What Bag From Saddleback Leather

[Tinjapan]

Before you decide you should take a look at Col. Littleton.com . I have many of their items including a couple of bags. A bit pricey but WELL Worth it.. They stand by their warranty 100%.

[Sailor911Fan]

To be honest, not a fan of the rugged look of Saddleback. I usually get my leather goods from Royce Leather

 

www.RoyceLeatherGifts.com

[Plume145]

I'm sorry to say, had one, but didn't like it. Was heavy and not very good to carry around. Instead of making the load appear lighter, it made it look heavier!

I prefer my fogg e-flat bag, or an diamond creek bag if I want a nice leather bag.

 

I am starting to have my doubts about the weight of these things. Because of that I am leaning towards the messenger bag or the satchel.

yeah. I'd give it a wide berth. Style's definitely important to me, so I'm not saying this out of being a nerdy all-about-function type, but these bags make my trapezius ache just to look at them. I've known the misery of being stuck with a bag that's too heavy because it looked so stylish, and let me tell you, it SUCKS.

 

In fact I'd say forget about one shoulder carry altogether unless you can count on the kind of use where you just drive to wherever and park within five minutes' walk. If that's not the case, go with a backpack. Find something styling, or just something completely unobtrusive/innocuous that noone much notices, and you're good to go. Since you're looking at Saddleback, it's not like you have a very rigid/conservative dress code to contend with, so you should be able to find a good selection of backpacks.

[Brian C]

I bought a Large classic BC a few years back and it ultimately was too big for everyday use. I bought a large satchel and haven't picked up the briefcase since.

Do you know if you can fit one of Saddleback's larger notepad holders in the large satchel?

[Brian C]

I'm sorry to say, had one, but didn't like it. Was heavy and not very good to carry around. Instead of making the load appear lighter, it made it look heavier!

I prefer my fogg e-flat bag, or an diamond creek bag if I want a nice leather bag.

 

I am starting to have my doubts about the weight of these things. Because of that I am leaning towards the messenger bag or the satchel.

yeah. I'd give it a wide berth. Style's definitely important to me, so I'm not saying this out of being a nerdy all-about-function type, but these bags make my trapezius ache just to look at them. I've known the misery of being stuck with a bag that's too heavy because it looked so stylish, and let me tell you, it SUCKS.

 

In fact I'd say forget about one shoulder carry altogether unless you can count on the kind of use where you just drive to wherever and park within five minutes' walk. If that's not the case, go with a backpack. Find something styling, or just something completely unobtrusive/innocuous that noone much notices, and you're good to go. Since you're looking at Saddleback, it's not like you have a very rigid/conservative dress code to contend with, so you should be able to find a good selection of backpacks.

I have no dress code to contend with, I just like the looks of leather. Recently I have been looking at places like Duluth Pack, Duluth Trading, Frost River, and Maxpedition. I just can't get into the looks of the Maxpedition bags. Too tactical looking for my tastes.

[Brian C]

Before you decide you should take a look at Col. Littleton.com . I have many of their items including a couple of bags. A bit pricey but WELL Worth it.. They stand by their warranty 100%.

Too pricey for me. Even with Saddleback I have to shop Dave's Deals only. Very nice bags though.

[Brian C]

Okay, just pulled the trigger on a large satchel in chestnut. I have a wallet in that color and love it. It was 25% off on the Dave's Deals section. Keeping my fingers crossed that this is will work out.

[Plume145]

I'm sorry to say, had one, but didn't like it. Was heavy and not very good to carry around. Instead of making the load appear lighter, it made it look heavier!

I prefer my fogg e-flat bag, or an diamond creek bag if I want a nice leather bag.

 

I am starting to have my doubts about the weight of these things. Because of that I am leaning towards the messenger bag or the satchel.

yeah. I'd give it a wide berth. Style's definitely important to me, so I'm not saying this out of being a nerdy all-about-function type, but these bags make my trapezius ache just to look at them. I've known the misery of being stuck with a bag that's too heavy because it looked so stylish, and let me tell you, it SUCKS.

 

In fact I'd say forget about one shoulder carry altogether unless you can count on the kind of use where you just drive to wherever and park within five minutes' walk. If that's not the case, go with a backpack. Find something styling, or just something completely unobtrusive/innocuous that noone much notices, and you're good to go. Since you're looking at Saddleback, it's not like you have a very rigid/conservative dress code to contend with, so you should be able to find a good selection of backpacks.

I have no dress code to contend with, I just like the looks of leather. Recently I have been looking at places like Duluth Pack, Duluth Trading, Frost River, and Maxpedition. I just can't get into the looks of the Maxpedition bags. Too tactical looking for my tastes.

Oh absolutely on the Maxpedition! They make me shudder. But it's not really a choice between a Maxpedition or something similar, and a big heavy beast like a Saddleback. There's a lot in between, including all-leather. And now with the heritage trend being so big, it's even easier to find than it was a few years ago

[warblerick]

Okay, just pulled the trigger on a large satchel in chestnut. I have a wallet in that color and love it. It was 25% off on the Dave's Deals section. Keeping my fingers crossed that this is will work out.

 

Please do keep us posted. I too am looking into a replacement bag for my Tuscany Leather bag. Either a Saddleback satchel (still undecided as to medium or large), or Leyden and Sons original messenger bag.

