Filson Bag Thread: With Pictures

[Stratkat]

Great Jones has already closed. They sent a bunch of stuff to Naperville. Was talking to the manager there a couple weeks back and he didn’t mention them being in any kind of jeopardy. I would honestly be surprised if they did a mass closing of retail stores since the biggest expense is the lease and you have to pay that anyways until the end of the lease agreement, many of which can easily be 3-5 years. Not to say it’s impossible, but it would be an absolutely horrific business decision to close a store like Naperville before it’s been open a year. Obviously if bankruptcy is on the table it could be possible, but I doubt that it is at this point.

Speaking of such, I was very saddened to hear Brooks Brothers declared bankruptcy. Theyve had such a legacy, I would purchase several ties from them every year.

 

[OtterMeanGreen]

Great Jones has already closed. They sent a bunch of stuff to Naperville. Apparently it was already in the works to close because it was simply too close to the NYC flagship. Didn’t make economic sense to have 2 stores that close to each other is what I was told. Was talking to the manager there a couple weeks back and he didn’t mention the Naperville store being in jeopardy. I would honestly be surprised if they did a mass closing of retail stores since the biggest expense is the lease and you have to pay that anyways until the end of the lease agreement, many of which can easily be 3-5 years. Not to say it’s impossible, but it would be an absolutely horrific business decision to close a store like Naperville before it’s been open a year. Obviously if bankruptcy is on the table it could be possible, but I doubt that it is at this point.

That’s sad to hear, on google it just said “temporarily closed” and I couldn’t find the article or review that said they had permanently closed. I was serious when I said I liked them more then the nearby flagship location. I found the staff to be more involved with the customer experience, the design to be more intimate and more natural flowing, and strangely enough, thought they carried more of a variety of products

Some old pictures from my experience. This was back before I owned a stitch of Filson garments. Contrasted to today and I still don’t own much; just my Navy Mackinaw Cruiser and Rugged Twill Ballcap.

 

[NamelessStream]

NYC has two store locations. A smaller more intimate setting on Great Jones Street and a Flagship location further uptown closer to Union Square Park. Personally I prefer the smaller store to the Flagship, so I hope they both survive. Excellent intel though, thank you very much for sharing that with us. Sad times for sure. Huge companies like Walmart and WaWa are only strengthening and smaller mom and pops or niche brands like Filson are really struggling to stay afloat. This country was founded on Small Business and they make up the fabric of most neighborhoods. I say that as a former Small Business Owner and as a patron of many.

Yes. And so much of its supply chain in Asia and the recent business model built on turning over many styles every year, Filson is especially vulnerable.

 

[NamelessStream]

That’s sad to hear, on google it just said “temporarily closed” and I couldn’t find the article or review that said they had permanently closed. I was serious when I said I liked them more then the nearby flagship location. I found the staff to be more involved with the customer experience, the design to be more intimate and more natural flowing, and strangely enough, thought they carried more of a variety of products

Some old pictures from my experience. This was back before I owned a stitch of Filson garments. Contrasted to today and I still don’t own much; just my Navy Mackinaw Cruiser and Rugged Twill Ballcap.

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great pics!

 

[seven20]

Believe me in the world of vintage Talon Era Filson's that is considered minimal. After 7 vintage Filson's I have it pretty much down to a science on what to look for.

This

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VS This

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I don’t know, that tan had a lot of forced patina through multiple waxings. It’s definitely seen use, but seems it was used more by someone just trying to get to this point.
The 258 looks like it’s been used as well, but in a more traditional manner. Not saying the tan isn’t worse looking but I think the owner likely forced a lot of the discoloration. Lots of people online showing pics from multiple wax jobs to get that look.

 

[Stratkat]

I don’t know, that tan had a lot of forced patina through multiple waxings. It’s definitely seen use, but seems it was used more by someone just trying to get to this point.
The 258 looks like it’s been used as well, but in a more traditional manner. Not saying the tan isn’t worse looking but I think the owner likely forced a lot of the discoloration. Lots of people online showing pics from multiple wax jobs to get that look.

at some point thought it starts to look ridiculous to me. how much wax do you really need? they are pretty water resistant as sold, maybe if you use it as a Ranger and it sits in the rain all the time, but how much rain does a typical bag ever see? at some point the bag looks filthy, case in point.

 

[OtterMeanGreen]

I don’t know, that tan had a lot of forced patina through multiple waxings. It’s definitely seen use, but seems it was used more by someone just trying to get to this point.
The 258 looks like it’s been used as well, but in a more traditional manner. Not saying the tan isn’t worse looking but I think the owner likely forced a lot of the discoloration. Lots of people online showing pics from multiple wax jobs to get that look.

The Repair department sewing most likely means that it was used well and repaired professionally. It does not give off the vibe of being "used and abused", like so many other bags that I have seen. Also I can't recall correctly if you had mentioned your reluctance to buy used Filson bags, so forgive me if I have you confused with someone else here. I know Stratkat has repeatedly stated his reluctance to buying used bags and that was only solidified with his most recent purchase of a Talon Era XLOB (case in point), and the negative experience that ensued. Different strokes for different folks indeed, and again there are no right or wrong answers here.

