Overview
This Saddleback Leather messenger bag is in excellent condition. Has some minor scuff marks from handling, but certainly not broken in.
Design
There is no luck in making a quality leather backpack. And this backpack is no exception. It was purposefully designed with no breakable parts like zippers or snaps or velcro. And any stress spot is reinforced with Polyester straps hidden beneath the leather and riveted. The body of this leather backpack is built with just two big pieces of leather, which means there aren't many seams. The fewer the seams, the stronger the backpack because backpacks come apart at the seams before anywhere else. And then we only sew 5 stitches per inch so there are as few holes as possible. Quality can be measured in Seam Feet (how few feet of seems a bag has. We made that term up).
Materials
The leather of this backpack is the strongest and most water resistant we can find (full grain) and then we line it with pigskin, which stronger than the cow skin. It's rare for a low-quality company to use full grain to make a leather backpack because it's so expensive. When I say, "Full Grain Leather" I mean that it still has all of the tough tightly woven fibers on the top of the hide. Most companies shave off the scars and blemishes from the top of the hide (watch how they shave it here at minute 6:30) and shave off the strongest and best part of the hide (the grain) while doing it. They do it so they don't have to cut around the marks and throw those pieces into the trash like we do. We throw 25% of the hideaway. They don't throw hardly anything away.
I know using 316 Stainless Steel custom hardware is kind of like killing a fly with a shotgun, but we did it anyways. Check that one off the list of potential problems. Our large pieces of hardware on our backpacks are rated strong enough to hold a 750 lb. bag of cats before it gives. Seriously, I hope you google it to understand more. If your life is going to depend on any metal, let it depend on 316 Stainless Steel.
Then we sew it all together with thick and strong Polyester thread. It's industrial strength and doesn't deteriorate with exposure to the Sun's UV rays like Nylon thread does. This Leather Backpack is very strong in the nature of the materials we use.
Functionality
This Front Pocket Leather Backpack has a floppy interior laptop back pocket and all three exterior pockets have a hidden pocket behind them for quick access and for longer things. The lower d-rings on the bottom of the backpack are great for strapping on tripods, blankets and wet river shoes. The shoulder straps are minimal, comfortable and adjustable. In fact, you can remove the shoulder pads for whatever reason. Like if you are tying down something with a nice finish on the roof rack of your Land Cruiser and you don't want the rope to leave a mark. You can put this shoulder pad under the rope. I know there aren't many ways to innovate for functionality on a plain leather backpack, but when I found a chance, I took it.
Product Details
Fits all 17" laptops
Shipping with our Tube Shoulder Pads.
Dimensions (W x H x D)
12.00" x 17.00" x 7.00""
Weight: 6 lbs