visvim - made in ?

[perty]

can any of you guys shed some light on the various countries of manufacture for visvim?

was checking out the hypatex tote on the weekend, and was somewhat suprised to see that it was "made in china"

the quality was there, but i still can't get over the stigma... anyone have any suggestions as to why hiroki has opted to manufacture this tote in china? are the other bags or any other items in the line made in china?

[greentea]

cheaper to make it.

[perty]

cheaper to make it.

i don't really think that's what hiroki's about...

for the price, you'd hope it was manufactured somewhere because that was the best place, with the best labour to get it made.

[MilSpex]

my buckminsters are made in Korea. I dont get why ppl still associate China with low quality..Japan used to churn out shit, shitty cap guns for kids in the `50s or whatever, they reinvested the profits in their factories and now they got most of the highest manufacturing tech on earth. China`s doing the same. Obviously the capability is there now to turn out high quality goods - ever heard anyone complain about the quality of their hypatex 20?

[perty]

I dont get why ppl still associate China with low quality..

history i spose...

Japan used to churn out shit, shitty cap guns for kids in the `50s or whatever, they reinvested the profits in their factories and now they got most of the highest manufacturing tech on earth. China`s doing the same.

ok - but Japan's way ahead of China's curve in that sense...

Obviously the capability is there now to turn out high quality goods - ever heard anyone complain about the quality of their hypatex 20?

The quality of the bag is there, at least in the tote i saw. I'm just wondering why China? I mean, where is the 'taps x porter readypack gear made? or all porter gear for that matter...

[MilSpex]

history i spose...

ok - but Japan's way ahead of China's curve in that sense...

The quality of the bag is there, at least in the tote i saw. I'm just wondering why China? I mean, where is the 'taps x porter readypack gear made? or all porter gear for that matter...

Its made in Japan but a lot of wtaps clothing is made in China now..TET or Hiroki or HF would never risk their reputation on putting out shitty quality...therefore if they think they can find factories in China that manufacture at the same level of quality all of their products have always been produced at I trust em. No questions until my shit starts to fall apart being used the way its supposed to be.

[perty]

Its made in Japan but a lot of wtaps clothing is made in China now..TET or Hiroki or HF would never risk their reputation on putting out shitty quality...therefore if they think they can find factories in China that manufacture at the same level of quality all of their products have always been produced at I trust em. No questions until my shit starts to fall apart being used the way its supposed to be.

can't help but suspect that it's about cutting costs... and given the high prices, doesn't seem like any of those savings are being passed on. fair enough, they're in business and need to make a profit, but the prices are high, and increasing - i just don't feel it's justified to do that if you're not sticking to "higher pedigree" countries of manufacture.

extreme prejudice? maybe...

[xcoldricex]

of course it's about cutting costs, but its not like they're sacrificing quality- could you tell until you looked at the tag? there's no reason for them to lower prices, who in their right mind would lower prices when all your stuff is going to sell out no matter where it is made? you need to wake up- china is and has been coming up for awhile now.

my only disappointment was i could never find anything that "fell off the truck" for either of these companies while i was in china haha.

[derdankhund]

my serra's are the first article of clothing I've had "made in korea"

anyone know any other labels that produce their stuff in korea?

[prufrock]

made in china isnt as bad as it used to be. milspex is right, they are reinvesting profits and its really showing. in the end it comes down to quality, visvm, taps, and porter would not get their stuff manufactured in china if it would sacrfice quality.

[perty]

of course it's about cutting costs, but its not like they're sacrificing quality- could you tell until you looked at the tag? there's no reason for them to lower prices, who in their right mind would lower prices when all your stuff is going to sell out no matter where it is made?

i couldn't tell until i'd looked at the tag, and as i said, the quality was there. however, for a label that's synonymous with attention to detail and discreet luxury, i can't help but feel that manufacturing in china is somehow inferior. not in the sense that the quality declines, however, i reckon for the price of the tote, it *should* be made in japan.

does anyone know if any of the earlier totes were made in japan? or where the backpacks are made? not asking them to lower prices, but if they've transferred manufacture from japan to china, and maintained price levels, then i've got a problem with that.

you need to wake up- china is and has been coming up for awhile now.

my only disappointment was i could never find anything that "fell off the truck" for either of these companies while i was in china haha.

totally aware of china's move to dominance in the manufacturing world. however, didn't think it was gaining traction in the discreet luxury echelon of the industry. i'd like to think that their choice of manufacturing country (including china) is based on the fact that it's the best possible place to manufacture that product. if anyone can give me definitive authority that china is THE place to manufacture elk hide and hypatex products, then i'm sold...

[prima]

i believe my FBT shamans are made in korea

[hahnstch]

does anyone know if any of the earlier totes were made in japan? or where the backpacks are made? not asking them to lower prices, but if they've transferred manufacture from japan to china, and maintained price levels, then i've got a problem with that.

never made in japan. it has been in china from the beginning. my shaker ballistic backpack is made in china, and that's the first edition backpack.

