The folks at Urban Outfitters in Philly landed another mini-exclusive by scoring a few dozen of the Filson Japan red label goods, available in the U.S. for the first time. These made in the USA canvas and leather bags are being offered in two styles – tote ($150) and zippered tote ($175) – and three special colors (red, white and blue – naturally) and have a nice red Filson label on the exterior. With the khaki Filson bags being so ubiquitous, these are a nice alternative. If you can get your hands on one that is.
This is a wonderful store and you should see their offices and design facility in south Philadelphia.
No heterosexual male would have a need for such a bag.
@Hunter S: Straight men have no use for bags? Are you fucking kidding?
Everyone needs a great bag!! Love these!!
Urban Outfitters is a wonderful store?
Not to be coarse, but I would rather carry my goods by a rope around my neck than spend $175 at Urban Outfitters.
I’m not buying into the man bag concept either. If it doesn’t fit in your pocket, you don’t really need it. A wad of $50’s, iPhone and a Leatherman is all you really need. Is there really a danger of running out of water as you walk around town?
If you need to carry notebooks or a laptop, get a briefcase.
Not to bandwagon the hate on totes train—they are nice for groceries/day-trip—but do a lot of guys really carry these two the office? I find with a laptop and a book they just become unwieldy and I’m constantly switching hands.
What the hell does sexual orientation has to do with carrying a bag or not?!
I’m straight and I have lots of stuff to cary with me all the time. Camera, wallet, cellphone, ipod, notebook, laptop, car keys, home keys … I buy into the Men Bag theory, and I’m grateful that we can get some nice ones nowadays that don’t look like briefcases….
These filson are beautiful…
What kind of boots are those?
Red Wing 9016s.
that’s a particularly great looking blue
That red one is tops.
I live in a city, use the subway and require a bag every day, but there’s something about a tote bag that I just can’t get over. These are nice looking, but I think I’ll stick to a shoulder bag.
I have no dog in the “man bag” fight, but these bags look ultra-feminine. Just sayin’.
Wow. Crazy hate on tote bags. I have one of the original Filson tan models w/ zipper and I do use it often for carrying loads of books. It’s also a good overnight bag. “Wad of 50’s” and a leatherman aside (and how often do you pull that out?)
Many guys who carry files, laptop, etc. need a bag and these can go over the shoulder as well.
If Filson would shorten the handles and put on a strap (like the briefcase) the zippered tote would kill as a great messenger bag.
I think we should use this chain as an example as what not to do when posting comments on this forum. Hunter’s comments were nothing more and nothing less than a cheap laugh. While its neither here nor there I do agree the general sentiment of the comment … then again I’m led to question one who questions another’s male bravado.
If such comments get you hot under the collar than you probably live a rather difficult life. Stop taking the bait people and let’s try and consciously steer the conversation down a more constructive and positive route. The trend across this site, and many others, is somewhat disheartening.
Best,
just sold every piece of Filson I owned, don’t miss them at all.
Filson Red label by Nanamica available at UO?
How did this happen?
Ramalhoni, ok so you feel the need to carry a ton of crap around with you all the time but are you seriously saying that you’d put your wallet in on of these? “That’ll be $29.50.” “Just a sec, I can’t find my wallet in my ‘purse’.” Really.
I think that Filson bag is a nice item. Will get one for my wife.
These comments are idiotic. The guys who think all you ever need is a trusty Leatherman evidently haven’t heard of these things called books, or I don’t know.. a laptop. Whatever.
Hey You, yah You …with the cargo pants/shorts with the 35 bulging pockets in front of me in the airport security line not knowing which of your 35 pockets is still beeping…get a bag! And why not a good looking one while you are at it?
Thanks for the post. Love the Filson brand, but those bags are not for men, or at least me, I should say.
the green filsons are getting stale from being seen too much around town (nyc), but these colored versions are goofy except for the blue one.
I carry a Filson tin cloth briefcase to the office everyday. I bought one and used it just days short of ten years when the leather handle finally tore through. I replaced it with the identical model. I don’t know what makes it any better or more masculine than these bags, but it works that way in my mind.
The only way one of these red bags works for me is if it has a squash racquet sticking out of it.
LOVE these bags. I think that a lot of you would have a completely different take on Urban Outfitters if you saw it from the inside out (like me) It is an incredible company with a great history, and passionate people in its ranks.
Buy it or don’t buy it, no use arguing over what’s manly when you’re already visiting a site that’s primary content steers towards clothing and the what not. Get over it.
Old fashioned and traditional are often wonderful qualities, but not when it comes to the kind of thinking suggested by some of these comments. The name calling is unpleasant, and the sentiment is more so. And really, how boring to worry about whether one’s means of carting things around might be feminizing. Heaven forbid. Much more interesting to wonder who UO found that’s paying enough attention, and cares enough, to snag them a handful of beautifully made Filsons. Seems like a pretty rad development to me.
How surreal that a “Made in USA” product, can only be sourced from Japan.
P.S. The word man-bag is stupid, it was a word invented by the media. IT’S JUST A BAG. And if I had a lot of shit to carry, I wouldn’t mind one of these.
