Awesome unique functional briefcase!

I own a “few” SB products. I have been eyeing something from their Canvas Collection for a while. I wanted something a bit lighter and more casual. After checking these bags out at the garage sale, I couldn’t wait any longer. Jonathan cut me a good deal and I became a proud owner of a canvas bag. The bag came unwaxed. That was a process. I wish I would have bought the wax bar. Using the can and trying to balance it out was rough. Anyways, the bag turned out great and if anything looks aged without having for that long. The bag is great for casual use. Plus when I travel for pleasure I can really pack it full. My wife asked why I was babying it initially. I was waiting for the first blemishes I guess. This is one tough bag. The old bull leather is so hefty. It will take some time to break in.
It is a great bag and I have really enjoyed it. I look for excuses to carry it more.

Would be great if they came out with the same bag in a navy blue. With white/cream stitching would be even better but I know Dave doesn’t like the contrast colors. I would still get it in blue!

I own a number of Saddleback products, most of them leather. I bought the khaki green Front Pocket Waxed Canvas Gear Bag in new condition from a lady who had bought it and found it too large and heavy for her.

I'm 5'8" and I find it very comfortable to carry. And, I can carry quite a bit of stuff in it. I generally use my Medium Leather Satchel which has traveled a few hundred thousand miles with me, but I'm finding that I want the extra space and flexibility and I get out the Front Pocket Waxed Canvas Gear Bag (FPWCGB). I'm turning to it much more often than I expected I would.

Short of full immersion, It is quite waterproof. I have been caught in a number of rain storms and the bag kept everything nice and dry. It is quite easy to open with just one hand. It is spacious without being overly large. The inner pocket can comfortably fit my 13" Macbook Air. The front pockets are useful for all sorts of things. The canvas is thick and tough. I expect it will last a very long time. While the specs say it weighs in at 5 lbs., it feels far lighter. And, of course, it looks cool.

I did add some closed cell foam the the bottom of the bag to give the things I put in there some cushion from the dropping and tossing the bag gets.

I highly recommend the bag. I don't think anyone will regret the purchase as long as they like the style and the size.

I received the Canvas Gear Bag a few days ago and have been toting around all of my stuff. Excellent build quality - the canvas is nice and thick, the stitching is strong and "over stitched," the hardware and leather pieces are classic Saddleback. So, from a build quality perspective, it's top notch.

It's also lighter than comparable leather briefcases. This is the main reason why I purchased it. I was having neck and back pain from the full leather briefcases I ordered and needed a lighter bag. This fits the bill.

My only complaint is the wax on the inside of the bag. I'm assuming a lot here and I'm unsure of the properties of this type of canvas, but waxing on the outside only would make for less messy laptops and folders on the inside. My brand new Thinkpad has wax marks all over it, making for an annoying (daily) routine of wiping off the wax. Perhaps a fabric lining of some sort would do the trick here? I don't know...but the wax on the inside has been annoying.

Otherwise, a sturdy bag! Nothing else like it on the market.

So I’m going to nursing school after 20 years in print journalism. Easy to guess how that turned out.



Anyway, my large satchel, my first Saddleback bag, wasn’t cutting it. All the clutter of VERY IMPORTANT items in the main compartment made it difficult to insert big textbooks. I needed a bag with front pockets. I had picked up a canvas Indy maybe a couple months prior, and really liked it, so I decided to give the FPGB a try.



It took some getting used to. It’s much bigger than the large satchel, and drape of the flap struck me as weird at first. But after a week of toting to work and school, I’m utterly sold. The pockets are bigger than anything on a leather bag, and I can fit three notebooks and a massive A&P text into the main compartment. The wider canvas strap always falls untwisted over my back, and it looks great.



If it needs anything, it’s a dedicated internal space just for pens and pencils, like the Indy has.



But this is a winner, an A-plus for school purposes.