Filson Bag Thread: With Pictures

[mgrennier]

Interesting visit to the London Filson store today. Had a long chat with the manager who I’m getting to know now! I’m sure turning up in Packer hat, moleskin vest and small field bag must help.... ;-)

A few things came up in conversation, perhaps of svery specific interest to @OtterMeanGreen and @TinMan3

1. Twill Origins: Store manager has met Stan Kohl and confirms that the first of the Twill bags were in 1994. What I didn’t know was that Stan had spent a long time looking at all the available products on the market in the hunting/fishing world - as well as movie bags. From these inspirations came the twill bag line. Stan still owns the factory building in Seattle too.

2. Leather: Store manager was well aware of the ‘old’ leather and the ‘new’ leather, and the difference in colours. Most interestingly, Filson are switching the leather on the new bags to a more reddish hue!!!! I’m looking forward to seeing this.

3. Product development - up until 4 years ago, apparently there were NO product desginers at all. I was told that changes occurred as small evolutions made directly by the pattern cutters. There are now designers (eg the dry bag range which sells well). I asked about a customer forum or feedback, and there is still nothing like this.

4. FRD - used to be called Filson vintage. He tells me that it’s really hard to get enough bags to get any sort of consistency or volume from FRD - to the extent that all the faulty/returned items in the UK are being fed back to Seattle as source material for FRD. And get this: before FRD really got going, the faulty stuff was just junked...straight to landfill. Noooooo!

5. MIUSA - still really critical. But they struggle with cost/price. He was saying that the cloth and materials used are really top drawer quality even when (especially? In the case of the twill) when made overseas. So to make a flannel shirt in the USA would result in a sticker cost of $250, which just doesn’t work.

He was very passionate about all this stuff too, which was good to hear. I asked how often he had this sort of conversation with customers (ie those who get the brand and the history, and know the product mix), and he said ‘almost never’. So at least here in the UK it’s still very much a niche, premium brand. By way of a benchmark, in the afternoon spent walking around the priciest retail areas in the UK, including Red Wing, Ralph Lauren, Belstaff, and Barbour I saw precisely zero other Filson bags or products among the general public.

6. Sticker: I got a cool sticker - about 5 inches long. This will go on my Pelican case:

View attachment 1052509

A quick word on heritage brands and customer service too:
- The Filson guys were all very cool and happy to chat.
- Red Wing guys liked the patina on my engineer boots so much that they took me outside for a photo for their Insta feed (feet only, thankfully!)
- Belstaff people spent a long time examining my very old, dirty and beaten up Trailmaster jacket, before taking it away for a new zip and repairs - most of which will be free - on an jacket from mid 1970s.

This is why I love quality stuff.

Apologies for the essay, thanks for reading.

Speedy. High quality post. Thanks for taking the time to jot this all down.

I’m impressed with the London Filson employees knowledge of the brand and the heritage. Contrasts quite markedly to the guy in the San Francisco store. Not nearly as knowledgeable but also it was quite busy so I’ll forgive him a bit as he needs to sell some product!

Very interesting trends on the leather color (I prefer the aged look of the brown leather) and the lack of designers in the place. Interesting observations.

 

[Rymanocerous]

First of all, no surprise that they were impressed with your engineers at the Red Wing store. When I saw them 6 months ago the Patina was already setting in nicely!

I loved your entire post, but what really struck me was the part about Stan Kohl and his search for the perfect materials. The twill truly is unique to itself and no one else really does it the same. It is, to this day, after all the bags I have handled my favorite material out there.

As far as the MiUSA theory goes, I find it a little hard to believe that the cost would be that much. For a flannel. Somehow, Gustin is able to produce clothing MiUSA for very reasonable prices, so maybe it is just how their manufacturing process is set up that is the limiting factor. I think what may be more viable is that they need to charge $250 in order to reach their desired profit margin (they are equity owned after all). Either way, I have been quite happy with most of the overseas made garments that I have purchased from Filson, so as long as they continue to prioritize bag production abroad.

Thanks for write up, and I’m glad that you had a productive visit to Newburgh St!

I mean Gustin still is using materials sourced else where and their retail model blows and is plagued with delays. I'm sure many brands could produce for less when they have consumers finding their products before they are even made. Overhead is real.

 

[Rymanocerous]

So I was curious if any of y’all have any thoughts on quality leather jackets? I found a barely used Schott NYC 654 Cafe Racer last night on eBay for 1/3 of the retail price and jumped on it. This will be my first quality leather jacket and I think it’ll look great with my OG 257.

Nothing wrong with Schott, they are a solid choice if the aesthetics appeal to you. Vanson is great too, but they tend to make more true riding jackets than fashion jackets.

 

[M635Guy]

I mean Gustin still is using materials sourced else where and their retail model blows and is plagued with delays. I'm sure many brands could produce for less when they have consumers finding their products before they are even made. Overhead is real.

True But not $250 true.

