Redesign of the Swift in Cork

The cork fabric no longer goes all the way down to the base; now ballistic nylon makes up the bottom few inches and sweeps up to half the overlap on the sides.

Aesthetically, I prefer the previous design (I was lucky enough to get one of the first models with the vertical-stripes orientation), but I'm sure there was a good reason to redesign it.

What was it? What is the advantage of extending the nylon up the sides? And are there any other changes not visible in the pictures?

I wonder if it was the tendency of the bag to tip; mine does that in a small region. I just store more things on that side and it takes care of it.

Regardless, I LOVE my cork Swift.