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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The materials in our leather briefcase are full grain leather, pigskin lining, 316 stainless steel hardware, and German industrial marine-grade polyester thread. Our leather is tough and resilient, and our pigskin lining is super strong. Our hardware is 316 stainless steel and is rated to hold up to 750 lbs. Our thread is UV-resistant and German industrial marine-grade polyester thread. In addition, our hidden reinforcing straps ensure that the bag will never stretch and those straps will never deteriorate. This is over-engineering.
Full Grain Leather is the key to a quality leather briefcase. If you take off the top part of the leather (grain) it's like taking the shingles off of the roof. They get rid of the toughest and most resistant layer of the hide. When tanneries get a leather hide from the slaughterhouse, it's really thick. So, the tannery splits the top half with the grain from the bottom half. Now they have two hides to sell. The tough and beasty hide that still has the full amount of grain (full grain) is expensive, and that's what we buy. The bottom half is great for making low quality budget leather briefcases or laptop bags that will dry out and fall apart in a short time.
We glue and sew tough, strong pigskin leather to the cow leather. And the pigskin is even stronger than the cowskin. We've chosen this instead of using a shiny pretty fabric lining. We want all of our real leather bags to be durable, rugged, and sturdy.
Our custom hardware is 316 Stainless Steel. If you are a metallurgist, then I'm sure you just gasped. It's the metal you want to be used when your life depends on it. The testing laboratory told us that our clips were rated to hold up to a 750 lbs. bag of cats.
Our thread is unbelievably strong and UV resistant German industrial marine-grade polyester thread. It doesn't deteriorate when the sun hits it like nylon thread does. And we use the thick double ought version of it. It's the same thread used on ship sails and parachutes (things your life depends on).
Polyester is good and bad. The good is that it doesn't stretch and never deteriorates. The bad is that it never deteriorates. When it comes to polyester in your sheets and blankets, you won't sleep as well. But, when it comes to polyester straps sewn into the stress points of a bag, it's the best there is to get that extra strength.
The classic leather briefcase converts into a laptop backpack with a shoulder strap with two shoulder pads. Clip one end of the strap onto a d-ring on the bottom, run the strap through the o-ring, and clip it to the opposite side and you've got yourself a backpack. Now your hands are free to carry the wife and kid's luggage.
You can remove the side straps to use as an emergency size 36 full grain leather belt, tie-down, or tourniquet (hopefully you won't need that). But on the bag, they are great for holding wet umbrellas and blueprint tubes to the top of the flap.
The d-rings on the bottom are designed to strap on blankets, dirty boots, fly rod tubes, or blueprints. And you'll use these d-rings to convert your leather briefcase into backpack mode. The d-rings up top are great for clipping keychains, carabiners, or extra gear too.
The shoulder strap is adjustable (40" - 65") and it's removable. You can take it off to tie down the Christmas tree to the roof of your car. The shoulder strap comes with two strap pads for backpack mode.
There is a hidden flap on the bottom of this leather briefcase for hiding passports, extra cash, your collection of rubies, or whatever else you don't want anyone to know about. This false bottom can be a lifesaver in itself.
A small detail, but the main center strap has a hole all the way at the tip for closing when your laptop bag is really overstuffed. This gives you that much extra space in your leather briefcase, for "just in case." Comes in handy when you need it.
There is a pocket on the side, a pocket on the back, and pockets on the inside. From a place for your pens to a spot for your wallet in case you lose your pants. With two main compartments inside, you can take two laptops if need be, with room for chargers and accessories. These quality leather briefcases will protect your belongings and your reputation.
Classic Leather Briefcase Explained by Dave
Large Sized Briefcase Comparison
The Classic Briefcase in depth description and explanation on design
How to Knock Off a Saddleback Leather Co. Briefcase
I've had this bag in the medium size for a few years now & have purchased quite a few other items such as the large version of this bag, wallets, notepad covers, etc. since. I can't get enough of Saddleback's products! That being said.... I still don't see any reviews from WOMEN that may be interested in this bag~ something that would've helped me out in my decision making immensely. First, a reminder that you most definitely get what you pay for. This bag is bulletproof! I've had it in construction sites, the back of my truck, strapped to the top of my Jeep rack (yes, literally) & it is STILL beautiful enough to carry my MacBook Pro, files & everything I'd otherwise carry in my purse for my office job... dressed up nice in heels. No joke!! I'm 5'7" weighing in around 132-ish, so I'm far from a husky brute, but can handle the weight of this bag, though it took a little getting used to. Being a typical female & having numerous designer bags (aka, over-priced CRAP).... I can tell you that there is no fancy laptop briefcase that will compare. There are multiple reviews stating that the side straps serve no purpose, but for compactability purposes, when snuggled up, make this bag less "thick", which is nice for a more sleek, true "briefcase" look & less like a huge, bulky carry-on duffel. Since I'll never wear it as a backpack due to the width on me, I also removed one of the shoulder "pads" to center just one, as I shortened the strap significantly to fit my smaller frame, folding the excess strap under itself. All in all, yes it's heavier than what us girls would typically have but...... the quality, look & versatility make up for it. Don't be scared off by the reviews from many thinking it's too much bag for the average female professional. I get compliments on this bag from the men AND women that I work with & around every day!!
