Saddleback XL Leather Briefcase Review

[jc1234]

I originally posted this in the official company thread, but thought it may be better to post in its own thread so that people may find it easier who are looking for opinions on Saddleback Review of SaddlebackChestnut Leather XL Briefcase: I was so curious about Saddleback after hearing so many pros and cons about the company, that I decided to order a bag to evaluate. Since the company offers a 30 day money back guarantee, I figured I had nothing to lose. I realized from all the differing opinions that I needed to feel the bag for myself, examine the leather, and see if the price was justified. Some information about me: I am not stranger to fine leather. I have most of my jackets custom made and have a fairly good understanding of horse, cow, and goat hides, tanning processes, construction, and durability. While I am a white collar professional now, that wasn’t always the case. I spent many years travelling several countries and 49 of the states. I’ve gotten my hands plenty dirty and brought many leather items to their breaking point through personal travel and on worksites. Sure, I could have used another material, but I love leather. Several years ago I asked Aero Leather to custom design a leather jacket to live up to my needs, they made me a tank. It’s rare any leather goods impress me anymore, although Aero Leather of Scotland never ceases to amaze me. Onto the review: The Pros:

• The bag is big enough for all of the things I carry, as both a working professional and graduate student. The bag even has enough room to store a few extras when travelling.
• The seams are all incredibly well reinforced
• The metal hardware is top notch

The Cons:

• The leather is quite a bit thinner and less rigid than I expected
• The leather was clearly processed to take on a patina quickly and look worn quickly, rather than over time. This makes the leather surface softer and more susceptible to deep lacerations and scratches, although they would only be aesthetic, not structurally impacting.

Detailed Review: The bag is as heavy as every stated, although the weight is mostly due to the extremely thick seamed sections edges and bottom. The leather itself is less rigid and lighter than I expected, which was a disappointment, however it is more than durable enough for any circumstance it may face. I expected this bag to be the bullet proof type leather that my custom jackets are made from and I suppose that was asking a bit too much. While I have several jackets that I knew would be of much thicker and tougher leather than this bag, I really thought that it would be very similar to my 5.5oz chrome tanned cow hide leather jacket I had made by Aero Leather Co. in Scotland, but it is nowhere near as thick or as tough. The bag couldn’t hold a candle to the toughness extreme abuse that my jacket was made to endure. However, that doesn’t mean that the bag isn’t built plenty tough for what is required of it. I just simply expected more. Additionally, I really enjoy the process of using a leather good and have it form a patina or “battle scars” over years of hard use. This bag was clearly made to help the average Joe look like they had put years of hard wear on it, when in reality, it will most likely only take a few months. So, quite a few people have asked if this bag is worth the price tag that it carries and the simple answer is both yes and no. If you are looking for a simple beautiful leather bag that can hold up to almost anything that you can throw at it, there are much cheaper alternatives out there that will look just as good and be just as tough. What you are paying for in this bag is the fact that each panel is a single piece of full grain leather and not several hides compressed together, while this may matter to some, no one but the owner will know the vast majority of the time. This is one of those things that you either don’t care about, or that will bother you, but it has no effect on the durability in similar thicknesses of leather. The other feature that you are paying for in this bag is the incredible strength of the seams and the way the hardware is riveted to the bag. This bag has several O rings that can be used as attachment points. These O rings are secured to the bag by such superior thread and metal fittings, as well as several strips of full grain leather, that you could easily hang a 10 pound weight off of each one with no fear of any part of the bag failing. This is a great feature that will be used by almost no one; however there is no doubt, the workmanship is topnotch. If you do not care about all of these attachment points, or the amount of over engineering that went into securing the hardware to the bag, there are bags that can be had for much less (even in full grain leather) that will fit the bill just fine and last longer than you will. If you want to be able to walk into a jungle and hang 40 pounds of coconuts from your bag for days on end without fear of it breaking, you probably aren’t carrying leather, but in the off chance that you require a leather bag that you can lash 40 pounds of coconuts to, this is the bag for you. As Dave from Saddleback has stated several times on his website, he is targeting a very small and select audience with his leather bags. He isn’t trying to become a household name and has no illusion that his bag is for everyone and that sums it up fairly clearly. I’m sure 99% of people that buy his bags are not buying them to use them to their breaking point, because realistically, it makes no sense to carry a leather bag into remote locations where failure is not an option and weight is always an issue; especially when there are so many lightweight durable waterproof fabrics now available. This bag is worth the price for those of you who want to know they have a very over engineered non mass produced leather bag, those people who would be kept awake at night if they didn’t buy a 100% full grain leather bag, who need a leather bag with lots of attachment points and little risk of failure, and those who believe that Saddleback uses the thickest, toughest leather on the planet (they don’t). Will I keep this bag? I am undecided. I am completely underwhelmed by the thickness and stiffness of the leather, I really did expect much more. However as mentioned before, this has no impact on the bag’s durability, it’s simply personal preference. I don’t know if anyone makes a thicker leather bag than Saddleback in this style, I doubt it, but I would imagine some make them stiffer. Regardless of my personal expectations, rest assured that the workmanship is topnotch. The seams are straight, the cutting is uniform, and the bag is beautiful. EDIT: I guess I should add that I also own Jack Georges, Hartmann, Filson, and Coach bags or products. This leather is definitely superior to all of them in thickness and strength. However it definitely is more of a naked type of leather than the finish and chemical treatments applied to these other products. Again nothing wrong with that, but it does make it very hard to compare to any other bag that I have apples to apples. I have no doubt that this bag would outlast any others I own as far as puncture, beating and tearing, however I think the naked type of finish definitely makes it more susceptible to cuts, water, and chemicals and stains. EDIT: A note on sizing. This topic seems to come up A LOT. So here is my opinion: I am 5'9" and I dont find the XL size too big at all. Its really not that much wider than my normal briefcases, its just taller and Ive found that for large text and reference books, taller is a necessity. Sure the bottom is wide, but the top is only as wide as required to carry what is inside. In other words, the bag will taper to your body if you dont stuff it full, in which case you have no reason to complain about it being too big. If you are already sold on Saddleback and just confused about the sizing, dont be afraid of the XL. If you are still debating on Large vs XL, I would really take the height into more consideration than the length, that is most likely what you will notice most.

