When I was younger and out and about grocery shopping with my parents, they always carried a small zippered coin pouch with them. Often times, it was filled to the brim with quarters, what we used in coin laundry. All of this was part of the experience growing up under a generation that was not used to using credit cards or loans. Instead, every other weekend or so, my parents would withdraw cash from the ATM and allocate that towards for groceries and expenses. That way, we would know how much money we were spending and not go over budget. Continue reading “One Star Leather Coin Pouch Business Card Case Review”
There are so many camera straps available out there in many material types such as nylon or leather. Hopefully, this Tanner Goods leather camera strap review will be of use to you. Shortly after I purchased my first DLSR in 2014, I visited the recently opened Tanner Goods flagship store in Downtown LA. At the time, Tanner Goods was still using Horween Chromexcel as their primary leather with the colorways “Rich Moc”, “Chicago Tan”, “Dark Oak”, Black, and Natural. Every couple of years, Tanner Goods switches the leather on their goods to change things up. I had a hard time deciding between Chicago Tan and Rich Moc. I ended up purchasing the Rich Moc camera strap because I felt that the light brown tone would patina well. The Dark Oak was a medium brown and would have been a solid choice also. I liked the simple design of the strap and lack of “synthetic” materials (other than the nylon cords).
To me, Tanner Goods and Horween Leather come hand in hand. I feel that the brand’s success was because of their selection of leather, particularly Chromexcel, at an early time when not many other leather makers were using it. Nowadays, CXL is very prominent especially in footwear.
Details:
Tanner Goods SLR Camera Strap in “Rich Moc” Leather Price: $130 USD
Made of 3.5oz Horween Chromexcel Leather
Attaches to camera via two high density nylon cords
Nonmetal hardware attachment reduces possibility of damage to camera
Easily detachable for tripod use
Burnished, waxed, and dyed by hand
Dimensions 36″ end to end
Made in the USA
Impressions:
The design of the camera strap is pretty innovative. It uses Tanner Goods’ signature belt loop and brass button stud attachment which is very secure. While many companies use a button stud, Tanner Goods went further to secure it using a leather loop so that unintended stress in any direction will not detach the leather. While I have no doubt that the button stud will stay secured, the leather loop adds that extra comfort of mind.
The main leather piece that sits on your neck or shoulder has 6 parallel slits on each side. The straps are connected to this piece by weaving through these slits alternatingly and then looping through itself to secure it. This placement allows the strap to occupy 3 of the 6 slots at a time. The camera strap initially comes with the straps at their longest (aka the lateral-most 3 slots of the 6). If you want to shorten the straps, you can remove them and position them in the slots more towards the center. Therefore, there are 4 potential positions to shorten/lengthen the strap. (654, 543, 432, 321).
I’ve carried a DSLR with a hefty lens without any problem or doubt. The main strap actually has a curved side which is supposed contour around your neck. Keep that in mind when you’re re-attaching the cords! Personally, it doesn’t make a difference to me whether the shoulder strap is facing the correct way as I carry the strap on my shoulder not neck.
I have tried to utilize the inner slots to shorten the strap length on several occasions but felt that in doing so, the main leather piece sticks out at its ends, making it look awkward. Also, it takes several minutes to adjust the straps, using the other side as a model to find out what loops through what. Ever since, I just leave it on the most longest position which is the most natural looking as the strap position allows the main shoulder/neck piece to completely curve. Moving to the straps shortest position only decreased the total length by about 4 inches!
The stitching and leather burnishing is very well done on the main leather piece. The lateral straps, however, do not have burnished edges which is one of my main irks. This leads to the straps having “fuzzy edges” which looks like a bad hairday! Perhaps the straps could not be burnished because of they were too thin.\
A trick that I used to get the nylon cord through my Fuji X-T10 was using dental floss to thread it through. On larger cameras, it is more practical to use O rings.
I love how easily the straps can detach so that it does not dangle in the way when on the tripod. Another technique is to to wrap the strap several times around my hand to prevent the strap flopping in front of my camera. The straps do not have any metal hardware that can scratch your camera. The nylon cords at the ends seem very securely riveted to the leather. But if anything were to fail first, it would probably be the nylon cords detaching.
