Archival Field Trip - Pisgah

Snap views of from our recent hike up Mt Pisgah, a favorite local wilderness area.  Tom and Archival intern, Val, test drove our canvas duck packs on a walk up to the Pisgah rope swing.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Archival Coveralls

Via Archival pal and Unsung Sewing Patterns blogger, Andrea Cesari, here is an original pattern for sewing your own WW II era coverall.  Andrea notes that the fabric recommendations for this garment are Archival favorites: corduroy, denim or duck.   See Andrea's post for more details on the coverall pattern and historical photographs documenting its use.  

Release - Small Field Bags in Canvas Duck

 

Our Small Field Bag is a scaled-down version of our original Field Bag for those who don't need to carry as much in the field or to the office. Intended as a daily workhorse, our field bag is a cross between a traditional English fishing bag and an urban messenger bag.  Durable construction and practical features allow the bag to excel at carrying gear both outdoors and to the office.

For Spring we’re releasing this bag in 18 oz cotton duck fabric in natural, navy, charcoal and carmine red.  Like the original Field Bag, the Small Field Bag is trimmed in Horween leather and features solid brass hardware, a YKK zipper and mil spec cotton webbing.  

Available via the Archival Web Shop and select stockists.

Restock - Chester Wallace Totes

Our friend Patrick Long designed his Chester Wallace tote with all the features of a great bag: a six-pack fits in the bottom, you can carry it with the removable shoulder strap or by the tote handles, and there are enough pockets of all sizes to keep everyone happy.

Our current, custom Chester Wallace Tote offerings come in two fabrics: dry finish cotton duck and waxed cotton canvas. Quality materials ensure that your bag is bound to last a lifetime.  Features include a waterproof bottom, nylon webbing, and nickel hardware.

Current colorways include natural/camo, evergreen/navy and gray/brow

Customize your CW tote with an extra strap

Visit the Archival Web Shop for more information

Archival Release - Archival Zip Tote

We're pleased to announce the release of our new Archival Zip Tote.  The Zip Tote is a favorite companion for work and travel. Our tote comes with a double sided zipper for security and easy access and a wide mouth that fits tablets and small laptops.  Made in Oregon in our favorite 18 ounce dry duck canvas that's both durable and water-resistant. 

The Zip Tote is built from the highest quality materials including sturdy #8 cotton duck (18 oz), Horween leather, YKK zippers and mil spec webbing from the UK.  Edges are bound in waxed cotton tape and all stress points are reinforced.  Meets TSA carry-on limits.  

For more info, visit the Archival Web Shop. 

Update - Archival Roll Tops

The Archival Roll Top is now available for Fall in two new canvas duck colors: olive and terracotta.  The Roll Top is a comfortable, roomy, stripped-down backpack for keeping your belongings dry and safe in any conditions. Ideal for bicyclists, motorcyclists, and anyone else who regularly faces the elements. Featuring a roll-top closure secured by a stout Horween leather strap and solid brass roller buckle, double-layer bottom, an interior stash pocket, and two exterior side pockets great for keys, mini U-lock, or anything else requiring quick access.  Our Roll Top is also available for the Fall in heavy duty waxed twill. 

 

 

Release - Archival Zip Pouches

We love using these simple zip pouches to corral our accessories, pens and pencils, or small essentials within a larger bag. It creates order and keep things neat.

The small size is great as a pencil pouch or for your lighters and knives when camping.
The medium size is perfect for securing a small device with chargers and cords.
And the largest pouch fits an iPad perfectly, though it's also great for keeping a notepad out of harm's way when hiking or hunting.

Made of stout, water-resistant 18 ounce cotton duck, and a burly #5 Ideal zipper.
Inside seam is taped.

Available colors: Bottle Green (deadstock), Burgundy, Navy, Teal, Red

Restock - Archival Rolltop in canvas duck

Our Archival Roll Top in black and natural canvas duck is now available for pre-order from the Archival web shop. Our Archival Roll Top is a comfortable, roomy, stripped-down backpack for keeping your belongings dry and safe in any conditions. Slightly larger than our Rucksack, the Roll Top is great for bicyclists, motorcyclists, and anyone else who regularly faces the elements. Here are some action snaps of Tom's personal pack in use.




The Archival Roll Top in ranger tan waxed twill is also available for pre-order. Ship date on 8/15.

New Release: Archival x Steele Basket Tote

For summer, we introduce our new waterproof bottom Archival x Steele Canvas Tote which is perfect for your larger capacity toting needs. It's our favorite bag for carrying essentials to and from the beach or neighborhood swimming pool.

Steele Canvas Totes are constructed from extra-stout #4 natural canvas duck, undyed to ensure maximum fabric strength. A double bottom in waterproof truck tarp ensures you can set it down in challenging conditions. The structure provided by the rectangular and boxy base of the Tote maximizes its load capacity. Really nice, stiff edges enable the Archival Steele Canvas Tote to stand upright and open for easy loading and unloading. Two reinforced 8" handles and a practical internal pocket round out the design.

17 x 17 x 10

Made in USA

This release of the tote features the original The Steele Basket stencil from the archives.


Our original Archival report on the venerable Steele Canvas Basket company in Chelsea, MA.

From the archives - Bottle Green Rucksack

While we cannot shop from the past we can still recycle materials from our fabric vendor's archives. For a limited time, we're featuring Archival Rucksacks made from deadstock bottle green canvas duck. The fabric, over twenty five years old, comes to us from an orphan warehouse stash that was lost to time. It is the same sturdy, high quality duck we source for our stock canvas rucksacks but the material surface of the fabric (like a nice barrel aged spirit) has been slightly mellowed, and transformed, by time.

Archival Rucksack in deadstock bottle green canvas duck

We’re happy to note that due to the popular response to our Archival Rucksacks in bottle green, the fabric manufacturer will be making this shade of green again in their commercial grade fabric. Here's your chance to secure a bag made from the original source material.

New Release - Archival Roll Top

Current color offerings - cobalt, natural & black

Our Archival Roll Top is a comfortable, roomy, stripped-down backpack for keeping your belongings dry and safe in any conditions. Slightly larger than our Rucksack, the Roll Top is great for bicyclists, motorcyclists, and anyone else who regularly faces the elements.

Featuring a roll-top closure secured by a stout Horween leather strap and solid brass roller buckle, double-layer bottom, an interior stash pocket, and two exterior side pockets great for keys, mini U-lock, or anything else requiring quick access. Includes a semi-rigid, padded back panel and solid brass rings to adjust the shoulder straps, just like our classic Rucksack model. A Horween leather lash point on the front panel makes a great place to attach anything from a bike light to a sleeping pad.

The backpack is constructed from the highest quality materials: water-resistant 18 oz cotton duck, Horween leather, and thread are of US origin. Webbing and most of our solid brass hardware is sourced from the UK. Edges are bound in waxed cotton tape and all stress points are bar-tacked or riveted. Available via our web shop and select stockists.

See Well Spent for an interview with with Tom about his Archival Roll Top bag design.

Fore and aft

Horween leather lash patch

Exterior side pocket

Unrolled profile

Tom modeling his creation

Update: Archival Duffel in Red

We are now releasing our popular Archival Duffel in high energy carmine red. The Archival Duffel is constructed from the highest quality materials: sturdy #8 cotton duck (18 oz), Horween leather, YKK zippers, and thread are of US origin. Webbing and most of our solid brass hardware is sourced from the UK. Edges are bound in waxed cotton tape and all stress points are bar-tacked or riveted. Meets TSA carry-on limits.

Duffels and Rucksacks - a fetching combination