Product Overview
Some of the Two Sided Military Duffle Bags are arriving with beautiful natural markings or brands. If you're one of the lucky ones, you might receive one, but we cannot get these out to everyone, unfortunately. If natural markings is not your style please let customer service know or include it in the notes section on your order.
The Saddleback Club is a one year membership that starts the day you sign up. It's because of you that we've made it 20 years, and it's our turn to return the favor and go above and beyond for you. Our hope is that members have more fun, friends, meaning and success in their lives and that we get to know you on a more personal level because we’re in this tighter community. I see the Saddleback Club being the coolest, most personal and interconnected community in the whole world. Saddleback Leather developed into something special because I had my first bag made and then made another and then another one. This membership is the “first bag”, with more “bags” or simple angles and cool layers to come.
You pay $499, here's what you get in return:
$825 Worth Of Free Members Only Leather Gifts
- 24” Two Sided Military Duffle ($649 Retail Value)
- Large Buckled Organizer Bag ($69 Retail Value)
- Medium Buckled Organizer Bag ($59 Retail Value)
- Coaster Set of 4 ($29 Retail Value)
- Saddleback Club Keychain ($19 Retail Value)
Extra Savings
- $50 Gift Card emailed to you
- 15% OFF discount code to use on one order per year, no matter the size of the order.
- Free shipping on the membership designs anywhere on Earth
Exclusive Access
- Access to buy new designs before available to public
- Access to Pre-order dusty carbon, limited colors, limited relaunch of old bags, members only mugs, etc.
- Access to buy personal leather business cards
- Access to rare and unique design live auctions
The Ultimate Leather/Saddleback Leather Tour in Leon, MX
- Tour one of the coolest and best tanneries in the world
- Tour the Saddleback Leather factory a.k.a. The birthplace of your bag
- Tour one of the nicest boot factories on the continent
- Tour Mexico’s Crown Jewel City. The coolest city and honeymoon destination on the North American continent
- Hang out with Dave and Suzette and a small group of fellow members, as you learn the backstory of the Saddleback Story
- All charter members’ names permanently displayed burned on leather at Saddleback the Saddleback Headquarters
Considerations
- One membership per person. If this is a gift, then set up a new account for that person. Make sure to give them their login info.
- How quickly you sign up determines how quickly you get your leather gifts.
- No discounts or gift cards allowed to pay for membership.
- If you don’t like the bag, you can probably sell it for more than the cost of the membership and then just keep the rest of the leather and the benefits.
- No returns, refunds, or cancellations -- all sales are final.
- Membership Leather bags will be declared as gifts when shipping to countries outside the United States.
- If you want to purchase multiple for corporate gifts, please contact [email protected]
- Shipping Note: When you join the club, the factory starts making your leather designs, so please allow 6-8 weeks for shipping.
Choosing a Color - Tobacco or Dark Coffee Brown
Here's how it works: you choose your color - Tobacco or Dark Coffee Brown. Whatever color you select is the leather color we'll be sending of your free club designs. This includes the leather duffle bag, two organizer bags, the coaster set and keychain.
Free Members Leather Designs - 100 Year Warranty on all designs
1. Two Sided Military Duffle
Material
This leather duffle bag is made from thick, full-grain tumbled leather. It's unlined, so it's soft and pliable. We basically broke in the leather for you before we made it. The hardware is a custom stainless steel, which is overkill but it's what you want if your life depended on it. The stitching is industrial-strength polyester thread that is UV and water resistant (the same type of thread used on ship sails and parachutes). All major stress points are reinforced with extra stitching, rivets, or hidden polyester strips that don't stretch.
Functionality
Divider in the Middle - Traditional military style leather duffle bags or seabags have always been popular, but the one complaint is always "I don't like having to dig all the way to the bottom or pull everything out to get what I need." I added a divider inside the middle of the bag and a buckled flap towards the bottom half on the outside of the bag so you can split your bag in two compartments and have access to both. The divider in the middle unbuckles and opens up so you have the option of using the full duffle bag as one big compartment. Totally your call.
