Saddleback Leather Co. - Briefcase / Satchel Review

[xployt1]

Guy apparently likes leather.

[brostomper]

so how does it smell? like nice leather or does is it pretty neutral?

[jpschubbs]

@brostomper It smells very leathery.

[Samsjunk]

Thanks for the review. I especially appreciate you bringing up the tanning process and the finished interior (as opposed to a "rough" interior that would leave little bits rubbing off over time). I hadn't considered either of those things but will keep them in mind for both this and future purchases.

[stevelovesit]

I dont get why yours has two rivets on it but the ones on the website have three (on the front, with the flap down) - have they changed the design??

[jpschubbs]

@stevelovesit They must have changed the design. In mine, there is a slit in the front flap and the strap comes out of that with two rivets. On the new ones, the strap is riveted directly onto the flap with three rivets. I like my version better :)

[comrade86]

What kind of a watch are u wearing?

[jpschubbs]

@comrade86 An old Bulova.

[CELIBERICO]

Excellent, good looking bags, wow. I think ill get one.

[LittleWoodenBoyFilms]

Use the leather milk that saddleback also sells. They endorse it n it works great not greasy n works even on my leather iPad smart cover.

[LittleWoodenBoyFilms]

I own a medium satchel, n every man should own one. You will use it daily n u will never buy another bag unless it's saddleback n only cause u may want larger or different type. Compliments galore dpin just one day. Women love to come up n touch and ask where I got.lol

[harryfosho]

excellent! Im planning on getting the backpack version with the same colour that you have

[babystab]

Have you tried to use this bag as the personal item for flights? You typically get a carry on and then a "personal" item. I was wondering if the extra large would fit under a airline seat or if they try to give you grief because of the size.

I'm 6' tall and thin, and considering the extra large just for extra room. In your experience would the XL be too big for a guy my size?

Great vid, I'm definitely going with the Chestnut.

[jpschubbs]

@babystab Hey, sorry for the late reply. This bag fits perfectly under the seat of every airplane I've been on. I've been able to carry this bag and another one on all my flights, so it shouldn't be a problem. As far as the size for you, I'm 6'4" and about 220 and the XL is plenty big for me. You might consider going with the next size down; you can always do an exchange either way. I found Saddleback to be a great company to deal with, so an exchange would probably be fairly easy.

[SirJustinRyan84]

Does anyone know the make/brand of the satchel that Dakin carries in the film version of The History Boys? I've been looking everywhere and can't seem to figure it out!!

[duglydog]

Great review,, on saddleback ,,,,, but your comments about the porfolio are a little off. For the record you can not carve and stamp the type of leather used in saddleback (chrome tanned) so they used Vegetable tanned leather so they could put the design on it... but then you have to dye it and they used a very nice edge paint (standard) that will wear off but you can reapply the edge coat at anytime.

[PrivateIsland656]

Excellent video - Good description and one handed camera handling. Beautiful bag well worth whatever you spent on it. Many happy years with it and would like to see an update video.

[Hiluxtaco]

Excellent review!!

.

I would love to have one of their medium satchels...

[Operasinger1024]

I was wondering about the size... you bought the extra large (18 inch) right? I'm not as tall as you and am thinking about getting the 16 inch one (large). I have a 15 inch macbookpro and will have about the same kind of amount of stuff to put in it as you.. do you think that'd be a problem?

[jpschubbs]

@Operasinger1024 My bag is 17.5" across the front. My MacBook Pro fits just fine. If you buy the 16" version, you should be fine too; you could probably even fit a larger laptop because of the play in the sides. The leather there is not reinforced with anything hard, so you'll have some play to go a bit wider if you need to. I think you'll be surprised how much room the bag affords. It doesn't look big or bulky, but you'll probably run out stuff to put in there before you'll run out of room.

[SnaggleX]

Thanks you very much for your reply. I may try one of these two products. Old Masters looks great but probably too expensive for my wallet. Have you tried either of the products below.

obenaufs leather oil

leather honey leather treatment

[jpschubbs]

@SnaggleX I tried Obenauf's and liked it for work boots, but it was a bit too greasy in my opinion for books or bags; it didn't seem to give the leather a nice clean finish.