 

[hatguy]

thanks for your very detailed review.

Do you have any pics that you could post of other thicker, more rigid leathers to visually compare to the saddleback bag leather?

thanks,

 

[jc1234]

Originally Posted by hatguy

thanks for your very detailed review. Do you have any pics that you could post of other thicker, more rigid leathers to visually compare to the saddleback bag leather? thanks,
Not on an apples to apples scale. You cant really see jacket parts as well as you can on a flat plane like a bag flap. Certain parts of a jacket are reinforced and parts of the bag have pig skin. It would be best to view leather samples side to side, but I dont have that. This is the jacket I was comparing the bag too. Granted one is boot type leather like you would find on a work boot and one is used for jackets and furniture, the weight is similar and both are chrome tanned. Saddleback is more of a suede feel, while the chrome tanned leather I am used to has a harder more rough finish. I used to have some plain leather samples, but I got rid of them after I ordered the jacket pictured below. They would have come in handy for your request though, sorry about that.

The jacket that I said was built like a tank isnt a fair comparison at all, as that is shearling completely overlayed with horeshide, so its really two full skins, but the jacket in the photo above is just 5.5 oz chrome tanned cow, with a very very thin alpaca and cotton lining.

 

[hatguy]

nice jacket.
thanks for sharing.

i'm curious to read dave or his brother's reply to your review and the reasoning behind their leather choice and leather processing choice.

 

[srivats]

Thanks for the honest and detailed review!

Aero makes some wonderful stuff, congrats on your custom jackets! Did you work with Amanda directly or go through Mark Moye?

 

[jc1234]

Originally Posted by hatguy

nice jacket. thanks for sharing. i'm curious to read dave or his brother's reply to your review and the reasoning behind their leather choice and leather processing choice.
Well, their leather choice is probably just what they can source. Its good leather, its boot type leather, rough, rustic, probably the look they are going for and an acceptable weight. If they went much heavier the weight of the bag would be a be much considering the amount of leather the place near stress points. I am also curious about the processing, to me, the photo on their website looks like a tough oiled finish. Im really not sure what to make of it.

Originally Posted by srivats

Thanks for the honest and detailed review! Aero makes some wonderful stuff, congrats on your custom jackets! Did you work with Amanda directly or go through Mark Moye?
The first jacket I dealt strictly with Amanda who was great. The second one was so customized that she just had me speak directly with Will (who makes the jackets). Mark is a nice guy, but I wasnt impressed with the few emails we exchanged (probably just personality differences) so Ive always gone around him and straight to the source. Besides, he doesnt deal with the amount of customization I require. I actually have that jacket back at Aero to be recut as I've lose weight since I bought it and it doesnt quite fit right anymore.

