rirawin

If the buyer wants photos of the backpack from a legitimate source for comparison send him here:

http://www.beinghunted.com/v40/reviews/2005/may/

In particular:

http://www.beinghunted.com/v40/reviews/2005/may/visvim02/_html/slides.html

The counterfeit item from taobao is nothing like the real thing, exterior shape, side pockets, interior pockets etc.

Also the link he's referring to on Hypebeast is the S/S 2008 shaker backpack, the one you sold him is from 2005!

Another surefire way of knowing if it's legit is the inside label and the keyring clip attachment, if it has "Duraflex" on the reverse side of "VISVIM" it's legitimate, fakes do not have this. Also fake backpacks do not come with box and tags, just tags.

The buyer is an idiot and doesn't have a clue. Seriously, as someone else pointed out, get him to ship the backpack back to you and refund him. Sounds all way too much hassle.

The backpack is real. 

My 2004 Trekker (now known as the Ballistic 20L), their first ever backpack, has the inside label "Made In - Fabriquea China". This backpack was purchased from F.I.L. and has the original box and tags. Kiya's is from F/W 05-06 where they stopped putting the "Made in xxx" tags in. Shakers, are from S/S collections, yours in particular S/S 2005. Additionally my S/S 2006 Cordu 22L (now known as the Ballistic/Lamina 22L) omits the "Made in xxx" tag as well.

However, in recent years the tag has made a reappearence and is in form of your usual "garment care label". For example, my Homer tote from F/W 11-12 has a "Made in China" tag. As Kiya mentioned Visvim has utilised many factories over the decade, a lot of the original footwear, such as my Kiefer Lo's from 2006 were made in Korea before shifting to China.

Nothing wrong with Shake Shack in the UK, I quite liked it for a "chain". If you want independent, Honest Burger and Patty and Bun are the ones to go to. Lucky Chip was good... but has been overshadowed by the more recent formers.

Went to the opening of Shake Shack UK and ordered...

Double smoke stack, shake stack (highlight), big blend, concrete jungle (another highlight), shackmeister sausage, cheese fries and fifty/fifty to wash it all down, for two.

How we roll in the UK...

No free sunglasses or eco-bag but we did end up with a pair of these...

five guys: london style

 

 

mobility scooters gooo

Went for Shake Shack instead...

I can do you a free Muji proxy from the www.muji.eu store 

Details and references in this thread: 

http://supertalk.superfuture.com/index.php/topic/136346-free-uniqlo-proxy/

Wow, had such a great time in Berlin despite the weather being quite unbearable at times, 33-35 degrees C during the day. I won't be waiting 6 years to visit again that's for sure.

Unfortunately, we timed our trip with Obama's, so a lot of the tourist areas were closed or restricted to the public on two of the days, in particular the Schloss Charlottenburg - will definitely go there next time we're there. We did do quite a few other places, Topography of Terror, Museum Island (3 of the museums there) and Sachsenhausen being the noteworthy ones. The latter we went on a free walking tour with Vive Berlin Tours, there was just a small group 7 including the guide and it was one of the best tour guides we've ever been on - and I'm usually not a fan of them. If anyone is in Berlin I highly recommend going with this tour guide/group. Guy who led the tour, Dennis, was really engaging and based the tour on two ex-prisoners of the camp, Martin Niemöller and Harry Naujoks. Stopped off and had a nice walk around the Bellevue area on the way back.

Food wise, we did Mustafa's and Curry 36, Mustafa's lived up to the hype, best kebab I've ever had to date. Curry 36 was a bit of a let down, but served as an appetiser while we waited in line for Mustafa's (we only queued for around 15 minutes).

As for local food, we tried to go to Max und Moritz but unfortunately it was closed for renovations for the week we were there. We did end up going to Tiergartenquelle, which was really good. Tried their roast pork joint and it was sooo good. Pork literally just melted in your mouth. The local beer they served was a big hit with the missus too.

Thanks again for all the recommendations.

Another food related question. The missus is obsessed with trying the local delicacy "Eisbein", any recommended restaurants in and around the Mitte area that serves this dish?

Without taking anything away from the person above, I personally recommend Son of a Stag, if you're London based. Had a pair of Visvim Social Sculptures done and they did it there and then. Only took 20 minutes or so.

Out of interest, do Rivet and Hide offer a repair service?

LA/Union trunk show is at US pricing, HK trunk show is at HK pricing, so no, not Japan retail at all. On the flip side  at least you're guaranteed to get your size.

Pretty hot in Taipei right now, making it uncomfortable to sleep at night...

So to cool off she sticks her head out of the curtain to get the gentle breeze of the fan - yes she has her own fan...

