The Future of the Yeoman Duffle

[SaddleSC]

Hey guys and gals...I am an avid TB fan and have a bunch of Tom Bihn travel bags, backpacks, Briefcases and accessories in my collection. Some of my favorite items and the ones that get the most use on a daily basis are my Yeoman Duffles...I currently own SEVEN of them and use the Mini as EDC car bags, the Small for weekend travel, the Medium for longer-term travel and hauling sporting equipment, and the Large is so big I use it to store other TB bags! Needless to say, I am obsessed with the Yeoman for both its simplicity and its versatility.

Recently, I have noticed that the stock of Mini Yeomans has completely dried up. Last week the inventory of Medium duffles appears to have completely run out. Currently, there are only Small and Large duffles in stock. I am wondering if 1) the bag is being transitioned from 1050 to 525 ballistic so they are selling out the remaining inventory, or 2) the bag is being redesigned or discontinued in its current form, or 3) they are just selling really well and will be re-stocked later in the year?

Hopefully, you guys have heard something or Darcy will chime in with some info...thanks!

[BowTrek]

Good point/question - if this is the last of the 1050 stock I'll be wanting to pick one up as well. I can be pretty rough on my bags.

[KAB]

I seem to remember reading a few months ago that they were going to be discontinued, sadly! Hope that I am wrong!

[kemote]

Unfortunately, they are being retired. I am going to treasure my small one for as long as I can, I love the simplicity of this bag.

[G42]

The Yeoman's are being retired, see this blog post

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

At the top of the page for the blog posts is an email sign up, if you want to receive new posts directly...it's a good way to keep up with the official announcements

[SaddleSC]

Unfortunately, they are being retired. I am going to treasure my small one for as long as I can, I love the simplicity of this bag.

The Yeoman's are being retired, see this blog post

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

At the top of the page for the blog posts is an email sign up, if you want to receive new posts directly...it's a good way to keep up with the official announcements

Wow...that is definitely sad news...TB seems to retire all of its duffles fairly quickly. I was able to snag a couple Road Buddy 36 before they were retired and now the Yeoman...as I said, in a collection of 40-50 Tom Bihn bags and accessories, they are the ones I reach for the most. Hopefully, the will introduce something similar in the future. Now...off to the web site to grab one last Small Navy Yeoman to "complete" my collection

[haraya]

Arrgh! I was debating whether to get a Medium. Ah well.

[Chicagoan]

Thankfully I was lucky enough to scoop up a Mini (Navy) and Medium (Coyote) before they sold out.

Question: is there not enough scrap 525 ballistic to continue making Yeoman Duffels, or is there a durability concern if they were to be made with a lower denier fabric (525 instead of the 1050)?

I know this has been hypothesized, but @Darcy , I would be very interested to know if there might be a comparable offering in the future now that the only remaining "duffel" style bags will be Aeronauts.

[carrot]

I think the Yeoman suffered from not being "Tom Bihn" enough. Good bags but no pockets or compartments.

I can get compelling, basic, American made duffels from a number of other small makers like Best American Duffel, Topo Designs, CiloGear, Red Oxx, Goruck.

There are great imported duffels from the likes of Patagonia, North Face, and others.

But I want a duffel a little more compartmentalized than the Yeoman and more clean and stylish than those other brands. In other words, something a little more like the Road Buddy or Aeronaut. But maybe targeted towards a slightly lower price, so that we can fill up our trunks with them.

[G42]

From the product page:

"The Yeoman is built entirely from our U.S.-made 1050 denier high-tenacity Ballistic nylon—but unlike other TOM BIHN bags, which are made from flawless 1050d ballistic, the Yeoman is made of fabric that is what we call “seconds”; fabric that may have cosmetic blemishes which do not impact its utility or durability.
Here’s the thing: we are perfectionists around here, and what our fabric inspectors consider “seconds” isn’t necessarily what our fabric mills would consider seconds. When we receive ballistic nylon with flaws, it’s ours to keep: because we are one of the last consumers of domestic 1050 ballistic, our mills no longer accept returned goods. We don't receive much flawed fabric, but we've been saving up what we do get, waiting for the right idea to come along. And so it has: the Yeoman Duffel."

TB is phasing out 1050d ballistic, so it makes sense that this version would phase out. It will be interesting to hear if the 525d fabric has similar issues that would inspire bags like the Yeoman to absorb it.
I do hope that some sort of duffel comes back to the line up (ahem - Night Flight) (mini Yeoman, Large Yeoman)

[Chicagoan]

@carrot ; It’s unfortunate. I liked the YD simply because with a single open main compartment, it was very forgiving to pack up, and when you arrived at a destination, you could leave the top unzipped and have easy access to a weekend or week’s-worth of clothing (I sold my WF because the bag had to be completely unpacked at the destination and ultimately was a packing-cube-holder). My favorite description of the YD was likening it to a “travel dresser,” where you could just pull whatever you needed out of the top, but with the option to “shut the drawer” and zip it up.

@G42 ;I think there’s a gap to be filled when it comes to the “personal item” sized bag, now that the NFTD, Stowaway and Small YD have all been retired. My unicorn bag is one that can fit a weekend’s-worth of clothing, a toiletry bag, and a pair of men’s size 12 shoes (hint/please/thank you).


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[organicfarmer]

Over the last year I have become a real fan of the yeoman. As other mention they are simple, durable bags in just the right sizes. Like the original shop bags. Simple and durable doesn't sell because if they don't wear out and there is no bells and whistles, a reason to get more is lacking. TB must not have read about planned obsolescence.

I agree with SaddleSC as the duffels retire soon. A few months ago I was wondering if the Aeronaut duffels were about to meet the same fate as they missed the assumed 3 year update cycle.

I would like a road buddy/ road duffel to add some some features. I would like an "Aeronaut 65" so to speak. The expandable center compartment to get the full use of the size or side pockets if unneeded. I could see this happening as 525/630 ballistic may not be suitable for single layer construction like the Yeoman, yet the Aeronaut styling could give an option for the buyer who wants just one large compartment via 2 layer construction.