Colour fastness of waxed cotton canvas

[hexiplex]

A few months ago my Domke J803 in ballistic nylon gave up on me, the metal clasp for the strap failed after eight years of use as well as abuse. A fantastic bag that's served my photo gear and sometimes quick trips to the grocery store well over the years. However, I always found it a bit on the small side.

To replace it I settled, after much deliberation, on the ONA Brixton. A bag that saw competition primarily from Billingham's range of offerings in the Hadley series. Whilst I am more than happy with the practicality of the bag as well as the looks (less so with the price point), something slightly disconcerts me. After just a little more than a month of use the black canvas is faded, almost to the point of being grey in the corners of the flap and many parts of the bag have taken on a reddish tint.

I expect and welcome 'patina' and wear, but this fast? The Swedish summer hasn't really offered enough sun for that to be the culprit. Are my expectations on how black a black bag should be skewed by my eight years with a Domke in ballistic nylon?

Please, share your experiences!

 

[f16sunshine]

I suppose it's a testament to the natural dyes they use for the fabric.
I have a leather brixton that is a couple years old. It arrived looking like it had 5 years of wear.
The leather is clearly pre distressed before assembly.
Yours is fabric but maybe....ONA designs all their products to have a patina in a shorter period of time?
If you are concerned you should contact them directly.

Canvas will fade.
Even a few of my Kaki military canvas bags are fading.
Those deffinetly don't use natural dies and yet the cotton canvas is fading.

 

[Dwig]

Dye applied to the cotton fibers in the canvas will never be anything near as durable as nylon that is pigmented.

 

[rscheffler]

Similar has happened to all my black Domke non-ballistic nylon products, though I don't go out shooting every day, so the fading took longer to become noticeable (though without a color shift to the material). It's a reason I switched to buying new Domke bags in ballistic nylon when available.

I recently bought a Filson Medium Field Bag, black waxed cotton, on clearance from them. Used it sporadically last fall, but then nearly every day while in Taiwan and Japan for a month this spring. After that, I noticed not so much fading, but that the portions of the bag most exposed to the sun and elements had taken on a slight orange/red tinge. Sounds similar to what you're experiencing. Looking at it more closely, the dye has definitely faded somewhat on the main compartment flap because the area normally covered by the straps is darker. When viewed at an angle, and with light skimming across the surface, there appear to be thousands of very fine orange/red fibers catching the light in the area that has faded somewhat. The effect is much less noticeable when the material is viewed straight on.

I haven't tried re-waxing the bag, though doubt it will do much to change the effect, and certainly won't do anything about the fading.

 

[icebear]

Also my Domke "little bit smaller" ?03 ... black cotton has also taken a light reddish tint, especially the strap and where back of the bag touches my hip. I guess sweat takes it's toll on the color fastness of the black dye. When this bag maybe 3 years in use by now, will give up in about 7 years, I might get the ballistic version.

 

[Godfrey]

My Domke F5XB is now about 26 years old (I think I bought it in 1989). It's black color faded to a dull gray within a couple of months and, although it's gotten a bit tattier since, pretty much stayed that way since. It's worn on corners and edges, but is still perfectly serviceable. The Nikon F6 with two lenses lives in it these days.

G

 

[Sparrow]

... the natue of the beast, the cotton will be dyed in yarn, probably, the nylon in chip (before extrusion) the colour is part of structure ... all cotton dyestuffs fade at some point

 

[Ben Z]

I looked at the ONA bags and wasn't particularly impressed with the way they're put together considering the price. I have a Domke J803 and if the clasp ever breaks I would at best have a shoe/luggage repair shop use one of the ones on the side (whose purpose still baffles me) to replace it. In fact if it was the spring bar that broke I think I could remove one from one of those other clips and fit it to the main one. At worst I would buy a new one. It's one of my favorite bags.

 

[x-ray]

I'm a real fan of Domke products. I have several of their canvas bags and just bought another. Most that I have are olive color and they do fade in time but I don't find that a problem. An old faded bag draws less attention than a new expensive looking bag trimmed in leather. To me it's about protecting my gear and functionality over style. I figure I've spent less on all of my Domke bags combined than the cost of one of the designer bags.

I'm the same way about neck straps. I have Domke 1" canvas on most of my cameras. It's comfortable and breaths through the canvas. I live in a hot humid climate and neoprene and leather cause my next to sweat because they don't breath. Again function and comfort over style and I'm always happy to save $200 on a neck strap or case.

 

[x-ray]

I forgot to mention in response to your question about waxed cotton. I don't have a waxed canvas bag but do have a couple of Stetson hats that are waxed canvas and have worn one of them almost every day in the intense southern sun and had very little fading. I have a waxed cotton long coat / trail duster and not experienced fading problems. It might be that Domke uses different dyes though. I thnk I'd try dreading it though. What's to lose but a little time.

 

[noisycheese]

@hexiplex,

Your experience does not exactly surprise me. Ona bags seem like they come up short in some ways, based on some of the comments I have read.

JMHO, but Billingham bags cannot be beat for durability, camera protection, rain protection, longevity, reliability, craftsmanship, good looks, value and reasonable price.

 

[Andy Kibber]

I don't have any experience with Ona bags but waxed canvas will fade a fair bit initially. On the Ona website they recommend reproofing canvas bags annually to maintain a vibrant finish, so there's that option. But as a matter of aesthetics, I prefer a bit of wear.