I've not tried Leather Honey, although my uncle uses it on some of his leather work and loves, loves, loves it. I'm going to buy some here in a day or two, because, yeah - Old Master is pretty darned expensive.

Let me know how Leather Honey works out for you, if you buy it.

[SLAZHER62]

yes the bag has been process by Industyrial tannery and the dye will be inside and out side those bags are made with full grain leather and smooth surfarce the planner is made with vegetable leather exclusive for tooling and the dye not always go all the way till the inside , is a process for to do that, thought .... great bag also...

[ThePaulKoko]

The leather quality doesnt look that good , i personaly like the bag design , but prefer Paolo Yéguchi leather bags. Thanks for sharing!

[jpschubbs]

@ThePaulKoko The quality is actually very good. The lighting didn't work out as I'd planned, and makes the leather look kind of shiny and cheap in some spots. I put it in the sun like that hoping that it would bring out the depth of the leather. So many videos have such horrible lighting, half the time you can't see what the hell is being reviewed. I think I may have gone to the other extreme though.

[SnaggleX]

I have one of these briefcases coming in the mail. I like the oiled look of yours. Have you treated it with anything? If so, what did you use. Thanks for the great review.

[SnaggleX]

I have one of these bags coming in the mail. It looks as though you have treated the leather. If so, what did you use? I like the rich oiled look.

[jpschubbs]

@SnaggleX I use a leather treatment called "Old Master". It was developed by an Amish fellow mainly for bookbinding to fight off rot and mildew. I'm an amateur bookbinder, and I've used nearly every leather treatment out there - none of them even approach Old Master, in my opinion. It gives a depth and shine to the leather unlike anything else. You can buy it at BookbindersWorkShop.

[exploreryen]

lay back company, i like this.

[MisterMinnesota]

What would you use a bag like this for?

[jpschubbs]

@MisterMinnesota I use it for business. I'm self employed, so I throw my MacBook and other files in there when I travel. I like that there's so much room. The bag certainly has it's own look, it's not the kind of bag that people who prefer, say, fine Italian leather goods would go for. I like the more rugged look of it though.

[jpschubbs]

@MisterMinnesota I also sometimes use it for an overnight bag; a pair of khakis, a shirt, socks, and a toiletry bag. Lots of room.

[MisterMinnesota]

@jpschubbs Yeah, I can see that. I like it and I dig your style, but that's too much for me hah, not gonna stop from getting a one of there wallets though, chestnut brown too.

[Vermilionone]

Great review! I am considering getting one of these, and I am torn between the brown, which like you said will look great over the years, or the black, which would be better for an office. Great breakdown of the details this was a massive help

[Microglia1]

Where are these made(who and where)? They don't look American Made.

[jpschubbs]

@Microglia1 As far as I know he gets the leather from the same tannery the Justin Boot Co. uses, but the bags are actually made in Mexico...I think.

Crafted by the hard working indigenous people of...wherever.

[Microglia1]

@jpschubbs

I'm glad you enjoy your bag. The comment on the natural dyeing process for finish is spot on, a feature I prefer myself. This finish was originally done in Greece and the Italians have used this process for centuries, until the 1950s. Now, almost all quality briefcases from Florence have painted side finish which cracks with age. I have a Filson satchel, an older vintage Wellington of NYC, and a SW Brigg wrapped around. The quality are all very high.

[zelder2]

i have one of those saddleback leather briefcases as well. they r very nice, the one that i have is the medium one (black) and i have the satchel to go with it. I am going to post a review on mine to this week so check it out. by the way nice video review.

[adryanv]

Thanks for uploading this. I've been looking for a video review of the SB briefcase for ages. Two thumbs up!

[ssm501v]

Thank you so much for your review! So far (except for yours) there aren't any other youtube reviews on the briefcase version so I'm really happy you decided to contribute one. Also, I'm even more psyched that yours is the chestnut color (the one I'm planning to get). It seems like everyone else has dark coffee brown or tobacco and it was so hard for me to find actual images of the chestnut color. Thanks again!