I saw your recent promotion to give $60 trade in my Mackinaw Wool Cruiser. Based on my experience I doubt you will get many takers. My red/black double Mackinaw is about 20 years old and still looks like it just came out of the box. Since I have gained 20lbs in 20 years I can’t bundle up as much underneath it, but with just a wool shirt on it still fits great.

If there were a way to magically turn it from a 48L to a 50L that would be good but there is no way I would trade it in (would be like losing a good friend). If the coat could tell stories it would tell of going to winter Dog Sled School in upper Michigan, a dude ranch in fall in Montana and multiple spring/fall canoe trips in upper Michigan. The coat would tell of the many, many past fine nights at the campfire with friends and with predict of going hiking this fall at the Grand Canyon. It would tell of being regularly selected from among the owner’s other coats due to its comfort/utility (due to time tested design) plus its great looks. It might also mention that it rarely sees another Filson, and maybe that’s because most people can’t recognize the value in high quality and have no experience with the best.

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.

Back in 2007, I bought my Mackinaw used off of an auction website.  I will not mention the name, but it rhymes with fleabay. The coat was in like new condition but a tad bit too big. At this time I was six foot one and 260 lbs!!!! I was a big boy. So after I received my coat I took it to the dry cleaners, had it cleaned and taken in a bit. Now it fit perfect! I wore this coat everywhere! It kept me so warm! I must say I looked very good in this thing!!! So after winter I put it away till next winter.

In the mean time I decided it was time to lose some weight. Not thinking about the impact this might have on my beloved coat, I went on a strict diet and exercise plan. By the very next winter I was down to 180lbs!!! This was great! All except one big problem, my coat was still a little on the big side before, now it was way too big!! I took it back to the cleaners and asked to have it taken in again. They said there was no way unless we did some serous alterations. Even then they didn’t think it would be right, there was just too much to take off. So I decided I would just get a new one. I passed my favorite coat I have ever worn off to a friend in need and decided I would just buy another one. Well it turns out the size I need now is very popular and sells on that same auction website for almost the price of a new one! Life keeps getting in the way and I just can’t seem to get the money together to get a new one. I know my story is not amazing enough to win, but I thought I would share anyway!  Someday I will own another one for sure, and all is not lost. My friend still wears that coat every year so at least it lives on and someone else is happy with it!

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.

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 Nathan Gray, our Portland Store Manager. If there’s a department you’d like to see interviewed, leave us a comment below!

Nathan Gray, Portland Store Manager

How long have you been with Filson:

I’ve worked for Filson for 5 years. I’ve been a customer for about 15 years. I used to spend so much time in the Seattle flagship store trading fishing and hunting stories that David Perry, the Seattle sto

re manager, suggested I just go to work for Filson. About a year later, burnt out in the commission sales world, I asked David for a job. Working for Fils

on has been a great experience so far. It’s amazing how cool it is to go to work when you’re passionate about the products and the company.

What do you do on a typical work day:

Managing a retail store involves some book-keeping and office work, teaching and coaching, as well as visual merchandising and inventory management. But the most rewarding part is being able to help our customers find the perfect product for their needs. The location of our Portland store brings in many customers who are not familiar with the Filson brand, and it’s always fun to be an ambassador for Filson, introducing new customers to our brand.

What makes working at Filson different than other places:

Filson operates with the same values and commitment to quality that we started with back in the Gold Rush. Integrity and doing things right are still important. It’s great to have my personal values reflected in Filson products, and in the way that Filson operates.

What is your favorite product:

I have several favorite products for different tasks. For upland hunting, it’s my Single Tin Pants. My Small Field Bag gets used everyday, but I’d have to say my Jac-Shirt is the most versatile garment I own.

Nathan Gray’s GSP Mahli

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

It was the last day of the pheasant hunting season in Washington, and my GSP was 7 months old. I’d driven about 5 hours and the snow was coming down hard. Mahli hadn’t hunted pheasants in the snow before, and completely lost any semblance of control. For 5 hours she chased every peasant in the county to the horizon, and I don’t think I ever raised my shotgun. When we got back to the truck I had about 3 inches of snow piled up on my Insulated Packer Hat and on the shoulders of my Shelter Cloth Upland Jacket, but I was dry and comfortable. The grin on Mahli’s face told me that bird hunting is more about the great times in the field with your buddy than it is about shooting birds.

