SKU 01-60-0009

Leather Duffle Bag a.k.a. The WaterBag

11.00 lb

22.00

14.00

12.00

$849.00

How It's Made | The Saddleback Waterbag Leather Duffle Bag

How to make a leather duffle bag like a cow. With as few holes as possible

What People Think

5

HOLY GRAIL LEVEL UNLOCKED!

The Holy Grail of all SBL bags has been achieved, yall. It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up. Its a beaut, Clark!

Dave/Suzette - Can you please market rear view mirror tree air fresheners in SBL scent. That'd be great.....?
3rd Sep 2024
Steve
5

Unbelievable.

I purchased the water bag with my club membership, which (for the 2024 selection) makes a perfect 3 piece matching set of luggage suitable for a long weekend (or a week in warm climates). This bag is seemingly magic in that it holds far more than it looks like it should. The night it arrived, I packed it with clothing for 5 days, plus two flannel shirts, a light jacket, towel, swim trunks,, a spare pair of shoes, my toiletry bag, and a pair of slippers. Believe it or not, there was so much room to spare I had 3 holes left on the straps!
24th Jul 2024
Tim Pavlovcic
5

The Waterbag

Used once for a trip to visit family. Held 5 days worth of gear/clothes in style. Have a 2 week trip overseas coming up and looking forward to giving it a good workout.
21st Jul 2024
Michael Crouch
5

Water bag

I love this bag. I travel weekly for work an needed something durable and stylish and tho is it. The bag is well made and worth the money.
10th Feb 2024
Micheal Frierson
This leather duffle bag is popular for overnight travel because it is versatile and has no breakable parts.

Product Details

100-Year Warranty

Shoulder strap adjusts long from 34" - 59"

Dimensions (W x H x D)

20" x 18" (unfolded) x 9" or 20" x 14" x 9" folded closed

Weight: 7.0 lbs.

Design of this Leather Duffle Bag

This leather duffle bag is our most popular overnight travel bag and the most versatile one. It is just one solid giant piece of leather with no breakable parts like zippers, snaps, buttons, etc. Any place that might get stress has been reinforced with rivets or hidden polyester strapping between the leather. The reason it's built with just one solid piece of leather is to reduce the amount of seams (watch the video above with bull to understand this better). Since we sew at only five stitches per inch, there is more leather between the needle holes. You see, a sewing machine is really just a perforation machine and so the fewer the holes to start a tear or let water in, the better. So when it comes to seams, less is more.

Materials To Make These Leather Duffle Bags

Full Grain Leather-

The cow leather I chose for this leather duffle bag is the strongest there is (full-grain boot leather, but thicker). Leather is like a roof. The shingles are the toughest and most protective layer. Leather has what is called "Grain" and it makes up the top layer of the hide. Some companies shave off the top layer to get rid of scars and blemishes because they don't want to throw any leather away. That's money. But in doing so, they shave off the shingles from your roof. It's really dumb, but they do it. We don't. We use high quality leather with the full amount of grain still there to make all of our leather travel and overnight bags.

This leather duffle bag is built to be durable and versatile, with no breakable parts like zippers, snaps, or buttons.

A Durable Liner

The bottom of the leather duffle bag has a liner covered in tough pigskin, which is stronger than the cow skin. It gives it form, but is removable and the removable liner is covered in pigskin, which is stronger than the full-grain leather. Other bag makers might line the interior with some stylish cotton fabric or nylon material with a pretty map, but we wanted durability, and we think you do too. So pack in your clothes, gear, toiletries, and collection of cool rocks, these rugged bags can handle it.

Thread To Keep The Leather Bag Together

Our thread is super strong industrial marine grade UV resistant polyester thread. It's the most expensive for a reason. It's so strong and doesn't turn into dust like the half priced nylon thread does. Watch out for low quality companies that use nylon just to save a buck or two. When you want a leather bag to stay strong and durable, you want this thread.

Our leather duffle bag is the most popular overnight travel bag because it is versatile and has no breakable parts.

Hardware

Using 316 Stainless Steel for hardware is like killing a fly with a shotgun, but we've never once had a problem because of this hardware. A lone tear just dropped from the eye of a metallurgist somewhere. Our clips were tried and found they can hold up to a 750 lb bag of cats over a cliff without breaking. It's the kind of hardware people use when their life depends on it. Ocean and parachuting stuff. And the metal of fancy watches and iPhones. There's no other overnight leather duffle bag or any leather bags that we know of that uses hardware this complete.

Functionality Of These Leather Duffle Bags

We haven't heard of any other full grain leather duffle bags as versatile as this Waterbag. Let's go over some of the functionality, from the ability to go from a tote to a backpack, down to it's carry on approval.

Leather Duffle Bags That Convert Into A Backpack

The shoulder strap makes it quickly to a backpack. So when you are going to be carrying your leather bag for a while, why not use it as a backpack? Unlike other leather bags you might find in some random department store, we thought this functionality would be important, and everyone loves it. When you have it on, you will barely feel it on your shoulders, and it will still look classy.

This leather overnight travel bag is made with a single piece of the strongest leather to reduce seams and increase durability.

Tote

It has a built in handle so it can be carried as an 18" high wide open tote. I used it more than once in Africa this way carrying a whole bunch of toothbrushes, toys, and dolls, and you name it. The removable handle can be disconnected and reconnected to the corner d-ring so it doesn't rub against your leg when walking.

Two Shoulder Strap Anchors

Attach the shoulder strap to the lower D-ring to wear the bag angled across your back or attach it to the upper D-ring if it's more full. Again, we wanted you to have options for the best way to carry our duffle bags.

Watertight Duffle Bags

If the top is rolled closed, this leather travel bag turns pretty much watertight. It can be left in the back of your truck in the rain and what's inside should stay dry. It's worked for me many times. But if you try to test the limits and dunk it in a river, make sure your last change of clothes isn't in there.

