Archival Clothing - Webbing Belt

The blog Archival Clothing is a dear favourite of mine and I promise, that they will be featured a lot more here in the times to come. I came to think of them today because I was putting on an old, cherised belt made by J.M Davidson, which is an O-ring belt made of a sort of hard nylon webbing. A bit too flimsy for my taste nowadays.

Archival Clothing has made their version of a classic webbing belt using cotton webbing from the UK, leather from Horween (Chromexcel, of course) in the US and finally solid brass O-rings, that were also sourced in the UK. The belt was assembled in Oregon in the US, where Archival Clothing also reside (except for one of them, who recently left for NY). The belt also features Archival Clothing's signature red bartacking.

If you have ever had anything made of solid brass, you know, that the brass will tarnish and the webbing will feel hard at first, but it will also soften. However it will probably never feel flimsy.

The best part about the belt is probably the price - just around $25,- I would definitely be ordering one, if it wasn't because I have been thinking about making such a belt myself. I just need to get around to doing it. 

Topo Designs Klettersack

I don't wear a backpack at the moment, though I think I have a vintage Fjällräven "Kånken" stuffed away somewhere. I'm not eager to get one either, as my experience tells me, that it will be getting very little use. That being said I find myself wanting one of these Klettersacks from Topo Designs. The fact that they are getting good reviews from a lot of reliable sources doesn't make them any less desirable.

Topo Designs seem to have just the right ideals and ideas in order. They started out making everything themselves (Topo wa founded by three friends), but now they make everything in a LEED certified workshop in order to be able to meet the orders from Japan. 

They use proper materials such as 1000 denier cordura nylon, leather and mil-spec hardware. I for one love mil-spec, so that is one massive plus in Topo's favour. In addition to this the bags are also very affordable, and their daypacks are even cheaper. Of course if you live in outside of the US, you have to take custom fees into consideration, but it still makes for a good, affordable alternative.

I look forward to seeing where Topo Designs are going. They are definitely a brand to follow.  I have read somewhere that they will be producing apparel at some point... Interesting.