Western Railroad Discussion > Need the advise of the "Old Heads" (MT Railroaders plz

I've been going through grip bags like water lately. Swiss has been good to me in the past but alas they wear out, in my opinion, long before they ought to. So I need to know, what is the best RR grip out there? I've been looking online and found the Red Oxx site. I've been looking at few of their bags, especially the ones that are said to be designed especially for rails. I asked the Montana Railroaders for their opinion especially since the Red Oxx company seems to be solely based in and operated out of Billings, MT. So now MT Rails I defer to you. Do any of you use a Red Oxx grip? Like, Love, Hate, Eh? My big thing is that I like the fact that Red Oxx's are american made and seem, at least on the computer screen, to be durable(with a lifetime warranty)

So tell me guys and gals what is THEE best grip on the market today?

Thanks in advance

Ben



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/29/12 20:03 by 5524.

The REd Oxx is a GREAT grip! I love mine, tough as nails never a problem with mine in 6 years. Lots of guys here in MT use them and their other products are great too. Highly recommended

Well, I don't railroad in Montana. But I have used a Red Oxx bag nearly since I started railroading in 1999. My original bag is still perfectly useable. I have even purchased some of their other bags for none railroad use. I have never had to send a bag back for any failures and have put some hard miles on them. However, I don't carry it anymore. Not because its a bad bag, but it's just bigger than I want to carry. I try to carry just the bare minimum as possible. Right now, I have everything I need in a North Face backpack and carry my lunch in a separate cooler. It is much easier to carry if I have to walk any distance to the train. As a caveat, it's also easier for me to get away with that as I am an engineer so I don't have to carry a lantern, radio or a rain coat and I have all my rules on my iPad. But, if you're looking at the Red Oxx bag, I would endorse them every day and twice on Sunday.

NWRailfan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The REd Oxx is a GREAT grip! I love mine, tough as
> nails never a problem with mine in 6 years. Lots
> of guys here in MT use them and their other
> products are great too. Highly recommended


Thanks for the recommendation! Which one do you have? These are the two I have been most closely eyeing:

http://www.redoxx.com/Grip-is-the-Best-Money-Spent-on-the-Rails/Railroad-Grip/91003/10154/Product

http://www.redoxx.com/Grip-is-the-Best-Money-Spent-on-the-Rails/Rail-King-Railroad-Rucksack/92021/10154/Product

Any chance they give a railroad or a BLET discount?

Redd Oxx are good. A number of my co-workers use them. You might also check out Tuff Bag Originals (made in Pocatello, ID) or Autumn Creek (made in AZ??).

I've had the Tuff Bag for 20 years and now have the Autumn Creek Doubleheader for the last 5 years. The Doubleheader sure fits through cab doors nicely.
Dave in Missoula.... Montana



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/29/12 20:25 by monaddave.

imrl Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Well, I don't railroad in Montana. But I have used
> a Red Oxx bag nearly since I started railroading
> in 1999. My original bag is still perfectly
> useable. I have even purchased some of their other
> bags for none railroad use. I have never had to
> send a bag back for any failures and have put some
> hard miles on them. However, I don't carry it
> anymore. Not because its a bad bag, but it's just
> bigger than I want to carry. I try to carry just
> the bare minimum as possible. Right now, I have
> everything I need in a North Face backpack and
> carry my lunch in a separate cooler. It is much
> easier to carry if I have to walk any distance to
> the train. As a caveat, it's also easier for me to
> get away with that as I am an engineer so I don't
> have to carry a lantern, radio or a rain coat and
> I have all my rules on my iPad. But, if you're
> looking at the Red Oxx bag, I would endorse them
> every day and twice on Sunday.


God I wish Amtrak would get with the fricken times. I run on BNSF and UPRR which both allow for electronic copies of rule books but good old Amtrak says no way Jose(and my name ain't even Jose, but the checks still clear). That's the bulk of the space in my grip goes to. I do still carry a lantern and rain coat just because I know how AMTK treats their power and old trainmen habits hard to break.

Thanks for the feed back!

Ben

monaddave Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Redd Oxx are good. A number of my co-workers use
> them. You might also check out Tuff Bag Originals
> (made in Pocatello, ID) or Autumn Creek (made in
> AZ??).
>
> I've had the Tuff Bag for 20 years and now have
> the Autumn Creek Doubleheader for the last 5
> years. The Doubleheader sure fits through cab
> doors nicely.
> Dave in Missoula.... Montana


Thanks Dave, I'll check 'em out!

