Saddleback v. M&W Traveler

Did some searching and, while I found bits and pieces, I'm still torn between these two bags. Each company has a page that describes why they are better than the other. M&W Traveler's page actually has a Saddleback bag and describes why it has some flaws (they don't mention Saddleback by name, but you can tell it is one of their bags).

Any suggestions or things I should keep in mind? The price point on each bag I like is close enough where price isn't an issue. At first glance, while the Saddleback looks durable, it certainly looks more "casual"... would it be appropriate to walk into the office with this in a suit?

Thanks for the assistance.

*Edit: What the heck... I threw a poll in as well.

Bag 1 (Saddleback):



Bag 2 (M&W Traveler):

I honestly cannot speak for the M&W but I do like the look of the bag and the leather that is being used. I have had two of the Saddleback bags and had to return both for quality issues. I personally do not think much of the Saddleback bags in terms of quality (although the leather is generally of good quality). Other opinions differ. I do think the M&W although still semi-casual would fit into the business world much better than the Saddleback which are extremely rustic. Again, just my opinion.

To me, they are two very different bags. Hard to compare. I think MW would go better with a suit/in a business setting.

I have a mw-traveler bag on order. I started a thread about it here.

Saddleback gets great reviews, but it is not my style. To me, mw-traveler makes a good bag with the right mix of casual and business.

Thanks for everyone's input so far.

I look forward to when you receive the bag and give a "Styleforum Review."

from an aesthetic standpoint I don't like or understand the third center strap on the Saddleback. Looks out of place

Anyone considering saddleback should first read this thread:

http://www.askandyaboutclothes.com/f...ght=saddleback

I spoke to Shaun of M&W in length about the bag and the leather. He sounds like a very amicable guy who is genuinely passionate about his product. He is sending me a free keychain with the brown horsehide fob as a sample. I will probably order the business case in the near future. The saddleback's styling is too rustic for business use in my opinion.

Originally Posted by JensenH

Click to expand...

Anyone considering saddleback should first read this thread:

http://www.askandyaboutclothes.com/f...ght=saddleback

Thanks for posting that link. I'm leaning towards the M&W right now.

From the link above: "...was told my bag came over from mexico in a shipment with 500 other bags..."

Not sure if I want to be dealing with something like that (as in -- mass produce in what seems like a short time frame). That may be OK for a bag in the $150-200 range, but not something that is priced at $500. From that thread, and some other postings on this forum, it seems that people have had to send their bags back a few times and some still haven't received a quality product. Again, this bothers me at the $500 dollar price point.

Originally Posted by JensenH

Click to expand...

Anyone considering saddleback should first read this thread:

http://www.askandyaboutclothes.com/f...ght=saddleback
Thanks.

Originally Posted by JensenH

Click to expand...

Anyone considering saddleback should first read this thread:

http://www.askandyaboutclothes.com/f...ght=saddleback

+100

The sheer amount of shilling and sockpuppetry in which the company engages is astounding. I counted at least three, if not four or five, sockpuppets on that thread alone -- all with the same writing style, all with the same message to deliver, all intimately familiar with the product lines (and unafraid to mention them repeatedly), all with low post counts and registered shortly before posting to the thread, etc.

Not only is this a company that churns out products of questionable quality, it's also a company that seems to hold little respect for the intelligence of its potential customers.

Originally Posted by Arrogant Bastard

Click to expand...

+100

The sheer amount of shilling and sockpuppetry in which the company engages is astounding. I counted at least three, if not four or five, sockpuppets on that thread alone -- all with the same writing style, all with the same message to deliver, all intimately familiar with the product lines (and unafraid to mention them repeatedly), all with low post counts and registered shortly before posting to the thread, etc.

Not only is this a company that churns out products of questionable quality, it's also a company that seems to hold little respect for the intelligence of its potential customers.

Although I am not sure there is still a record of it on the web, when I first starting doing a little checking into this companies practices I found one site had banned them for getting caught making shill posts. I am all for good marketing and drumming up business but sometimes these tactics can backfire.

Hmm... interesting stuff in this thread. I think I've made my decision now.

Thanks for the links and guidance.

Hello from Saddleback,

I was reading through this post and just wanted to answer a few of the criticisms posted here. The questions posted here are all valid questions. I appreciate the candidness of your posts.

First off, let me address some of the links to negative reviews that are posted on this thread. We're very aware of these reviews but you will notice that they are all dated around the end of 2007. Quite frankly, that was about the time our company was really beginning to take off and we were having a hard time dealing with the increased demand. Our quality suffered there for a few months. But each product was still looked over and prepared before it was sent out and if there were any that had flaws and made it past us, we were quick to exchange the product free of charge or refund the customer's money. Let me give you a quick idea of where our company was at the time. My father, Herb Munson was receiving, shipping, doing quality control, running Ebay, managing the website, doing all the customer service, etc. He was basically doing everything and Saddleback had like five employees total at the time. The poor man almost had a nervous breakdown! Please go online and try and find any recent negative reviews about our quality. We'd like to know about them as well.

It has been two years since that time and our company is at a completely different place now. We own and manage our own production with a fantastic experienced manager from the Netherlands. We now have a new CEO, Chuck Bowen, (chuckbowen.net) who has a myriad of experience leading successful companies. My sister, Patricia Chamberlain, started and manages a shipping company that ships all of Saddleback's products out of Keller, TX. I've spent a good deal of time seeing how the entire shipping process works and let me tell you, they are meticulous about how the bags and how they are sent out! We also have a large staff of customer service available via e-mail and phone who are ready to help customers out with anything they need.

I know you may read over our site and see some of the descriptions as a bit "over-the-top". I can honestly tell you that we believe every word we say about our products. My brother Dave is the President of Saddleback and holds a theology degree from Multnomah Bible College. He was a youth pastor for many years and worked with high school students both in Mexico and with Young Life before he started Sadddlebac. He spent most of his life helping those in need and actually not many people know this but Saddleback was created with helping people in mind. The majority of Saddleback profits are either re-invested into the company or given to charitable Christian causes aimed at helping the people hurting the most around the world.

You may not like the aesthetics of our bags, but I promise you we don't try to mislead or lie to anyone. The criticisms about the straps and ruggedness of the bags are all valid and we've heard them many times. As far as the M&W Leather criticisms of our bags, pigskin and suede weren't chosen because they are inexpensive, they were chosen because we design our products to last a lifetime. Suede is what cowboys use on the outside of their chaps and soften with use. Pigskin is one of the toughest leathers around. The M&W leather Traveler is a beautiful bag and if that strikes your fancy, I say go for it! I have no reason to think that their company doesn't also strive to provide the highest quality possible to their customers.

As far as being banned from different forums, that's the first I've heard of this. All I can say is that people who love our company really love our company! There are a lot of postings around the web by Saddleback owners who promote our bags. Unfortunately it seems like there may be some over-zealous ones as well. I apologize if this has caused anyone to lose trust in the honesty and integrity of Saddleback. And if we find out it was an employee of our company, then we will take appropriate action.

I wanted to add that you can contact me or post questions or criticisms on our StyleForum affiliate thread if you would like to talk further about anything posted in this thread. Saddleback's customer service line is 210.858.5210 Mon - Fri. (9:00 AM - 9:00 PM) Sat. (10:00 AM - 6:00 PM) Sun. Closed.

Sorry for the length, I hope you purchase the bag that best fits you!

Cheers,
Jonathan Munson

I actually really like Saddleback. As for it working for your job, I guess it depends on whether you're trying to fit in or stand out.