Club Obi Wan

I just got my original MkVII from WPG. A friend of mine got one a few weeks ago and the webbing holding one of his strap loops has almost completely worn through. Now we have no way of knowing if this was because the bag was old or because he washed it multiple times and "distressed" it using Todd's method which involves bleach.

So when I got mine in I decided to check it out. I gave the original webbing strap a firm but reasonable tug. The strap itself immediately started ripping. This happened on both sided. With very little force the strap ripped right through. So far the webbing holding the rings seems OK, but I'm wondering if I should be worried. If the strap tore through that easily wouldn't the webbing holding the rings probably be equally as brittle? Like I said, so far so good and hopefully it will stay that way. I don't really care about the strap since I have a replacement already from Todd's but I want o be sure the rings will hold up!

I would say the strap really doesn't matter too much (unless you wanted to keep it as an intact WW II artifact)
For an Indy bag you need to remove it anyway and replace it with a leather one. If there is a problem with the part holding the rings, you might want to have it replaced or email WPG and tell them about the problem and see if they will replace the entire bag.

From experience the O-ring holders seem to be the weekest link on the bag, if you will. I've reinforced mine with some stitches after a bit of a fraying problem though another trick is to use the original strap for making duplicate ones and just replace them if needed. The strap and the holders are of the same material.

I wouldn't worry though, just use it like it was meant to be used and bother when and if you get there with the fraying problem.

Regards,
Swindiana

I had one that I used bleach on numerous times and it got really frayed. I've had two unissued ones since without a problem. Reinforce it with thread, and if it tears out, get another. Actually, that's why I just bought another unissued one...just for a backup!