Smokey and the bandannas: Filson launches limited-edition collaboration with the U.S. Forest Service

Senior Features Writer

Aug. 15, 2017 5 AM PT

Filson, the 120-year-old Seattle-based maker of hard-wearing outdoor gear, has launched a collection under license with the U.S. Forest Service that puts the USFS logo — and Smokey Bear mascot — on a range of appropriately rugged apparel and accessories including backpacks, T-shirts, bandannas, hats and jackets.

Standouts of the 17-piece, limited-edition U.S. Forest Service collection include a version of Filson’s Tin Cruiser, a heavy-duty, oil-finished tin cloth work jacket (tin cloth is another name for waxed canvas) in black with a tone-on-tone embroidered USFS logo patch on the left shoulder ($385; baseball-style “logger caps” in the same material are $35). Also there’s a twill and tin cloth ranger backpack inspired by vintage forestry packs ($245), and a version of Filson’s Dutch Harbor Watch with the USFS shield logo emblazoned on the face of the smoky-brown timepiece just below the 12 o’clock spot ($750).

Speaking of smoky, our hands-down favorite items in the merchandise mix are the ones bearing the likeness of wildfire-prevention spokesbear Smokey Bear. These include short- and longsleeve T-shirts ($38 and $45, respectively) and a retro-looking cotton bandanna screenprinted with fire-prevention tips (for example, “Always pour water on the fire”), along with images of manly looking shovels and axes ($48).

The collection, which also includes a smattering of home goods (think logofied Pendleton blankets, water bottles and enameled steel mugs), is part of a larger partnership between Filson, the USDA agency responsible for managing 193 million acres of public land, and the National Forest Foundation.

Other efforts include Filson employee volunteers working to restore a fire lookout tower in Washington’s Central Cascades and raising awareness through storytelling initiatives. One such initiative is a Filson-commissioned book of photographs that combined archival Forest Service photos with images by Cole Barash, a photographer who embedded with a team of smoke jumpers to document their efforts. Another is Brandon Kuzma’s short film, “Fighting Fire With Fire,” which Filson posted to its YouTube channel on Aug. 4 to mark the launch of the collaborative collection.

According to the Filson folks, the new partnership is actually the rekindling of a relationship that stretches all the way back to the founding of the Forest Service in 1905 at a time when Filson gear was a go-to for employees of the fledgling agency.

The Filson U.S. Forest Service collection is available at all brick-and-mortar Filson stores and online at filson.com.