To finish my point, to some a bag that appears to even have the slightest of wear (patina) is probably not going to look so appealing. Keep in mind that this example is over 20 years old. Over the last 5 years I have quite an experience with the Talon Era, as an owner and a researcher. I have seen quite literally hundreds of thousands of examples. I still must stand by my recent statements that the #258 I have listed has minimal patina for its age, and a incredible steal at $170.

 

[seven20]

The Repair department sewing most likely means that it was used well and repaired professionally. It does not give off the vibe of being "used and abused", like so many other bags that I have seen. Also I can't recall correctly if you had mentioned your reluctance to buy used Filson bags, so forgive me if I have you confused with someone else here. I know Stratkat has repeatedly stated his reluctance to buying used bags and that was only solidified with his most recent purchase of a Talon Era XLOB (case in point), and the negative experience that ensued. Different strokes for different folks indeed, and again there are no right or wrong answers here.

To finish my point, to some a bag that appears to even have the slightest of wear (patina) is probably not going to look so appealing. Keep in mind that this example is over 20 years old. Over the last 5 years I have quite an experience with the Talon Era, as an owner and a researcher. I have seen quite literally hundreds of thousands of examples. I still must stand by my recent statements that the #258 I have listed has minimal patina for its age, and a incredible steal at $170.

Im not disagreeing that the 258 is a nice looking bag, and I don’t mind patina on my bags. My 257 is at filson now for repairs.

I just don’t feel the tan bag posted is a representation of real patina, but more of a stylistic forced look

 

[Stratkat]

The Repair department sewing most likely means that it was used well and repaired professionally. It does not give off the vibe of being "used and abused", like so many other bags that I have seen. Also I can't recall correctly if you had mentioned your reluctance to buy used Filson bags, so forgive me if I have you confused with someone else here. I know Stratkat has repeatedly stated his reluctance to buying used bags and that was only solidified with his most recent purchase of a Talon Era XLOB (case in point), and the negative experience that ensued. Different strokes for different folks indeed, and again there are no right or wrong answers here.

To finish my point, to some a bag that appears to even have the slightest of wear (patina) is probably not going to look so appealing. Keep in mind that this example is over 20 years old. Over the last 5 years I have quite an experience with the Talon Era, as an owner and a researcher. I have seen quite literally hundreds of thousands of examples. I still must stand by my recent statements that the #258 I have listed has minimal patina for its age, and a incredible steal at $170.

hundreds of thousands??? id be amazed if Filson has even made hundreds of thousands!

 

[seven20]

at some point thought it starts to look ridiculous to me. how much wax do you really need? they are pretty water resistant as sold, maybe if you use it as a Ranger and it sits in the rain all the time, but how much rain does a typical bag ever see? at some point the bag looks filthy, case in point.

I agree the tan looks bad. There are some in filson fan that readers shared pictures of and if I remember correctly one was a fairly new bag that someone waxed and re-waxed until it looked like that. I like the natural aging personally, not forced

 

[OtterMeanGreen]

Im not disagreeing that the 258 is a nice looking bag, and I don’t mind patina on my bags. My 257 is at filson now for repairs.

I just don’t feel the tan bag posted is a representation of real patina, but more of a stylistic forced look

Wait are you referring to the first or the second bag that I posted. One is a #256 and the other is the #258. I honestly just used that as an extreme example to show variation between patina's. Whether or not it is authentic or forced wasn't part of my argument. This is why I omitted the part of my original post that stated my confusion as to why you thought the #258 owner would intentionally rip apart his bag and send it into the Filson Repair Department just to achieve a forced patina look. There's definitely a confusion going on here.

 

[OtterMeanGreen]

hundreds of thousands??? id be amazed if Filson has even made hundreds of thousands!

Each day I search around 1000 bags on eBay. 1000 x 365 (days) = 365,000. 365,000 x 5 (years) = 1,825,000. Clearly more then I originally stated and some days I miss my daily search. They have been making bags for over 30 years (allegedly), in multiple continents, not that crazy to think. Have I seen that many individually? Probably not.

 

[Stratkat]

Each day I search around 1000 bags on eBay. 1000 x 365 (days) = 365,000. 365,000 x 5 (years) = 1,825,000. Clearly more then I originally stated and some days I miss my daily search. They have been making bags for over 30 years (allegedly), in multiple continents, not that crazy to think. Have I seen that many individually? Probably not.

impressive! clearly though a lot of those are the same bag bought then resold multiple times I would think?

 

[thewinedown]

Each day I search around 1000 bags on eBay. 1000 x 365 (days) = 365,000. 365,000 x 5 (years) = 1,825,000. Clearly more then I originally stated and some days I miss my daily search. They have been making bags for over 30 years (allegedly), in multiple continents, not that crazy to think. Have I seen that many individually? Probably not.

There are 1,000 unique new bags posted each day?

 

[mgrennier]

impressive! clearly though a lot of those are the same bag bought then resold multiple times I would think?

OK Strat - now you're just being ornery.

Let it go, man