Conclusion:
I nearly forgot about the MSRP of the Tanner Goods camera strap being $130. Even though the price was steep, it’s pretty much been the only camera strap I’ve used. I like the design and innovation of Tanner Goods being made of a material that ages gracefully. You can, however, find the straps lightly used on eBay for around $70-80. That’s a more affordable price!
The Rich Moc Chromexcel leather developed very prominent creases and perhaps even creased in an undesired looking manner. However, this creasing does not at all affect the durability of the product and is just cosmetic. The second Natural tooling camera strap that I also owned has darkened significantly in the places exposed.
The current leather that Tanner Goods uses is English Bridle Leather. I haven’t had much experience with that leather, but the design of the strap is still the same. One thing I love about Chromexcel is how soft it starts with. The Bridle Leather that I felt in person initially felt a lot more rigid and dry.
When I’m not using the camera or strap, it’s stored away safely in my Filson Photographer’s Backpack (check out that review here)!
I’ve been very fond of Dustin’s work since I heard of his company in 2014 on Styleforum and Instagram. Back in 2015, my girlfriend at the time ordered a briefcase from Vermilyea Pelle for my birthday. I let her know beforehand that I wanted the typical Brown CXL and Ranger Tan Waxed Canvas makeup. She exchanged emails with him a few times, and on my birthday I became a new owner of a VP Briefcase!
Now, onto the product we’ll talk about. I will state that there are only so many designs of bags that are practical. The VP 20″ Weekender Duffle seems to encompass many elements of the retired Filson Traveler’s Bag. I, myself, currently own both the Medium and Large sized Filson Travel Bags, so my review on the VP Duffle bag will be based primarily upon my comparison with those.
I purchased the VP Weekender Duffle bag in person at Railcar Fine Goods on 11/26/2017 at a price of $282.31 after tax. Because I knew of the canvas and leather beforehand from my VP briefcase, I knew the quality of the bag was to match. It fact, back in 2015, Railcar was the only local stockist that carried VP! The reason I purchased the bag was that it was discounted – I can’t remember off the top of my head what the % discount was on the tag, but to my knowledge, it was the first time I’ve seen a VP included in a sale.
Details
Dimensions: 20″L x 10″ W x 12″
Tumbled Solid brass Hardware (patinas much nicer than Lacquer coated brass)
Hand hammered Solid Copper Rivets
Hand Antiqued USA Made Snaps
18oz Heavy Wax Duck Canvas
5/6oz leather on Bag, Double Thick 5/6oz Leather strap work from Horween Tannery in Chicago
#10 Solid Brass YKK zipper
Pros/Cons
(+) This is a simple, well-designed bag with quality materials. The copper rivets and stitching on the bag are very well done. I can’t imagine the bag failing at all anytime soon. VP utilizes the best Horween Chromexcel Leather, and Ican see that supported by the leather on the bag being very thick and displaying no signs of loose grain creasing (seen prominently in boots). Compared to Filson’s Bridle Leather, the CXL leather on the straps is nearly twice as thick (5.3mm vs 2.7mm). The main compartment is accessed by two YKK zippers with burnished, waxed leather pulls. The quality of these rawhide leather pulls feel a lot more substantial than Filson’s and I think they are very similar to the laces I use on some of my Vibergs.
The thickness of the waxed Ranger Tan canvas is essentially the same as Filson’s 22oz Rugged Twill, 3.35mm to 3.30mm. However, the canvas is very well waxed for additional abrasion resistance. Filson’s twill comes with an applied treatment (not “waxed”) and still holds up to rain well fresh out of the factory. In my experience of rainy days with both bags, the waxed canvas sheds water much better.
The interior is a large one compartment with a keychain clip on one side. The simplicity of this bag’s design allows you to throw whatever you want into it, or to use your own pouches to seperate goods. I like duffle bags for this reason as I tend to just throw everything in the same compartment and just shuffle through it when I need something!
