Dear Mr. Filson,

You have asked for my life story. I am a blue checked cruiser. You made me about 1950 and shipped me by Alaska Steam ship to the O. Kraft and Son store in Kodiak, Alaska. I was purchased by Peggy Sutliff. Even then I was expensive, but as you will see, I was a good value. Our life together began on the Flying H ranch where she spent summers with her young children. We cut hay and wood, mended fences, branded calves and herded cattle. Peggy drove a 49 Plymouth station wagon in those days. That was before studded tires so many times we lay in the wet snow installing tire chains. No worries, I’m tough. Mr. Sutliff had a Piper Super cub. I spent about 1000 hours sitting the back seat of that cub. No rear heater! Damn it was noisy. They fished rainbow trout and silver salmon. She killed a deer every year for over 30 years. The freezer was always full and I never missed a trip. Peggy was a Red Cross volunteer starting with injured World War II soldiers. On March 27, 1964 the great Alaska earthquake hit. The ensuing tsunami destroyed the town of Kodiak. She spent the next month full time helping people with food, clothing and housing. There were no phones of any kind so all communication was in person or by radio. Do you know how bad the weather is in Kodiak in March? It rains sideways! You made me of the finest wool so I kept her warm and dry. Speaking of the Red Cross, Peggy was presented the Harriman award for volunteer service. I was NOT invited to the ceremony with Elizabeth Dole in San Diego, California. When Peggy died as age 87, I moved in with her daughter in law. She is a life long Alaskan outdoors woman with her own Piper on floats. No heater at all and still noisy. But, at least now I’m on the pilot in the front seat. My cuffs have been reinforced and buttons re-sewn. I’m good for another 60 years.

Sincerely, Blue Checked Cruiser

P. S. I don’t have hand warmer pockets

I titled my story Current Occupant because that best describes the life of this Mackinaw Cruiser. My dad originally purchased it many years ago, but as soon as I was big enough to fill it out (or at least come close enough to filling it out) I have been grabbing it at every opportunity. That’s pretty much the life this garment has lived. Staying in one closet for the briefest of time until reclaimed by the other. My dad and I go back and forth “borrowing” it. Its become a fun and entertaining tradition. I hope to be the majority owner this winter, but somehow I imagine my dad has other plans!

At Filson, “Might as Well Have the Best” doesn’t stop at the product– we’ve got the most talented team of employees around that live and breathe  Filson in and out of the offices. Today we chat with one of our newest employees,  Engineer Assistant, Theresa (Terry) Olson. If there’s a department you’d like to see interviewed, leave us a comment below!

How long have you been with Filson:

Terry Olson, Filson Engineer Assistant

4.5 months

What do you do on a typical work day:

I work with operators on problems they are having sewing garments.  That can range from what they may see as an issue with a pattern to a question about how to sew something together. I also work with Pattern makers on how they can make the patterns so they can best be sewn by the operators.   I am sort of an in-between person between the production workers and the designers. I also work on the technical documents that are necessary for production.  I rarely sit at my desk – I am usually out on the floor, measuring something or cutting things up.

What makes working at Filson different than other places: 

This place is constantly in motion. I NEVER am at a loss for what to do.  In a way it is like my previous career as a public defender.  I have different people coming at me (operators, pattern makers, cutters . . . just like my clients, prosecutors, judges) and I try to find a way to get everybody to find a place where they can meet. It may mean the pattern needs to change or the operators have to learn a new skill. I try to find the place where that can be done while achieving the objective to keep Filson goods high quality and delivered on time.

What is your favorite product:

So far, the oil cloth denim. I have my eye on the jacket we are getting ready to bring to production because one of them will end up in my closet!

What is one of your most memorable stories in your Filson gear: 

Many years ago I was dating a guy who had a Filson jacket. He was a big fan of the Austin Powers movies and he had been given a mini-me doll as a gift. I came down here and asked for some extra fabric and Filson was nice enough to give me some. I made a mini version of a Filson jacket for Mini me. It is so good it is creepy. When my boyfriend was not around and just the doll was, it was like a mini clone of him.

