RAF crew bag / parachute bag

[Officer Dibley]

15" x 15" x 9".
Certainly these are real and were official issue as a quick google image search will show.

 

[dmar836]

I never assumed them to be fantasy until the comparison to the AAF AN6505-1. Maybe I misunderstood and it was compared specifically to the SOF bag which IIRC is a scaled down version and might even have fantasy proportions as well. Certainly the 6505-1 isn’t a convenient weekender or daily carry bag unless you carry a chute and harness to work daily.
Just grabbed a 6505-1 and it measures 22”X17”X12” which is well over twice the volume of the RAF bag.
I like the idea of a scaled down bag for light travel.
Dave

 

[B-Man2]

I never assumed them to be fantasy until the comparison to the AAF AN6505-1. Maybe I misunderstood and it was compared specifically to the SOF bag which IIRC is a scaled down version and might even have fantasy proportions as well. Certainly the 6505-1 isn’t a convenient weekender or daily carry bag unless you carry a chute and harness to work daily.
Just grabbed a 6505-1 and it measures 22”X17”X12” which is well over twice the volume of the RAF bag.
I like the idea of a scaled down bag for light travel.
Dave

I like the one Smithy got from SOF. It’s sized down version of the USAAF kit bag, which is perfect for a weekender. However , I just don’t get why they are priced so high. It’s basically a couple of pieces of canvas sewn up to look like the real deal but without the repro hardware , zips or any of the other compliments that would have to be obtained for a full size repro bag. So why the high cost. Not a lot of complex sewing going on here. Someone clue me in please.

 

[Smithy]

I like the one Smithy got from SOF. It’s sized down version of the USAAF kit bag, which is perfect for a weekender. However , I just don’t get why they are priced so high. It’s basically a couple of pieces of canvas sewn up to look like the real deal but without the repro hardware , zips or any of the other compliments that would have to be obtained for a full size repro bag. So why the high cost. Not a lot of complex sewing going on here. Someone clue me in please.

It's all in the margins Burt! Could be worse though, those Eastman's go for £150 (!!!!!!?????) and the straps are all wrong for starters

 

[Officer Dibley]

I never assumed them to be fantasy until the comparison to the AAF AN6505-1. Maybe I misunderstood and it was compared specifically to the SOF bag which IIRC is a scaled down version and might even have fantasy proportions as well. Certainly the 6505-1 isn’t a convenient weekender or daily carry bag unless you carry a chute and harness to work daily.
Just grabbed a 6505-1 and it measures 22”X17”X12” which is well over twice the volume of the RAF bag.
I like the idea of a scaled down bag for light travel.
Dave

And the RAF one is, in my humble opinion, the perfect bag.
Short enough it won't drag on the ground or make you walk with one shoulder hoiked up.
Big enough to carry clobber for a weekend

 

[dmar836]

Burt, I know what you mean but once you do a lot of this stuff - make a lot of things - you look back and wonder why you couldn't make some money doing it. It's funny as it's really difficult to quantify. Supply and demand is one thing but shouldn't there be tons of option if it is as simple as it appears?

I'll ask the forum to suffer remembering my B-1 cap story. I posted some pics suggesting I had made enough to sell. One even had O2 snaps added. Now, I'm not saying they were the best by any means. Nonetheless, tons of compliments and many PMs. Once I was asked, I did some quick math and offered a few for $35 a piece(nothing what I had into them but I wasn't planning on building a business here). Sold two. Two! Granted, I didn't advertise but hey they PM'd me. One member declined saying $35 was too steep. It was a little bit insulting really. Sure glad I wasn't making a go of it. The quick math I did figured in the time I spent leaving out travel for supplies or shipping of same. Also left out the days experimenting with dyes vs the various base color wool that was available. No machinery cost figured in either. Still, I came up with 4-6 hours into each cap. That's only $5.83 - $8.75/hr. for what appears to be just a simple fabric cap with a strip of leather sewn in and simple overlocked seams. Anyone asks about a B-1 now I just point them to Mash or ELC. "But they want even more $$!" I settled for being happy making them just for me. Later, inquiries about the wool 6 panel caps I made were dismissed by me. I have many other hobbies to do and the time and expense can go to those things I chose to enjoy.

I assume the same of the bags. I could make them for a bit less than the lowest priced one out there if everyone was truly okay with Walmart-looking zippers and common fabric store canvas and webbing - all in standard colors, not a proper looking khaki. To play with dyeing webbing, canvas, and zip tape is quite time consuming. No stenciling of course as that would take several hours to make, practice with, and then apply. If some steps like the dying or stencil making, machine setup, whatever, takes only a few extra hours but can be used on the whole run of bags or caps, whatever, that time must still be divided and applied to each item. Now we have quite a bit of time in each bag. By the time you have one looking like something any of us would respect there are several hours in each one. I have always wanted to ask others how much they would accept as an hourly wage to do such a job? Seriously, think about it. You don't have to worry about the correctness of materials, etc. or the skills. You would be trained. Just for the time but you have to do 100% of the assembly, packaging, travel and so on. If it comes out to say 2.5 hours for each bag and $10-15 worth of materials how much do you expect to be paid? Chances are, if it's a low enough number, ELC, Mash, Cockpit, or I will offer to buy your supply for that and sell it for more. Way more. Then Chinese workers get an order from a competitor and we are right back where we are - a high and a low price point (70 is the lowest one). Who is going to take on the business venture of improving the low priced bag(zips, etc) to be more like the high priced bag and yet ask less than the low priced bag available? Welcome to a global free market.

I have always found this interesting to discuss but I have yet to make it work for me. I think the above example is a sound one. The other option is to order a shipping container of 10,000 bags spec'd from China and sell them at a reduced price undercutting everyone. That would ensure you would benefit from a majority of the demand for these bags. How many do you think we could sell?

Dave

 

[B-Man2]

Dave
Well written and enlightening as well. Several things are involved that I, as consumer was unaware of, and never considered. You’ve opened my eyes. On the surface it seems like a few pieces of canvas sewn together with minimal skill and effort. Never considered the preliminary work that needs to be done to simply get the project off the ground.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience.
Cheers
Burt

 

[dmar836]

Sorry that was so long. Lol. You did say, “Clue me in”

Dave

 

[B-Man2]

Sorry that was so long. Lol. You did say, “Clue me in”

Dave

I am now officially “Clued In”

 

[Officer Dibley]

I have to say that £40 for a bag with a lot of stitching (and internal pockets and stiffening etc) is a good price.

Just think how much folk pay for a high end A-2 (or any A-2) when if you look at what it is in terms of yards of material and relative ease of construction, you have DMAR's point exactly.

Look at the lowest price A-2 out there (£135 i think) and the highest £1300?) and you see cleary what the simple "mark up" is. Everything else is research, materials spec', low volume, 1st World wages, profit and R&D.

 

[dmar836]

Question: How do you make $1M making reproduction flight jackets?

Answer: Start with $2M!

Only half joking.

 

[Officer Dibley]

A recent Canadian acquisition against an RAF issued one re-purposed as a DZ bag.

 

[Carl]

I picked up recently an identical looking one as your Canadian Switlik one Steve.The stencilling is hard to photograph to be able to be seen , but Switlik can be made out on the side of the bag
£40 posted happy days !!

 

[ausreenactor]

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=320516396062495

Funny...