What’s cool about VP’s bags is that they use copper rivets at all places of stress. I learned a couple years ago that rivets are able to handle stress from any direction where as bar tack stitching handles stresses from the directions perpendicular to them. Take a look at your pair of raw denim – Belt loops are typically attached to the pant with bar tack stitches while your front pockets and coin pocket will have rivets.
Another feature that VP added was a leather bottom exterior. The primary reason for this is to prevent the bottom of the bag getting wet when setting it down on a rainy day. Also the leather bottom will be more durable than cotton/canvas. I don’t baby where I place my bags, and as you can see, I can’t even find any scratches or nicks on the CXL leather bottom yet!
The inner seams are bounded by what feels like another lighter weight waxed canvas for added durability.
(-) The interior keychain clip is really tiny compared to the rest of the bag. I might have preferred it to be on the interior of one of the outside pockets like Filson has for their Tote bags.
The pull tabs at each end of the zipper are too short to be usable. When you open a zippered bag, one hand pulls the zipper while the other holds the tab to allow you to unzip. I get around this by just grabbing a lateral part of the bag with my other hand while zipping and unzipping. No biggie!
The shoulder strap is actually quite short compared to Filson’s. But it’s actually beneficial to carry the bag higher up on your back/side for ergonomic reasons. The minor issue I have with the single piece leather shoulder pad is that the pad’s leather ends tend to fold in. You can basically fix this by not looping the strap through the exterior slits on the pad so that the shoulder pad sits flush on your shoulder.
Conclusion
The VP 20″ Weekender Duffle basically is an upgraded version of Filson’s bags. Compared to the MSRP of Filson’s bags, the price of the VP bag is well worth the $385. The improvements include a leather bottom, copper rivets, “better” materials (both canvas and leather), added snap buttons on the two exterior pockets to prevent the pockets from flaring out. Oh yeah, I only thing that’s missing from this bag is the two “water bottle” pockets at each end. But with the bag loaded, the shoulder straps should essentially prevent any items from fitting at each end. I just toss my water bottle into the main compartment.
Freenote Cloth has been a low key, hidden gem brand that I recently found in the past few years. I first saw their product instore at Standard & Strange in Oakland in around 2013. Ever since I purchased my first Freenote Cloth jacket at a pop up in March 2016, I’ve really been a huge fan of their outerwear. I met Dave, one of the three owners and also the sales director, and had a real down to earth talk about the retail side of menswear. I remember hearing that vendors typically purchase wholesale at 50% of their price, so when a store has a typical sale of 15-20% off, they still make a large chunk profit even after overhead costs. When items go further down into 30-40%, likely for reasons to clear space for new items, they’re still breaking even.
I’ve had my eyes on this Filson Photographer’s Backpack for a couple years now. The two and only major reviews of this bag I was able to find online was by Anastasia Petukhova and Nathan Ward. Both of their reviews were accompanied with attractive, droolsome pics. A week ago, I was able to find a used Filson Photographer’s Backpack in Otter Green on Craigslist for a great price! I contacted the dude, received a prompt response, and we met the following day at a Starbucks. The bag is no longer available directly from Filson, but is currently readily available from Amazon in both Tan and Otter Green.
The left three boots have a structured toe box. The differences in toe boxes are minimal with the Vibergs (middle 4) as the 2030 Last is very sleek.
In this post, I will try to explain the difference in construction of a structured toe box versus an unstructured toe box accompanied with some pics! The brands included in the following pics are: Meermin, Viberg, Alden, Wolverine, Red Wings, Crockett & Jones, and Common Projects.
Viberg Natural CXL (structured) vs Viberg Color 8 CXL (unstructured). Slight collapsing of the left.Collapsed unstructured toe boxes
Shoes typically fall within one of three categories: an unstructured toe box, a partially structured toe box, and a fully structured toe box. It’s probably best to compare within a brand because of the varying lasts (mold/shape) between different brands.
Wolverine 1K Mile Addison (Structured) vs Viberg Color 8 CXL (Unstructured)
3 footwear with unstructured toe boxes. Alden footwear is typically structured with the exception of their unlined pairs like this Alden 1493 Snuff Suede Chukka.
