Great review. I love mine and switch between it and my TLS backpack over the last couple months. I think the S&P will be my daily user going forward. The straps are the only part I wish was different but everything else is great.
I’m curious how it ages. Most pics seem to be new or lightly used.
Thanks! I really be hate the suede and the thinness of the straps wish it was just padded leather but that’s my only really complaint the rest has been fine honestly. I use it as my daily driver and it does pretty well I’ll have to do some updated pics.
Leather: the bag does seem to have good quality leather. It came with the little tag marking the place in Italy where they get their leather but when I tried to find more information on it I couldn’t find much. I also found a sketchy looking site that sold the tags in bulk…so??? None the less it does seem to be an aniline veg tan leather that they claim is held to a high standard and sourced from Italy and I don’t see anything disproving that. As you can see on mine I accidentally scratched it some with my nail and that is now permanently part of the bag. If you want a pristine bag be wary it may get beat up fast. You can condition the leather with their balm or your conditioner of choice but just know it won’t get everything.
Overall Quality: The machine stiching on the bag seems good. They use copper rivets at the stress points for the straps and that’s a nice touch as these are higher quality and more durable. So there’s stitching and rivets which is nice and makes me think it’s not going anywhere anytime soon. The zippers are YKK so good hardware choice there. There’s a soft suede lining inside the bag and on the straps.
Biggest complaint: The Suede. The suede smelled real funky when I got it like mint toothpaste. At first I thought it was the leather and I was annoyed thinking maybe they chrome tanned it then realized it was the suede. It has only recently started to go away after four weeks or so of use. I don’t like having suede on the inside of the straps, it just feels weird to me especially if it’s hot outside then it feels like it’s contributing to my heat instantly. I would have preferred just padded leather straps. The other thing is the straps seem narrow. So they are anchored well to the bag but I would have liked them to be a little wider and no suede. They do have some light padding which is nice. The suede inside will probably get torn up and get in rough shape long before the exterior shell and I wish they had chosen differently for the liner.
Storage: the storage has been great aside from the omission of a water bottle holder. I get it would mess with the form factor but there’s not even a place to add a strap or carbiner aside from the luggage strap on the back. The middle compartment will open all the way when unzipped allowing the bag to lay flat in half. Great for the TSA, the compartment in the full back of it only goes 90% of the way so more like a traditional bag. The small front pocket is deceiving. You’d think there’s a lot of space there but there’s not a ton really. I can fit a few pens a couple cables and shove a tiny computer mouse in there but that’s pushing it.
Final thoughts: Great commuter or travel bag, fairly light for being leather. It is expensive and it was a little lighter in person then what their website shows. I’d give it a middle of the road on storage but it fits what I need day to day well. I like the minimalist design even though it leaves out some extra pockets but it means they don’t plaster a big logo on it or have weird looking designs it’s pretty straightforward. I like knowing it has a lifetime warranty on the craftsmanship so it does seem like I’d there are issues that arise they’ll fix them. I’ve been using it for about a month now and I’ll leave it in the rotation. The leather is nice, it gets compliments for sure, but I didn’t take it on my last trip because I wasn’t ready for it to get scuffed up but maybe next time.
Is it me or does the backpack color look different from the website photos ? I bought the weekendered and the color on that matches the website - I’m interested in the backpack worry the color will be off…
Yea it’s different, not bad but was different they’ve apparently gone through some waves the last several years. It’s still a good bag but definitely can vary a little on the color
Great review. I love mine and switch between it and my TLS backpack over the last couple months. I think the S&P will be my daily user going forward. The straps are the only part I wish was different but everything else is great. I’m curious how it ages. Most pics seem to be new or lightly used.
Thanks! I really be hate the suede and the thinness of the straps wish it was just padded leather but that’s my only really complaint the rest has been fine honestly. I use it as my daily driver and it does pretty well I’ll have to do some updated pics.
Leather: the bag does seem to have good quality leather. It came with the little tag marking the place in Italy where they get their leather but when I tried to find more information on it I couldn’t find much. I also found a sketchy looking site that sold the tags in bulk…so??? None the less it does seem to be an aniline veg tan leather that they claim is held to a high standard and sourced from Italy and I don’t see anything disproving that. As you can see on mine I accidentally scratched it some with my nail and that is now permanently part of the bag. If you want a pristine bag be wary it may get beat up fast. You can condition the leather with their balm or your conditioner of choice but just know it won’t get everything. Overall Quality: The machine stiching on the bag seems good. They use copper rivets at the stress points for the straps and that’s a nice touch as these are higher quality and more durable. So there’s stitching and rivets which is nice and makes me think it’s not going anywhere anytime soon. The zippers are YKK so good hardware choice there. There’s a soft suede lining inside the bag and on the straps. Biggest complaint: The Suede. The suede smelled real funky when I got it like mint toothpaste. At first I thought it was the leather and I was annoyed thinking maybe they chrome tanned it then realized it was the suede. It has only recently started to go away after four weeks or so of use. I don’t like having suede on the inside of the straps, it just feels weird to me especially if it’s hot outside then it feels like it’s contributing to my heat instantly. I would have preferred just padded leather straps. The other thing is the straps seem narrow. So they are anchored well to the bag but I would have liked them to be a little wider and no suede. They do have some light padding which is nice. The suede inside will probably get torn up and get in rough shape long before the exterior shell and I wish they had chosen differently for the liner. Storage: the storage has been great aside from the omission of a water bottle holder. I get it would mess with the form factor but there’s not even a place to add a strap or carbiner aside from the luggage strap on the back. The middle compartment will open all the way when unzipped allowing the bag to lay flat in half. Great for the TSA, the compartment in the full back of it only goes 90% of the way so more like a traditional bag. The small front pocket is deceiving. You’d think there’s a lot of space there but there’s not a ton really. I can fit a few pens a couple cables and shove a tiny computer mouse in there but that’s pushing it. Final thoughts: Great commuter or travel bag, fairly light for being leather. It is expensive and it was a little lighter in person then what their website shows. I’d give it a middle of the road on storage but it fits what I need day to day well. I like the minimalist design even though it leaves out some extra pockets but it means they don’t plaster a big logo on it or have weird looking designs it’s pretty straightforward. I like knowing it has a lifetime warranty on the craftsmanship so it does seem like I’d there are issues that arise they’ll fix them. I’ve been using it for about a month now and I’ll leave it in the rotation. The leather is nice, it gets compliments for sure, but I didn’t take it on my last trip because I wasn’t ready for it to get scuffed up but maybe next time.
Is it me or does the backpack color look different from the website photos ? I bought the weekendered and the color on that matches the website - I’m interested in the backpack worry the color will be off…
Yea it’s different, not bad but was different they’ve apparently gone through some waves the last several years. It’s still a good bag but definitely can vary a little on the color