Filson Bag Thread: With Pictures

[havabeer]

Interesting with the colors. I'm looking at getting Green although I was leaning towards Tan, because my current bag is green. I showed my partner pictures of both and she preferred green. I like how the zippers really pop against the green. Although a Filson with will be unique here (Oz) it will be more so in green as I hear Tan outsells it something like 3 to one.

 

[nickwjd]

I recently started using my zippered tote (red label, navy) and I noticed that one of two straps feels much softer/thinner than the other. Not only that, it's also rougher on the flesh side of the leather.

Is this something to be concerned about? It's not going to break, but at the same time, it doesn't feel as sturdy as the other strap.

 

[vestbash]

I recently started using my zippered tote (red label, navy) and I noticed that one of two straps feels much softer/thinner than the other. Not only that, it's also rougher on the flesh side of the leather.

Is this something to be concerned about? It's not going to break, but at the same time, it doesn't feel as sturdy as the other strap.

I own a zipper navy tote and other red label items. There are two main differences between Filson's mainline and the Red Label line made for Nanamica; The twill is 22oz in Filson mainline, whereas the twill is 18oz in the Red Label bags. Secondly,as you noted, the straps are not as thick. I forget the oz weight off the top of my head, but the veg tanned bridal leather on the red label items are several oz lighter. While it does not feel as substantial there should be a negligible difference in durability. I will look up the oz weight difference for the straps later on if someone else does not chime in with the info.

 

[cemeg]

I purchased both the twill and tweed and the brown original briefcase and will return one.

http://i.imgur.com/pqHEYSF.jpg

The blue fabric of the twill and tweed (which is supposedly the same as the brown 22 oz parafin waxed cotton) is significantly softer and pliable.

You can see that the blue bag is bending and the fabric is nice and soft. The brown bag is very stiff. In addition, the blue twill feels actually a little smoother if I rub it with my thumb against the grain of the fabric compared to the brown.

Is this a difference between the blue 22 oz twill and brown 22 oz twill? or a difference between the twill and tweed and the original briefcase? Is this normal?

Just curious if anyone had any experience with this?

 

[nickwjd]

I own a zipper navy tote and other red label items. There are two main differences between Filson's mainline and the Red Label line made for Nanamica; The twill is 22oz in Filson mainline, whereas the twill is 18oz in the Red Label bags. Secondly,as you noted, the straps are not as thick. I forget the oz weight off the top of my head, but the veg tanned bridal leather on the red label items are several oz lighter. While it does not feel as substantial there should be a negligible difference in durability. I will look up the oz weight difference for the straps later on if someone else does not chime in with the info.

Thanks for the info, didn't know that the Red Label ones used a different weight.

Having said that, I'm not comparing the thickness of my tote's straps to another Filson, but rather, comparing between themselves i.e. the tote has 2 straps, 1 on each side. The strap on one side feels much sturdier than the other side which is where I'm concerned if it's a defect/manufacturing variance or if it's expected.

 

[vestbash]

Thanks for the info, didn't know that the Red Label ones used a different weight.

Having said that, I'm not comparing the thickness of my tote's straps to another Filson, but rather, comparing between themselves i.e. the tote has 2 straps, 1 on each side. The strap on one side feels much sturdier than the other side which is where I'm concerned if it's a defect/manufacturing variance or if it's expected.

My mistake. I have never encountered that problem. If you feel concerned then perhaps it would be best to send the bag to Filson and have the straps inspected and fixed now then to wait and have it fail on you. I have not heard of a case of sending a red label bag to Filson, as they are not "replaceable" in the same sense as the main line bags. There is a chance that Filson tells you that there is nothing that can be done.

 

[mullitia]

I had this problem on my otter green zip tote, one of the straps being thicker/stiffer than the other. It was annoying because the softer strap had tons of wrinkles in it straight out of the ups box, while the stiffer strap was smooth as a whistle. And yes, the undersides of the 2 straps had different textures.

I returned it and the vendor sent me a replacement, which had better matched straps (but not perfect, one was still slightly softer than the other).

I suspect there's some variability in the leather source, some being softer than others. Filson probably considers it within spec because another person on this thread has complained about this too.