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

There’s no place I’d rather be than walking in eastern Oregon or Washington behind a great pointing dog. It used to be that fly-fishing was the activity that I most looked forward to, but now that takes back seat to the upland season each fall.

What’s coming up at Filson that you’re excited about (volunteer day, product, etc):

I’m very excited to see the re-issue of our Forestry Cloth Cruiser this fall. We’ve had so many customers ask about them over the years, so hopefully we can make a lot of people happy.

Anything additional you want to add before we sign off?

I always hear stories about Filson products being handed down from one generation to the next. It’s pretty neat to see that in practice with my father wearing my deceased great uncle’s Mackinaw Cruiser.

Thanks, Nathan!

If you love nature, the outdoors, frosty mornings or cool evenings then you will love Filson. If you hunted with dad or grandpa or read about the hunts of the past then you experienced the comfort simplicity and tradition of wool. You saw the red/black wool coat the first morning of the hunt, or worn around the evening campfire. If you drink coffee and walk with your dog, Filson will be perfect for you. If you love to share a morning with your husband, wife or friend on a slope or by the river or in a fresh snowfall you will love Filson.

There is something instinctive to the soul of an outdoors enthusiast that likes the qualities that are natural. When I discovered a Filson Tin Cloth hunting coat, in a sporting goods store, it was an instant match. Twenty-some years later and I can’t part with that coat. This purchase led me to your catalog and I knew I needed the Filson Mackinaw Cruiser. I had a young family and money was tight so I could only dream. I saved until I could justify the purchase. For many years this coat has been a comfort on walks and camping trips. It has kept me warm on many all-day sits in the woods, waiting for the right deer. It carries the smell of wood smoke from evenings around the campfire and it looks good on trips to town. It’s really pretty simple if you like natural fibers, if you want quality, if you find comfort in the tradition of wool and cherish memories form the past then you will love Filson. I will hang on to my Mackinaw Cruiser as long as I can spend a day in the woods or drink a cup of coffee by a stream.

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.

I am not going to tell you a story. I am going to tell you the truth, I love that Mackinaw Cruiser. I grew up in the 60s and it seemed that everybody owned one of those plaid beauties. I think I just had a Norman Rockwell moment. When you see that coat you can’t help but to think of opening day deer season in the Pennsylvania woods. Thanks for the memories.

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.

A couple of years ago my uncle and I went camping in Upstate New York. It was mid-January and the temperature was in the teens. On the first night I was drinking hot chocolate and spilled it all over my jacket. Within a moment’s notice, my uncle came back from his car with his old Mackinaw Cruiser. He said he kept it for times like this, as he clenched his newer one he had on. After putting it on I felt a relief from the cold winter breeze. That night I even slept in it. I was able to enjoy the rest of my weekend comfortably because my uncle always kept his stable Filson jacket in his car. The only negative I had about the Mackinaw Cruiser was that my feet were cold the whole weekend.

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.

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. First up, our VP of Marketing, Harold Egler. If there’s a department you’d like to see interviewed, leave us a comment below!

Harold Egler, Filson VP of Marketing

How long have you been with Filson?

I have been an employee for 4 years, but I have been a Filson customer since the 80’s when I moved to Seattle from the mid-West.   When I first visited a Filson store, I thought I died and went to heaven.  Finally, I found a company that produced products for my lifestyle and they were totally unique.   The more I researched the company, the more I learned about its rich past and heritage.  As I discovered more products and began using them, I realized what true quality was.  I will always be a Filson customer.

What do you do on a typical work day?

I work with all things marketing – the look and feel of the brand, the cadence of our customer communication, and with our Customer Care team.  I love what I do because every day is different around here.

What makes working at Filson different than other places?

Filson is a company that suits my lifestyle and my belief system – I like and use what we produce. I think I understand our customers and what makes them excited, and I take great pride in our product quality and our heritage.  Filson is also the smallest company I have worked for and I love the diversity it requires in what I do each and every day.

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

I have a 120 foot long Laurel hedge that is almost 20 feet high.  In the summer it grows a foot a day (OK, so I might be exaggerating a bit, but it is a chore to keep under control.) My favorite memory in Filson gear is the year I tackled the hedge in my Filson  single tin pants.  I felt like superman – no fear from my industrial hedge trimmer, no nasty scraps or gouges from the unruly branches.  I singlehandedly cut the entire hedge in one day.  I almost died, but I did it thanks to my ‘coat of armor’ !  I still use the tin pants for this semi-annual chore, but I pace myself secure in the knowledge that these pants are tougher than that hedge.

