Our hope is that you’ll be proud of your bag because of the compliments you get and how long it lasts. But our deeper hope is that you join our community of those nurturing the vulnerable and loving the unloved. We do more than just quality leather bags; we do quality in all areas of our business.
Our purpose is not to change the world by loving orphans, single moms and ex-prisoners one at a time. It’s to work with a Love 41 community/family of loving and nurturing people to do it. If you want to but you’re not sure how, then join us on Facebook or sign up for our newsletter to learn more. We’ll help you get plugged in.
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Our leather is the strongest we can find (full-grain boot leather, but thicker). The top layer of a leather hide has all of the grain in it, and the grain is the toughest, most protective and longest lasting part of the hide. The grain is like the shingles on a roof. Most companies shave off the top layer (grain) of the hide to get rid of scars so they can use almost every inch of the hide in production and therefore save money. But in doing so, it's like they're shaving the shingles off of your roof. Kind of insane.
The thread is unbelievably strong industrial marine grade UV resistant polyester thread. It's what they use on sails and parachutes (things your life depends on). We use it to hold together leather briefcases.
This mid-1800's English style Gladstone Bag closure is just plain cool on this leather briefcase. It opens wide and stays open until you say otherwise. Pilots love this feature to put next to their seat. For closure, I chose a single leather strap with holes punched all the way out to the very tip, just in case your bag is way overstuffed or you want to stick your umbrella or blueprints under the strap horizontally or leave the laptop bag open to stick your stuff out vertically. The front pockets are built and then sewn on, so there are hidden pockets behind the pockets.
We use tough, but soft pigskin lining, which is stronger than the cow leather, instead of some pretty shiny fabric with a world map on it. There's also a false bottom inside that serves two purposes: First, it adds an extra layer of reinforcement. Secondly, you can hide cash, passports, etc. under there, but please don't hide drugs. Drugs are bad.
Our custom hardware is the amazing 316 Stainless Steel (please please google it). A metallergist told me that it was way overkill and that I really didn't need it to be so strong. I guess it's like killing a fly with a shotgun for a leather briefcase, but we NEVER have problems with our hardware.
The removable, adjustable shoulder strap is a handy feature. You can take it off your briefcase to tie the Christmas tree to the rack of your car. The strap on this briefcase is as tough and durable as our quality full grain leather belts.
This is more than a leather laptop bag or briefcase for pilots — it’s a legacy piece designed to be fought over long after you’re gone. We believe your bag should outlast your career, your travel miles, and your wildest adventures. Buy it once. Break it in. Pass it down.
If something does go wrong, we’ll fix it under our 100-year warranty — because your leather bag shouldn’t give out before you do.
The last small plane we were on was from Nairobi to Lamu. From there we took a 2 hour small boat ride to an island off the Northern Coast of Kenya, next to Somalia where a Kenyan friend of ours told us was a really super cool place for holiday. We didn't know about all of the Al-Shabaab terrorist activity and kidnappings in the area or we probably wouldn't have chosen it for our family vacation, but ignorance is bliss? The last night there was a little freaky. Okay, a lot freaky hanging out and discussing theology with the witchcraft practicing angel prophet of Islam, but that's for another place and time (or bag description).
So we finally get to our destination called Mike's Camp, run and owned by a British Kenyan named Mike. A charming chap who had made a barefoot luxury Gilligan's Island resort built almost entirely from woven reeds. The walls and floors were 100% woven and the ceilings were thatched. All of it was supported by branches and sticks.
It was SUPER COOL. Unbelievable. And that's why billionaires fly in to stay there all the time. Since we're not billionaires, we flew into Lamu and then took the little skiff to the island, but there are people who fly in at low tide, land on the beach and walk up the sand dunes to the camp. It's where you completely unplug. No laptop bags allowed. To read about the Angel prophet of Islam and our walk through the terrorists, go to the Slim Leather Briefcase page.
Anyways, each of those small plane bush pilots that land on the beach or take people to Lamu, have a smaller flight bag briefcase next to their seat. It's just what you do when you need all of your things in one small cramped place.
