Duluth Pack, big sale!

[southcove]

25% off all Duluth Pack manufactured goods...through September 10th, midnight. That's a rare opportunity to grab a canoepack, bushpack or wool item, etc for a much better, more rational price. Plus they have some free shipping deal as well.

It kind of tells me where the core business is in this iteration of their business model, that I had to search online to find the canoe/outdoor gear, it's there, but under the 'other' products header...oh well.

http://ttps://www.duluthpack.com/other

 

[Magnus919]

Oh there's little doubt that their canoe products are niche now, and perhaps just there to give a whiff of legitimacy to the lifestyle image that they are selling.

 

[OCDave]

... perhaps just there to give a whiff of legitimacy to the lifestyle image that they are selling.

Careful there. Not many businesses serving the outdoorsman have more hard-earned "legitimacy" than Duluth Pack. They don't sell image, they only provide the means to authenticity.

 

[BWCA66]

My understanding is they were bought out by a NY firm last year and are changing their image. Their quality is still great but they have discontinued some of the Outdoor line and seem to have put that behind hip. Will be in the remodeled store in a couple of weeks, that will really tell the tale.

 

[Magnus919]

Careful there. Not many businesses serving the outdoorsman have more hard-earned "legitimacy" than Duluth Pack. They don't sell image, they only provide the means to authenticity.

It's the brand name that's earned the reputation. As BWCA66 has correctly mentioned, they are under new management with different values now... and a different agenda.

Think... Harley Davidson. I wonder if they make more off of the name and the lifestyle image than they do off of the motorcycles anymore. I mean, people will actually go to a Ford dealership and pay extra money to have a Harley Davidson motorcycle logo to apply to their Ford truck. Consider the absurdity of this for a moment. Now expand this to everything from clothing to stationery. The motor company still makes motorcycles, sure. But I reckon they make a substantial income from what lifestyle customers think they are projecting by wearing the brand on their body.

What lifestyle image is an urban college student projecting when they wear a Duluth pack on their back on the subway to get to class?

 

[Odyssey]

Yeah, I think I can agree to some degree, but when are sheeple merely following a fashion trend while others are discovering/supporting a unique niche market quality product (as in robust canvas packs vs flimsy poly packs)? You'd have to ask the user/purchaser. I bet there's a lot of Patagonia wearers who've never been outside the city limits, but perhaps still appreciate the clothing quality. I don't know. I can't really criticize the consumer for getting duped by ad men doing what they do best. But just because a buyer won't be using an article to it's intended and full potential (like the tent I'm buying) doesn't mean they're any less worthy to buy it. Does it? But I don't know.
Yesterday afternoon I was parked outside MEC (Mountain Equipment Co-op, a national outdoor store) waiting for my wife. I'd made my purchases (bear bangers, canoe-car straps, another firesteel) and given up trying to find her. She eventually sauntered out having found deals on kids clothing for our g-kids. Really nice base layers for our little hikers. Doubt we'd find that in any old Walmart. ("I found a really nice jacket for him, but they wanted 79 bucks?! Can you believe it?! 79 bucks for a little kid's jacket?!" I asked "Um. Did you buy it?" She gave me her best imitation of a crazy lady and said "Do I look crazy?! Do I look RICH and crazy?!" We didn't get to 40 years married by me answering hypothetical questions.)
I sat and people watched. An older dusty Subaru pulled up and out got an older Yuppie Hippie Yippie. Cool. Next a sparkling bright red street smart speed machine whizzed into the lot, and out slid a super model male looking glamorous. Hm. What's he shopping for I wondered? But does it matter? Knowing MEC has gone upscale and upmarket since the old days (we've been members since the mid seventies) shouldn't matter, some still want/need quality stuff, even if it's just to sport around town. No? I don't know. For all I know the folky female was buying a yoga towel for her spa vacation and the glam guy was buying rope for his K2 expedition. I don't know. Nor should I judge.
I guess we get annoyed with seeing "pretenders" to the outdoor scene. Urban peeps wearing/using backcountry stuff. Maybe they just fell in love with the product and it's quality, or maybe got duped by the fashion marketing hype. I'm sitting here typing this in my city sleep wear - poly base layer bottoms and favourite football team jersey. Who am I to judge? I don't know.

 

[OCDave]

You guys are like kids following and obsure band that generates a wider following, "That band used to be good, then they sold out"

While I am unfamiliar with any ownership change, I am pretty sure the manufacturing still takes place by hand by a small group of Minnesotans with the same processes they have used in the past. I have heard zero complaints about any drop in quality in Duluth Pack gear. If someone has experienced inferior Duluth Pack products recently, I'd be interested in hearing about that.

Growing a small but mature business by offering products with wider appeal of course is challenging. One would hate to alienate previously loyal customers but, don't judge based upon advertisements portraying the company in a new or innovative manner. College kids in the know have aspired to Duluth Pack book bags for many years. Business portfolios, Laptop case and travel bags that never will see the back country have been adorned with that Duluth Pack patch for many years without degrading the companies reputation.

