I searched the forum and couldn't find a topic that addressed this. My apologies if this topic has already been addressed and I just could not locate the thread!
I am interested in one of the Red Oxx products - either the Air Boss or the Sky Train. All of my luggage is black, so black would also be my preferred Red Oxx color. However, the Red Oxx emblem (bright red) is really overbearing on their black bag. I searched the 'questions' section of their website, and it said they do not supply their products without the emblem.
Is this still their policy, or has anyone on the forum been able to purchase one of their products without the emblem? Or, does anyone have an easy way to 'remove' the emblem without affecting the integrity of the bag? Or has anyone used a black sharpie to 'blackout' the emblem. If yes, how does it look?
Or, can anyone recommend a similar product? I am looking for a carry on bag with no wheels that is rectilinear in shape - slightly under maximum legal carry on size. So perhaps something approximately 21x13x9. Preference would also be for a chain zipper as opposed to a coil zipper. Either ballistic nylon or cordura would be fine. I will mostly be carrying via shoulder strap, so the backpack straps are not too important in my decision. The number of primary pockets is not critical either.
Have you considered the Tom Bihn Tristar? Very high quality zippers. The tag is just sewn on and should easily come off.
Audrey
Thanks.....I've been reading all of the various threads on the Tristar.
I'm not opposed to tags and emblems in general. I realize most luggage has them, and that's fine. Usually they're fairly small, or the brand name is embossed somewhere on the bag, etc. The Tom Bihn emblem looks fine. It's just that the Red Oxx tag is the largest and most ostentatious that I've seen. I'm not interested in being their billboard. Plus I don't like the red-on-black emblem design for their black luggage. I'm sure I am not the only person who would seriously consider a Red Oxx product.....if not for the emblem!
A few minutes with a razor blade and tweezers, and the patch is gone. On a new item there's no discoloration and to my old eyes, no sign a few hours after its removed.
I don't know whether it's something Red Oxx would ever consider changing but I've seen similiar comments about the tag in other reviews while recently researching a luggage purchase.
Is it embroidered on a patch and then sewn onto the bag or is it directly embroidered on the bag? I just wanted to check but the redoxx site seems to be down. I got a 404 error.
If it wasn't for the info of Fliescasually, I'd doubt that a plain direct embroidery is easy to remove without traces.
A patch should be easy to remove, though.
Refined esthetics are obviously not as much Redoxx's strong suit as bomb-proof construction.
Just checked the site which is up again now. It looks like it's just a patch. Clip off carefully with exacto knife, fine nail scissors or razor blade. Problem solved.
Till
Last edited by tfar; Oct 25, 09 at 11:05 pm.
Reason: Added patch note
Funny, I purchased my emblem-less Air Boss about three years ago. When I ordered it I mentioned that I didn't want to advertise to the world that I was carrying an expensive high-end bag. They seemed genuinely pleased to honor that request.
That is funny. Maybe it depends to who you speak. Or they decided that extra wishes would cost them too much money and thus deny the request for a bag sans patch now. Interesting in any case. But really easy to fix as we saw above.
Red Oxx folks have been quite accommodating in my experience. Try emailing Jim. For a more casual approach I'd try Till's exacto knife idea. Or a black marker pen. I agree that bright red on black is not the most inspired cololr combination.
Thanks to all for your posts. I haven't exactly made up my mind on which brand / product to purchase. However, if I decide to go with the Red Oxx, I will inquire if they will sell me a bag without the emblem. If they won't, I'll try the exacto knife approach to the emblem. Thanks again for all of the information.
I already own a Sky Train and a Gator Bag (for 5 months) and have a rucksack on order for a trip in a week or so. All are in black and I wasn't crazy about the bright red emblems either ... although part of me likes them, a guy macho thing I think. Mostly the patches are a little too obviously screaming "American" for me when I'm traveling overseas.
Anyway, after reading this thread, I looked at the bags I have and yep, they are just stitched around the edge. So I took a new sharp razor blade (xacto would have worked as well) to the TOP of the patch (to make sure I didn't damage the bag). Working around the edge on the thread on the TOP of the patch and then a bit of careful work between the patch and the bag and voila, all 3 patches (the Gator had 2 patches) are now removed.
If you knew they were there, you may notice the thread holes but I think once the material "rests" (and I take them on another trip) you won't be able to see them. If these bags were seriously soiled, the location where the patch was may be more noticeable.
Obviously, you should look on the inside of any bag to see how the patch is sewed and I take NO responsibility for any damage you may do to your bag.
I can only report that my three patches were easily removed in 10 minutes and I'll likely do the same thing to the new bag when it shows up.
BTW, I LOVE (a) the quality of the red oxx bags and (b) rewarding US small businesses who make quality products. It also wouldn't surprise me if you asked them if you could get a bag that is patchless that they could accomadate you (although you may have to wait since ones in stock are obviously complete with patches).
As I posted once quite some time ago, I'm perfectly fine with having Red Oxx logo patches on the bag; I just wanted them to be willing to put on a patch in a different color. Red on black is too garish. I asked for them to put dark blue on instead, and was given a not-too-friendly "no" response. How hard could that be? They now even offer just the patches for sale as separate items!!!
I guess I'll just go cut off the red ones on my Air Boss, and then Red Oxx will get NO brand recognition from my bag.
Hm, I am surprised they offer just the patches for sale. As if anyone wanted to put more of them on their bags...
Even from a brandmark standpoint it's strange. Can you imagine Tumi offering patches for sale? Or Lacoste?
I can understand whey they wouldn't do one in another color. The patches are mass produced. They would have to special order a single one in blue for you. Just not cost-efficient.
I can understand whey they wouldn't do one in another color. The patches are mass produced. They would have to special order a single one in blue for you. Just not cost-efficient.
Let's not forget they do offer a custom branding corporate program with a fairly small min. order size, ten, so you'd think they would be able to print logo patches in alternate colours. Just MHO.
Very cool. We should make a FT custom Airboss and Gator bag. Special color combo and logo. Perhaps the light grey and cerulean blue that are the colors of the UI. That would look quite sharp.
Logo could inverse the scheme; grey symbol and letters on a blue background.
I agree that bright red on black is not the most inspired cololr combination.