 

Rick

[AlecG]

Oh absolutely on the Maxpedition! They make me shudder. But it's not really a choice between a Maxpedition or something similar, and a big heavy beast like a Saddleback. There's a lot in between, including all-leather. And now with the heritage trend being so big, it's even easier to find than it was a few years ago

 

I have had small pouches from Maxpedition and they are oke, mostly chinese made nylon stuff. Not much wrong with, reasonable price-point, but also nothing to make my heart pump faster.

What does get my heartbeat and adrenaline up is the owner of Maxpedition, who gave a female moderator at another forum such a rude and uncalled for raging rant, that I (and a lot of other forum-members) decided then and there to never buy maxpedition again. I really don't know what it was about exactly, she had done a review about a bag or so and he clearly didn't agree. But to get so abusive about it, being a sexist, telling her she wouldn't be safe, threatening with all possible legal action, it was really outrageous.

The I read on another forum (EDC forums) about so many customer service complaints, some people get free returns, no restocking fees etc. while others get very unfriendly emails, no replies or phone calls that are not very pleasant. 15 pages long and lots of people complained about it. So this wasn’t an isolated incident.

I know customers can be a pain in the proverbial place, but a little bit of common sense and courtesy goes a long way. Botom line, I’m not carrying Maxpedition, even if I would get paid to do so.

Edited March 31, 2013 by alecgold

[Plume145]

Oh absolutely on the Maxpedition! They make me shudder. But it's not really a choice between a Maxpedition or something similar, and a big heavy beast like a Saddleback. There's a lot in between, including all-leather. And now with the heritage trend being so big, it's even easier to find than it was a few years ago

 

I have had small pouches from Maxpedition and they are oke, mostly chinese made nylon stuff. Not much wrong with, reasonable price-point, but also nothing to make my heart pump faster.

What does get my heartbeat and adrenaline up is the owner of Maxpedition, who gave a female moderator at another forum such a rude and uncalled for raging rant, that I (and a lot of other forum-members) decided then and there to never buy maxpedition again. I really don't know what it was about exactly, she had done a review about a bag or so and he clearly didn't agree. But to get so abusive about it, being a sexist, telling her she wouldn't be safe, threatening with all possible legal action, it was really outrageous.

The I read on another forum (EDC forums) about so many customer service complaints, some people get free returns, no restocking fees etc. while others get very unfriendly emails, no replies or phone calls that are not very pleasant. 15 pages long and lots of people complained about it. So this wasn’t an isolated incident.

I know customers can be a pain in the proverbial place, but a little bit of common sense and courtesy goes a long way. Botom line, I’m not carrying Maxpedition, even if I would get paid to do so.

OMG. Customer service - ur doin it rong

 

Seriously, I should have been surprised at the experience you report, but halfway through reading your post, I realized I wasn't. There's something about this company that rubbed me up the wrong way from the first time I wandered off onto their website about 3-4 years ago, but I dismissed it out of hand because I figured it was just my own general tendency to bristle at anything with even a slight whiff of the paramilitary to it. But I guess if you are a company catering to civilians only, rather than pursuing government contracts, yet using this kind of imagery, d-baggery is only to be expected. Still terrifying though, especially if you're on the receiving end of it! I hope nothing happened at least?

[Brian C]

Okay, just pulled the trigger on a large satchel in chestnut. I have a wallet in that color and love it. It was 25% off on the Dave's Deals section. Keeping my fingers crossed that this is will work out.

 

Please do keep us posted. I too am looking into a replacement bag for my Tuscany Leather bag. Either a Saddleback satchel (still undecided as to medium or large), or Leyden and Sons original messenger bag.

 

Rick

I will definitely do a review on it here. I haven't done many reviews but this should be a fun one to do.

[Brian C]

Received my large chestnut satchel today and opened it a few minutes ago. Very first impressions are mixed but lean towards the positive. The chestnut coloring is beautiful, but I think I do prefer the dark coffee slightly. The bag is good sized but not large enough for one of their notebook covers (I know this going in but passing it on). The bag doesn't seem as heavy as I feared but I haven't carried it anywhere yet. The backpack conversion is a bit of a pain, but it should get easier once I do it a few times and learn how to do it. Looks really cool as a backpack! I also have a brand new Duluth Pack field satchel and a Renaissance Art large recession bag that I will compare in a review. So far I would say the Saddleback bags are overpriced at full price. I paid $255 for mine with the 25% Dave's Deals discount, it's close at that price point. Ask me any questions or let me know if there is anything you want to see in a review.

[Letsdisinfect]

That's a pretty great price! Do you know if it's the old style satchel or the new "round satchel" style?

[Brian C]

That's a pretty great price! Do you know if it's the old style satchel or the new "round satchel" style?

I believe it's the new style.

[Letsdisinfect]

Awesome! My wife bought me a large satchel for my birthday back in October, before they announced the new style. Every now and again I wish there was a bit more space, but overall I love it.

[jkingrph]

I have the large classic briefcase and am finding it just a little large. I am seriously considering their front pocket briefcase, which falls inbetween the large satchel and the classic briefcase I like the front pockets and leaving the interior more open.

 

 

I checked this morning and the front pocket model was out of stock, checked again a few minutes and they have them, so have one on order.

Edited March 7, 2014 by jkingrph