Discussion of New Colors, New Designs

[Chicagoan]

Wild thought, but why not meet in the middle and put a blackout label on something other than a black bag?

They did it back in the day for the "Design Labs" items and I thought it was a nice way to retain the branding in a subdued way.

I've seen bags for sale where folks will remove the tag, or color over it with a black permanent marker, or just sew a larger patch right on top of it.

But if the black label was understated enough maybe even those types of folks wouldn't mind it so much as to want it removed.

[hedd]

I don't usually like visible branding, but there is almost no situation that I think the little red accent of the airplane takes away from the aesthetic. Love the red mark on every one of my bags in every color.

[G42]

They have indeed used blackout labels on colours other than black. Besides the foray into the Design Lab label (which appeared for a couple years on a whole host of bags and colours), there's a blackout label on the Deep Blue Cambiata & Steel Halcyon Bantam right now. There have been others, I just don't have them noted down.

Offering up preference is part of what this Forum is for and I fully support that. I think it's important to remember however that we're a very specific and (and at this point based on traffic, etc) a very small subset of the customer base (which isn't a poke at anyone, just a note that we're a bit of an echo chamber as I've mentioned before).

TB gets feedback directly from thousands of customers in many ways. I have to assume that their label choices are based on their internal brand preferences and what they know sells to their total set of customers. Just like Black is by far the most popular colour but not necessarily on this Forum. I'm sure many of you have noticed that Black gets several interior fabric options and label options and those are the variants that seem to be prioritized for restock.

They did a blog post a couple years ago that I think sums it up pretty well. If anyone hasn't read it or read it in a while, it might be worth revisiting

https://www.tombihn.com/blogs/main/feedback

This part in particular:

"For us, listening to feedback isn't about trying to meet everyone's needs or making everyone happy — that'd be impossible and crazy-making to boot. Our style is never going to be everyone's style and our bags aren't ever going to be the right bags for all people. Listening to feedback is about being open to other perspectives and learning from them, respecting the different experiences of other folks, and appreciating it as tool with which we can assess our work.

And when we don't choose to implement feedback, it doesn't mean the feedback wasn't good feedback — it might just be that we're choosing to do things our own way."


Just in this thread over the past couple months we've heard a whole range of preferences for the label size, tag line(s), and colour... so it's never going to be one size fits all; it's interesting to hear the full range of preferences.

(total aside, someone sold a fabric 3DOC on eBay as being 'rare' because the small label that's sewn across one corner was on the wrong corner)

TB has always mixed up the types of labels they use and the thing is, if you wait a while, something will change and a combo you like with a label you like will possibly come around again.


ETA: hedd I normally don't notice the red particularly, but I picked up one of the oNordic Bantams and really appreciate how the red webbing for the strap o-rings ties into the red of the plane label; I think it looks better in person than the photos. They did the same thing with the Original Halcyon and then on the Steel halcyon one, the webbing was grey/NWSky to tie into the grey part of the blackout label (which has more contrast that the oldest blackout labels)

[Chicagoan]

For me, I've always accepted the label as part of the brand aesthetic.

And I totally get it. They aim to please most and cannot please every customer.

My comment was mostly for the sake of conversation as I'm personally not someone who has ever decided for or against a bag purchase based on the size, location, or appearance of the label.

[G42]

For me, I've always accepted the label as part of the brand aesthetic.

And I totally get it. They aim to please most and cannot please every customer.

My comment was mostly for the sake of conversation as I'm personally not someone who has ever decided for or against a bag purchase based on the size, location, or appearance of the label.

I'm with you, I'm just in a philosophical mood. I find how everyone views things and how we all think about the 'thinking about things", to be interesting.

A couple of threads ago, when labels came up, I went thru many of my bags and tried to figure out just how many different versions I had and there were A LOT. More than they show in the vblog they did with Tom several years ago I think.