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Just arrived and many things to love. Also a few things that give me renewed appreciation for my 10+ year old front pocket briefcase (FPB). First, color. I know lots of folks agonize over color choice. I was one! My FPB is the natural tobacco. I wanted something a little more professional-looking and it was between Chestnut and Coffee Brown. Problem with pics is the lighting makes it look so variable from shot to shot. I went with Chestnut hoping it wouldn't look as red as it did in *some* pics. I'm THRILLED with the choice. Beautiful professional look in office lighting and outdoors. Definitely not too red at all for my taste, but I know how subjective color descriptions can be. All I can say is to me, the Chestnut is beautiful and very professional/warm feeling. On functionality, it holds more than I thought. I fit my 15" MBP in with no problem along with my big Bose over-the-ear headset in its big case, plus chargers, plus a charging cord bag, and a notebook. And that's not counting the front pockets. Could squeeze more in if needed, but overall I actually don't feel it's much smaller inside than my FPB, yet the design is definitely sleeker than the FPB and it's noticeably lighter. Love the Gladstone. Works as advertised. Love being able to get to the front pockets without having to open the flap like on my FPB. Love the fact that I can pick it up without buckling the over-the-top strap and it balances nicely. On my FPB it is very awkward to carry without that strap cinched, which is annoying when just doing quick moves from one meeting room to another. What follows is not a list of anything wrong with the Flight Bag! It's just design choices. A few things I immediately now appreciate more about my FPB. (1) I miss the cigar holder in the front that I used for pens. (2) The side pockets where I keep a big sunglasses case and my air pods on my FPB. (3) The single handle vs fussing with the two separate ones is really nice when the buckle is cinched. It's just all about what you're optimizing for, and for me I wanted something with a sleeker profile and accessible front pockets. The Gladstone opening was a bonus. I'm very pleased with the purchase and the service. I recommend using the Chat feature if you can. Extremely quick and efficient and seems easier to reach than phone and definitely quicker responses than email. Can't wait to start breaking it in!
OK, so this is my second bag from SBL, first one was in Tobacco (Big Mouth Backpack), and this one is in DCB. I want to highlight the customer support, who has been very kind and understanding, helped out a lot during some problems that have arisen with the first order. But this bag, oh boy, turned out to be great! Surprisingly a lot of space for the bag this size, fits MBP 16" perfectly (without a case) in the floppy pocket inside, and the quality of build is superb. Never thought I would be wearing a brief with a strap, always preferred holding it with hands, but, this strap is so great, I'm trying to wear it on my shoulder. :) One thing I didn't feel was up to par is the smell of leather. It smells of chemicals after tannery (I think), hope that it will air out. All in all, great bag for the office, short trips and stuff. Oh, and now I don't think I'll be ever getting another brief (I would want 15" grandfather case to come back though).
99.9% of all my saddleback bags are in tabacco but this bag I had to get it in chestnut something about this bag it just looks stellar in chestnut. I’ve had it for 2 years and is my everyday bag for the office. The tabacco is a great color for everyday but the chestnut just gives it more of a sophisticated air. Nothing patinas like tabacco and this bag in chestnut hasn’t changed much in 2 years of basically everyday use. It’s patina is slight but there are wear marks.
If your hesitating, don't. This flight bag leather briefcase exceeded my expectations. The quality is outstanding. I use it for work, and it fits my laptop with double screen adaptor, and plenty of files. It looks great with many compliments from my coworkers. You won't be disappointed, if you buy it. It is well worth the purchase price. Top Quality!!!
First off, this bag is amazing. I love the tobacco color and the smell of the leather! I was surprised at how heavy the bag is for being a medium sized bag. I guess that is because of the leather. It is a little on the thinner size from what I was expecting but that can be a bonus, it forces me to keep what I carry to the stuff needed most and not add extra gadgets to the bag that will just add more weight. The buckles and straps arte really nice and thick. One thing I wish they would include on the handles is a leather strap of some sort that we can button around both h andles when carrying it with the shoulder strap. When using the shoulder strap, the handle that is not against your body tend to just flop around and in my opinion, it looks odd. I think some kind of handle clasp would help with that. Othern than these few things, I absolutly love this bag. I will update my review the more I use it.