Structured toe boxes typically have a Celastic material, a plastic fabric that is suitable for toe puff material because it is easily shaped during construction, but inflexible once set. Imagine a ping pong ball that you squeeze, but then returns to its original shape. Other common materials used for toe puffs include leather and canvas. The material is placed between the inner lining and the outside material to help maintain its structure. The fine line between between partially structured and fully structured is the rigidity of the toe box material.
Alden Indy 403 (structured) vs Viberg Color 8 CXL (unstructured)
The recent trend towards slimmer fits in denim and boots has been quite prominent in the recent years. I myself prefer unstructured toe boxes because I tend to wear my denim with a slimmer opening. However, all toe boxes will compress over time with wear, and the major difference is just how the boots look from the side initially. In addition, shoes with “captoes” have an additional layer of material which also may minimize the shoe creasing.
3 structured toe boxes – Red Wing Iron Ranger, Viberg Black Waxed Flesh Service Boot, and Viberg Natural CXL Service Boot. Even structured toes will collapse over time.
With some companies such as Viberg, Dayton, and Truman Boot Company offering different toe types, it’s hard to make a choice. If you have a sedentary job such as working indoors in an office, your boots may keep their structure fine over many many years. However, if you work outdoors in harsher environments, you may want a structured toe or even a steel toe. Unstructured toes tend to appear more casual than structured ones.
C&J Islay, Wolverine 1K Mile, Alden x Jcrew Captoe, Alden 403 Indy, Viberg Color 8 CXL, Viberg Brown Waxed Flesh
Some think that a structured toe leads to a “bulbous, clunky toe”. Red Wings one of the boot companies most notorious for this aesthetic has decided to produce a “Flatbox” model in FW2017 very recently (within the last few months) for the Japanese and Singapore markets.
Bulbous structured toe on Red Wing Iron Rangers compared with an unstructured Viberg Boondocker Boot.
Some companies even have a relatively a slim structured toebox like the Alden Indy Boot, but regardless, everything will flatten with time. Even my Viberg Natural Chromexcel Service Boots from Mr. Porter with a partially structured toe has flattened out a bit (seen in the first picture).
Common Projects Derby Shine vs Common Projects Achilles
Top view of the Alden 1493 Snuff Suede Chukka vs Viberg Black Waxed Flesh Service Boot laying on their sides.Top view of the Red Wing 8085 Iron Ranger vs Viberg Olive Chromepak Service Boots laying on their sides.
Top view of the Viberg Boondocker vs Viberg Natural CXL Service Boot laying on their sides.
My advice is that you should buy footwear because you love exactly how they are, not because of what you expect to happen to them in 1, 5, or 10 years. Just wear them; the story is told later on when as the boot ages. I adore the look of all my boots as its part of the process of wearing stuff in!
Here are my shoe sizes including some not pictured that I no longer own. I recommend to measure first using a Brannock Device. The order of shoe sizes listed below is very similar to the order I purchased them in with the oldest starting from the top.
My brannock size is 9.5E
Nike Flyknit Chukka/Racer/Trainer: 10
Red Wing Beckman/Iron Ranger: 9D
Alden 403 Indy Boot (Trubalance Last): 9D
Wolverine 1K Mile Addison Boot: 9D
Common Projects Achilles and Derby Shine: Size 42
Alden x Jcrew Shell Cordovan Captoe Boot (Barrie Last): 9D
Oak Street Bootmakers Trench Boot: 9.5D
Viberg 2030 Last: 9
Viberg 2040 Last: 9
Crockett & Jones Islay (365 Last): 8.5UK
Meermin Hiro Last: 8.5UK
Crockett & Jones Islay, Wolverine 1K Mile Addison, Alden x Jcrew Captoe, Viberg Color 8 CXL, Viberg Brown Waxed Flesh, Meermin Mallorca Rapello Suede
I started journaling in 2011 in a Moleskine Cahier / Field Notes size notebook. My thoughts back then were that I wanted a canvas to jot my thoughts and ideas, and I felt using a phone to do that appeared too oblivious to others. When you see someone using their thumbs on their phone, you likely think they’re texting someone, but if you see someone writing in a notebook, you think elegance and sophistication.