Someone on eBay was selling one of the Black Label (the brand Tom did for a bit, not a blackout label) bags a while ago, that was interesting.
I've always liked the old TriStar triangular label... It looked neat to me plus the obviously name/shape tie-in, but the bag itself just doesn't work for how I pack lol.
I also like the Moon Label on the Zeitgeist

[bchaplin]

Granted, there is a small group of us on the Forums now and we don't represent the general buying public in everything.

I don't mind the airplane label -- just the fact that it's been stripped of any subtlety. It no longer has any of the small designs that used to be around the edges: the skyline, "Portable Culture", etc. Just the airplane and the words Tom Bihn. My opinion may be a minority, but I really dislike this iteration, and many on the TB BST group on Facebook seem to agree.

As far as the Bantam, I am happy for Tom Bihn that it sold out quickly. But I still think the label is disproportionately sized for a bag of those dimensions, and it may have sold in even larger numbers with a more discrete version. The thin strip on the Side Effect looks more appropriate, IMO.

Those are just my thoughts. For the moment, I've scaled back what I'm buying and am relying more on the secondary market where the previous versions of the labels are available.

EDIT: Just to add, I really love the diagonal 'moon' label too. It's one of the reasons I try to carry one of my Zeitgeists whenever possible.

[Chicagoan]

Most my bag purchases these days are Ursa (my favorite fabric color), so I actually don't mind it when my bags look a LITTLE different from another and the label change didn't bother me - but that's coming from the perspective of someone who is a long-time customer that owns many (if not most!) of their bags, and using them has become so commonplace and everyday that I don't even think about the logo tags anymore...but that's just one person's opinion and not a reflection of a majority concensus.

But, to bchaplin's point, I can understand how the size, scale, and placement of the tag can make it read differently depending on what type of tag is used.

And G42, heck yes, I'd love to see more tags like the Tri-Star triangle and Zeitgeist half moon. I love the newer color combo of my TS (Coyote/Moab) but I do miss not seeing the triangle label on those bags any longer.

[latchford]

The latest newsletter just landed in my inbox and I gotta say the Side Kick/Packing Cube Shoulder Bag hybrid looks pretty good!

[G42]

The latest newsletter just landed in my inbox and I gotta say the Side Kick/Packing Cube Shoulder Bag hybrid looks pretty good!

Hasn't hit my inbox yet! Mods were told a couple days ago and we have bags en route

[dirkhaun]

Hasn't hit my inbox yet!

FWIW, I'm subscribed with 2 different email addresses. One has received the newsletter, the other (older) hasn't yet. [edit: it arrived now, 10 hours later]

The new bag looks interesting. Looking forward to learn more about it.

[G42]

FWIW, I'm subscribed with 2 different email addresses. One has received the newsletter, the other (older) hasn't yet. [edit: it arrived now, 10 hours later]

The new bag looks interesting. Looking forward to learn more about it.

Showed up just after midnight my time... Folks have been asking for a bag like this for a long time, it'll be fun to see what it's like

[Wanderlust77]

Still nothing I’m my inbox; guess I’ll have to wait to see reviews.

[G42]

Still nothing I’m my inbox; guess I’ll have to wait to see reviews.

Besides the photo posted, all this is what it teased about the new bag

"NEXT WEEK! We will be sharing all the details of our newest bag, the Side ______. We designed this bag with you in mind! We've combined the best features of two of your favorites, the Side Kick and PCSB. Trust us, you won't want to miss this one!"

The other info was about Zest and Tidal being back

[Wanderlust77]

Besides the photo posted, all this is what it teased about the new bag

"NEXT WEEK! We will be sharing all the details of our newest bag, the Side ______. We designed this bag with you in mind! We've combined the best features of two of your favorites, the Side Kick and PCSB. Trust us, you won't want to miss this one!"

The other info was about Zest and Tidal being back

Thank you

[nolegrl]

The latest newsletter just landed in my inbox and I gotta say the Side Kick/Packing Cube Shoulder Bag hybrid looks pretty good!

I was excited for this, but to me it looks a lot like the daylight briefcase which is too square of a design for casual wear, imo. I really wish it was more rounded. However, I can't judge too harshly on the initial picture, so let's see what the full reveal brings!