For 1 Day or 5 Days

You can strap it down to lay 4" flat if you're alone or folded over on top to be 14" full. This makes it great to work as an overnight bag, as leather weekend bags, or longer, such as a road trip bag with all your gear.

This leather overnight bag is made with full-grain leather and has a pigskin liner for durability. It can be carried as a backpack, tote, or duffle bag, and is watertight.

Carry On Approved Travel Bags

As carry on luggage, it is within all international limits. This leather duffle bag fits into all overhead compartments and under the seats. It's our go-to travel bag for sure. Just be aware, with as much class and style this quality bag brings to the room, you will probably have to stand around answering questions about it and yourself.

Dual Closures

It can be closed with one strap while the other two tuck through slots to the inside or strapped down with all three. You can pull the three straps tight to compress it small.

Holds Long Objects

Because of the nature of the closures, fly rod tubes or architectural plans can be put deep down on one side, stick far out the other, and still buckle down nicely. If you need to, stick longer objects under the three straps and then cinch them down tight. This makes packing long objects so much easier than with other bags. There is so much storage space in this sturdy full grain leather duffle.

The cow leather used in this leather duffle bag is the strongest there is and has been reinforced with rivets or hidden polyester strapping between the leather to reduce the amount of seams.

Is It Called Duffle Bag or Duffel Bag

We've heard both, but we prefer to call it a leather duffle bag. Some even call them kit bags, but that's probably a bit over the top for us. You decide.

Either way, it looks awesome and will get you there in style. That's what we like about it the best. Have fun out there!

No matter where you're headed, this leather duffle bag will make your journey easier and more enjoyable.

The Waterbag leather duffle bag is versatile and can be used as a backpack, tote, or even carried on as luggage.

How this leather duffle bag got its name, "The Waterbag" 

Since I grew up in Oregon, there were some things we used to do that I didn't realize aren't all that common. One kind of weird, actually. Since it was usually really cool and rainy, when the sun came out and it hit about 70 degrees, almost all men took their shirts off to bask in the sun. I didn't think much of it until I went back to visit with my wife in the summer and, no kidding, one third of the men walking around downtown, in shape and not, were bare chested. My wife started laughing and then I did too. I forgot how common it was. I thought everybody in the world did it too.

The other thing that we did in the short summers was float down one of the dozens of rivers on innertubes and little rafts. Seemed like every other weekend maybe. The river was usually snowmelt and super cold, but that didn't matter, we took our shirts off and floated. Anyways, something that pretty much everybody had with them was some sort of way to keep their things dry from the water on those floats (and for the 8 solid months of rain for the rest of the year). It was usually some kind of a dry bag or smaller bag for gadgets that would tie to the tube or raft and make the 5 hour float with you. It was a long plastic or rubber bag that rolled up and then half way rolling down the bag, a strap or clip or ziplock thing was there to keep the rubber duffle bag rolled up.

The Waterbag is a versatile leather overnight bag that can be used as a backpack or tote and features watertight construction and a 100-year warranty.

I figured the whole world knew about them, but have since learned that they're not very common away from oceans of rain and watersports. But it was common to me and when I started this company, I knew that I just had to make one out of strong water-resistant leather. And so I did. And I made it with as few seams as possible because that's the only vulnerability where the water could get in when it's rolled shut. Now don't submerge this bag or anything, but it is really good at generally keeping water out when it's in a rainstorm or for when you're using it in backpack form on a hike. I just recently walked all over London in the rain using my own Leather Duffle Bag in backpack form to carry little things we bought along the way. Quite the duffle bag it turned out to be.

Keep Your Stuff Dry And Your Brain Tickled With Our Newsletter

The waterbag will take care of keeping your things dry, just don't go deep sea diving with it. So now that is no longer a concern, sign up for our newsletter and get ready for some amazing stories. We can almost guarantee that you won't be disappointed; with adventures from all over the world, inspiring stories, and of course quality leather designs, you will never run out of things to read about. So join us today and get an insider look at our exciting world – we believe it's worth your time!

Write a Review
  • Posted by Steve on 3rd Sep 2024
    5
    HOLY GRAIL LEVEL UNLOCKED!
    The Holy Grail of all SBL bags has been achieved, yall. It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up. Its a beaut, Clark!

    Dave/Suzette - Can you please market rear view mirror tree air fresheners in SBL scent. That'd be great.....?
  • Posted by Tim Pavlovcic on 24th Jul 2024
    5
    Unbelievable.
    I purchased the water bag with my club membership, which (for the 2024 selection) makes a perfect 3 piece matching set of luggage suitable for a long weekend (or a week in warm climates). This bag is seemingly magic in that it holds far more than it looks like it should. The night it arrived, I packed it with clothing for 5 days, plus two flannel shirts, a light jacket, towel, swim trunks,, a spare pair of shoes, my toiletry bag, and a pair of slippers. Believe it or not, there was so much room to spare I had 3 holes left on the straps!
  • Posted by Michael Crouch on 21st Jul 2024
    5
    The Waterbag
    Used once for a trip to visit family. Held 5 days worth of gear/clothes in style. Have a 2 week trip overseas coming up and looking forward to giving it a good workout.
  • Posted by Alex B on 12th Feb 2024
    4
    Really well made bag but note the weight
    It is a great bag, really well made and fits quite a lot. Just note that it is also quite heavy, over 3 kg, so if you fill it up like I do, it may not be that easy to carry around- and I am a pretty fit male in early 50s.
  • Posted by Micheal Frierson on 10th Feb 2024
    5
    Water bag
    I love this bag. I travel weekly for work an needed something durable and stylish and tho is it. The bag is well made and worth the money.