Filson Bag Thread: With Pictures

[nevadabob]

Six hunnert bones

 

[FilsonDude]

Twas the boots in the box. I'm not sure why they used such a large package. These boots popped up on Filson's website for about an afternoon, then suddenly they were sold out. I called around a little bit and Portland said to talk to Seattle. One day Seattle had no boots, but the next day, they had an 8.5 sample and the 11.5 I ended up purchasing.

Filson Portland has a re-waxing workshop this weekend. I'll be stopping by

I did one a couple weeks ago at my local shop. Pretty cool experience because I’ve never waxed before. Plus complimentary whiskey ? tasting ?

 

[TinMan3]

Loving this vest and hat combo. Perfect for a cold morning here in Chicago!

and still giddy with my old faithfuls 256 and beartooth Jac shirt getting a little work done this morning at a little known coffee shop called Starbucks. Highly recommended!

 

[CaryGooper]

Loving this vest and hat combo. Perfect for a cold morning here in Chicago! View attachment 1266722

and still giddy with my old faithfuls 256 and beartooth Jac shirt getting a little work done this morning at a little known coffee shop called Starbucks. Highly recommended!
View attachment 1266727

Not a cap guy but that one looks great. I would gladly add it to the collection.

 

[CaryGooper]

Insulated Uplanders and supply pants on a rainy autumn day.

 

[speedy611]

Loving this vest and hat combo. Perfect for a cold morning here in Chicago! View attachment 1266722

and still giddy with my old faithfuls 256 and beartooth Jac shirt getting a little work done this morning at a little known coffee shop called Starbucks. Highly recommended!
View attachment 1266727

Looking very good my friend!! My beartooth also getting heavy rotation. And I like that vest. Remind me - that’s insulated right?

 

[TinMan3]

Looking very good my friend!! My beartooth also getting heavy rotation. And I like that vest. Remind me - that’s insulated right?

Yes. Insulated adding warmth and comfort. Lighter weight tin cloth as well. Got to test out rain resistance today and it was a champ!

 

[bucky0486]

I am currently at an airport and I walked past a man with a duffle slung across his back. It had brown leather with a tan canvas and brass colored rings on the handles, but was sized similar to a small Filson duffle. Upon closer inspection it was not a Filson. The leather pads that attached to the canvas we’re actually pleather, and the seemingly broken-in and loose twill was actually just a thin canvas.

I thought I had spotted a well-worn special edition Filson duffle, but it was just a look alike.

 

[bucky0486]

I am currently at an airport and I walked past a man with a duffle slung across his back. It had brown leather with a tan canvas and brass colored rings on the handles, but was sized similar to a small Filson duffle. Upon closer inspection it was not a Filson. The leather pads that attached to the canvas we’re actually pleather, and the seemingly broken-in and loose twill was actually just a thin canvas.

I thought I had spotted a well-worn special edition Filson duffle, but it was just a look alike.

And here I am on my way to a four day trip. Well, my stuff anyway.

 

[Soletrane]

And here I am on my way to a four day trip. Well, my stuff anyway.

Like the splash of red in the jacket lining and the duffle.

Do you notice any difference in the leather quality on the tan leather on the red duffle bridle vs the dark brown bridle on your 256? I was hoping buying pieces with tan leather might be a nice workaround to ensure better leather QC from Filson.

 

[bucky0486]

Like the splash of red in the jacket lining and the duffle.

Do you notice any difference in the leather quality on the tan leather on the red duffle bridle vs the dark brown bridle on your 256? I was hoping buying pieces with tan leather might be a nice workaround to ensure better leather QC from Filson.

So, my 256 was built in 2017 and has been used just about every day for almost two years, so the leather is now nice and soft and flexible. But, the two handles on the 256 are different thicknesses. I think this is an example of the QC inconsistencies you’re trying to avoid.

I can take the calipers to these handles later, but for the tan leather there does seem to be two thicknesses as well: thick handles and trim, and extra thick shoulder strap. Although it’s not all the same, it does all seem to be carefully chosen. That is, the two handles match each other, and the two parts of the shoulder strap match each other.

Aside from thicknesses, it does seem like the tan leather is higher quality and more consistent. It’s a bit early to tell for sure since the tan leather is still brand new, but I think it’s all top notch. I also think that the tan leather is stiffer than the brown leather, even when the brown is new (I’ve recently gotten other new bags with the brown leather I’m comparing to). I think that’s just to say that it’ll take longer to soften, not that it won’t. So, to answer your question directly, yes, I do notice a difference in quality, with the tan leather on the red duffle being higher.

I can post more pictures once I get back home (I’ve been waiting on a new addition that’s been stuck in customs for almost two weeks and was hoping would arrive in time for this trip, but it should be waiting for me when I get back), but here are some snaps from my phone.

These first three compare the thick handle of my 256 with a handle from the duffle from the side, back side, and top side:

It’s hard to tell the difference in thickness of the handles from photos, so I took the thickest leather of the duffle (strap) with the thinnest handle on the 256, and I think you can tell a difference:

Here are a couple of photos of the red duffle:

I used to think that a uni-color collection was the way to go, but I’m loving this variety.

I’m looking forward to the new addition to round out my new multicolor collection...

 

[Soletrane]

Thanks Bucky for the photos! Usually the QC issue I typically see is one of the straps having a wavy ‘elephant knee’ on the top of the strap and pilling on the underside (as per the photo).

The workshop version of the Pullman with red harness leather is $600 ($150 premium over the standard bag). It seems the only difference is the use of the red harness leather. One would think that at the $450 MSRP one could get top notch leather strapping without paying a premium for workshop gear. Maybe buying the luggage with the tan strapping may be one way as the leather looks great in your pics.

 

[bucky0486]

Thanks Bucky for the photos! Usually the QC issue I typically see is one of the straps having a wavy ‘elephant knee’ on the top of the strap and pilling on the underside (as per the photo).

The workshop version of the Pullman with red harness leather is $600 ($150 premium over the standard bag). It seems the only difference is the use of the red harness leather. One would think that at the $450 MSRP one could get top notch leather strapping without paying a premium for workshop gear. Maybe buying the luggage with the tan strapping may be one way as the leather looks great in your pics.

Can you share photos of the waxy elephant knee on the top side? I think I know what your talking about, the wavy and larger crinkles instead of the fine even bending of the leather, but it wold be helpful to be sure.

As for the pilling,I think based on early indications my tan leather may develop that feature. I think of that more as a different type of leather than a worse type of leather, but I don’t know the life-long differences between the two.

With that being said, the underside of the tan is quite soft and smooth. I suppose your question is whether it stays smooth, and I don’t know yet. The pictures I posted are of the handle at the snap grip portion and have gotten the most amount of abuse so far. So maybe that’s an indication of how the rest of the leather will age.

 

[Soletrane]

Bucky, I will take a pic of the wavy pattern and post this evening, but you are correct in your description (Edit: I posted 2 photos from early Nov 2015 from this forum - lots of photos of pilling and waving back then).

I have about 4 or 5 bride leather belts and a Frost River bridle leather dog leash - none were expensive and none exhibit the waviness or the pilling despite a lot of usage. IMO, it's really not a high bar to meet for leather quality.

 

[nevadabob]

The workshop version of the Pullman with red harness leather is $600 ($150 premium over the standard bag). It seems the only difference is the use of the red harness leather.

My Pullman has external zippers on both sides of the bag where the one in the photos has zips on only one side. I did just look an the small pullman only has a zipper on one side. If the photo is a pullman pullman instead of a small pullman, that could be a second difference.