Re: My new cartridge belt and cartridge pouch

[sandman0921]

For a while, I've been in search for a cartridge belt and pouches for when I make it to Africa....which looks to be next year....

Anyway, I've looked around at the various companies that cater to the American market, and I haven't seen anything that strikes my eye. A few months ago, I saw an old thread from this forum that popped up during an internet search for these products. One of the pouches caught my eye, and was made by a company in South Africa. I did a search for South African leather makers, and a company called Els & Co. Fine Leather Craftsman came up.

https://www.elsfineleather.com

After emailing, and talking with the owner several times, I purchased a few cartridge pouches and a belt for the various African rifles I have. I was very impressed with Ivan and Lia at Els & Co.. We had multiple correspondences via email, and Ivan even called me to discuss what I was looking for as far as the engraving. Ivan is a hunter, and it shows in the designs. Everything appears to be well thought out, and functional as well as very striking. I had a big order, and so it took a little while (appx 3 months) to get everything to me. He wasn't happy with the stitching on a couple of the Sommerset pouches, and so those were re-made. I received the pouches yesterday, and I have to say I am very pleased with the work. These weren't exactly cheap, and when you factor in the cost of shipping to the US, and paying the import duties on the items, one could definitely buy leather goods cheaper in the US. However, I haven't seen any pouches out there with the exact look and function of these, at least not in my searches, and so I was happy to pay the extra to get what I want....

I encouraged Ivan to try and find a US distributor, and he is in the process of trying to identify someone to market them in the US. In looking on their Facebook page, it appears they had an African outfitter show their goods at both DSC and SCI this year, so hopefully they made some contacts at the show that will pay off as far as distributors.

I've included a picture that Ivan sent me of my pouches back before Christmas. He was not happy with the stitching in a couple of these pouches, and so they were redone...

Anyway, I know several hunters on this forum are frequently in the market for unique gear, and I thought this might fit the bill. Overall, so far, I am very happy with mine.

 

[Ridgewalker]

Nice quality stuff Sandman!

 

[sierraone]

This company makes many of the John Rigby leather goods, only with the Rigby emblem.

 

[CAustin]

Very nice work indeed!

 

[sandman0921]

This company makes many of the John Rigby leather goods, only with the Rigby emblem.

Yes I saw that recently....They do good work, and their story is good as well. Ivan seems like a good guy, and I hope his business does well...

 

[EZRider]

Beautiful leather work!
I have my own order in with Els & Co and am like a kid before Christmas waiting for my parcel.
I will post the items here when they arrive (if you don't mind of course.)

 

[CDorroh]

This company makes many of the John Rigby leather goods, only with the Rigby emblem.

Like this....

 

[cpr0312]

Nice looking stuff, thanks for sharing!

 

[sierraone]

Like this....

View attachment 172600 View attachment 172601 View attachment 172599

Perfect Example!

 

[sandman0921]

Beautiful leather work!
I have my own order in with Els & Co and am like a kid before Christmas waiting for my parcel.
I will post the items here when they arrive (if you don't mind of course.)

EZRider,

I completely understand as far as the anticipation..... They're a relatively small shop, so it'll take a little bit, but in my opinion was well worth the wait. My order was placed at the end of October/first of November (can't remember exactly off the top of my head) if that gives you an idea.

I would love to see your items as well.

Like I said earlier, you couldn't ask for nicer people to deal with. I hope they can make a go of their business. It sounds as if they're well on their way…

 

[MichielC]

Mighty Fine Products

Mine worked quite a bit already

 

[Wayne t]

Ooooo they are nice just what I'm looking for to go on my croc skin belt when I get it and good prices too

 

[edward]

state of the art!!!

 

[sandman0921]

Mighty Fine Products

Mine worked quite a bit already

MichielC,

I'm glad to hear from someone who actually has used them in the field. I've "tried" them around the house with cartridges in place, and they fit great, but there's nothing like real field experience. Another positive tic mark for Els & Co.

 

[Ray B]

I checked the Els website and see their leather goods fairly priced- the covered ammo pouch at ZAR 1195 which is about $92.; but I'm wondering what the import tariff is on it. I sent a message to the US Govt, but don't expect a reply in the near future.

 

[sandman0921]

Ray B,

I can tell you that my order was well over the amount for just one ammo pouch, as I ordered several pouches (5), and a belt for different cartridges, etc.. They shipped via UPS Worldwide Express Saver for around $55 USD (1-3 business day delivery), and the import tariff I paid to UPS for their customs brokerage fee was appx $48.00 USD. For one case, I'm not sure what the shipping cost would be and/or the cost of the import duty, but I wouldn't imagine it would be as much as my order. In my mind, I really liked the cases a lot, and because I wasn't finding cases of this design and quality anywhere within the US, I was willing to pay more for shipping and import duties......

My hope is that one day, Els & Co. can get a US distributor to carry their goods, and make it cheaper on those of us in the US to buy from them....

 

[Ray B]

I can tell you that my order was well over the amount for just one ammo pouch, as I ordered several pouches (5), and a belt for different cartridges, etc.. They shipped via UPS Worldwide Express Saver for around $55 USD (1-3 business day delivery), and the import tariff I paid to UPS for their customs brokerage fee was appx $48.00 USD. For one case, I'm not sure what the shipping cost would be and/or the cost of the import duty, but I wouldn't imagine it would be as much as my order. In my mind, I really liked the cases a lot, and because I wasn't finding cases of this design and quality anywhere within the US, I was willing to pay more for shipping and import duties......

So your order must have totaled somewhere between $500 =$800 which means the import duty would be 5 - 8%, or about equivalent to the sales tax in several states. the shipping is only marginally more than sending something Express across the country (US); so the total cost is quite acceptable.

 

[sandman0921]

Ray B,

A shade more than that if I recall, when you factor in exchange rates and all, but not by much. The other thing was they are on the SWIFT payment processing system which made paying by credit card a little challenging, but all in all not too bad. We had to break the payments up into 2 or 3 payments, if I remember correctly, because it was a larger order, and the system would only let them process a certain maximum limit (in ZAR). Ivan said they were looking into other payment systems, but as of then it was what they had.....

Despite all of that, the cartridge pouches were exactly what I was looking for, and the quality aspect is unmistakable.....

I am very pleased with the order, and glad I chose to purchase from them.