I have been told that Impact and Gunnar make very good quality crates. The former being metal and the latter being plastic. I browsed both their sites and the crates look beautiful. These are definitely not your Big Box store crates.

I am looking for something lightweight and that would accommodate a fan attachment mod. I don't know how often I would use it for flying, at these price points, having it meet airline specifications would make sense.

Thanks

I tend to buy only one crate per dog and use it as an all-duty crate -- That is, the same crate serves as the dog's training, household, and car-and-plane-transportation crate. I'm a big fan of the Impact Case Stationary crates. They're accepted by most airlines (especially the ones that prefer metal bolts and fasteners on crates) and they're relatively light for what they are. They are VERY expensive, but they definitely make up for it in quality and sheer durability. The crate should last forever.

One thing to note about Impact crates -- If you have a dog that's a very determined chewer or determined crate-buster, this crate is strong enough to stand up to just about any dog's efforts. For that reason, Impact crates are popular with owners of escape-artists or dogs with very destructive separation anxiety. However, dogs have been known to break their teeth trying to get out of these crates. If your dog has ever succeeded in breaking out of a less-durable plastic crate and has therefore convinced himself that he can bust out of ANY crate with enough effort, he's at risk of losing a fang or two trying to bust out of this one.

I have two Impact crates, and they are awesome for keeping the dogs at bay. I went with this crate because Ajax demolished a regular crate when I left him in an unfamiliar place while house sitting...poor guy. However, If I were to do it again, I would probably buy the Gunnar.

1. I bought the Impact crate before they came out with the crate made for separation anxiety, and Ajax definitely did a number on his teeth trying to get out. If I was going to buy from them again, I'd get the separation anxiety model.
2. It has no drain holes. Not sure if they fixed this, but come on.... cleaning out puke sucks when there are no holes, and it gets trapped under the lip of the door
3. Not insulated
4. Not crash tested
5. I can't fit a chew proof bed to fit this. I've tried some tough beds, and they get ripped to shreds. I would LOVE to put a new crate Kuranda in there, but the Impact is an odd size.... I doubt I could get a Kuranda in the Gunnar, but at least they have different pads I could try.