When I passed my CPA and CFA exams in 2008 and settled into my finance career my parents called and asked what I would like as a gift to celebrate. I had learned as I was travelling a ton in the first couple years that I needed a bombproof travel bag, so I asked them for a nice briefcase. I only asked that it be leather and not plastered with logos. At the time I knew nothing about Saddleback Leather. A few weeks later, a box arrived, and inside was a dark brown L classic briefcase. I opened the box and knew it was well made. My first impression was how much i liked the thickness of the outer leather and the overall build quality of the case. It stood up on it's own :). Then i noticed it appeared to have another lining that i didn't recognize. So I pulled up the info and found out this was pigskin. I loved how well constructed everything was. I knew it would serve me well. Before I wrote a review I wanted to make sure to put it through the paces. After the first few years of use, it was clear this thing was built for the long haul. I fly about 200,000 miles / year and support financial teams all over the globe and this thing has been carried on hundreds of flights to all kinds of climates. It always receives compliments no matter where it goes. I keep $100 in the hidden pocket which has actually been used a few times when ATMs aren't as available in the 3rd world. I carry it in a backpack configuration much of the time. The leather has worn in a really interesting fashion. The side that rides on my hip/back has smoothed from miles and miles of airports and basically being rubbed by jeans for a decade has made it super soft, while the outside of the bag (with the buckles) has retained it's stiffness but picked up the scratches, giving it a great patina. The rivets have darkened and greened wonderfully.. In 10 years of ownership, I've only have four things that I think should be changed (one has been fixed): 1) The original hardware from the late 2000s bags used to connect the strap to the D-rings was a little different than the boltsnaps used today, it was more of a "claw" clasp. You couldn't trust it while riding a motorcycle, for example. Anyway, it would occasionally come loose, and finally broke in 2016 while pulling the bag out of the overhead bin. I sent the bag in explaining the issue and they changed out the hardware to the now-familiar bolt snaps. They've been without fault for the last 2.5 years. The service around the guarantee was excellent. This issue has been improved. 2) Some threads on the backside of the bag have begun to wear through from years and years of rubbing, Because there is a pocket on the back of the bag, there's no danger of anything happening but I may send in the bag to see if they would resow, but I'm not ready to do that just yet. 3) I wish the bag had a strap/passthrough on the back for attaching to a rolling carry-on. I have a Rimowa hardcase for clothes and camera gear and it's not easy to set the briefcase on while walking through an airport and you have to set the briefcase on the ground. I would pay good money to have this added to the bag (Hint hint) 4) The bag is heavy. Really heavy. There's no real way around this. I know this is something that get's brought up on reviews here. When I've got a laptop computer, NC headphones, chargers, wallets, passports, cellphones, and an extra change of clothes which is my standard travel kit when going abroad for business the bag nears 35 pounds. Many times it actually weighs in more than my actual carry-on. I know this is a factor of what I carry in the bag, but it's nearly 10 pounds empty. When travelling with a group many times we have to pull bags out of vehicles and people always say, "How do you carry this thing around". It's makes the bag not great for just an "around town" bag on an off day, because you will be tired after carrying this thing all day. All in, I love the bag, I will never give it up unless I move onto a sailboat which won't treat leather too well :) I love the way it looks, love how it's aging, love the utility, love the warranty, and love knowing this thing won't break when I need it.
I've had this bag for over a decade prior to posting this review. The bag still looks looks great. I've broken the hardware on the shoulder strap, twice, put the lifetime guarantee to the test, and have received awesome service. Highly recommend.
Love the old carbon colour. Very Roomy Large Bag. Holds so much stuff. Though on the heavy side it is very hard to abuse the bag even when you have a lot of heavy stuff in it. You know your handles are not going to break.
I have had this "briefcase" since 2008. It is as good as new - if anything, it is even better than it was new because the leather has aged so nicely. I have given this briefcase quite the workout in the last 11 years and it has been up to the task. I fully anticipate using this bag for the entirety of my career (I am 44). This is an heirloom type of bag, for sure, one to be passed on from generation to generation.