One store in Duluth MN, with 100+ years of history remodels and ruins its reputation? Not with me.

 

[BWCA66]

You'll all notice my previous post stated that their quality hadn't changed, only their current priority. They only have 1 store so it will be interesting to see if the new look is completely urban or not. Won't effect what I buy, my Duluth pack stash of goods only continues to grow and this current sale will entice me to add to it.

 

[Odyssey]

Our daughter thought she was being thrifty when she found a MEC pack in a second hand store during her poor student University days. Once upon a time it had been a backcountry ski pack or some such item. She used it as a book bag. Silly trendy girl, that's not a book bag. Eventually one of the shoulder straps gave out. We suggested going into the store to see how well the lifetime warranty stands up. They replaced it no questions asked. She still uses that pack, working in the big city, but still hasn't gone backcountry skiing. Smart frugal girl, that's a quality bag.

 

[snapper]

"I bet there's a lot of Patagonia wearers who've never been outside the city limits..."


Every year at our college open house programs I tell the students working at our table, just because you see someone wearing a North Face jacket, doesn't mean they're interested in our outdoor adventures. Odyssey's comment above is all too true.

That's all for now. Take care and until next time....be well.

snapper

 

[southcove]

I reveal something of and about my age by this comment. I can remember feeling some sense of 'outrage' when I first realized city folks were sporting North Face Jackets, Marmot Mountaineering gear... hey, that is real gear, reserved for real outdoorsmen (and some ladies too) not just for someone with a hyperactive CC and a desire to show off the latest fashion trend. Hadn't I busted my arse during a EMS winter mountaineering course before I properly 'qualified' to buy my first high end shell?

That offended me then a lot more than college kids, whether they had any innate knowledge or interest in the brands they show proudly showed off...heck, my kid having sported a nice collection of old school t-shirts, fleece, etc from my collection that had somehow kept shrinking as the years went by..., sometimes receiving proper recognition from folks who had been there, done that.

(for me, back in the day) It was (the proud, secretive or sometimes blatant wearing of the gear) the literal and moral equivalent of the secret hikers, paddlers, mountaineer's handshake...you were in the know and already a bit accepted by this little rite of passage.

Now, I am vastly more interested, when I get a gear hankering/need, in finding the sweet offspring of more fertile minds in cottage industries than the offerings of the corporate giants. (which often sets off a price point upset)

I still remember my shock and dismay walking into my first Eddie Bauer store in WA in the late 1980's... innocence lost!

 

[Canotrouge]

I use to buy for an outdoor store and every company does the same and eventually they move over sea to a cheaper manufacturing and more profit in the pockets. I mean even the one that said they wouldn't like Arcteryx... They all have a "life style" line cause you know that is where the money is not on the 1k tents and sleeping bags, but in the stuff you use everyday that cost nothing to make, that have your logo on and that you make tons of profite on!!

Even Filson have gone that route(still made in the USA for most of it) with there Seattle Cut, there watches at $800+ called journeyman what ever...

At least with Patagucci, it is privately own(not on the market share) by the same guy that started it and following the same vision, making better that last longer that can be fixe with the less impact on the environment as possible as ethical as can be!!

As for Duluth and the like, I'm sure they will keep there icon pieces made in the USA just like LLBean does, but the rest, you never know!!

Regarding life time warranty, it is not because a product is warranty for life that it is of good quality... Instead of giving you an new one they should try to fix it. Life time warranty is seen by most as a way to not take care of there gear and have the attitude that; " it doesn't matter, they will give me a new one..."


MEC use to have every thing under there name made right here in Canada, they were so very proud of that and part of there marketing thing.... They move 90% of there production to China and others like it and they still hang on to there original marketing talk... It's a bit sad....

 

[Sweetfancymoses]

We own two #4 portage packs and a backpack like the one in Magnus319's photo above. All were purchased used in very good condition for under $100. The difference between new and used prices is HUGE which is an indication that their products might be a trifle overpriced. The quality is good but not that good. For example, I can't wrap my mind around the fact that DP finds it unnecessary to make an effort to keep the seams of a $400 pack from fraying. Granted, the loose threads are on the inside, but still.

 

[Odyssey]

Might be an appropriate moment to post this.
https://thetrek.co/backpacking-outdoor-gear-made-america/

 

[Boreal Birch]

