Saddleback Leather Briefcase, Classic Dark Coffee Brown

I'm not a person who gets attached to material possessions; they are built to serve a purpose, not become an item to identify me as a person. However, I do have 'comfort' items that I feel are necessary for certain tasks and I won't feel comfortable unless I have them (i.e. pen and pocketbook when going to work. A water bottle and first aid kit when hiking. etc).

When I travel this bag has to be with me. *EDIT* The XL complies with the carry-on baggage measurements *EDIT* It holds everything I need and keeps everything safe and undamaged. People say there is a large heft to the bag. I like that. If I wanted something that's light weight I would keep buying the same junk that will be ruined in 3-5 years. The heft of these bags means quality materials and work has been put into them so that they last for centuries (I can only vouch for a year so far).

I have this bag in an extra large. I'm 6'4", 200 lbs and this fits me perfectly. It's not too large or too small. I can easily pack two pairs of pants, a pair of shorts, three t-shirts, two dress shirts, some underclothes, my toiletry items, a book or two, my notebooks and some pens without having to cram things in. If you have all three straps buckled you are going to find it's a pain to get into, do as the picture shows and tuck the left and right straps back up and through the loops and only buckle the middle one if you know you are going to be pulling stuff out of it all the time.

The price is high, but you really do get more with this item than you will with any other bag in this price range. The main website even has their competitors linked on their site so you can do a comparison against their items.

+Quality material and work

+'Waterproof' to a point

+Plenty of room

+Durable

-Price

-Pain to get into with all three straps buckled

3/27/2011: The leather is really starting to get soft, like a pair of boots do after wearing them a while.

Also due to all the airlines charging for checked luggage I have problems now finding space for this XL guy. I've had to check it at the gate a few times, but I just quickly take off, and pack, the shoulder strap followed by strapping down all three closure straps. There's a bit of fear that someone might go through it (especially traveling to some international locations), so do be careful of that.

I flip bags. I buy one, use it, enjoy it, get bored with it, then sell it on eBay. I kept looking at the Saddleback medium briefcase, but I kept looking at the weight, 6 pounds, and could not bring myself to buy one. After all, I go to so much trouble and expense to find lighter and lighter laptops, so why add 3 or 4 pounds to the empty bag?

But then I realized, when I fly, and hike with a Macbook and several other electronics through a huge airport, I can take another, lighter bag. But when I'm in town and not walking far, I can enjoy the amazing Saddleback. So being a cheapskate, I bought a pre-owned one on eBay, thinking, if I regret it I can sell it on and not lose much at all. I usually shun anything preowned, but these do have a 100 year guarantee, and a new one is only new until you use it, so I did it, and it seems to be good as new, except with enough scratches and patina to allow me to use it with abandon and not worry about the first mark appearing.

Anyway, I am not disappointed. I love my briefcase and it gets looks and comments everywhere. To be specific. it's the medium size in dark coffee brown. You cannot find one in a showroom or a store, so unless you run into someone like me, you can only judge it from images or videos online. But let me tell you, if you like bags, if you like good leather, and you want a distinctive piece of craftsmanship, treat yourself to a Saddleback briefcase a.s.a.p. You won't regret it. Like me you'll sit and look at it for hours, and take it everywhere you go.

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What! Only 2 stars? Let me explain. I don't actually disagree with what is being said, and I would have written a similar review after having the bag a short time. But after 2 years, I ended up selling it. The good news? If you ever decide to sell it, you will get 80-90% return on your initial investment.

This bag is simply too heavy to use as a daily bag. I walk a fair amount as a professor, both on campus and at conferences, and the weight was simply too much. I'm no wimp, but try walking around a good portion of the day with this thing around your shoulder. Also, the weight of the bag nullifies all the light, thin, laptops, phones and gadgets of modern times. The bag looks great, smells great, feels great..... and makes a great display piece. But it simply makes no sense to carry around your stuff in a such a heavy bag. I tried to convince myself it did, but after a couple of years I wised up.

I do love good bags, though. And I like to support small companies making great things. I ended up with a Mission Workshop bag. They make all their stuff in America (unlike Saddleback), have a lifetime warranty, and their stuff is cool (a different type of cool than Saddleback, but cool nonetheless). Wonderful customer service, too. Oh, and it is only a fraction of the weight of a Saddleback while carrying way more stuff.

My advice? If you simply love the look and character of a Saddleback bag and you don't plan to commute reasonable distances with it, you might be happy in the long run. Otherwise, find something that is a bit more practical for day-to-day use. Notice that most of these reviews are by people who just received their bag, and like when you're in new relationship with someone that doesn't really make any sense to be with, but, hey, she's pretty hot you overlook some major issues. I spend two years with one as my daily bag, and the initial appeal had long worn off. A bag is meant to carry stuff around, not be a chore to carry around itself.

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This is a tremendous briefcase. The leather is quite heavy duty. My medium briefcase is in dark coffee brown, and while the leather scratches quite easily, it really does look better with some wear. The small pamphlet of religious materials included didn't do anything for me, but I can respect someone standing by their beliefs, even if they are not mine.

The briefcase is somewhat heavy, but I have not found it to be overly cumbersome. The medium fits my MacBook 13" perfectly, and fits the 15" just fine, though it does stretch the back compartment a bit.

Highly recommended. I look forward adding more pieces to my collection over time. This briefcase has gotten many comments over just a few weeks of ownership.

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This is a nice bag. It's tough. You can throw it in front of a speeding train and it will survive (the contents of the bag probably won't though).

If you live in a humid environment, you need to use it everyday or store it in a room with a good dehumidifier. Otherwise, this bag will get moldy really fast.

This bag is heavy. It's not for people who complain about carrying things. If you're the type of person who will complain about heavy bags, don't buy this bag. Get a bag with wheels.

One more thing, I don't recommend using the backpack mode too often as it can lead to scoliosis due to the odd weight distribution. I used to use this bag in backpack mode all the time. Then my doctor found that my spine was slightly curved. Ever since I stopped using this bag, my spine has recovered.

BTW, this bag has a 100-year warranty. And the customer service people of the company are really nice.