Flight Bag Leather Briefcase

8.00

$649.00

(230 reviews) Write a Review

Design of the Flight Bag

This bag was designed for pilots, like the one who flew our family to a region of Somalia infested with Al Shabaab terrorist (read the story here). These flight bags are over-engineered with no breakable parts like magnets, zippers, snaps, buttons, etc. We only use the strongest materials we can find. The leather is thick full grain leather and incredibly tough, while the lining is made of pigskin, which is even stronger. The thread is industrial, marine grade, and UV resistant, ensuring it will hold up against wear and tear. The hardware is a custom stainless steel, which is complete overkill — it's like killing a fly with a shotgun. This mid-1800s 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 seats). The front pockets are built and then sewn on, so there are hidden pockets behind the pockets. There's a magazine pocket in the back and a floppy laptop pocket inside the leather briefcase.

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Leather in Our Pilot Bags

The leather we use is the strongest we can find (full grain boot leather, but thicker). The top layer of a leather hide has all the grain. The grain is the hide's toughest, most protective, and longest-lasting part. The grain is like the shingles on a roof the best part. 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 save money. But in doing so, it's like they're shaving the shingles off your roof. There ought to be a law.

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Lining of Our Leather Flight Bag

We use pigskin lining, which is stronger than cow leather, instead of some pretty shiny fabric with a world map on it. In addition, this pigskin lining is lighter in shade, making it much easier to see inside in a darker cockpit.

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Thread to Hold It All Together

The thread is unbelievably strong industrial marine-grade UV resistant polyester thread. It's what they use when people could die if the thread fails. Like on sails and parachutes. We use it to hold together leather briefcases.

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Hardware in Our Leather Flight Bags

Our custom hardware is a 316 Stainless Steel (please please google it). It's the metal of choice when your life depends on it. A metallurgist told me it was way overkill and that I 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.

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No Breakable Parts in Our Leather Briefcases

Do you remember in your childhood, that transformer bag with the cool zippered rear pocket that fell apart and dropped your collection of hot wheels in the hall at school? Then you realize you want to study harder to afford nicer things that don't fall apart. So you decide to become a pilot because you love freedom and only fly what you trust. You don't want to get a part for your plane that you don't trust, no fuel pump or brakes for your Cessna from wish.

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Hinged Frame (Gladstone Closure)

The hinged frame closure comes from the mid-1800s when zippers weren't a thing yet. When you open it, it stays wide open until you say otherwise. Pilots love this feature when the bag is next to them in the cockpit. There is ample storage space for everything you might need. You might only have to carry your pilot certificate, a photo ID, and possibly even an aviation medical certificate, but there's plenty of room for all your electronics, headset & GPS, books, and fuel testers.

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External Pockets

The two pockets in the front are great for storing charging cables, flashlight, water bottle, or fuel testers. These pockets are sewn onto the leather bag, so there are hidden pockets behind these pockets to slide a passport, pens or pencils, brochures, etc. The magazine pocket in the back will fit a tablet, magazine, or book.

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Removable, Adjustable Shoulder Strap

We know not all pilots like to carry their pilot bags the same, so we made the adjustable strap so you can fit it just right. The leather strap adjusts from 40-60" and is removable too so you can carry it by hand.

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Leather Briefcase with a False Bottom

Inside the main compartment, there's a piece of leather on the bottom of the bag that serves two purposes. One - it's an extra layer of reinforcement (part of the whole over-engeneering thing). Two - it creates a false bottom so you can hide your passport or cash.

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FOR THE KIDS ABOUT A AL-SHABAAB ON VACATION

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 it was a 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 of 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, 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. Of course, since we're not billionaires, we flew into Lamu and then took the little skiff to the island, but some people 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 are allowed. To read about the Angel prophet of Islam and our walk through the terrorists, go to the Slim Leather Briefcase page.&&Small plane bush pilots that land on the beach or take people to Lamu have a smaller flight bag briefcase next to their seats. It's just what you do when you need all of your things in a tiny cramped place.

Details

100 Year Warranty
Fits 17" Laptops
Removable Adjustable Shoulder Strap
Hidden Pockets Behind Two Front Pockets
Key Strap
False Bottom

Dimensions (W x H x D)

16" x 12" x 6"
Front Pockets: 6"W x 7"H
Strap: 1.25" W x 40" - 65" L
Shoulder Pad: 3" W x 7.75"L

MATERIALS

Full Grain Leather
Pigskin Lining
Custom Stainless Steel Hardware
Industrial Marine-Grade Polyester Thread

5
Great, almost perfect bag

Quality of construction and overall design is great with the flight bag. The Gladstone opening is really convenient and much more functional than the traditional flap style opening. The flight bag has a nice amount of space in the interior, but not so much that it is unbearably heavy when loaded. This bag would be perfect if a water bottle sleeve/packet was added to the outside which would open up the interior space a bit more.

Posted by Brandon | Aug 09, 2021
5
Flight Bag comes to Australia

We like leather in Australia but I haven't seen anything like Saddleback products before. Bought the Flight Bag, waited a long time for it to cross the globe but it sure was worth the wait! First day on the train and I got a comment on what a great bag it was! I love this bag.

Posted by Mark E. | Aug 03, 2021
5
As great as I thought it would be...

My watching turned to dreaming. I was determined to have this bag. If there were a bag that checked off every box on my list, this one surely was it! Well, I ordered it during the recent warehouse sale. It finally arrived a couple of weeks ago and I couldn't be happier. I chose the chestnut color as that's the color that has always appealed the most to me. I have received COUNTLESS compliments on the bag! I can't wait to purchase more items!

Posted by Josh H. | Jul 06, 2021
5
Awesome bag!

After 3 years of indecision and list of bad bags, I had finally pulled the trigger on Saddleback Flight Bag. It has been almost 3 months now and I am in love with the bag. Got it in chestnut colour. Thankfully, we can travel within Australia and this bag has been living under the aeroplane seats. Very robust and getting a nice patina. I am definitely a major fan on Saddleback. Saddleback's customer support has been second to none. Thank you.

Posted by Sfx | May 02, 2021
5
Love this Bag

I am using this flight bag as a briefcase and love it. The feature I love most is the Gladstone opening. I usually have it open beside my chair and can easily look down and pull out whatever book, notebook or pen/pencil that I need for the moment. I have tried other briefcases in the past but the "fold over" flap on top of the bag seemed to always be in the way. Now when using this bag and changing from one project to the other I can easily look down and see where everything is and easily take out the new project and put the old one back in it's place. Fantastic idea for moving in and out of the briefcase. PLUS the quality of the leather and craftsmanship is wonderful. Love everything about this bag and am totally satisfied with this purchase! Thanks Dave to you and your company. Keep up the great work.

Posted by Rusty | Apr 22, 2021

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