A lot of my Moleskin Cahier sized notebooks were roughed up on the edges with the notebook spine almost fraying apart. My first notebook cover was purchased from Renaissance Art in ‘Flight Jacket’ Cover. Just a simple leather stitched notebook cover with a sleeve for the front and back of the notebook.
I used that for some time along with a Saddleback ID wallet for my everyday carry. I would jot down my workout numbers, notes from a sermon, and grocery lists. But the biggest issue that I had with the cover is that I’d often fumble finding my pen in the bag. I wanted a cover that integrated a pen slot with it. Lo and behold, the company that popped up after a Google Search of “moleskine cahier cover with pen slot” was One Star Leather Goods. I didn’t “need” the card slots as I had another wallet at the time, but it was attractive anyway. At the time in 2013, there was only one review online of it, mentioning that Keegan, the owner of One Star Leather, suggested a Natural Chromexcel exterior and a Hermann Oak leather interior for the card slots. This way, the Chromexcel will age and develop a patina beautifully with time and the Hermann Oak leather will minimize card stretch. I browsed through One Star Leather’s Etsy site and found the exact same makeup!
Park Sloper Senior interior
Details
Cost: $141.00 including shipping
Ordered on 11/17/2013
Park Sloper Senior can fit a Moleskin Cahier or Field Notes or other similarly sized notebooks. The Parker Sloper Sr has a pen sleeve on the exterior that is designed to swallow the whole pen including the clip. In later versions, Keegan added the option to remove the pen slot.
Exterior: Horween Natural Chromexcel Leather
Interior card slot leather: Hermann Oak Brown Leather
Interior slot for folded bills or receipts
Initial Impressions
The Chromexcel leather had a overwhelming smell of quality leather and had great pullup leather quality. Natural Chromexcel started as a light brown color with much variation in color and darkened with use. The pen I was using at the time was a Zebra F-701 Stainless Steel Retractable Pen and the pen slot was large enough to swallow the whole pen. Two logos were present, one on the inside between the card slots, and the other stamped on the inside back. I liked that the logos were not gaudy or present on the outside, just subtle.
The Brown Hermann Oak leather I chose for the card slots was more rigid, lacking pullup quality, but stretched a lot less than Chromexcel. Even though I had a wallet at the time, I tested the card slots by stacking many cards, perhaps up to 4 cards each. Also, the stitching and thread were very well performed without any crookedness/misalignment.
To this day, I went through a lot of Moleskin Cahiers, perhaps up to 12, and the Park Sloper wallet held up very well. The natural Chromexcel darkened quite quickly and absorbed denim bleed. More than 4 years with it, I feel that the color has saturated and won’t get any darker. I never used the Park Sloper primarily as a wallet, but as a notebook cover instead. I would sometimes keep a few rarely used cards in the cover because I wanted to slim down my primary wallet. In the jeans I wore at the time, the Park Sloper with a pen fit comfortably in my back pocket.
There was later occasion where I switched over to a Parker Jotter pen which was significantly thinner. Because the pen sleeve had stretched out, if I turned the wallet upside down, the Parker Jotter would fall out. I remedied this issue by wetting the whole pen sleeve with water and taking a hairdryer on high to it. The chromexcel leather shrunk and then the sleeve only stretched out to the slimmer size.
Pull-up leather quality on the Horween Natural CXL
The only other notebook cover I purchased after was a Loyal Stricklin Edison Wallet in Honey Harness leather. The total price for this wallet including shipping was $147.03. I initially purchased this wallet because I saw a pictures of a beautiful patinaed version by @har.bach on IG. A few differences I would note from this wallet: the pen sleeve instead is on the interior which creates additional thickness, and it has 3 vertical card slots instead of horizontal. When I used all the card slots, they would overlap and create too much thickness. In conclusion, the Edison Wallet ended up being too “thick” especially when it was in my back pocket, and I retired it after a few months. The quality and stitching of the wallet was on point though! I loved the patina created from the Wickett & Craig harness leather.