[xcoldricex]

i couldn't tell until i'd looked at the tag, and as i said, the quality was there. however, for a label that's synonymous with attention to detail and discreet luxury, i can't help but feel that manufacturing in china is somehow inferior. not in the sense that the quality declines, however, i reckon for the price of the tote, it *should* be made in japan.

does anyone know if any of the earlier totes were made in japan? or where the backpacks are made? not asking them to lower prices, but if they've transferred manufacture from japan to china, and maintained price levels, then i've got a problem with that.

totally aware of china's move to dominance in the manufacturing world. however, didn't think it was gaining traction in the discreet luxury echelon of the industry. i'd like to think that their choice of manufacturing country (including china) is based on the fact that it's the best possible place to manufacture that product. if anyone can give me definitive authority that china is THE place to manufacture elk hide and hypatex products, then i'm sold...

if any company took the time to make everything at THE place to manufacture things you'd be paying a lot more than $250 for a tote bag. their backpacks do not have a made in tag. you think korea is THE place to make footwear? is japan THE place to manufacture elk hide and hypatex products? probably not and if it is you probably can't give me a definitive authority on that either. i think you should evaluate the product itself, rather than where it's being constructed- the product is a much better indicator- and while china has been associated with the low end things are changing- just as how japan changed over the past few decades.

[american_hearts]

if anyone can give me definitive authority that china is THE place to manufacture elk hide and hypatex products, then i'm sold...

oh, then you'll be sold? what are you going to do, buy it again? look at the quality and ask yourself if you got what you paid for and that's the only answer you need.

[xcoldricex]

my shaker ballistic backpack is made in china, and that's the first edition backpack.

gimme! was it you who commented that the earlier designed backpacks were better?

[hahnstch]

no it wasnt me, thats my only backpack so i cant comment on the next edition packs. hehe, i might sell it once i got my acr 5TS or the new ballistic k-pack

but i might just keep it for archival purpose haha

[Kasper]

my serra's are the first article of clothing I've had "made in korea"

anyone know any other labels that produce their stuff in korea?

Korea used to be a pretty popular spot to produce footwear. i know that many skate shoes companies use to make their shoes there (DC comes to mind, but i know there are others). Nike use to produce heavily in Korea also, but i think they pretty moved out most of their operations to lower labor costs countries.

[xcoldricex]

ipath makes their shoes in korea. you can find them mad cheap there.

[perty]

if any company took the time to make everything at THE place to manufacture things you'd be paying a lot more than $250 for a tote bag. their backpacks do not have a made in tag. you think korea is THE place to make footwear? is japan THE place to manufacture elk hide and hypatex products? probably not and if it is you probably can't give me a definitive authority on that either. i think you should evaluate the product itself, rather than where it's being constructed- the product is a much better indicator- and while china has been associated with the low end things are changing- just as how japan changed over the past few decades.

manufacturing at THE place to manufacture things would be consistent with visvim's philosophy. with all the research that the FIL put into their product lineup, i would expect that there would be a good reason (other than cost cutting) to use china as a place of manufacture. my question from the beginning has been whether anyone happens to know that reason?

is japan THE place to manufacture elk hide and hypatex products? probably not and if it is you probably can't give me a definitive authority on that either. i think you should evaluate the product itself, rather than where it's being constructed- the product is a much better indicator- and while china has been associated with the low end things are changing- just as how japan changed over the past few decades.

i have never claimed to have any authority on japan being THE place to manufacture elk&hypatex. however, i think it's pretty widely accepted that japanese craftsmanship is pretty up there and superior to "made in china." my qualm is that the visvim tote appears to be commanding japanese made prices, when in fact, it is made in china (presumably more cheaply than in japan). agree that china is moving away from the low end, but don't think that it's at a level where you can charge the same prices as japanese or "higher pedigree" made.

oh, then you'll be sold? what are you going to do, buy it again? look at the quality and ask yourself if you got what you paid for and that's the only answer you need.

i have not bought it yet. i am still evaluating the product. as i've said, the quality is there, but place of manufacture is a consideration. like i said above, the bag is priced commensurately to japanese made - so i probably wouldn't feel like i'm getting what i paid for. unless hiroki has a good reason for producing in china. lower costs, while still charging at least as much if not more than for similar products is not a good enough reason for me.

[minya]

The Visvim backpack I handled was in every respect I could see and feel pretty much perfect in terms of quality. I think I might buy one eventually.

[perty]

no it wasnt me, thats my only backpack so i cant comment on the next edition packs. hehe, i might sell it once i got my acr 5TS or the new ballistic k-pack

but i might just keep it for archival purpose haha

hahnstch, are you happy with your shaker ballistic? gotta love archival...

is the acr 5TS bagjack manufactured? can't beat courier + special ops + discreet luxury technology...

//edit for spelling//

[xcoldricex]

i've had my hypatex/elk backpack for about 8 months and i love every chinese part of it.

[M4TM]

keep in mind that the Chinese yuan is artificially kept at a low exchange rate against world currencies. if it were allowed to float freely, the same quality stuff would cost a lot more. i would say that china products are relatively cheaper.

but not necessarily of poorer quality. (don't forget, even some "made in the USA" stuff is crap.)