 

[dcg]

In my experience, inconsistency in the leather is an ongoing issue with Filson. I've seen it in both the standard bridle and the Red Label leather - once with standard leather on a Levi's collab small duffle, once on the strap of a standard medium field bag, and once on the lighter straps of a red label medium field bag. Of the two bags I've handled with the lighter leather, that leather does appear to be generally lighter weight, though there were certain areas where it seemed stiffer/heavier weight. The red label bag is clearly less sturdy overall than the standard leather/twill combo (and the shoulder pad is only a single piece of leather, rather than two stitched together); not sure what effect it'll have on long term durability.

I've also got a 256, 257, pullman, and wool rucksack that did not have leather issues. Maybe I'm just unlucky, but I've had leather issues on 3 of 7 Filson bags that have come through my possession.

 

[nickwjd]

My mistake. I have never encountered that problem. If you feel concerned then perhaps it would be best to send the bag to Filson and have the straps inspected and fixed now then to wait and have it fail on you. I have not heard of a case of sending a red label bag to Filson, as they are not "replaceable" in the same sense as the main line bags. There is a chance that Filson tells you that there is nothing that can be done.

I had this problem on my otter green zip tote, one of the straps being thicker/stiffer than the other. It was annoying because the softer strap had tons of wrinkles in it straight out of the ups box, while the stiffer strap was smooth as a whistle. And yes, the undersides of the 2 straps had different textures.

I returned it and the vendor sent me a replacement, which had better matched straps (but not perfect, one was still slightly softer than the other).

I suspect there's some variability in the leather source, some being softer than others. Filson probably considers it within spec because another person on this thread has complained about this too.

Thanks for the info guys. mullitia, that sounds exactly like what I'm experiencing. The softer strap wrinkles more and the flesh side had more stray hairs. If it's something minor, then I won't be returning it because I bought this from Urban Outfitters and had a friend bring it back to Singapore for me, so a return would be costly and time consuming. I won't worry too much if it's something they consider normal I guess.

 

[gnu]

Was at a shop today eyeing the merino wool scout shirts. Pretty awesome.

Anyone know if the Filson guarantee policy holds true for the shirts? I figure these would have a higher chance of breaking down then the bags. More of a curiosity question.

 

[milw50717]



Was at a shop today eyeing the merino wool scout shirts. Pretty awesome.

Anyone know if the Filson guarantee policy holds true for the shirts? I figure these would have a higher chance of breaking down then the bags. More of a curiosity question.

Let me help you out. From http://www.filson.com/filson/about-filson-products/guarantee/

"We guarantee every item purchased from us. No more, no less. Your satisfaction is the sole purpose of our transaction."
-Clinton C. Filson, 1897

 

[milw50717]



Navy - Biggest concern is that the color is too much like dark indigo jeans, which I wear a lot casually. Is it too matchy? 
Tan - Great color. Nice contrast with the brown leather. Concerned about the formality (e.g. can I use this with a suit and get away with it?) 
Olive - Not my first color of choice. I'm not sure if I'm a fan of the way it fades. 
Brown - Seems to be a good color, but a big downside is the reduced contrast between the straps and the brown bag. 

Let me help you. Original Filson colours for luggage = tan + otter green. Stick to them and you can't go wrong.

 

[Cancer]

I noticed that the bridle leather snap tab closure on the TWEED & TWILL version of the Original Briefcase is on the outside, compared to the regular Original Briefcase which is semi-concealed by the exterior pocket. This makes for a neater look and I would think it as an improvement over the 256, curious though why it isn't made that way on the updated Original Briefcase?

The leather on my TWEED & TWILL also feels a lot harder than my 256. The pad on the leather strap is also a lot less prone to movement and thus requires less adjustments.

 

[havabeer]

So the Aussie went up a good bit today. I'm looking at the Otter 257 on Revolve, free shipping and does the 30% for new customers apply to Filson products?

 

[superfilmbuff]

I agree. The canvas is unique to filson. They have a life span of about 10-15 years. After that, it is a matter of how tattered you wish your bag to get.

Another annoying feature about filson, I don't know if others have noticed, is the zipper linings to go bust only after a few years. The brass eats through the lining and that's it.

It usually takes a lot of work to repair if you do not wish to lose the bag. And a brand new shining zipper is not what you usually want on aged canvas