Four Ways to Carry - 1) Traditional crossbody with the shoulder strap. 2) Hand-carry with the comfortable, padded handle. 3) Sling bag crossbody across your back. 4) Backpack Mode by weaving the shoulder strap through the o-ring.
Dimensions (W x H x D)
Open: 30” x 12” x 12"
Closed: 24” x 12” x 12"
Weight: 5 lbs.
2. Large Buckled Organizer Bag
Made from the same high quality materials as the leather duffle bag and a great gift for a billionaire. Uses: large first aid kit, organizing smaller belongings when you travel, books, charging cable organizer, fishing kit, loose battery organizer, basic tools; the list goes on and on.
Dimensions (W x H x D)
10.5” x 6.5” x 2”
3. Medium Buckled Organizer Bag
The same design as the Large Organizer Bag, but smaller. It's one of those designs that you never knew you needed until you had it.
Dimensions (W x H x D)
7” x 7” x 2”
4. Coaster Set
The longest lasting coasters in the world. A set of 4 tumbled leather coasters tied together with a leather string. Each coaster is debossed with Saddleback Club.
Dimensions (W x H x D)
4” x 4” x 0.25” (each)
5. Keychain
An exclusive leather keychain with the signature logo on one side and Saddleback Club on the other. Our regular tobacco or dark coffee brown leather (not tumbled).
Dimensions (W x H x D)
4.25” x 2.25” x 0.25”
The Military Duffle Inspiration Story
In October of 1999, I was teaching English in Mexico, when Jake, Jimmy Jack and I decided to hitchhike to Las Grutas de Tolantongo to experience the valley of hot water waterfalls we had heard so much about. Since we had a week long break from teaching, it was the perfect time to go. We bought big huge sombreros, a colorful Mexican blanket to hang over our shoulders, packed our bags and stuck out our thumbs; and we were amazed at how quickly we three amigos got rides.
The only bag I had to carry my stuff in was an old drab green canvas military duffle. It worked great for bringing all of my clothes down to Mexico for the year, but I learned, on that trip, it was not very convenient to get in and out of frequently. Since it only had one opening at the top, I had to reach my arm way down in the dark and dig around to find things. It was simple, but inconvenient, to say the least. And that’s why I’ve never designed a Military Duffle Bag before. They look cool and have an iconic aura about them, but I learned they’re just not convenient for travel.
I needed a different bag to travel with on the next hitchhiking trip we were planning, because there was no way in Gehenna I was going to take that Military Duffle again. And at the same time, I had been wanting a bag to carry my school books in too. So, I thought, “Hmmm… I wonder what kind of bag Indiana Jones would carry?”, and that image in my head was what I wanted.
It was a simple and cool looking leather satchel that was big enough to carry clothes on a trip, but just right to carry my schoolbooks in too. I set out looking for that bag in the markets around town, but couldn’t find anything as cool as the bag I had floating around in my head. But, luckily, I found a man making bags and I sketched out my design for him to build.
I got the bag and it was just right for going back and forth to school. And then for Easter break, I packed it up to take for our two week hitchhiking trip to Veracruz, down to the border of Guatemala and then back up along the Pacific Coast of Mexico. It was absolutely perfect for that epic trip, and I don’t use the word “epic” very often.
I had always ignored the calls for designing a Military Duffle, but then about a year ago, the solution to the inconvenience problem popped into my head. I design a Military Duffle Bag with that cool look and that made into a backpack too, but divided into two sides with two openings so there was easy access to stuff at both ends without digging. And I designed it with the divider between the two sides able to open up, just in case you wanted to put baseball bats or other long things all the way down into it.
I designed the bag with a top opening to simply fold over like the Waterbag and to be super comfortable too. I chose tough yet supple full grain tumbled leather, so it would have the soft feel of my old canvas duffle, that formed around my hip so comfortably. I didn’t want it too heavy, so I didn’t line most of the bag, but did line it where it needed extra firmness and extra strength. I’ve used it myself and fell in love with it right away. It’s definitely one of my favorite designs of all time. I don’t think I would have ever had the first bag made if it weren’t for the inconvenient Military Duffle I had to use on that first trip.
