Just jotting this down for those of you that like nice hunter's luggage.
Orvis sold a lot of nice luggage over the years, some much better than others, and then at the very end of the run their stuff was kinda crude and low quality. (China?)
I knew that for many years, they subcontracted out to Gokey Leather that was a famous luggage and boot maker in Minneapolis, MN. Eventually, Orvis bought Gokey and they were private labeling their stuff for them. A couple years ago, Gokey was sold from Orvis to Boyt.
Recently, I came to learn that there was another Orvis subcontractor of really nice luggage: "Duluth Pack" which has had only one store for many, many decades. Very good, very expensive stuff. Many of those better Orvis pieces were made by Duluth in addition to Gokey.
J.W. Hulme is also a player, I do not understand whether they were the private label manufacturer, or whether they were hiring Gokey and Duluth to make the stuff for them.
In conclusion, if you're looking for the best safari/hunting luggage, you can search for vintage Orvis, Gokey, or Duluth. It's all the same heavy olive green canvas, same high quality bridle leather corners and buckles. Same very good zippers. Just avoid the 2010ish and newer "Orvis Battenkill" models that are easily identifiable as more of a forest green, more plastic handles and hardware, and lousy zippers. The earlier pieces are all excellent regardless of which label is affixed to which bag.
Orvis sold a lot of nice luggage over the years, some much better than others, and then at the very end of the run their stuff was kinda crude and low quality. (China?)
I knew that for many years, they subcontracted out to Gokey Leather that was a famous luggage and boot maker in Minneapolis, MN. Eventually, Orvis bought Gokey and they were private labeling their stuff for them. A couple years ago, Gokey was sold from Orvis to Boyt.
Recently, I came to learn that there was another Orvis subcontractor of really nice luggage: "Duluth Pack" which has had only one store for many, many decades. Very good, very expensive stuff. Many of those better Orvis pieces were made by Duluth in addition to Gokey.
J.W. Hulme is also a player, I do not understand whether they were the private label manufacturer, or whether they were hiring Gokey and Duluth to make the stuff for them.
In conclusion, if you're looking for the best safari/hunting luggage, you can search for vintage Orvis, Gokey, or Duluth. It's all the same heavy olive green canvas, same high quality bridle leather corners and buckles. Same very good zippers. Just avoid the 2010ish and newer "Orvis Battenkill" models that are easily identifiable as more of a forest green, more plastic handles and hardware, and lousy zippers. The earlier pieces are all excellent regardless of which label is affixed to which bag.