Conclusion
I love the One Star Leather Park Sloper wallet just as much as the same day I received it. The leather has darkened significantly, but has varying tones in direct sunlight. I like that the pen slot is on the exterior because it doesn’t add that much more thickness when it’s in your rear pant pocket. I now use a Tactile Turn Glider Pen in Titanium which is a lot thicker than the Zebra, so I actually place the pen clip on the exterior (I really don’t want to risk tearing the pen slot) . I would absolutely recommend this notebook cover if you’re looking for a field notes sized wallet with a pen sleeve. I tried searching for alternatives, but none other have sufficed as well as this design!
In 2014, the only 3sixteen piece I owned at the time was a pair of ST-120x in the shadow selvedge denim I had purchased and worn as my main denim since mid 2013. The shadow selvedge fades are phenomenal in their electric blue contrast. I remember purchasing the ST-120x at Self Edge SF on Valencia St in San Francisco, CA. I had set my eyes on this pair because @zvincler had a amazing faded SL-120x pair that was posted online.
Front View of the 3sixteen Type 3s Jacket
A few days after Thanksgiving in 2014, I had heard about Self Edge’s yearly sale where they discounted the % of the current year for all inventory. I can’t remember whether the Type 3s Shadow Selvedge jacket was released that F/W or if it was a year before that. Knowing how the same fabric faded, I decided to take purchase a size L at Self Edge LA. It was my first denim jacket with the detail of being a very dark indigo (nearly black) to start with. The price of “Black Friday’s Let’s Drink Sale” with 14% off came out to be $248.41.
Details
Fabric is 14.5oz Shadow Selvedge denim woven in Okayama, Japan (indigo warp and black weft threads)
Black corduroy cuff lining and pocketbags
Crossed back yoke with zigzag collar stitching
Inner leather patch made by Tanner Goods
Made in the USA
Back View of 3sixteen Type 3s Jacket
Initial Impressions/Fit
The shadow selvedge fabric is a very dark indigo with hues of purple. 3sixteen made a few changes from the “Type III” Trucker Jacket to make it their own. The body is slightly lengthened to make the look more modern, black corduroy lines the cuffs and pockets to make the jacket feel really comfortable, and the rear waist buttons and “cinch strap” were removed. In addition, 3sixteen added their signature crossed back yoke and zigzag stitching on the backside of the collar.
The jacket runs small and I had to size up one to a Large where I typically wore Mediums shirts/outerwear (referencing Uniqlo T shirts, Button-downs, and Outerwear) at the time. When I recently measured the pit-to-pit on my Large after a few years, it came out to 21.5 inches. An issue that I found with the jacket is that the sleeves ran short and the cuff size was way too small to button. I’m a pretty average sized dude – I’m 5’10 and about 170lbs. I pretty much always have to wear the cuffs unbuttoned even with just a T shirt underneath. Adding layers like a a wrist watch or a thicker flannel makes it even moreso uncomfortable to close.
The one cool detail about the jacket that I love is the “hidden” phone pocket that you can place your phone into on the inside behind the handwarmer pocket. The top chest pockets are too small to fit a phone without sticking out.
Secret interior phone pocket!Chest pockets too small for a phone!
For the first year, I wore it on average 3-4 times a week. The fabric weight is great for SoCal – It’s a great jacket by itself anytime it’s 65-75 degrees, and maybe slightly lower if you pair it with a thick flannel. For a short while after purchasing the jacket, I wore both the shadow selvedge 120x denim and the jacket! Aka the “Shadow Selvedge Tuxedo”. I think I was comfortable pairing the both together because my jeans were quite faded already and top/bottom were different colors enough.
Quite a few people have asked how how many times I’ve washed it and by what method. I waited about 4-5 months until I first washed it, never soaked it. I use the washing machine on a cold wash with a small amount of Woolite Darks to minimize the indigo loss and then line dry. The first time when I finally washed it, much of the contrast was revealed. The jacket shortened about an inch in the sleeve length, body length, and chest circumference. Owning it now for 3+ years, I may have washed it a of 12 times but lost count. Also shortly after my first wash, I was contacted by Andrew Chen and featured on 3sixteen’s Well Aged Type 3s Jacket!
