20" Waterbag

Leather 20" Waterbag

This 20” Waterbag has been my personal GO TO carry on to travel all over the world and it is undoubtedly the most popular leather travel bag we’ve offered since about 2010. And, if you own it, it’ll become even more popular to you the more you use it because you get compliments on it and it ages so handsomely. I tell the story of why I called it the Waterbag at the end of this page. 

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Super Strong Materials 

Toughest Leather - Our leather is the strongest leather we can buy. It’s called Full Grain leather, and the version we use of it is even thicker than boot leather. They use our mineral tanned leather for 95% of the work boots, carseats and leather jackets of the world. 

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Hardest Hardware - Our custom 316 Stainless Steel puts the HARD in hardware. Using it for bag hardware is like killing a fly with a shotgun (please please google 316 Stainless Steel). Somewhere in the world, a lone tear just dropped from the eye of a metallurgist. Our clips were tested and found they can hold up to a 750 lb bag of cats over a 552 ft. cliff without breaking. Not 751 lbs. though. It's the kind of hardware people use when their life depends on it. Open ocean and parachuting stuff. It’s also the metal of upper end watches because it stays so shiny and is so hard to scratch There's no other overnight leather duffle bag or any company, for that matter, that we know of who uses such hardware of consequence.

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Superman Thread - Superman would have used this thread to make his suit because it’s super. Our German thread is unbelievably strong industrial strength marine grade thread, and we use the thick version of it. It is commonly used to sew things together like parachutes, industrial cargo nets and other things that the integrity of, is important. It is the most expensive thread on the market for a reason. Because it’s UV resistant polyester thread, it doesn't deteriorate into dust with exposure to UV light and heat, like half priced nylon thread does. Watch out for low quality companies that use nylon thread just to save a few bucks. If your life needs to depened on your leather bag staying together, let your life depend on this thread.

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Over-Engineered Design

No Breakable Parts - No zippers, snaps, buttons, snaps or anything else that can eventually break in the first 100 years.

One Solid Piece of Leather - This duffle bag was designed out of only one solid piece of full grain leather so there are as few seams as possible. The more pieces of leather a bag is made with, the weaker it becomes since the seam is the weakest place. I design all of my Saddleback Leather bags with the fewest pieces of leather possible. This one wears the crown.

Only 5 Stitches Per Inch - We only stitch at 5 stitches per inch so there’s more leather between each of the perforating needle holes and therefore fewer holes to start a tear. It has fewer stitch holes than any leather duffle bag we know of its size. And, the fewer needle holes the less chance of water potentially getting in when it’s folded over.

Extra Reinforced - All stress points are reinforced with rivets, tons of extra stitching or with hidden polyester strapping because polyester straps don’t stretch but leather eventually does with years of heavy stress.

Hard Removable Liner - We include a removable hard pigskin lined liner to give the bag shape. I prefer my own Waterbag without it if I’m just carrying clothes, but now and then I like it when I’m carrying stuff to distribute the direct force of any pointy rocks, shards of glass or any object that may poke the leather bottom of the bag for a prolonged time.

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James Bondish Versatile Design 

Water and Sand Resistant - When this leather duffle bag is rolled down or folded over, it’s hard for water, blowing dust or sand to get into it if you’re on the Deschutes or out in the Sahara. 

Converts Into Backpack - The same shoulder strap can run through an O-ring to convert the whole bag into a backpack. I carried the waterbag as a backpack rolled up empty one time through London with the family. When we got to Hamley’s, the biggest toy store in the world, we stupidly told the kids that they could pick out toys for their upcoming birthdays, but not to expect gifts on the actual day. We filled that leather backpack / leather duffle bag up. But two and four months later, when it came time for their 9th and 11th birthdays, all of those toys they bought were now either broken, used up or boring to them. So, we had to buy new gifts because it would have been lame to just have a birthday cake.

Compression Closure Straps - The three strap configuration is very very cool. You can cinch them down and the air in your clothes and stuff is pressed right out of the bag so you’ll have more room for more stuff in the bag. It can get so densely packed, it gets pretty heavy. But the same three straps can be tucked inside the bag through secret slots for when you’re carrying it in open tote mode. 

Easy and Odd Packing - This leather duffle bag opens wide, and when you roll the top edge back over itself, it forms a stiffer ring that keeps the mouth wide open for easy packing. And because it doesn’t have a zipper, you can stick baseball bats or other oversized objects out of it and still close it securely. One time in Zambia, I put a whole donkey leg into my Waterbag and strapped it closed with the leg sticking out. I then waited at a distance for a lion to tear into it. It was awesome for sure. He still couldn’t open it completely though. That actual Waterbag is in our leather showroom in Texas. It’s a great alternative to the typical leather carry on luggage.

Two Handle Options - This leather travel bag was designed with two handles to balance when carrying. If you roll it more then use the built in handle. If you roll it down tight, then use the second handle sticking up. You’re going to thank me for this. 

Two Shoulder Strap Anchor Options - I designed the Waterbag with two d-rings to attach the shoulder strap to that are up high on the bag so you can carry it when it’s wide open in tote mode and I also put two d-rings down low on each end for the shoulder strap to attach to when the bag is kind of empty and rolled up tightly. It’s hard to explain, but you’ll thank me for this one too. When you have to use it one day and you remember my words, feel free to look up into the trees and say out loud, “Thanks Dave”.

Carry-on Approved Travel Bag - The Waterbag is within all international limits for carry on luggage. This leather duffle bag fits into all overhead compartments and under the seat in front of you. We take this bag all over the world. 

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Why the Name “Waterbag”?

I grew up in Oregon, and in our short summers, we’d often go white water rafting down the Deschutes River’s world class rapids. If we weren’t there, we were cliff jumping into or innertubing down one of the many frigid snow melt rivers almost every weekend. One of the things that I always thought was super cool were the dry bags. I thought they were such an innovative idea. If you’re not familiar with a dry bag, you put your camera, wallet and other water sensitive stuff in there, roll the top down and then seal the opening, and the bag keeps everything dry while you’re floating down the river. Even if your raft flips over, everything inside stays dry. 

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So, once I started designing bags, I had a huge desire to create something with a watertight dry bag type rolling closure. Then I spent quite a bit of time in the Sahara of North Africa where everyone’s bags fold or rolled over to keep the blowing sand and dust out. With the Deschutes and the Sahara as inspirations, I came up with this leather duffle bag and called it the Waterbag, which we trademarked. If water can’t easily get out, then it can’t easily get in either. BTW, I was not covertly working for the CIA or any other US government agency at all when in North Africa under the cover of a businessman traveling with his family.