Quality, leather briefcases & luggage

[dan_t]

hi mods, not 100% sure if the ‘outerwear’ section is the correct place for this, please move if necessary.

Thought I’d propose an idea for a new thread.
Let’s see your quality, leather briefcases & luggage that you all use. I guess preference is for hand made, but let’s not limit it at this stage.

To kick things off, here are a couple that I regularly use.
On the left is my Italian, hand-made, veg-tanned overnight bag. It’s sold under the RM Williams brand, but not made by them. An awesome bag , well used & well loved.
On the right is my hand-made, 100 year warranty Saddleback Leather front pocket briefcase.
Built like a tank and extremely versatile. Can highly recommend both bags.

Now over to you!

 

[Seb Lucas]

There's a whole lot on this subject already in Accoutrements. I wanted to get into leather luggage, tried but failed. I am back to cordura nylon messenger bags. Light and easy. I had a Saddleback large satchel - over engineered, heavy, unyielding, felt like I was carrying a house brick on a belt over my shoulder even when empty. Looked cool but failed the practicality test. I've had a range of hand made local bags too but none of them really holds enough or is light enough for a daily carry. I walk everywhere and rarely drive my car so being practical is the most important thing to me.

I would be interested in a report US Mail style satchel if someone can recommend a good repro version. Give the leather one last chance.

 

[rocketeer]

The RM Williams bag looks nice and make a good weekender bag. There are a few on the market, Aero sell one, also a leather and canvas version. I also saw a real tough version on the bargain rail at TK maxx, very odd as most of their stuff is usually made in China stuff with plastic zips. I like good honest metal zips and something that looks quality.
I tend to use a canvas Eastman kit bag, it's light and squash able when empty but the zips(Talons) tend to stick a bit and are not the same type as on jackets.
The post may indeed get shunted as there is a section for other stuff that caters for this sort of thing.
Cheers, J.
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/forums/general-attire-accoutrements.6/

 

[rocketeer]

There's a whole lot on this subject already in Accoutrements. I wanted to get into leather luggage, tried but failed. I am back to cordura nylon messenger bags. Light and easy. I had a Saddleback large satchel - over engineered, heavy, unyielding, felt like I was carrying a house brick on a belt over my shoulder even when empty. Looked cool but failed the practicality test. I've had a range of hand made local bags too but none of them really holds enough or is light enough for a daily carry. I walk everywhere and rarely drive my car so being practical is the most important thing to me.

I would be interested in a report US Mail style satchel if someone can recommend a good repro version. Give the leather one last chance.

Snap, by about 10 seconds

 

[OneEyeMan]

This is what I carry.
https://www.satchel-page.com/products/mailbag
I originally tried a Saddleback Leather bag.
And while built extremely well and deserving of the 100 year warranty, I totally agree with Seb.
Way overbuilt, thick, unyielding, heavy, and too many unnecessary complications to be every day useful.
The Satchel and Page is beautifully built with veg tanned leather, much lighter and simpler than Saddleback, and easy to use. Finally, it's beautiful and is aging nicely.

 

[Carlos840]

The problem with all these bags is that they weigh a ton empty!
The average Saddleback is something like 7 pounds empty, wich is more than half the allowed hand luggage weight of most airlines.
They are great bags to look at, they are horrible to travel with. I would choose a North Face duffel 100% of the times over Saddleback leather bag. Carrying a CXL leather jacket on my back all day is enough for me...

 

[bluesmandan]

My 3 compartment Scholar by Customhide.

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[Graemsay]

I would be interested in a report US Mail style satchel if someone can recommend a good repro version. Give the leather one last chance.

Postalco do a lovely looking mailbag, unfortunately it's about $1500 (Australian), so you might object to the price.

 

[Seb Lucas]

Yes, I do object. Can't imagine being a guy carrying $20 of shit inside a $1,500 bag. Cordura looks better all the time. And much less likely to be stolen.

 

[Fonzie]

This post is so well timed as I was just in the process of looking for a new messenger.
Ah! The serendipity... (Aussie pun intended)


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[Fonzie]

Yes, I do object. Can't imagine being a guy carrying $20.00 of shit inside a $1,500 bag. Cordura looks better all the time. And much is less likely to be stolen.

Any particular Aussie brand or website you’d recommend?
I like leather messenger bags, but form follows function nowadays for me in its utilitarian concept.
Stylish functional preferred.
Cheers.


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[seres]

My 3 compartment Scholar by Customhide....

@bluesmandan, for years I've been thinking about a Customhide briefcase. Your Customhide is beautiful... how do you like it?

 

[technovox]

I’ve been through a fair selection of leather messenger bags over the years, all abandoned for one reason or another. But recently I picked up a Satchel and Page slim mail bag. It’s small and light enough for every day carry items, not as ponderous as my heavy full size leather US Mail bag.

Pros-
Domestically handmade
Italian vegetable tanned leather
Copper rivets
Low profile handle
Divider inside with misc. compartments
Buckles on side for expansion
Handy exterior pocket on back
Mail bag design

Cons
Top flap could extend further down and over both sides for more protection
Shoulder strap pad slips out of place
Pricey

All in all, this one really has become my favorite daily carry all- with just the right size and sturdiness.

