A Top Yeti Competitor Gives Its Formidable Travel Bags an Unmissable Upgrade

Pelican’s award-winning hard-sided luggage gets a vibrant, limited-edition reissue with some sneaky benefits.

Close-up of an orange Pelican hard case with textured surface on reddish dirt ground.

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By Sean Tirman

Published November 3, 2025

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Updated November 10, 2025

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At the beginning of this year, Pelican — the brand best known for its nigh indestructible gear cases — announced a swath of new travel bags. While the most notable highlight was the brand’s Aegis hybrid luggage, the launch also introduced a trio of new hardsided bags.

Now, the longtime Yeti alternative is taking a page out of its competition’s playbook by introducing a vibrant, new, limited-edition colorway to its award-winning Pelican ATX Travel Series luggage collection.

Orange hard-shell Pelican suitcase with four black wheels on rocky ground. — This vibrant new colorway is called Iron Clay.

Orange you glad?

When these Pelican ATX bags first dropped, they were available in a relatively classic, albeit subdued collection of colorways. This included Black (of course), Charcoal (gray), Sand (tan) and Indigo (dark blue.)

Even with these bags as unique as they are, the colors were still among the most common around — meaning they don’t exactly stand out. However, the brand’s newest color has rectified that (and then some.)

Rust-colored hard-shell suitcase with black handle and two black latches, labeled "ATX 22," shown from the side. — The ATX bags have integrated, TSA-friendly combination locks for convenience and security.

Called Iron Clay, it’s a much more vibrant shade of orange meant to evoke the red earth of some desert landscapes. Not only does it help highlight the rugged appearance of the bags, but it also makes them stand out against others.

That’s especially helpful when it comes to the checked luggage sizes, as it makes them far easier to spot on the carousels of baggage claim. It also has the tertiary benefit of making them more difficult to steal.

Rust-colored hard-shell suitcase with black handles and wheels, shown from the back. — The telescoping handle sits flush against the hard back of the bag, meaning no awkward jutting-out rails.

Three bears

The new, limited-edition Iron Clay colorway is offered on all three of Pelican’s hardsided ATX travel bags, the 22-inch carry-on, the 25-inch checked bag and the 30-inch option. While they vary in size, they do have quite a few similarities … and shared benefits.

For starters, all three bags have a polycarbonate shell — the same material used to make bulletproof glass. That makes them extremely tough and impact-resistant while remaining lightweight, a boon for travelers, domestic and international.

Open brown hard-shell suitcase with gray interior lining, mesh zippered compartments, and adjustable straps inside. — All three bags have similar internal organizational schemes, which are handy and convenient.

They also all get integrated combination locks on their latches (which are TSA-compliant,) as well as telescoping handles (which sit flush against the bags’ back, so no awkward rail bumps) and 360-degree rotating, easy-glide wheels.

Even the interior is taken care of, with handy compression straps, zippered mesh pouches and more. Tip to tail, these are honestly the best hardsided bags Pelican has ever offered.

Three Pelican protective cases in green, orange, and tan, with the orange one being a wheeled suitcase with a telescoping handle. — Stylistically, these bags embrace the rugged design language Pelican is known for while modernizing it.

Available now

Pelican’s ATX Travel Series Iron Clay hard-sided bags are now available, starting at $500 for the 22-inch carry-on and going up to $700 for the 30-inch checked bag.

Orange hard-shell Pelican suitcase with black telescoping handle and four black spinner wheels.

Pelican ATX Travel Series (Iron Clay)

Starts at $500

About the Author: Sean Tirman is an associate editor at Gear Patrol who specializes in EDC, cannabis and outdoor gear.

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