Running in Free stuff just goddamn kills my achilles for some reason.

Maybe slightly related, but I was reading a few running articles and it has been advised by Physios and other experts that interval training shouldn't be undertaken immediately by those who have just started running on a regular basis. They believe that you should take a year to develop your running i.e. increasing you distance as you run more, and to have accumulated at least 300 miles and/or running 16-26 miles a week, before even considering light interval training. They say this is to allow your body to get used to the "pounding and stress" it goes through when you are running - something your body may not be or isn't used to.

It makes sense to me... and that's why I'll be spending the next 6 months working on my distance before I start interval training to improve times.

Back to your statement, I guess it could be applied to Nike Frees, I know they're meant to improve your gait and strengthen the muscles you don't normally use etc., but if you aren't a seasoned runner, running in them could increase the stress on your body. I also read that they shouldn't replace your high-mileage trainer and realistically be used once a week for short runs - most definitely applicable to those running on concrete/hard surfaces.

Go to a proper running store and have your gait checked out. They will be able to advise you as to what type of trainers you need, whether you need support etc. It's important to get a trainer that matches your running style, if not you run the risk of injury later down the line.

Wouldn't start off with a Nike Free run personally, they're more aimed at those transitioning from supportive trainers to running barefoot... bit much (or not enough) for a person just starting off.

That sounds really fishy... as mentioned above make sure you ship to the address that is listed within the PayPal transaction. I would go with UPS personally as they just seem to be more reliable than USPS and definitely get signature confirmation. Having tracking to say it was "delivered" isn't enough, as some couriers, will leave the item in a "safe place" by the back door and lo' and behold the buyer will probably claim the item was "stolen", so you definitely need a signature.

Why not have it sent to his address, the courier will leave a while you were out card, as USPS usually do, and his friend Josh can go and collect it from the local USPS depot/post office ?

On a side note, why doesn't he have items shipped to his work address...? Unless he works offshore on an oil rig or at Langley HQ, I don't see any reason not to have stuff delivered to his work place?

For those wanting to convert from Nike+ to Garmin, do not fret, you can still import your Garmin runs to your Nike+ account. I use:

http://www.awsmithson.com/tcx2nikeplus/

Tip: To import the GPS mapping data use the import/activity method rather than uploading the TCX file.

It is indeed !

Ah sorry I meant just Haji Lane itself, outside of Haji Lane there are better stores, as you have kindly pointed out  I was making a comparison with Haji Lane when I was there back in February this year with when I was there in 2006. It would appear a lot has changed over the years!

Ah it's been a few years since I've been to Victor's kitchen, it was good from what I can remember. I will have to try Swee Choon next time I'm in town 

I think 51 Haji Lane is now the only decent and unique store there, all the rest seemed to be repeats of each other, stocking "similar" clothing. I know as I got dragged to every single store down that stretch of lane with the missus. What I did find amusing was the number of stores having Aunties run them...

I'd follow eBays advice and not proceed with the transaction with that buyer. The buyer is clearly using eBay/PayPal fraudulently. Even though PayPal is saying you're seller protected, if the original PayPal account holder is now aware of the fraud (presumingly it was a legitimate one that got hijacked), they would still be able to file a chargeback through their own bank and claim the funds back.

Therefore, I wouldn't go out and spend that money just yet. There is still a good chance PayPal will reverse that payment once they've done their "investigations". If say after a month (think the official line is 30 days) you still have the money in your PayPal account, then you have a win win situation.

On the local food tip I thought Lavender food court was pretty good. Another recommendation for dim sum is Victor's Kitchen. As for places to visit and see, despite being a "tourist trap" I thought Gardens by the Bay to be really good. It costs $5SGD to go up to the Dragon Fly skybridge, definitely worth taking a trip up to the top to see the sun set over Singapore.

The night safari at Singapore Zoo is another highlight, bit awkward to get, so if you're going with a group of people probably easier to get a cab there and back. We paid around $30 for a single trip from Orchard Road. Most hotels will run a coach trip and includes the entrance fee too, which workers out cheaper.

In the evening the lady and I went to Haji Lane to have a couple of drinks at one of the bars and watch a couple of live music acts. Was a relaxing, but at the same time an entertaining evening.

@DJ Flame, if you're not looking locally, Charles Trywhitt have an offer on for 2 100% silk ties for £40 http://www.ctshirts.co.uk/mens-ties/mens-woven-silk-ties?q=gbpdefault||||||||||||||| holla at me if you need a free proxy.

Back in February I was taken to Golden Spoon by friends and had crab there:

http://www.hungrygowhere.com/singapore/de_classic_golden_spoon/

It was delectable.