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 bought my bag in Chesnut back in 2008. It has travelled with me to Moscow, Russia and back to Texas, has gone with me to Washington DC several times, Florida and all over the big State of Texas. It barely has a scratch and is the most durable piece of luggage that I have ever owned. I use it typically as a carry-on bag for flying, and as a front seat travel bag when I am driving. I have loaded it completely with everything from laptops, camera equipment, work documents/folders, chargers, keys, passports, baby items (yes....it even has been used to carry toys, formula, diapers etc of our two little girls over the years). I can load it and always feel confident that it will hold. The heavy duty strap is always useful for carrying heavier loads, or for when my hands are full carrying other things. Although the size I bought was a bit too big for day to day briefcase use back and forth to the office, it has been a reliable part of my life, and like the advertisements say, will be there for my family long after I'm gone from this world. If you are wanting a great multi-purpose bag that will handle everything, lasts forever, and causes people to stop you and compliment you on it, then this is what you need. I wholly recommend it. Thanks! Mark
This was my first Saddleback item, and I've had it for almost a year. It's been to a few cool places, but most of it's purpose is my every day bag for work, errands and such. I got the tobacco brown in Medium (smallest available) and am glad I did. My declaimer is that I don't carry a laptop, though my daughter's 13" MacBook air fits fine. I have a standard sized iPad which is much smaller than the bag can handle. In addition to that, I typically carry a couple magazines, bills, papers, phone cables, glasses, book, journal, headphone case, pens, wallet, watch, food, water bottle, wallet, watch and some misc junk. With that amount of stuff it feels mostly full, but no where near max capacity. However, on a couple occasions, I've done 2-3 day trips with careful packing. I take this to the gym twice a week and ended up making a small cylindrical bag that straps to the D-Rings on the bottom. Check the photo I posted to see it. This canvas bag is the same width and depth as the bag and holds my sweaty shoes and gym clothes, which I don't want in the bag after working out in them. The most extreme situation I've used this in was during a two-day summer "camping trip" in Florida. I was playing the role of a contact in Morocco as part of a multi-day training/simulation event for overseas missionaries. During these two days I converted it to a backpack and was able to fit a two-person tent and inflatable sleeping mat in the back half, with two changes of clothes, toiletries, snacks, headlamp, camelback bladder, pocket knife, phone, wallet, small length of rope, and a few other smaller items in the front. I used the afore mentioned canvas bag to hold a sleeping bag and clipped a rain coat to the side and put a couple water bottles in the outside pockets. It worked great for that, and looked the part. But, I've done my share of back-country hiking (Yosemite, Grand Canyon) and would never consider this for long distance hiking like that where weight and capacity are critical. The photo attached to this review is from the training event. I drug it around in the dirt and brush for a couple days, threw it about, used it as a pillow and a dry place to sit... it just looked at me with an attitude of "is that all you've got"? The issues I have with the bag are the weight and the shoulder pad. I have bony shoulders and if it's not sitting right it hurts when half full or more. Also, I took this literally everywhere with me for the first couple months to break it in. After an hour or so on my shoulder, using it cross-body, my shoulder muscles would get really sore, and that was with it half full. I'm in decent shape, but have never used a shoulder bag before... so I don't know if this weight/shoulder issue is real or just something I'm not physically used to. After several months of brief daily use, these two issues are still there when I carry it too long. Oddly, in backpack mode it didn't bother me during the training event I mentioned where we did several miles of walking over two days. Bottom line is this is a great bag, very functional and definitely bullet-proof. The medium is small enough for daily use, and just big enough for occasional overnight trips if packed tightly. And, yes... I still get complements every week or two from young and old alike.
I've had my bag for over a year now and it's the BEST briefcase I've ever owned! It's getting worn in and more supple every day. I switch from briefcase to knapsack mode often and it is so fast and easy to do that it's hard to believe. Fits perfectly underneath airline seats and in overheads. It is AWESOME!!!!!
I've had this briefcase for a couple years now and it is just getting better. Took it to a doctor's appointment and the doctor was so impressed he got one for himself. As others have stated, this bag is very strong and carries a lot more than you think it can. I've used it both over-the-shoulder and as a backpack, and in either mode it is comfortable and easy to access. The appearance just gets better with use, and it is pretty much indestructible. This was the first bag I purchased from Saddleback. Since then I've bought a couple more plus several accessories for me and have given a bag as a gift. Every other bag I've looked at either on-line or in person has been a poor second choice to this one.
Great briefcase! I look at it everyday because I'm so amazed by the craftsmanship, texture, and the details of the bag. I love the smell of it too. I'm going to hike Mt. Fuji with my med tb briefcase this summer.