Conclusion
Corduroy lined cuffs
I’d say the Type 3s jacket was one of my best outerwear purchases. At the current retail value of $265, it’s worth purchasing if you had to own only 1 denim jacket for the rest of your life. The shadow selvedge fabric is unique enough to recognize someone else wearing it as I have a couple times in downtown LA. The jacket was likely also my gateway purchase into pricier jackets such as 3sixteen’s FW releases in the coming years. Now that many other denim competitors have joined the market, I actually think 3sixteen’s expansion over the years was due to their outerwear starting with this jacket’s release. It’s now a staple item for their site and retailers and very rarely, if ever, goes on sale.
Electric blue fades near cuffsMost wear near handwarmer pocketsLeather patch fading through!Crossed yoke back detailThick Tanner Goods dark brown leather patchElbow sleeve wearFront flat viewHoneycombs on arms
In 2012, the Filson Zippered Tote was the first Filson bag I purchased. I knew about the brand because on Reddit shared that the bags are warrantied for life. Looking through the options online, the zippered tote stood out to me because I wanted an everyday bag and not a briefcase at the time. Between the two Filson colors, I went with the tote in Otter Green instead of Tan because the color is more masculine for a guy carrying a tote. The shape of the bag – like a box also helps with that.
I was living in Cupertino, CA at the time and the closest retailer was Doms Outdoor Goods, one of the largest Filson approved stockists in the US, and it was located in Livermore, CA. The other closest stockist was all the way in San Francisco, Unionmade Goods, but they only stocked the tan color according to their website and my experience visiting the store in the past.
I called Doms beforehand to ask if they had a Filson 261 in OT in stock. The associate went to go physically check and he responded there was 1 left on the shelf! I decided to take a trip spontaneously that day to buy it. So after a 1 hour drive to Livermore, I ended up purchasing it for about $130.
A bit of history about the change of ownership that happened recently. Filson started producing luggage only in the ~1980s to early 90s and before that only clothing. The first zippers they used on their luggage were “Talon zippers”. Most of the Filson affectionados today desire bags with Talon zippers because they were really smooth, and the zipper teeth were no joke, very little, if any, of zipper failure. If you have a bag with Talon zippers, it for sure was manufactured in the 90s. Later in the 2000s filson switched over to YKK branded zippers. YKK zippers were also solid, they’re a well known zipper company based in Japan. They continued with these zippers to about 2010. Around that time Filson the company was sold to Bedrock Manufacturing, a company that also owns Fossil and Shinola Detroit. Since the 2010s Filson started using their own branded “Filson” zippers which likely were just YKK zippers. In my experience, they worked just as well.
However, the major changes in quality over the years was most prominent in the bridle leather used and not so much the zippers and twill canvas. If you had a Talon era bag and Filson era bag (today’s) and compared the leather, the Talon bag’s leather was significantly better in quality. The Talon leather aged to a lightened chestnut color, was thicker, and also felt robust in weight. The recent Filson “bridle leather” doesn’t feel like leather, cracks more easily, and the backside is typically unfinished and fuzzy. The current leather feels more like “foam” and not leather. The leather also wrinkles very easily in an unattractive manner and does not lighten with color over time.
All of this information I learned much later after I had owned a few more Filson bags. Filson bags are still ‘buy it for life’ bags because they still have a lifetime guarantee regardless of when/who you purchased it from. When you send the bag in for repair, they will either repair it or replace it with a brand new same bag if they deem it not worth the repairs (time/cost of repairing that bag outceeds the time/cost of producing a new bag). The only situation of a Filson garment/bag that is not under lifetime warranty is items purchased from a Filson outlet. These bags are indicated with a “X” on top of the Filson logo, and Filson will literally not touch these garments/bags, and will send it right back to you.
So back to my Filson 261 Otter Green tote, I’ll now talk about the design. There are 4 large outer pockets with 2 of them on the functioning as water bottle pockets. Each of them are large enough to fit my 32oz Hydro Flask. Other uses include an umbrella, sunglasses case. The two longer pockets are great for papers/documents, quick access things. In one of these pockets there’s a small key clip on the inside. I don’t find it useful because it’s too short.