What’s your favorite thing to do in Seattle or the Pacific Northwest region?

Outside, I ride my bike. I am on a bike racing team and I ride all over the place.

What’s coming up at Filson that you’re excited about: 

Continuing to assist in the process of designing and manufacturing things in the USA.  My apparel design background is mostly in overseas production and it is great to have the folks who are making what we design yards away. But there are also unique problems that come with that.

Thanks, Terry!

I grew up in the upper peninsula of Michigan, 40 miles from the straits of Mackinaw. For those of you who don’t know, the U.P. is that peninsula of Michigan that looks as if it should be Wisconsin. It is a place special to itself with its own distinct culture, language, and people. Growing up there were two outdoor items I wanted. One was a Filson Mackinaw, the other a Marble’s knife. The men who I looked up too had these items, they still do. As my family wasn’t in the economic position to have these things, I had to wait.

I purchased my first Filson item shortly after college, a belt. Fifty dollars was a lot to spend on a belt, but ten years later it’s still in use. After a few years, I had acquired a few Filson items, but wasn’t able to afford a Mackinaw yet. Then I was deployed. Anyone who has deployed with the military can tell you, you are really either super busy or not at all. During those slow times we would all dream about life back home. We would look at pictures, tell stories, and dream. I would look at the Mackinaw in the catalog, and dream of wearing it once I was home.

Once back, I made the purchase. My Mackinaw has been on moose hunts in my adoptive state of Alaska. It has been worn over shirt and tie to the symphony. It has crossed the straits of Mackinaw while I was home visiting family. When I wear it, it reminds me of where I come from and what I’ve been through. And being a Filson Mackinaw, I know that it will see the rest of the adventures to come.

Share your own memories about your Filson Mackinaw Cruiser. We want to hear who wore it, where it’s been and how it performed for you. You can include photos or not. If you just want to send a photo, that’s OK, too. We will go through all the stories and select the best. The winner will receive a free new Mackinaw Cruiser. Click here to enter.

Filson Life guest blogger, Tom Slaughter, is a year-round hunter – both a planner and an executer. Whether it’s traveling to Alaska, Colorado or Montana, this hunter is always prepared for the journey, especially when he has his Filson gear with him. In this post, Slaughter lends insight to packing for an out-of-state hunt.

I look forward to every year’s hunting draw results to see where I will be heading out west to.  Each year, I take a few trips across country that requires air transportation.  Every few months the airlines/TSA change regulations regarding traveling with a firearm and the amount of baggage you can travel with.  Always check with your airline to see what the new rules are.

Filson Carry-On

Fortunately, I have been able to avoid serious excess baggage fees over the past few years by finding the best way to minimize fees and still bring what I need.  I am heading out to Wyoming in about two weeks for a Mule deer hunt.  For this flight, I am flying an airline that allows me two checked bags, one carry on, and one personal item.   For the outgoing flight, I always plan on only checked bag, one carry on, and one personal item. This way, I reserve the second checked bag allowance in anticipation of bringing a cooler on the return trip filled with the reward of a successful hunt.

In my Filson “carry on,” I pack all of my under garments, pants, shirts, socks, hats, gloves, and outer protective clothing.  In my “personal bag,” for which I use my day back, I pack my optics which include a spotting scope, binoculars, range finder, and camera equipment. I also include my Boots in my carry on as they are not something I am willing to wait for should be luggage be delayed.  The majority of the other checked equipment can be borrowed in a worst case scenario.  Boots also take up to 10% of the permissible weight so this helps economize weight, as well.

A well-packed carry-on

Finally, my gun case, is my checked back and in it I include my firearm, vacuum sealer, first aid kit, field dressing kit and game bags, and a gun case to use in camp.  I know that my gun case weighs exactly 49lbs and include an index card (with a list of the contents) in it so that I know to pack the same way on the return trip to avoid shuffling equipment at the ticket counter.

