Filson Bag Thread: With Pictures

[Churchill W]



Hello,

I am a newbie, and have been reading the Filson posts off/on for over a week. Currently, I own 3 Filson bags all in tan: medium field satchel, small field satchel, and rucksack. I love the classic style and simple lines with the added functionality of the bags. I needed a bag that can hold all of my daily items, and won't fall apart after a year. I also don't like Velcro, mesh, and slippery straps that are in nearly all of the more popular bags. I also liked that Filson is "local", well, to me.

My most recent purchase was the rucksack. I wanted to see if anyone else had this strange issue with their zippers on their Filson bags. 1) the zipper is sewn in an odd way, where there is a gap after the zipper stop. It is hidden behind the Filson leather tag on both sides. I was wondering if this is the Filson way across all of their bags that have zippers?

2) Are the leather zipper pulls suppose to be such a light brown compared to the dark brown straps on all of my other bags?

I do have an issue with my medium field satchel straps that seems to be common for the "newer" Filson bags, where one is drastically different than the other. Mine also feels and looks thinner with a wild rough bottom so I can tell by touch which pocket/side I am accessing. Filson CS says they have never heard of the issue (even after they, the Filson employee, have +5 yrs of working there, which I find hard to accept). The only response is, send it in to be assessed which could take 4-8 weeks (just for the assessment alone), or wait until the strap breaks. Not good. So I am afraid to exchange the rucksack as it also might develop this uneven strap issue.

So can anyone clarify this strange unflushed zipper issue? I would gladly appreciate it! Thanks!

Tris

My zipper track and zipper pulls are the same on my rucksack. I don't really pay it no mind.

 

[Soletrane]

If there's any way I can fit all my gear into my small duffle that's the way I am going to roll if I am heading to the airport. My shoulder thanks me after an hour or so walking around the terminal.

 

[Canuckle]

Hi everyone. I came across this thread in the old Google machine. I was looking for a Filson duffle and I couldn't decide on whether to get the Small or the "New Medium". So I finally settled on the "New Medium" in Tan and ordered it. Then I thought maybe I should get a small too, so I ordered a small in Olive Green. THEN a great deal came up on a Navy Blue "New Medium" and I ordered that too. I stopped there. So in short, I will be getting (2) new medium bags in Navy and Tan, plus a small in olive green. I am going to compare build quality very closely between all 3 of them, and check the leather thickness. I am also going to compare fabric thickness between the navy blue and tan. People here have said that the navy blue is "thinner" material, but someone told me that the navy blue material isn't thinner it's just softer. *WELL* I am going to weigh both bags on my very accurate scale, and that will settle it. I'll post the weight of the navy blue vs the tan and we can see if Filson is cheaping out on fabric on the navy blue. I'll also post lots of detailed photos.

Thanks for getting me hooked

By the way, if anyone is interested, ebay has a 20% off coupon until the end of Saturday to be used on one item in the accessories department. Coupon code is C20HELLOSPRING - It's useful on pretty much anything Filson related. Up to $50 off (so keep the before-coupon price to $250 to maximize savings). I know some stuff on ebay is sketchy though, so got to make sure it's legit.

 

[Soletrane]

Canuckle,
I think the navy twill was measured in this thread with calipers and shown to be thinner. I am not sure how much the waxing impacts thickness too. Regardless the navy hides dirt and looks sharp if you want a less rustic look. I have a variety of bags in tan and green and use them for both casual and business travel. However, I think the navy would work better in the latter context.

 

[masayako]

My tribute to the medium field bag.

[VIDEO][/VIDEO]

 

[regder]

Canuckle,
I think the navy twill was measured in this thread with calipers and shown to be thinner. I am not sure how much the waxing impacts thickness too. Regardless the navy hides dirt and looks sharp if you want a less rustic look. I have a variety of bags in tan and green and use them for both casual and business travel. However, I think the navy would work better in the latter context.

I have a new medium navy duffle, and a briefcase style bag in tan that is very similar in concept to Filson. The navy is infinitely more professional looking than the tan. Navy would definitely be my pick for another Filson bag.

 

[Canuckle]

Canuckle,
I think the navy twill was measured in this thread with calipers and shown to be thinner. I am not sure how much the waxing impacts thickness too. Regardless the navy hides dirt and looks sharp if you want a less rustic look. I have a variety of bags in tan and green and use them for both casual and business travel. However, I think the navy would work better in the latter context.