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

I am an avid steelhead fisherman – I do a lot more fishing than catching, but the scenery, the sounds, and smells are amazing.  It is my Zen pursuit.

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

We are re-doing our fishing line in Spring 2013 – I cannot wait!

Now the hard stuff. What is your favorite product?

Tough question!  I would have to say that I love our Mackinaw Cruiser.  It is a real workhorse and still unique after being patented almost 100 years ago.  I am a big fan of our #257 briefcase (I’ve owned one for 20 years and it looks better today than it did when I bought it).  I love our tin packer hat, but don’t wear them that often

Anything additional you want to add before we sign off?

Wanna make someone happy?  Give them a Filson gift.  You’ll see firsthand why our customers love us.

Thanks, Harry!

A number of years ago I bought a Mackinaw Cruiser in Duluth, Minnesota on the way to a vacation on the North Shore. It turned out to be my “go to” jacket for most activities in late fall and winter. I had it broken in and feeling just right. Fast forward a few years and one of my sons was in college and taking odd jobs to get through school. After an icy winter storm he was hired by a tree service to help with some clean up from downed trees and branches. My son borrowed my Cruiser for the job. While he was working, he got a little over heated, took off the cruiser, laid it on top of the wood chipper…sure enough it got snagged by a branch and ended up going through the wood chipper! The cruiser was tough, but not tough enough for a trip through a wood chipper. I have other winter coats with modern fabrics and technology, but I still prefer the feel and heft of a good wool coat. If you don’t send a Filson Cruiser through a wood chipper, the coat will last a lifetime. Outstanding quality!

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.

My valet and I were hunting wild horned rabbits in the Klondike back during the blizzard of’ ’86. Man it was cold. Did you ask how cold it was? It was so cold that my scotch whiskey was frozen like ice cubes and I kept them in my pockets. I was wearing a Sears hooded jersey sweatshirt with attached mittens and my valet was wearing a Mackinaw Cruiser he had gotten from a secondhand store down in Miami.

Man it was cold. Did you ask me how cold it was? It was so cold that when I fired my gun, the lead bullets refused to leave the gun barrel. They would go to the end of the barrel and just stop there. I would point the end of the gun barrel down and they would just roll out into the snow. The snow was so deep. How deep you ask? It was so deep that I could barely see my valet’s raised arm and the end of the sleeve of the red wool Mackinaw Cruiser coat he was wearing. My valet was a little fellow. He was a midget and once worked for one of those circuses that winter over down around Tampa. That Mackinaw Cruiser was an XL and it did not fit him too well. One day I looked back and saw his little arm sticking up through the snow. It was frozen stiff. I dug him out of the snow and took the Mackinaw Cruiser off his frozen stiff body, wrapped him in my Sears jacket and propped him against a tree and give him my frozen gun in case he thawed out in spring.

Well, I put on that warm Mackinaw Cruiser,  put those scotch ice cubes in a container inside that warm coat and I drank my way out of the Klondike never to go wild horned rabbit hunting again. And that is how that Mackinaw Cruiser saved my life. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Michael C. Boggs Consulting Forester p.s. Years later I think I saw the litter fellow jumping through a fire hoop at a circus down in Dallas.

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.

My son is the proud owner of a Filson Mackinaw but lives in sunny California where Mackinaw wearing is a bit of an overkill. A couple of Christmases ago he came to visit me in Vermont. With delight he donned his Mackinaw to guard against the frosty Vermont cold (where we have 10 months of winter and a couple of months of rough sledding). I got a license to hunt a national forest evergreen and we braved the snowy Vermont wilderness with hatchet in hand. I took this photo of him looking majestic in his Mackinaw. Although it was snowing mightily and we had to ford an icy river (actually a stream, to be more truthful), we found a tree, cut it down, and stuffed into the vehicle for manly decorating over hot cocoa while his Mackinaw dried by the fire. Fortunately for me, my son saw that I was bereft of such warmth and gifted to me my own Mackinaw the following Christmas. Huzzah! What a gift! This coat was made for this country.

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.