Filson Bag Thread: With Pictures

[mr monty]



I would say the medium travel bag would be a bit too small for what you're looking for, and likely not ideal for carrying suits.  If that's what you're going for, I'd recommend either the suit cover or garment bag.

That said, I love my medium travel bag.

If you fold correctly, the suits and shirts will easy fit. Five pairs of shoes is pushing it? I hope they are not size 12 or larger?

http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-pack-a-suit-for-a-business-trip-2013-6

 

[nevadabob]

I have a Pullman and I can speak about it, but not the medium travel bag.

I chose the Pullman over the others because I like that it opens flat. The medium travel opens like my duffle.

Yes, it will hold all you say you need. Yes it will fit in an overhead compartment (every one I've tried, anyway). Yes it does get heavy, but we're men and men were meant to lift heavy things.

 

[JackFlash]

I have a Pullman and I can speak about it, but not the medium travel bag.

I chose the Pullman over the others because I like that it opens flat. The medium travel opens like my duffle.

Yes, it will hold all you say you need. Yes it will fit in an overhead compartment (every one I've tried, anyway). Yes it does get heavy, but we're men and men were meant to lift heavy things.

I can second all of this. Easy to pack because of the clamshell design. You can get packing cubes to help organize. The thing is huge. That said, it can get heavy very quickly. If you are loading this thing up carrying it on trains, airports, etc. can be a bit of a pain, particularly on the shoulder. I am thinking of getting a medium travel bag and just packing lighter. If I traveled more than once or twice a month I would certainly get a Brigs and Riley roller.

 

[milw50717]

Magnum bags up on the Filson site - http://www.filson.com/collections/filson-magnum/-cc15/

Seems like they all use the one piece nylon strap, which prevents the dilemma I had of the buckled leather strap unbuckling. Clever!

The 'Made at Filson' tag is in use. Ties in with the category on the site - http://www.filson.com/collections/made-at-filson/-cc15/

 

[dcg]

Seems they're using a new fabric for the magnum bags. I'd like to see it in person to see how it compares to the tin cloth and rugged twill.

I've been very happy using my medium field bag with padded insert as a camera bag - not sure I see much here that'd make me want to switch (or pay the added cost, if I were buying now). The Harvey messenger bag would probably be of most interest. One nice feature is that the snaps on the front bellows pockets are located on a strip of fabric, so you can easily get your finger behind the snap to close it. This is a small annoyance on the medium field bag when you've got fragile gear inside you don't want to press too hard against. On the other hand, I'm generally not a fan of built in padded laptop sleeves.

BTW, this insert might as well have been made for the medium field bag: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/509016-REG/Tenba_638_251_Pro_Digital_2_0_Photo.html

 

[milw50717]

Some of the bags are the well known rugged twil and tin cloth, some are 'Tempered-finish Cotton' with no indication of weight.

Tenba do some nice inserts and in a range of sizes. I used one in a Timbuk 2 messenger bag for a while a la - http://lifehacker.com/5655028/tenba-insert-turns-your-messenger-bag-into-a-stealth-camera-bag. I switched to the 232 when I decided I needed a smaller bag with a smaller mouth

The 232 is doing well for me at the moment as it can either accommodate 2 bodies with attached lenses - one 35mm file and one digital - or one body with two lenses.

 

[dcg]

Yes, when you search "magnum" you get the four bags in the new cloth (basically, what was shown in the press releases), and three other photography bags: http://www.filson.com/search/?q=magnum

Looks like a lot of overlap - the two sportsman bags; field bag vs. messenger bag, and the two backpacks (to a lesser extent, but I don't see either of those or the tote as being all that usable/functional).

For these purposes, it's nice to see the two sportsman bags with different zippers than the filson standard - these look like they'll be much less likely to scratch up photo gear that comes in contact with them.

 

[eca462]

Small vs medium duffle bag?

I own the 257 which I use frequently. I'm now considering a duffle to complement it for shorter trips (up to a week, light packer) and the gym. I'm leaning towards the small one, but how small is it? I'm 6'5" and don't want something that will look small on me when carrying it.

Also, would the small one fit one or two textbooks, gym clothes and a 13 inch macbook? A duffle bag for laptop is far from optimal but would it work you think? Would be great if I could use it on days I hit the gym directly after class. On one hand it would be nice to have something bigger for longer trips, but the medium one would probably be too big to use in day to day life?

 

[viator]



I can second all of this. Easy to pack because of the clamshell design. You can get packing cubes to help organize. The thing is huge. That said, it can get heavy very quickly. If you are loading this thing up carrying it on trains, airports, etc. can be a bit of a pain, particularly on the shoulder. I am thinking of getting a medium travel bag and just packing lighter. If I traveled more than once or twice a month I would certainly get a Brigs and Riley roller. 

I have a Pullman and I can speak about it, but not the medium travel bag.

I chose the Pullman over the others because I like that it opens flat. The medium travel opens like my duffle.

Yes, it will hold all you say you need. Yes it will fit in an overhead compartment (every one I've tried, anyway). Yes it does get heavy, but we're men and men were meant to lift heavy things.

If you fold correctly, the suits and shirts will easy fit. Five pairs of shoes is pushing it? I hope they are not size 12 or larger?

http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-pack-a-suit-for-a-business-trip-2013-6

Thanks all. It's a tough decision, for sure.

 

[letsi]



Mirrco's no good. They're more focused on repairing check in luggage cases

I'm on the fence with Lexol too but it seems to do a good job with my shoes so

On a different note, anyone knows what happened with filsonfan.com? Been half a year since they posted any updates...

Just to give a heads up. Got a new Filson 257 in exchange for the "QC failed 257" back from Revolveclothing earlier this week. Props to Revolve again

I realized that the 261 really has higher carrying capacity due to the lack of compartments compared to the 257 after carrying it daily when my 257 was over the pacific to and fro. Now I'm stuck with wanting a 256 TAN instead of the 257

 

[Kwaker]

^ Interesting observation ... I've seen both models side by side ... never would have imagined that one could cram more into a 256 over a 257.
I have the 257 in brown and do appreciate the compartments, however.

 

[letsi]



^ Interesting observation ... I've seen both models side by side ... never would have imagined that one could cram more into a 256 over a 257.
I have the 257 in brown and do appreciate the compartments, however.

Actually it's the 261 - zippered tote that has more space than the 257 and not the 256. Sorry if I didn't make it clearer earlier.
Due to the fact that 261 has more space without the compartment sleeves, I'm able to cram more stuff into it easier and would reach out for the 261 instead of the 257 when I need more carrying capacity + the fact that without load, the 261 is already much lighter than the 257...

With that, my 257 is now stuck in the no man's land where it's not as sleek as a 256 on my frame (I'm 5'9") while not as accommodating in terms of loading as a 261... Purchasing the 261 during 257's absence rendered my 257 useless in my context...

 

[Kwaker]

ooops ... my bad

 

[HarrisonTran]

The trade offs, I had the Tote for a day before I got a 256 and the thing that I didn't like about the tote was lack of any organization.

to each their own, but I loved how light the tote was empty.

 

[rydenfan]

I fit more in a 256 than a 257 as well due to the lack of compartments.