I bought a new Duluth Pack # 3 for $30 in the spring of 1969, I still have it, I still use it, all the time. It is no longer olive drab, sunlight and rain have turned it a nice soft gray patina. I oil the straps on a regular basis and I've only replaced one of the closing straps, as it just plain wore out. When I moved to Alaska everything I owned, fit inside it. It has rode on my back, in canoes, jeeps, dog sleds, super cubs and other bush planes all over the northern hemisphere. It stuffs, loaded or empty into available spaces nicely. Thursday, I put berry buckets, lunch, coffee pot in it for a long day of picking lingon berries (also called low bush or mountain cranberries up here). Whenever I travel I use it for luggage, airline baggage handlers have not damaged it in anyway (yet). The folks I met in Sweden and Norway really liked the idea of a huge sack that you could live out of. They are not the greatest thing for backpacking, although, the spring I trapped beavers I carried it many, many miles every day in thick brush that would have not have been possible with the frame packs of those days. I've tried to replace it with a #4 but, didn't like it as well, I am enamored by the Woods Packs especially the 200 with the attached axe sheath, but have never seen one yet. Last fall I bought a #2 Duluth pack that is roughly the same vintage as my old #3 it looks like it went on one trip and was stored in a closet for 45 years or so. I plan on using it when I get older, more frail and can no longer lift a full #3.
I think in the 90's time frame, Duluth Pack was sold to some bigger company. Most of the employee's didn't like the new management team, so they quit. Some of them then started Frost River Pack Company. I think if I were in the market for a new pack that is where I would spend my money. I'm pretty sure their backs are made to the old high standards and with some care will last nearly 50 years also.
I have a friend that goes into all the thrift stores and buys Pataguchie stuff. He takes off the label and sews them to some of his rugged work clothing to make his own fashion statement. He gets some strange look from the people that have never seen that particular item in the catalog.
Another friend cuts off all labels on his high end gear, claims that he isn't going to advertise for some companies gear unless they pay him for doing so. When I visit him, I get a mug of coffee set on one of those leather Duluth Pack logo patches for a coaster.

 

[BWCA66]

Might be an appropriate moment to post this.
https://thetrek.co/backpacking-outdoor-gear-made-america/

Interesting that 2 places I like, Frost River in MN and Ellis Canvas Tents in CO aren't on the list, makes me wonder how many other are missing?

Oh, and I just dropped $125 at the Duluth Pack sale.

 

[Canotrouge]

No Snowtrekker tents or Empire wool and canvas lol....
Even Filson isn't there!

 

[Nodrama43]

I likes my Frost River stuff. I don't Duluth.

 

[Robin]

I have 4 Duluth Packs. I too really like my #3, but I now use my Wanderer and Cruiser packs for solo trips. I also like the looks of Frost River but I'm all set for packs.
I have a Day Pack like the person in post 5 is using. I used it many years (over 20) at work to hold a change of clothes and some other stuff. I sent it back for repairs once, they did a nice job but alas it needs more repairs. I had been putting it off till my 7 yo grandson admired it on a small day trip we took. He really liked the leather (mine has a leather pouch face, leather bottom, leather grab strap and leather straps) so I'm sending it back for the repairs and will give it to him for his future outdoor pursuits.

 

[lowangle al]

I bought a new Duluth Pack # 3 for $30 in the spring of 1969, I still have it, I still use it, all the time. It is no longer olive drab, sunlight and rain have turned it a nice soft gray patina. I oil the straps on a regular basis and I've only replaced one of the closing straps, as it just plain wore out. When I moved to Alaska everything I owned, fit inside it. It has rode on my back, in canoes, jeeps, dog sleds, super cubs and other bush planes all over the northern hemisphere. It stuffs, loaded or empty into available spaces nicely. Thursday, I put berry buckets, lunch, coffee pot in it for a long day of picking lingon berries (also called low bush or mountain cranberries up here). Whenever I travel I use it for luggage, airline baggage handlers have not damaged it in anyway (yet). The folks I met in Sweden and Norway really liked the idea of a huge sack that you could live out of. They are not the greatest thing for backpacking, although, the spring I trapped beavers I carried it many, many miles every day in thick brush that would have not have been possible with the frame packs of those days. I've tried to replace it with a #4 but, didn't like it as well, I am enamored by the Woods Packs especially the 200 with the attached axe sheath, but have never seen one yet. Last fall I bought a #2 Duluth pack that is roughly the same vintage as my old #3 it looks like it went on one trip and was stored in a closet for 45 years or so. I plan on using it when I get older, more frail and can no longer lift a full #3.
I think in the 90's time frame, Duluth Pack was sold to some bigger company. Most of the employee's didn't like the new management team, so they quit. Some of them then started Frost River Pack Company. I think if I were in the market for a new pack that is where I would spend my money. I'm pretty sure their backs are made to the old high standards and with some care will last nearly 50 years also.
I have a friend that goes into all the thrift stores and buys Pataguchie stuff. He takes off the label and sews them to some of his rugged work clothing to make his own fashion statement. He gets some strange look from the people that have never seen that particular item in the catalog.
Another friend cuts off all labels on his high end gear, claims that he isn't going to advertise for some companies gear unless they pay him for doing so. When I visit him, I get a mug of coffee set on one of those leather Duluth Pack logo patches for a coaster.

Hey BB I thought I may have been the only person to fly gear in Duluth packs to the Ruth glacier on Denali but maybe you beat me to it. I had quite the ride with three # 4s packed on one of those orange expedition sleds. I straddled the packs while wearing my skis and had a screaming ride down from Don Sheldons Mountain House to the landing strip. There is no other way I could have gotten all that gear down in one trip without those packs.

I've also wondered about using them as luggage when flying but even when I was flying to do a canoe trip I packed them in a suitcase. You sound like the kind of guy who travels light but FYI suitcases now come with wheels.