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Front Pocket Leather Backpack

$579.00
(234 reviews) Write a Review
100 Year Warranty
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  • 12" X 17" X 7"
  • Weight: 6 lbs

(234)
5 Stars Write a Review
  • 5
    Older Model, but 3 years later

    I bought the large backpack in 2015 while I was deployed to Romania. I went through the rest of that deployment (with a great deal of traveling using the backpack), a trip to California, a month and a half traveling through Europe, and now 2 years of a Master's in the Netherlands with this backpack. I use it every time I leave my room, and have traveled multiple times using this as a carry-on and no other baggage. Here are my takes: The bag works well as a carry-on. I prefer putting it under the seat in front of me so I have access to my items without bugging other passengers. I typically leave the front and side pockets empty for this, so it fits better. My last travel was with a 17" gaming laptop, clothes for a weekend, and some smaller gaming systems, with space to spare (though now that some airlines are weighing bags, that became an issue, mostly due to the heavy laptop). This bag will work as a carry-on, and I don't believe I have yet had any airline ask me to put it in one of their test boxes for size. My biggest issue with this is that my closure for the large flap is on the front pocket, making it stick out a bit, which causes it to be harder to squeeze under the seat in front of me. I see that the new bag has moved it, solving this issue. There is a lot of space in this bag. My initial travel through Europe looking at universities left me with about 45 days of this bag holding EVERYTHING I needed . Laptop, clothes, sleeping bag, nice set of shoes, notepad folder, and occasionally a large amount of food. I don't think I have yet to have a time that I've needed to use the last hole on the closure strap. The spaces between the side pockets are great for holding my water bottle and e-reader. I rarely even use the front pocket. About that... As mentioned, the model I have has the large flap's closure buckle on the front pocket. This is inconvenient, as to properly open the font pocket, three buckles need to be undone, including the main flap. This is the biggest reason I don't use the front pocket. Again, the closure has moved, so this issue has been lessened (it is still 2 buckles compared to the single buckle on the sides, but the width of this pocket warrants the two. On the issue of problems I have with my bag, the bottom of the bag has developed a bit of a crease that digs into my lower back, depending on the load in the bag. I don't think they've solved this yet, but I'm not sure how I would. I use some of the tighter settings on the shoulder straps, and this has left quite a bit hanging off the bottom. This may be because the same straps are (or were) used for the smaller and the larger bag, so the larger bag didn't need the extra strap length. I remedied this by folding the hanging ends under and buckling them in as well (so the buckle goes through both the very end of the hanging end, as well as the appropriate hole for the size. My main buckle was damaged when a friend was trying to pull it out of an overhead compartment on a plane, it got caught and the rind just pulled too hard, bending it. It is still completely functional, and I could probably send it in to get it fixed, but it isn't bothering me enough yet. I do wish mine had a separate laptop sleeve and inner pockets, bu t again, I see they've added these to the new bag. With all the improvements, I'm almost tempted to get a new one. I got mine from Dave's Deals, and have no idea what issues they noticed to make it cheaper. I just conditioned the leather, I use a brand other than Chamberlains, but other than the softness and slack of the leather (which is not present when it is new), I don't think you could tell that I've had this bag for 3 years if you were more than 5 feet away. This review was me being picky about the bad parts of the bag. It is a great bag, I love wearing it and using it daily, and would highly recommend the bag. Chances are, in three years, you won't have the weight in the bag that I've had for the amount of time that I did, and its no worse for the wear.

  • 5
    Great Coffee Cup

    One of my favorite coffee cups. It's a very unique hand crafted coffee. A must own if you are a Saddleback Leather Fan!

  • 3
    Great backpack minus one detail

    The new design comes with these two clips to secure the main pocket together. They are so close together that it literally does nothing to tighten it together. As a result the back pops outside of the rain flap on the edges. So your laptop in the laptop flap will 100% get wet. You can take a few moments to adjust the bag then work the leather each time you close it to be underneath, but it doesn't naturally close that way no matter how many times you do it. I am massively disappointed in this oversite as they switched from the design that is presently on the thin version of this bag, which does tie it up tight and is perfect for keeping the hole under the rain flap. I intend on trying to get sbl to fix this and if not ill pay for the mods cause its a really annoying oversite. All recommendations have been to send it to this guy named Men on the facebook group to put a draw string mod on it. So be advised that youll spend $600 for a bag that then needs a few extra hundred dollars of mods on it so your laptop doesn't get wet.

  • 5
    Incredible Backpack, But I Hope the Clip Closure Works after it Breaks In

    I bought this while my wife bought the thin front pocket backpack. For couples that are looking to get some proper backpacks together the thin front pocket is a perfect size for her (she's 5'2) while this was perfect for me. For guys debating between this and the thin I'd recommend this as the size is more appropriate. Breaking it in reminds me of my days playing baseball and I'd sit around slamming a baseball into my leather mitt. The only negative is the clip closure on the main pocket. It leaves the bag too wide open so that bits of the bag are popping outside of the flap. So if it were to rain, rain would get in the bag. I hope with time the closure will get soft and would naturally fit under the flap. For laptop carriers I've got a 15'6 Gigabyte Aero 15 that is a beast of a gaming laptop and the flap is literally a perfect fit for this. Any smaller and the flap wouldn't work. No regrets, incredible backpack.

  • 5
    Buy it. Now!

    Love the bag. I got mine off daves deals. Couldn't find anything wrong with it. Would reccomend rivets on the front pocket straps or it would be cool to have the enclosure system from the canvas bags to make it a bit faster to open. Also wish it came with the old cinch at the top of the bag rather than the clips. Who knows. Dave designs things with longevity in mind so there must be a reason. I love it. Opening the box is the best part. People always wanna know where i got it so i beg SB to send me a ton of business cards with my purchases so i can hand em out. Stands up to the rain well and im sure itll last longer than me on this earth.