Review of Iris 301509 ATC-870 Large Pet Carrier

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Iris 301509 ATC-870 Large Pet Carrier
By: Iris Average Rating: 4.0 Total Reviews: 4
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Impressed by Iris quality & convenience

On: 2008-04-18

We own several kennels, mostly Vari-Kennels from Petmate. This is our first Iris. I was impressed by the ease of assembly and small convenience touches. All of the grills for the openings are metal, and this unit comes with a water dish. The top and bottom fit easily together, whereas on the Vari-kennel there was a fair amount of squeezing of top or bottom to align the pieces. While there are a LOT of screws and nuts to tighten with the Iris, I doubt there will ever be a danger of its coming apart when you didnt intend it to (a tool is supplied with the unit, but more efficiently a screw gun or power drill makes quick work of tightening everything).

The door design is super: it is made with two latches, each of which can also be the pivot for the door, so it can swing either way even after installed, or it can be removed entirely, should you wish / need to: clever and useful. It has a handle at each end, though this might not be the way I would choose to move it with a 50-60 lb dog inside.

I havent owned it long enough to proclaim durability, but it seems well made, the conveniences are great, and maybe best of all, my puppy who is not overly fond of cages in general claimed it as her own as soon as it was in place!

One thing it does not have is a deeply depressed area surrounding the floor that some other units have (presumably to catch urine and keep it from the center of the floor). I have never found that feature useful but in case you do.... Otherwise I cant think of anything you might want that it doesnt have.

Arrived Broken - very small

On: 2008-04-08

Item had large crack in bottom front corner upon arrival. Plastic must not be very strong for it to break in shipping. Also, the measurements are taken from up high in the middle of kennel. The floor space inside which is what the pet can use is 18 15/16 W x 29 3/4 L x 25 H as stated on the attached tag. Width given was 24 7/16 which you can see is almost 6 inches larger than the actual floor space. However, I really like the metal windows instead of plastic and all the metal bolts which held the top to the bottom. I did not purchase from Amazon so its not thier fault at all and I was able to return it.

Great Pet Carrier

On: 2007-10-12

The Iris Pet Carrier is a well constructed, convenient pet carrier. The larger size travel crates often do no have any carry handles but this one has two. The front cage door can open from either side. I spent hours checking our various crates and this is definitely the best one in its size category. The price through Amazon was great too and with the free shipping, it was a no brainer. One website had a reasonable price but the shipping then added another $45 which was ridiculous. Thank you Amazon.

Iris 301509 ATC-870 Large Pet Carrier

On: 2007-05-31

So far, this is the best Plastic pet carrier I have ever seen. The large 1/4 inch size Allen Head bolts that hold the two halfs togather are Massive and large in number. The front door is the easiest to open and close of any we have ever had, which includes Remington, Foster&Smith, Vari Kennel to name a few.

My only concern is the relatively thin plastic shell, which is well designed in shape; however, the strength of the plastic is still on unknown at this point. Without a drop/load test, Ill have to wait and let time answer that part. If the crate plastic, is indeed, a relatively high strength plastic (with regard to cracking/tearing/heat deformation, etc), then I would rate the crate a 5_+ !! However, it is an unknown at this point.

Iris 301509 ATC-870 Large Pet Carrier

On: 2007-05-30

This may well be the best travel crate buy on the market. The large 1/4 inch size Allen Head bolts that hold the two halfs together are Massive and large in number (unlike some of the cheap plastic snap-and-twist setups other manufactures use). The front door is the easiest to open and close of any we have purchased, which includes Remington, Foster&Smith, Vari Kennel to name a few.

The only unknown is the toughness of the plastic shell, which is well designed in shape; however, the strength of the plastic is still on unknown at this point. Without a drop/load test, Ill have to let time answer that part. If the plastic, is indeed, a relatively high strength material (with regard to cracking/tearing/heat deformation, etc), then I would rate the crate a 5_+ !!