Supermarine Rollie

Additional Information

Story

A simple water resistant rolltop bag made with some really nice materials. High density, highly water resistant Supermarine Cotton plus Biothane webbing, a cast Aluminum buckle and Portofino binding tape. These materials look and feel great, making for a really nice rolltop bag. They also combine to work exceptionally well in one use case, when you want or need to carry wet clothing around.

When a wet object is placed in a Supermarine Rollie two things happen. The Supermarine Cotton is water resistant enough to prevent the wetness from leaking out and getting all surrounding objects wet. Yet it is also breathable enough that objects inside can slowly dry out, allowing them to avoid moldy funk and stay fresh. Not world changing but if you are the sort of person who forgets to unpack your beach or gym bag it's pretty damn nice.

Fabric

The secret to the future, they say, is hidden in the past. Supermarine® Cotton is a 21st century edit to a nearly forgotten World War II fabric. You can think of it as the pinnacle of cotton technology, extremely breathable, highly water resistant and completely windproof. 100% Cotton fibers woven together in a complex weave that swells up and seals when exposed to water. The result is a beautiful cloth that we think is the best rainy day fabric around.

For decades it's been obscured from the public, kept alive mainly by demand from a few Air Force units, Antarctic explorers and funnily enough, bird watchers; all who have different understandings of its unique properties. Supermarine® Cotton stays comfortable under pressure and there is none of that sweaty/clammy feeling you get with GoreTex and other synthetic "waterproof-breathable" fabrics. The dense weave combined with the premium fiber results in a fabric that is simultaneously tough and supple and it breaks in beautifully.

Historically this fabric is an updated version of a fabric the British invented in World War II to keep their pilots alive in the North Sea if they happened to get shot down. It was later used by the British Navy, in Antarctic exploration and by Edmond Hillary during the first ascent of Mount Everest. It was even used to make firehoses and eventually found its way into high-end hiking gear. Since it requires a very dense weave of the most expensive cotton fibers on the market, it never quite broke through into the mainstream and with the advent of GoreTex it faded from the general marketplace. Bird watchers still sought it out since it's significantly quieter than the loud synthetic fabrics that took over, while Antarctic teams prized it for its amazing windproof quality. The main customer of the past few decades however has been various Air Forces who understood just how superior a fabric it is, and are willing to pay for it.

We source this version of Supermarine® Cotton from Switzerland and it differs from the historical British version in two important ways, it is lighter and it is treated with a premium durable water resistance (DWR) that is not wax-based. The water resistance in the historical formulation comes from two factors, the denseness of the weave and the fact that cotton fibers swell up when exposed to moisture. Adding the DWR treatment into the mix results in a significantly superior rain repellant and breathable fabric that far outclasses both the synthetic "waterproof-breathable" fabrics of the world and the heavy, clammy Barbour-style waxed cotton. It looks better, wears better and is dramatically more comfortable.

Details

Supermarine Rollie

Made with Supermarine Cotton (100% cotton)

Total weight of 98 grams

10 liters with 3 rolls

13 liters to the top with no rolls

Duraflex aluminum hardware

Biothane webbing

Italian Portofino tape

Made in New York City with Swiss fabrics

Sizing

Please refer to the table below for measurements.

Approximate measurements in inches

Size	One size
Width x Length	11.5 x 17.5
Gusset	5.5

Colors

Black

Olive