If I am fortunate enough to harvest a Mule Deer, I will purchase the necessary coolers and pack it with the meat.  Most airlines allow 2lbs of dry ice with the vented coolers (take the drain plug out).  This is more than enough to keep your meat cool to get it home.
I would also recommend keeping the dry ice on top with a piece of cardboard separating the meat and the dry ice.

Tom Slaughter Packing Tips: Gun Case

Currently, with Delta, you can ship antlers for $100 or less; this is a less expensive option than going to a shipping center or having a taxidermist ship them.  The baggage fees for this airline after 2 checked bags  is $50.  A Mule deer will take up two coolers.

Learning to pack efficiently was one lesson I learned the hard way.  I went out west for an elk hunt and ended up spending $300 in excess baggage fees to get my stuff and 1 full elk home.  Luckily, this was not as bad as another hunter in camp that spent $1,100 shipping his meat home from a processor plus his excess baggage fees.  I highly recommend spending a little extra time packing and talking to the airlines about the limitations.  Not only will it save you money, but you will be better organized.

Half a century ago, just a youth, I was rummaging through our hall closet and came across a rugged gray and black wool garment. I asked my mother, “Whose coat is this?” She replied, “Daddy’s.” I said, “Grandpa’s coat?” She said, “Yes, it’s a mackinaw. He wanted you to have it.” Grandpa had been the lead foreman of a construction gang that built roads throughout the northwest. They lived in the backcountry, engaged in long days of honest, hard work. Inclement weather was part of the job. I was told that Filson clothing was a staple for these men – loggers, road builders, longshoremen, and market game hunters – it kept them warm and protected from the elements. The clothes took on the status equivalent to the tools such men used on a daily basis: no less important than the axe, surveyor’s maps, compass, firearm, and pocketknife. This was Grandpa’s favorite work coat. It kept out the chill of the biting wind, flurries of tap dancing snowflakes, and daggers of slicing rain. I was enthralled with the strange pocket that covered the entire breadth of the back of the coat. Mother told me this was for holding maps. Once I inherited the coat – Grandpa, though long past, was with me on my journeys, both near and far. I’ve worn it for over fifty years – it has never failed me. It’s been to the docks of Oporto, and the tapas bars of Barcelona…harbor against adverse conditions hustling about the damp alleys of Europe, and apt attire for business in Paris or New York…unflinching cover and warmth, with style, throughout the West Coast – from Los Angeles to Vancouver. A few years back, I traveled to Seattle, Washington. On the waterfront, the fierce winter wind did not penetrate my coat; Grandpa had chosen wisely. I journeyed to its birthplace – the original Filson factory store in Seattle. A friendly salesman said that he hadn’t seen one exactly like it. The mackinaw will probably outlast me before it gives up its ghost. A fine coat indeed – a Filson.

-G. M. Yore Califo

Facing into a frigid torrent of wind, my dog team and I struggled to cross frozen Norton Bay during the Iditarod Sled Dog Race. I in my Filson Mackinaw Cruiser and the dogs wearing natures very best. The worst blizzard in years had pinned us on the ice overnight. I knew we could survive, I thought to myself.But I knew it would be really marginal to try to make it another night. I knew I had to find Koyuk. Like many other mushers over a quarter century of races, I was crowding the boundary that divides safety from injury or death, but I knew I was equipped with the best, and this wasn’t going to beat me. It was minus-27 degree temperature and 60-knot wind created a chill factor of at least 100 degrees below zero — cold enough to freeze exposed skin within seconds. Koyuk villagers judged the storm too violent to mount a rescue. With daylight, I began the drive toward Koyuk, only a few hours and a dozen miles away. The wind scoured them head-on with a gale of ice bits and snow, but I kept moving. My goggles began to frost over. I tried to scrub them out. It didn’t work. Thus I just took them off. As I drove directly into the wind, watching the trail from inside my Filson coat, ice began to clog the lashes of his left eye. I rubbed it with his mitten. Later, I rubbed the eye again. Then again. And then it reached a point where I couldn’t see out of my left eye… Well, I thought, I’ve got my right eye. But then I started having trouble seeing out of my right eye. Just before noon, much of my upper face had frozen — eyelids and cheeks stiff and white, left eye completely useless, right eye beginning to close. It was ugly As I discovered, tiny problems can combine with trail conditions and physical exhaustion to push Iditarod mushers to the brink of fatal danger. However, in the end, thanks to perseverance, a great dog team and my Filson Mackinaw, I made it to the finish line; frostbit face and exhuasted, I didn’t win, but I finished.