 

[bobm]

Excellent detailed review. I have the Saddleback back and agree with your assesment almost completely. They are going for the rough/tough worn look ala Indiana Jones and have succeeded nicely. Being such a heavy bag, it isn't the most comfortable thing hanging off my neck. Nor do I think that it holds a great deal - put my laptop, cables, notebook and lunch there isn't too much space left. I agree also about carrying this bag in remote areas - waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too heavy, leather wouldn't be my choice.
I'd be curious what you think of the Filson bag, as well as the Colenel Littleton briefcase bags?

Bob

 

[Bandit44]

Sounds like other than "thickness" of the leather, everything else was top-shelf. I wonder what are the drawbacks of using an extra thick leather on briefcases? Costs and sourcing could limited what the company has to work with. My guess is that Saddleback looked at several types of leather and selected the one that offered the best balance of durability and compliance. The fact that they put so much effort into the seams and finishing tells me that they know what they are doing. Sometimes over-engineering a product makes it too bulky and clumsy to do the job it was intended for.

 

[jc1234]

Originally Posted by bobm

Excellent detailed review. I have the Saddleback back and agree with your assesment almost completely. They are going for the rough/tough worn look ala Indiana Jones and have succeeded nicely. Being such a heavy bag, it isn't the most comfortable thing hanging off my neck. Nor do I think that it holds a great deal - put my laptop, cables, notebook and lunch there isn't too much space left. I agree also about carrying this bag in remote areas - waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too heavy, leather wouldn't be my choice.
I'd be curious what you think of the Filson bag, as well as the Colenel Littleton briefcase bags?

Bob

With Filson, you are paying a premium for a feeling IMO. You feel warm and fuzzy that you get that small company feel, its made in the USA, and you pay a little extra for a lifetime warranty. I havent felt a colenel littleton briefcase, but here is my take on both of them:

When it comes to leather, if you are not paying for oz weight, the law of diminishing returns is immense. You are paying for the little details that most likely no one other than you will notice. Whether its deerskin, or calf, cow, bison, horse, etc, etc. You can pay 400.00 more for a type or quality of leather, or 50.00 more for the look of that type or quality. Unless you going to be in a room with people feeling your bag, jacket, etc, your the one thats going to know. The workmanship and the thread are all secondary to the leather, but the fact is that failure points of almost any decent garment or bag are always the stitching or the QC issues. Paying twice as much for a finer hide, or a refined look has nothing to do with durability when the weak link in the chain has nothing to do with the leather generally. On Filson, you paying a premium for the name and the attention to detail of the look of the leather and quality stitching. Im sure you could buy the same bag for half the price from a small company that would be just as good, but may not carry that warranty or have the fancy brand recognition.

I used to have to carry a firearm for work years ago. I quickly learned that its not about how good the warranty or customer service was, it was about never having to use either. Dont let a lifetime warranty be your guiding light on a purchase, look at the quality and the track record of real world use.

So for me, its a huge bias when I say that anyone who pays more for thinner leather is wasting their money. I like heavy tough skins that have expensive tanning treatments and are so thick that the available supply is small. For me, its all about function, not comfort, not looks. For instance, that jacket above weights 12 pounds, its stiff, its heavy its got a lifetime warranty on the leather and the stitching and I clearly will never need to use the warranty. That jacket could easily stop or severely diminish most knife thrusts from cutting through my skin, thats how tough the leather is. I look at someone who pays $2000.00 for some thin leather jacket that feels like butter and laugh. They probably do the same too me and my thick over engineered jacket. But he fact is, a good tannery can make a cheap leather feel like a fine leather, but its much harder to imitate strength and oz weight.

I guess that doesnt answer your question, but its the best answer Ive got lol.

 

[jc1234]

Originally Posted by Bandit44

Sounds like other than "thickness" of the leather, everything else was top-shelf. I wonder what are the drawbacks of using an extra thick leather on briefcases? Costs and sourcing could limited what the company has to work with. My guess is that Saddleback looked at several types of leather and selected the one that offered the best balance of durability and compliance. The fact that they put so much effort into the seams and finishing tells me that they know what they are doing. Sometimes over-engineering a product makes it too bulky and clumsy to do the job it was intended for.