 

[l0fielectronic]

The problem with all these bags is that they weigh a ton empty!
The average Saddleback is something like 7 pounds empty, wich is more than half the allowed hand luggage weight of most airlines.
They are great bags to look at, they are horrible to travel with. I would choose a North Face duffel 100% of the times over Saddleback leather bag. Carrying a CXL leather jacket on my back all day is enough for me...

Aboslutely agree with this, at least if you are traveling anywhere where you need to carry your own things some distance. I picked up a Filson bag for as a weekend bag a few years ago and lovely and well made as it is, its weight means I rarely use it unless travelng by car.

I've now got a couple of similar Style GAP bags in a cordura nylon material that weigh nothing at all when empty and seem well made, I've been using them several years and they still look like new. I've got those and a slighlty larger Army issue field backpack and that seems to cover all I need.

 

[Seb Lucas]

Any particular Aussie brand or website you’d recommend?
I like leather messenger bags, but form follows function nowadays for me in its utilitarian concept.
Stylish functional preferred.
Cheers.


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Not really but All the King's Men in Fitzroy have some cool duck cotton and leather bags. My current Cordura messenger bag is American made (Chrome Mini Metro, which is actually a large bag) because the current versions of Crumpler are not especially well made and the designs have become overly involved IMO. Old Crumplers lasted for many years but my last two bags started to wear out in 18 months. The main problem with the Mini Metro is the bloody metal clip (safety belt style) way too heavy and unnecessary. Otherwise a great bag.

 

[dan_t]

This post is so well timed as I was just in the process of looking for a new messenger.
Ah! The serendipity... (Aussie pun intended)


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Like this beauty......?

 

[Big J]

I do like leather luggage and bags, but I always feel it's very difficult to find a style that is immediately identifiable as a 'man's' bag, and not something that could be confused with ladies bags/handbags.
And that conundrum always leads me to look at the biggest, most over-built bags I can find. And then, as many have said, they are impractical due to weight.
These days I use a Halliburton suitcase, and a Vuitton carry-on bag when I travel.
For daily use around town, I carry a Bag 'n' Noun canvas with nylon waterproof lining messenger bag. Made in Japan, hard wearing, light, available in a choice of colors, and fades unevenly in the sun and rain giving it some character.

 

[Graemsay]

If you want lightweight, you need to get some Dyneema bonded leather from Ecco. There's an interview at Carryology if you want to know more.

Unfortunately, I don't think that it's widely available as yet.

In terms of leather bags, my absolute favourites have to be those from Bole Tannery, who are somewhere in the north of Sweden. Unfortunately their Prince Rucksack is €5000, so it's not going to happen anytime soon. Carryology wrote a piece, and it's worth reading.

I really like Frank Clegg. (If you're in Melbourne, you can see their wares at Double Monk.) They used to be in partnership with Lotuff (their stuff looks good, though I've not seen it in the flesh), but there was an Aero / Simmons Bilt style schism.

In the UK, Swaine Adeney Brigg make some fantastic briefcases and holdalls. The Merchant Fox have some nice looking leather bags on their website, but I haven't seen them for real. Margaret Howell did a large leather satchel a few years back, not sure if it's still a part of their collection.

If you want to go down the canvas route, I like: Chapman Bags; Defy Bags (I've got a very heavy Verbockel backpack - get it in Cordura); Bedouin Foundry (I'd like an Ottoman, nearly got a Pequod last year, but was no good on a motorbike); Atelier de l'Armée (though they tend to be heavy); Trakke; Teranishi; and thisispaper (I've got a Top Roll Rucksack).

 

[Fonzie]

Like this beauty......?

View attachment 106286

Precisely like that one.


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[Fonzie]

If you want lightweight, you need to get some Dyneema bonded leather from Ecco. There's an interview at Carryology if you want to know more.

Unfortunately, I don't think that it's widely available as yet.

In terms of leather bags, my absolute favourites have to be those from Bole Tannery, who are somewhere in the north of Sweden. Unfortunately their Prince Rucksack is €5000, so it's not going to happen anytime soon. Carryology wrote a piece, and it's worth reading.

I really like Frank Clegg. (If you're in Melbourne, you can see their wares at Double Monk.) They used to be in partnership with Lotuff (their stuff looks good, though I've not seen it in the flesh), but there was an Aero / Simmons Bilt style schism.

In the UK, Swaine Adeney Brigg make some fantastic briefcases and holdalls. The Merchant Fox have some nice looking leather bags on their website, but I haven't seen them for real. Margaret Howell did a large leather satchel a few years back, not sure if it's still a part of their collection.

If you want to go down the canvas route, I like: Chapman Bags; Defy Bags (I've got a very heavy Verbockel backpack - get it in Cordura); Bedouin Foundry (I'd like an Ottoman, nearly got a Pequod last year, but was no good on a motorbike); Atelier de l'Armée (though they tend to be heavy); Trakke; Teranishi; and thisispaper (I've got a Top Roll Rucksack).

Awesome, so many choices! Cheers.


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