drone in place. It then has lots of smaller compartments for all other accessories and extras.
It might not look like it, but you can fit a surprising amount of stuff inside the ACPRO1500W. Aside from the drone itself and all its accessories (a Mavic 2 Pro, in our case), we were also able to store a 17” laptop, a DSLR camera with a few lenses, spare batteries, and a landing pad.
With all that stuff, we’re able to fly, shoot and even edit on the go.
Our impression of the ACPRO1500W is that it makes use of space very, very efficiently. Nothing is wasted. Yet, it never felt cramped or anything – every item on the bag had enough room not to bump into each other violently.
The exterior of the bag has thick padding, so you know it will cushion a few blows without any problem. While the material itself isn’t waterproof, the ACPRO1500W includes a detachable water-resistant cover to protect your bag during rainy weather.
Overall, the Ape Case ACPRO1500W is a fantastic travel bag for pro users on the go. It allows you to bring every piece of gear you’ll ever need, yet doesn’t sacrifice mobility and portability.
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This rock-solid hard case is great for transporting your drone or other valuable items.
- Dimensions (exterior): 18.86 x 16.34 x 8.54 inches
- Dimensions (interior): 17.64 x 13.58 x 7.32 inches
- Suitable for: any recreational drone
If you’re looking for the ultimate in protection, hard cases are tough to beat (literally!). This one from Monoprice gives the right balance of durability and affordability.
The Monoprice hard case is perfect for pros who regularly bring their drones to extremely rugged locations; or, if you’re just being extra cautious on your pricey investment.
The outer shell is made from tough, high-grade polypropylene with incredible shock protection. It’s able to absorb even the toughest of hits and bumps. Even a nasty fall will adequately protect the contents of this case.
The case is also IP67 rated. This means that it’s both dust and waterproof. The Monoprice case will not let any dust or solid particles enter. It can even survive being underwater for 30 minutes, up to a depth of 1 meter.
So really, the Monocase is a rock that will take a tank to open. This keeps the interior wholly isolated from the outside world, so much so that it has a built-in relief valve to help regulate pressure inside the case.
The interior is composed of a solid piece of foam, which needs to be cut to hold your drone and all the accessories snugly in place. While you need to do this once, we find it’s a bit of a hassle. Plus, if you want to place new things in the case, you need to cut out the foam to accommodate it.
But for the superior protection, this Monocase Hard Case gives, the effort is worth it. For pro pilots and drones always on the edge of adventure, this is the travel bag to get.
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What to Look For In A Travel Bag
Drones are delicate electronics, and as such, are susceptible to damage by the elements. There are generally two things you don’t want your drone to experience: shock (or bumps and hits) and water. Both of these will make quick work of everything but the hardiest of drones.
A good, substantial bag will protect your drone from both of these, plus more. They will also be convenient to bring along, plus gives you plenty of room to put in your other drone-related stuff.
Let’s run through a few you need to look into.
Exterior Protection
The most critical factor in a travel bag is protection, so that’s where we’ll start. You’d want your drone to be protected from outside elements. These include moisture from rain and snow, wind, and the unavoidable bumps. Dustproof is also a reasonable consideration but is not really vital in drones.
You can opt for either soft or hard protection. Soft protection is made of fabric seen in backpacks, but it’s usually the rugged kind. Decent ones will have a waterproof lining that repels water and prevents it from seeping through the bag.
Fabric bags will also have a layer of cushion, commonly made of foam. This is designed to cushion bumps or other objects making impact with your bag, so it doesn’t damage the contents as much. If you ever plan to check your travel bag at the airport, this is very important! Make sure the cushioning is thick.
For the ultimate in protection, though, you might want to opt for hard cases. These types of bags are made of hard plastic, usually polypropylene.
These cases work by creating a seal that completely isolates the contents inside from the outside world. This makes it waterproof and dustproof. In fact, hard cases will survive being submerged in water for an extended period. Since they are sealed, hard cases will let you adjust the pressure inside via a relief valve.
Interior Protection
Of course, it’s not enough to protect the outside of your bag. The insides must also be protected as well. The inside lining must be made of soft material as well to cushion the blow from outside bumps as much as possible.
There’s also the issue of protecting the contents from each other. Your drone and its components can bump against each other or against the bag’s walls, which can damage them with excessive handling.
That’s why it’s also essential to secure the contents in place. There are lots of ways to achieve this. Travel backpacks will usually have a harness to prevent bigger pieces like the drone from moving about while in transit. Some will have adjustable dividers, giving your drones just the right amount of space so that they will not rattle as much.
For hard case bags, the way they achieve this is through the use of foam. When you buy these cases, they will usually come with a big block of uncut foam. The idea is to cut the foam precisely in the shape of your drone and its individual accessories so that they are secured in place.
Pockets and Compartments
Like any travel bag, a drone bag benefits from having lots of pockets and compartments. This allows you plenty of room to pack and organize all the essential accessories, like the battery or charger.
Zipper pockets are the most common, as they’re durable and easy to open and close. But do make sure that your bag’s zipper is rugged and doesn’t easily misalign.
Bigger bags will also have extra components to let you store things like your laptop, camera, and even extra lenses. A net pocket for holding water is convenient if you’re doing a lot of outdoor shoots.
Portability and Convenience
A significant factor that comes into play when choosing a drone travel bag is how easy it is to carry. After all, you don’t want to be burdened by something that’s supposed to help you.
For most casual users, a backpack-style bag with straps is the most convenient. It will allow you to bring your bag around while keeping your hands free to do other things.
An important consideration that most people miss is the breathability of the fabric. If it’s not, then it will cause your back to sweat excessively due to lack of airflow (which no one wants, really). This is especially true if you do travel to warm places a lot.
Some bags have materials that are not only breathable but also wick moisture away from your back. If you want to stay cool and comfy while hauling your gear, keep this factor in mind.
Hard cases, by contrast, are bulkier and harder to transport. They’re also heavier, which is the cost of having all that protection. That’s why these types of bags are more suited for pro work.
If you’re just someone who wants to shoot with your drone while you travel, it’s much more worth it have convenience over maximum protection.
USA Gear Drone Backpack
A lightweight, weather-resistant travel bag perfect for almost any drone transportation.
Ape Case ACPRO1500W
This is a large backpack with a dedicated drone compartment and room left over for accessories and other items.
Monoprice Hard Case
This rock-solid hard case is great for transporting your drone or other valuable items.