Yes I saw that a few pages back. I believe it was measured on a briefcase to be around 15% thinner. Apparently the thickness is 16oz before waxing and moves to the 22oz after waxing (not sure how accurate). I am still curious to see weigh-wise is the navy is super noticeable. That being said, like you mention, there's some major advantages to the navy blue for business use.

I have a new medium navy duffle, and a briefcase style bag in tan that is very similar in concept to Filson. The navy is infinitely more professional looking than the tan. Navy would definitely be my pick for another Filson bag.

I think I am going to like the navy the best too

 

[mgrennier]

Broke out the old standby for one day flight to Charlotte. This bag (Sportsman) and the new medium duffle are the two Filson bags I'll never get rid of!

 

[dcg]



Just for ***** and giggles, I broke out my digital calipers and measured the thickness of a few similar areas of tan, brown, and navy Filson briefcases. Navy was consistently about 10-15% thinner.

Edit - more specifically, I measured 2 points on all bags - the top flaps (two pieces of fabric sewn together), and the back pockets (one piece of fabric folded over). Took a few measurements for each location for each bag. Navy material is 16-17% thinner than tan in both locations, and 12-13% thinner than brown on my bags (I have a brown 256, tan 257, navy 258).

Also fwiw, the moss heavy tin briefcase is about 24% thicker than the tan twill (measured using only the back pocket, as the top layer of the flap is a different material).

This is probably more info than anyone really cares about. Obviously, I was bored.

Details from when I measured the various colors

 

[Canuckle]

I noticed that all the filson stuff I order on ebay (even from different sellers) gets shipped from Brooklyn, NY via FedEx. Is there a filson warehouse there or something? Obviously these ebay filson sellers are not shipping their own stock, they are just drop shipping, but I was wondering who they are drop shipping from? Anyone know?

 

[Churchill W]



I noticed that all the filson stuff I order on ebay (even from different sellers) gets shipped from Brooklyn, NY via FedEx. Is there a filson warehouse there or something? Obviously these ebay filson sellers are not shipping their own stock, they are just drop shipping, but I was wondering who they are drop shipping from? Anyone know?

I think it's just a coincidence, if they are drop shipping it would all be from the same address and you'd likely be paying close to full price.

 

[Canuckle]

I think it's just a coincidence, if they are drop shipping it would all be from the same address and you'd likely be paying close to full price.

Yeah I misread the tracking. Brooklyn, NY was the first FedEx depot they were all shipped to. Just a coincidence they were all in the same NY area.

So how do the folks on ebay get their items? Do they buy out clearance items etc, employee discount? For them to be profitable they need to be buying the filson stuff at around 60% off MSRP.

 

[Churchill W]



Yeah I misread the tracking. Brooklyn, NY was the first FedEx depot they were all shipped to. Just a coincidence they were all in the same NY area.

So how do the folks on ebay get their items? Do they buy out clearance items etc, employee discount? For them to be profitable they need to be buying the filson stuff at around 60% off MSRP.

I'm sure the ones you mentioned are a part of it. Some of them may also be seconds, though I don't think there are too many of those. I know some vendors say there is no warranty and it must come from somewhere.

 

[Soletrane]

Every time I get the Filson catalog, I thumb through to see if the prices have gone up yet again. I keep thinking at what point will they reach the breaking point, and people look elsewhere for other alternatives. Particularly when the heritage/Americana fashion trend subsides. The 48-hour duffle, for example, is now at least a full 100 bucks more than it was when introduced a couple of years back. No wonder there is a thriving eBay gray market.

 

[Canuckle]

Every time I get the Filson catalog, I thumb through to see if the prices have gone up yet again. I keep thinking at what point will they reach the breaking point, and people look elsewhere for other alternatives. Particularly when the heritage/Americana fashion trend subsides. The 48-hour duffle, for example, is now at least a full 100 bucks more than it was when introduced a couple of years back. No wonder there is a thriving eBay gray market.

It's especially alarming considering the fact that the US dollar has gone way up in recent years, and most of the materials Filson uses are imported from countries where the dollar has gotten stronger. No doubt Filson is probably becoming very profitable with the combination of the two (price increases + exchange rate). The big question is whether or not they will take that "next step" and start moving production out of the USA one day to really make even more money. The changing of the tags on bags from "Made in Seattle" to "Made at Filson" was suspect. I could see them eventually outsourcing certain items to other countries and hoping no one notices the second tag that says "Made in Malaysia" or wherever. Most people might not care.