 

[TinMan3]

I mean Gustin still is using materials sourced else where and their retail model blows and is plagued with delays. I'm sure many brands could produce for less when they have consumers finding their products before they are even made. Overhead is real.

You are correct and maybe that was a bad comparison. They don’t manufacture anything themselves, they outsource. I guess my point was that try can offer made in USA without the excessive premium. Also, you’re kidding yourself if you think Filsons cottons and other clothing products are sourced from elsewhere.

 

[M635Guy]

You are correct and maybe that was a bad comparison. They don’t manufacture anything themselves, they outsource. I guess my point was that try can offer made in USA without the excessive premium. Also, you’re kidding yourself if you think Filsons cottons and other clothing products are sourced from elsewhere.

The original-style Brooks Bros. OCBD is MiUSA, has outstanding fabric, real MoP buttons and is $140. I've got several, and they're awesome.

With their retail footprint and ability for scale, there's no reason Filson can't make great shirts under (and well under) $200. Exceptions might be something like a moleskin outerwear shirt. A Brisbane Moss moleskin is more in line with their brand-level of quality (though not a domestic fabric) - they could get $200 for something like that. The Filson moleskin workshirt I have is made in Morocco and is only slightly better in cloth and construction than my JCrew moleskin workshirt.

That said, they should do it well and consistent with their brand or not do it at all.

 

[OtterMeanGreen]

(I'm a reservist along with being a priest.)

I didn’t know that, my best friend and former business partner is Army. Are you a Chaplain? Thank you for your service btw.

 

[OtterMeanGreen]

A lot of luggage recently! Here's my addition to the stable. This is the large size not the XL. I'll be using this on those 5-7 day trips. Also, family visits. Always seem to bring back more stuff on family trips than what I take. Really like that large leather patch on the bottom. Like how it lays flat. Will do a post-trip review soon:

Very cool! You simply don’t see too many of these on here, and I love how you chose Otter Green, it compliments the abundant amount of brown leather incredibly.

 

[OtterMeanGreen]

So I was curious if any of y’all have any thoughts on quality leather jackets? I found a barely used Schott NYC 654 Cafe Racer last night on eBay for 1/3 of the retail price and jumped on it. This will be my first quality leather jacket and I think it’ll look great with my OG 257.

I think most things would pair up nicely with a Otter Green 257 but that’s just me. Matthew McConaughey is a fan of Schott leather (kind of a fan of his) and also Cafe Racers. He rode a Triumph in that chick flick “How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days”. Didn’t I just say I was a fan, enough to endure a chick flick it seems.

 

[OtterMeanGreen]

Not sure how I was linked to this while searching for “Away Luggage Patina”, as i was curious how these things look with patina.

https://www.cooltools.us/Cool-Tools-Liver-of-Sulfur-in-Gel-Form-2oz-p/pol-802.htm

 

[Rymanocerous]

You are correct and maybe that was a bad comparison. They don’t manufacture anything themselves, they outsource. I guess my point was that try can offer made in USA without the excessive premium. Also, you’re kidding yourself if you think Filsons cottons and other clothing products are sourced from elsewhere.

I didn't mean to imply I thought they were either. Simply that when you don't have equivalent marketing and overhead, or a true storefront, you can of course make things for less. Could Fislon be priced lower without anything changing? Absolutely. But every company has to make a margin. That level of margin varies depending on goals and who you have to answer too. And I'm willing to bet there are a lot more people looking at Filson's margins and holding them accountable vs Gustin, which most have never even heard of.

 

[OtterMeanGreen]

If it weren't for that Hipster matrix I posted this past week I never would've found this listing or knew Filson & Vans did a collaboration. Why or why did the only listing I could find feature my sneaker size. I nearly bought them but couldn't imagine ever paying this price for sneakers, no matter how rare they are. Plus I'm not really a fan of High or Mid Tops. But if anyone else is a Size 13 I say have at it!!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/VANS-VAULT...g:0o4AAOSwEzxYTzDD:rk:1:pf:0&autorefresh=true

 

[woodsjw]

I didn’t know that, my best friend and former business partner is Army. Are you a Chaplain? Thank you for your service btw.

I was a Chaplain Candidate while in seminary and am currently in the reappointment process as a Chaplain.

 

[speedy611]

My Pelican case arrived. This is a Storm 2750 variant, sized for airline check-in.
This thing is bombproof. Latches, wheels and extending handle are all super solid. And it’s capacious - pic shows the original Pullman inside it - and there is still lots of space.
And the vanity shot with the 48hr duffle for scale. I think they go well together...

 

[mgrennier]

My Pelican case arrived. This is a Storm 2750 variant, sized for airline check-in.
This thing is bombproof. Latches, wheels and extending handle are all super solid. And it’s capacious - pic shows the original Pullman inside it - and there is still lots of space.
And the vanity shot with the 48hr duffle for scale. I think they go well together...

View attachment 1054050

View attachment 1054051

Looks like you just bought a tank on wheels. That's the kind of bag you WANT the baggage guys to throw around!