Sourcing is going to be really hard, although the USA has one or too really good tanneries that use thick leathers, however through supply and demand, their prices are high. Drawbacks of extra thick leather would be flexibility and overall weight. If they ditched the attachment points the weight would remain the same, I would think that a thicker leather in the way they stitch would probably add 1.5 or more pounds. I can get past all of that, as my tastes are obviously a little weird. Its the finish that still baffles me. For a bag thats supposed to last 100 years, there should be no rush to age it and therefore, I personally would use a similar tanning and processing that was used on fighter jackets, they may take 25 years to break in and develop a great patina, but they dont get beat up easy either.

 

[suited]

Originally Posted by jc1234

With Filson, you are paying a premium for a feeling IMO. You feel warm and fuzzy that you get that small company feel, its made in the USA, and you pay a little extra for a lifetime warranty. I havent felt a colenel littleton briefcase, but here is my take on both of them: When it comes to leather, if you are not paying for oz weight, the law of diminishing returns is immense. You are paying for the little details that most likely no one other than you will notice. Whether its deerskin, or calf, cow, bison, horse, etc, etc. You can pay 400.00 more for a type or quality of leather, or 50.00 more for the look of that type or quality. Unless you going to be in a room with people feeling your bag, jacket, etc, your the one thats going to know. The workmanship and the thread are all secondary to the leather, but the fact is that failure points of almost any decent garment or bag are always the stitching or the QC issues. Paying twice as much for a finer hide, or a refined look has nothing to do with durability when the weak link in the chain has nothing to do with the leather generally. On Filson, you paying a premium for the name and the attention to detail of the look of the leather and quality stitching. Im sure you could buy the same bag for half the price from a small company that would be just as good, but may not carry that warranty or have the fancy brand recognition. I used to have to carry a firearm for work years ago. I quickly learned that its not about how good the warranty or customer service was, it was about never having to use either. Dont let a lifetime warranty be your guiding light on a purchase, look at the quality and the track record of real world use. So for me, its a huge bias when I say that anyone who pays more for thinner leather is wasting their money. I like heavy tough skins that have expensive tanning treatments and are so thick that the available supply is small. For me, its all about function, not comfort, not looks. For instance, that jacket above weights 12 pounds, its stiff, its heavy its got a lifetime warranty on the leather and the stitching and I clearly will never need to use the warranty. That jacket could easily stop or severely diminish most knife thrusts from cutting through my skin, thats how tough the leather is. I look at someone who pays $2000.00 for some thin leather jacket that feels like butter and laugh. They probably do the same too me and my thick over engineered jacket. But he fact is, a good tannery can make a cheap leather feel like a fine leather, but its much harder to imitate strength and oz weight. I guess that doesnt answer your question, but its the best answer Ive got lol.
Did you join this forum for the sole purpose of talking about Saddleback leather? You haven't made a post that wasn't about this company.

 

[jc1234]

Originally Posted by suited

Did you join this forum for the sole purpose of talking about Saddleback leather? You haven't made a post that wasn't about this company.
Yes. I wanted to find out more about them. Im not into fancy suits, ties, shoes, watches, or any of that stuff that people obsess over on this forum. I like big heavy leather boots, big heavy leather jackets that dont get much attention here. However, This is the only forum I found where saddleback had their own thread. Anyway, you cant use the search function without being a member, so absolutely, I joined solely to find out more about saddleback.

 

[suited]

Originally Posted by jc1234

Yes. I wanted to find out more about them. Im not into fancy suits, ties, shoes, watches, or any of that stuff that people obsess over on this forum. I like big heavy leather boots, big heavy leather jackets that dont get much attention here. However, This is the only forum I found where saddleback had their own thread.

Ah, it just seemed rather odd with all of the claims about their company shilling on these forums before...that coupled with your particularly simple user-name "jc1234" made me wonder.

 

[jc1234]

Originally Posted by suited

Ah, it just seemed rather odd with all of the claims about their company shilling on these forums before...that coupled with your particularly simple user-name "jc1234" made me wonder.

Nope. Just a regular guy. Im not looking to give saddleback a bad name either. Im really trying to be as fair as I can, but I had a lot of trouble finding out the information I wanted to know. I figured maybe my review would help someone else who was in the same position. My username isnt creative, I didnt really join the forum with the intention of ever posting to tell you the truth.

 

[jc1234]

As an FYI, I decided to call saddleback and they confirmed that the bag was designed to achieve that worn in look quickly, which is why they use that type of finishing and tanning process. So, like I said that is just a difference of opinion, doesnt make it right or wrong, I just would have done it different thats all.