I first heard of Viberg through /r/goodyearwelt. Around 2014, a there were quite fewer number of boot companies around primarily made in the USA – Oak Street Bootmakers Trench Boot, Wolverine 1K Mile Boot, Aldens, etc. Viberg’s sleekness of their service boots and their quality was mentioned several times. Dayton boots also made in Canada were also quite popular (the black nubuck). By then, I already had purchased Alden Indy 403 Brown Chromexcel, Alden Shell Color 8 Captoe Boots, and wanted a boot that was military looking to go with my style at the time.
The 3 main colors of service boots that Viberg had on their site was Black, Brown/Icy Mocha, and Burgundy/Color 8. I actually wanted the Icy Mocha (which looks very similar to natural chromexcel), but the site didn’t have it in stock at the time with no estimated time to restock. Between the black and burgundy CXL, I decided with Color 8 CXL at a total cost of $735 USD including shipping. At the time, I thought this was going to be my one and only Viberg boot, so I wanted it the color and style to be as versatile as possible.
Details
Last: 2030 Last (Canadian Military Officer’s Last)
Size: 9
Color: Color 8 Chromexcel
Style: Service Boot
Specs: Brogued Captoe, Unstructured Toe Box with a contrasting black tongue
Sole: Dainite
Hardware: 7 Brass Eyelets
Price: $735 USD
Sizing:
I had already owned the Alden 403s on the Trubalance Last (9D), and Alden x Jcrew Captoe Boots on the Barrie Last (9D), and was confident I sized correctly in those. The general online consensus is that the 2030 last runs half a size large just like the Barrie and Trubalance. My brannock sizing is 9.5E, so I ordered a size 9.
The boots fit perfectly with thinner dress socks and stretched out comfortably to fit thicker wool socks later.
Impressions/Quality:
I remember the box the boots came in – it was the sturdiest shoe box I had ever felt in my life. Inside came with shoe bags, a handwritten note, and an additional pair of laces. The two pairs of shoelaces included were a flat waxed cotton black shoelace and a brown rawhide leather shoelace.
The depth of the color 8 chromexcel was really beautiful, such a stunning color. I don’t remember seeing any flaws that warranted returning. The black contrasting tongue was very thick but yet still soft. I initially wore them with the black flat waxed laces, but later settled on the rawhide laces. The toebox was unstructured and provided a very sleek/slim look from the top and sides.
I believe this was the first or second boot that had Dainite soles. However, this pair didn’t actually come with Dainite branded soles. It was actually Itshide which is slightly firmer and less flexible. I had problems with some of the lugs chipping off quite early on within the first couple of wears. I’m not sure why Viberg used Itshide soles for this batch, but in later makeups they switched back to Dainite. I like the soles because they’re really sleek, yet provide enough traction in rain to prevent a slip.
Conclusion
After owning them for just about 4 years, I think they were a solid purchase. Now that there are other quality boot competitors (Truman, Junkard, Thursday Boots) that also provide a slim last, it’s quite questionable whether Viberg boots are worth $700+.
At the time I purchased them in 2014, they were the only company that provided a slim look accompanied with an unstructured toebox. Nowadays, Viberg has ventured into wider territory such as using Italian leathers, switching to goodyear welt, no longer producing unstructured toeboxes (I stand clarified by Frank P. @imustbefrank ! Viberg still produces boots with an unstructured toebox, but as of now all the CXL have a structured toe – may change in the future) , no more contrasting tongues. A lot has changed since then. Right now, I’d price these boots at around $500 new. Viberg hasn’t decreased at all in their quality boots, but now with increased competition in the market, they may not be the “best bang for the buck”. In addition, Viberg has held a couple sample sales where you can get a new pair of one-offs for $400 and below once a year. I’ve also been noticing companies being more liberal in placing them at sale prices such as Mr Porter, Superdenim, and Brooklyn Clothing Co.
I think the era of Viberg’s dominance in the market peaked in 2013-2015, and now if I had a brand new footwear wardrobe, I’d look into other options such as Truman boots. However, that’s another day’s discussion!
Continue reading “One Star Leather Coin Pouch Business Card Case Review”
