They Really Will Fight Over It When You Are Dead

Saddleback Leather Co. - Classic Leather Briefcase

It is rare these days to have anything that really lasts. That is why I like companies that actually build for quality. If you haven't heard of Saddleback Leather Co. they make the toughest leather goods I have ever seen. I will focus on the Classic Leather Briefcase as it was my first and still favorite Saddleback purchase.

This bag has been with me to Australia a few times, China a few times, Singapore, Portugal, Hungary, Germany...you get the idea. I have had this bag now for around 10 years and it will be with me for the rest of my life. This thing comes with a 100 year warranty to give you an idea of their commitment to their products.

It is hard to explain how tough it is but you can see it being attacked by a crocodile or in my case attacked by the electric seat on the airplane which put a nice bite into the strap but didn't come close to breaking it. Now it is a battle scar which just adds character to the bag. In fact the more you use this the better it gets. Expect to spend some time breaking this bag in. When I first got mine it would stand up on its own and probably hold a small child (do not try that). It took a long time but now it is as soft as butter and the thousands of scratches add to an amazing looking bag. My favorite bags are Filson if we are not talking leather and Saddleback for the leather variety. I will confess I don't yet own one of the Filson bags but I will someday, I just can't justify it when I have the Saddleback briefcase that I love so much.

The classic briefcase comes in 2 different sizes, large and medium. For me the large is perfect because it fits my 15 inch Macbook Pro along with a lot of other stuff. I can even smash in a down jacket in alongside it in one of the compartments. The other section I can fill up with clothes if I am only going for one night as well as phones and all the usual travel items.

If you clicked on the link already the first thing you probably saw was $689.00. That is a huge amount of money. I will say though if you go compare other companies that have this type of heavy duty leather you are going to be in the same range or way higher. Is it worth $689.00? Absolutely. After having mine for a few years I actually bought one for my dad and I ended up with their backpack too. The way I saw it was if it lasts me for 10 years then it is only $68.90 a year, that makes it at least feel a bit more reasonable. It is also fair to say that it will last me a whole lot longer than the 10 years I have on it now.

Saddleback recommends using Chamberlain’s Leather Milk for conditioning their gear, I will say that it is really mild and does work well. I also am a huge fan of Leather Honey Leather Conditioner and I would say that it lasts longer and I use it on our leather furniture with excellent results. We have an old chair that was getting uncomfortable to sit on as it was in really tough shape. After applying the Leather Honey it is soft and comfortable again. It will never look new but it hydrates the leather unlike anything I have tried before. For the most part I would say that the level of care required to keep your Saddleback gear in good shape is so minimal it is almost non-existent. The leather products actually darken all the scratches so I try to avoid conditioning as much as possible.

I almost forgot you can also convert the bag into a backpack. My experience is that it is a little hard to do and not very comfortable, but if you need your hands free or a way to distribute the weight it is at least an option and one that I don't think many others can do.

PRODUCT

Saddleback Classic Leather Briefcase

FEATURES

Converts into a backpack

100 year warranty

Fits up to a 17" laptop if you go with the large

Virtually indestructible

Your family may fight over it when you leave it behind

MATERIALS

Full grain leather outer

Pig skin lined which Saddleback states is even tougher than cow hide

316 stainless steel hardware

Marine grade polyester thread

DIMENSIONS

Large - 16" W x 12" H x 9"

Medium - 14" W x 11"1/4 H x 9"

Shoulder strap adjusts from 34" - 59”

7 lbs of indestructible beauty

CARE

Add a little Chamberlain’s Leather Milk or Leather Honey Leather Conditioner.