When I left home to go to College at WSU in 1975 I didn’t know much but I new it would be cold and there would be ample oppurtunities to bird hunt. So I bought two new items to take with me…..a shotgun and a Filson Mackinaw. I’ve worn out the shotgun over the years but the coat still looks like the day I got it after years of wear. It’s a little tighter now, I can’t layer under it anymore but I still pull the coat out every winter. I fully expect it to last my lifetime. Best article of clothing I ever bought.

Ever Since I turned 14, I’ve owned a Filson Mackinsaw Cruiser. My Dad bought one for me for Christmas that year, he said to me” Might as well have the Best”. I used it as every season came about. Here in Louisville, KY out winters are long and cold. So it keeps me completely safe and keeps the warmth in. Now I’m 20 years old. And I’m a traveling Polaroid photographer. I usually pack up the car with my Filson Medium Field bag and Filson Briefcase and hit the road. And when the season comes my Mackinsaw Cruiser in with me too. Mine is still alive and incredibly well, and one day when my son Levi grows up and can fit into it, he’ll wear it. I realized it was time for a new one when my wrist were showing out of the sleeves. I’m excited to start fresh with a new Mackinsaw Cruiser to build a new story. I’m just glad Filson gives me the opportunity to make that happen.

Dear Mr. Filson,

You have asked for my life story. I am a blue checked cruiser. You made me about 1955. I traveled by Alaska Steam to the O. Kraft and Son store in Kodiak, Alaska. I was purchased by Peggy Sutliff. I don’t remember what I cost but even then I wasn’t cheap. As you will see, I am a great value. Peggy moved to Kodiak in 1940 to marry her husband of the next 61 years. Our life together started on the Flying H cattle ranch where Peggy took her kids for the summer. We hauled water, branded calves, and put up hay. I spent weeks on horse back herding cattle .Before studded tires, we had to put on tire chains. It was no fun laying in the wet snow putting chains on her old ’49 Plymouth station wagon. But, I kept her warm. Mr. Sutliff owned a Super Cub so we fished Rainbow trout and Silver salmon every summer. I helped Peggy shoot at least one deer every fall for over 30 years. I spent about a thousand hours in the back seat of that cub. It was noisy as hell. On march 27, 1964, the great Alaska earth quake hit. The town of Kodiak was destroyed by the ensuing Tsunami. Peggy had been a Red Cross volunteer since World War 2. We spent the next month coordinating disaster relief to families that had lost everything. You may not appreciate how miserable the weather is in Kodiak in March. It rains sideways. I was O. K. because you made me out of the best wool in the world. Speaking of the Red Cross, Peggy received the Harriman Award for distinguished volunteer service. I was NOT invited to the reception with Elizabeth Dole in Washington, D. C. When Peggy died, at age 87, I moved in with her daughter in law, Page, a life long Alaskan. Page also flies a cub on floats to hike, hunt, and pick berries; still noisy. My cuffs have been reinforced and buttons re sewn. I’m good for another 50 years.

Sincerely,
Blue Checked Cruiser

P. S. I don’t have hand warmer pockets. In my day it was considered lazy to put hands in pockets.