I would think the Red Oxx is the better one. My dad and most of the older rails used them and I still use my dad's since he has retired and not with us any longer. Those guys usually bought the best that was available. Brian Stevens

Posted from iPhone

Old enough to recall back in steam days, Engineers and firemen kept a square metal trunk at the round house,with all their
overnight gear in it. When they went out the road, they would toss them up behind the pilot beam under the smoke box. Rode
good up there. No room in the cab for them.

pb

5524 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> NWRailfan Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > The REd Oxx is a GREAT grip! I love mine, tough
> as
> > nails never a problem with mine in 6 years.
> Lots
> > of guys here in MT use them and their other
> > products are great too. Highly recommended
>
>
> Thanks for the recommendation! Which one do you
> have? These are the two I have been most closely
> eyeing:
>
> http://www.redoxx.com/Grip-is-the-Best-Money-Spent
> -on-the-Rails/Railroad-Grip/91003/10154/Product
>
> http://www.redoxx.com/Grip-is-the-Best-Money-Spent
> -on-the-Rails/Rail-King-Railroad-Rucksack/92021/10
> 154/Product
>
> Any chance they give a railroad or a BLET
> discount?


I have the first one, the regular grip. Not sure about discounts but you could ask. They are great guys to deal with also. I spent the extra coin to have my name put on mine and like I said it has been great. I literally toss mine up onto the front walkway from the ground and the bottom of mine has never frayed or worn thin or torn or anything. I love the over sized zippers and they are tough as nails too. They're spendy but its a nice tax write off in Feb!

I was going through grips like crazy also ( mostly broken zippers ) until I finally went in and bought a Red Oxx from their store in Billings MT and I LOVE it ! Haven't had any issues with it and it's more than enough space for my rule book, timetable, and whatever else I choose to bring along. I love the durability of it

I have a near New Tuff bag, dark purple with the lantern pouch on the end for sale. Doc made me get a bag with backpack straps and wheels because of a shoulder problem. 35$.

I agree with the Red Oxx comments. Superior to Tuff Bags. Zippers are a weak point in railroad usage, I've had no problem with the heavy duty type Red Oxx uses. Also the rubber shoulder pad is superior to anything else by far. Grips can get heavy with all of your professional railroad stuff plus personal overnight belongings, most shoulder straps and pads are quickly twisted and torn rendering them useless. They are definitively worth the money. Suggestion to Red Oxx - sew in a padded iPad and or smart phone pouch. It would be very handy to have a protected space to properly stow the phone without having it rattling around with the rest of your stuff.

Sphogger

I started railroading in 1969, I have used just about every sort of grip there is. Without a doubt the Red Oxx is the best I ever used. Most manufacturers have no idea how much use and abuse railroaders' get. No one gets as many days on the job as railroaders do. The Red Oxx folks build their bags for that kind of service. Their background is building bags for sky divers and the equipment they build for railroaders is speced to the same quality. I never had a zipper failure on a Red Oxx bag and I used mine for nearly a decade.

I like the way the compartments are arranged. Now I use mine in retirement travel. The airport gorillas can't seem to do any harm to it.

I wouldn't buy anything else. My Red Oxx spent it's career in Montana, North Idaho and a bit of Washington in all seasons.

Posted from Windows Phone OS 7



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/29/12 22:34 by fbe.

I have the engineers large rucksack. The bag is big but I eliminated carrying a case for my paperwork with it. When I deadhead boots and all work clothing will easily fit into the bag as well as snow gear when I work the mountain. I have not had anything go wrong with it, great bag.

sphogger Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Also the rubber shoulder pad
> is superior to anything else by far. Grips can
> get heavy with all of your professional railroad
> stuff plus personal overnight belongings, most
> shoulder straps and pads are quickly twisted and
> torn rendering them useless.

My original Red Oxx bag came with a wide nylon strap with a padded middle. When I bought a newer bag, it came with the newer rubber coated gator grip strap. I liked these new straps so much I bought one to replace the older (still serviceable) strap on my original bag along with another for my camera bag. I also use these types of straps for both of my rifles.

> Suggestion to Red
> Oxx - sew in a padded iPad and or smart phone
> pouch. It would be very handy to have a protected
> space to properly stow the phone without having it
> rattling around with the rest of your stuff.

Now that is an excellent idea! Hopefully, these features are not far off the horizon.

I went through 2-3 Tuff Bags, no more. I sent one back for repair and was told how much it would cost. They'd fixed 'em free before since they were 'guaranteed for life', but they said they didn't do that anymore. Consequently I've never bought anything else from them. Autumn Fall stuff looks good, but I've used a Red Oxx for the last 10-12 years and swear by them. It's been back a couple of times for repairs, looks like hell, but it's still goin' strong. Oh yeah, they're also great people to deal with.

I think about 80% of the guys I work with including me have the Red Oxx bag, its great. Some of the ones that don't have nice military style ruck sacks that also work good.
Kevin

Thanks everyone

Well I got my Red Oxx in the mail today. Merry Xmas to me. It's fricken huge!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC2gVLQnEUQ

Thanks again for the help everyone.