I have to haul a bunch of stuff around. I use bags like these daily. The trick is get a firm grip on the straps and to gawk at as many women as possible. Random cussin’ and spittin’ helps. Sometimes I shout out “you lookin at me?”. Stuff like that. Also I leave one shoelace
untied. It’s important to have all of my stuff. My leatherman is huge so that’s in the bag too.
My pockets are all filled with nicorette and stimudent. Oral hygiene is key. Nice post. Again.
Btw – 50’s are so 2005. I carry 10’s and 20’s. And not that many.
People with money rarely carry any. That’s how they hold on to money.
real nice, you lucky devils over there. we won’t be seeing these across the pond
Bags for men…..no problem. TOTE bags for men…..no way.
Who are these people saying no straight man needs a bag? I’m not straight, but like many architects who are straight I need a f*cking bag. At all times I carry a straight edge, a tape measure, pens, 2 notebooks (one sketchpad and one graph paper), camera, clippings from design publications…
Anyway I have a white Dickies bag with a red label that looks like a less-good version of the white one up there. And I also have a canvas/leather one from J Crew.
The Filson Double Mac is about the best winter coat out there, and I bought into the rest of the line years ago, including the luggage. That said, I’ve lost a lot of respect for the company when they moved much of the product line overseas and the quality suffered.
At 53, I’m at least 40 years too old to step inside UO, so I don’t really have a dog in this fight; still I can’t imagine how pretty that white tote would look after a weekend at the rodeo or even a few days on the subway.
Love Filson’s stuff, but can’t embrace the idea of a tote bag. Public transit + reading material required to make public transit bearable = shoulder bag (canvas w/ leather trim, magnetic closures instead of velcro). I’m completely secure in my manhood, but when I see guys with tote bags slung on their shoulders, I just think they look silly, regardless of what brand of bag it is.
Let me just hop in and say those of you who are opposed to owning something just because it doesn’t fit your version of what a “man” should do… grow up. Get over yourselves. I had to deal with your type when I was a straight kid in high school trying to wear stuff I wanted to, while being called “gay” all the while for daring to tuck in my shirt and not wear carpenter jeans.
You think that your opinion of what a guy should or should not own is any more original than the next guy’s? Chill out, if you don’t like it, don’t buy it. Don’t go around imposing your version of frat boy indignation on people.
Just saw these at Nanamica this weekend, and I should point out that the canvas seems quite thinner than other Filson goods. Tempting, but they just didn’t seem as beefy as the normal Filson line.
@Tom Hemphill et al,
You must love the taste of Santorum.
Really, what’s so wonderful about Urban? The way they and other companies have repurposed the Navy Yard is interesting, but it’s a shame how many jobs were lost when the base was decommissioned. Richard Hayne can go fuck himself. The company is nothing like the principles upon which it was founded. Instead of spending $175 on a bag you probably don’t need why not donate half that to an organization for good causes like Judy Wicks’ White Dog Foundation.
Pfew. After all that I must say the food at the Urban cafeteria is pretty tasty and makes for fun people watching.
Another thing I find odd about you guys:
If the handles were shorter it would be a briefcase and we’d all be fine with it.
If they were longer it’d be a shoulder/messenger bag and we’d be fine with it.
But because they’re this precise middle length this bag is ONLY for gays? LOL
what are the jeans?
The Leatherman comment is a metaphor for improvisation. I’m merely suggesting you try to get by without so much stuff. If you have to carry it in a bag, maybe it’s too much. Don’t be owned by your possessions. Probably the wrong forum for that sentiment.
the red filson label on the navy bag is so nice
Of course we heteros need bags. And while I’ve been tempted many times by Jack Spade and now Tilson, I just can’t pull the trigger and go full tote. I completely agree that the problem is the mid-length straps–I don’t claim to know WHY that’s the case, but for me it’s a powerful factor. For me the answer to the problem has been the Levenger “Bomber” briefcase. Briefcase is a misnomer–it’s almost totally deconstructed, holds enough shit for an overnighter, has a shoulder strap and zipper top. Discontinued, sadly.
hahahaha, love the feminine comments. I’m not hatin’ at all because these bags do look fantastic but I look pretty lame carrying this around. Not as lame as strutting around with a fanny pack though. I’d be interested to see how these sell..
This bag will be perfect the next time I buy a baguette and a bunch of flowers. Does it come in mauve?
The red & natural zipless totes are online. So is the zippered natural.
I am going to retire the Filson & UO natural zipped tote I got two years ago. (too bad real nice patina on that one except for the last time I spilled a half can of soda on the exterior pocket!)
The level of insecurity in here is pretty astounding.
For a group of (mostly) guys who spend a portion of their day accessorizing their redwings with their selvedge denim with their watch with their leatherman, i think you can ease up on the “I’m a man, and real men don’t carry purses” comments. Nobody is going to think less of you if you type the words, “these look good, but i don’t really have the need for it”.
Guys that hate bags: people that live in NYC don’t have a car to put stuff in, so they have to carry said stuff around. A bag helps with this. It’s less a declaration of one’s sexual orientation than the fact I can’t carry a wagon behind me with my computer, gym clothes, pitchbooks, real books, etc.