The Leather Goods Thread

[uchinanchu]

These 3 light weights are all that I need for daily carries . . . Saddle Back /Love 41 Wanderer's back pack, Waterfield Designs Cycling Musette and Vitesse Briefcase. Yay!

[Mediocre]

Which one receives the most frequent use?

[uchinanchu]

Which one receives the most frequent use?

I've been traveling light recently so it's been the cycling musette. Actually haven't had need for the back pack for quite awhile but it's nice to know I have it. I think the brief or the musette will normally/most likely be called into action . . .

[Raza]

So, I got a Cravar FC15 in midnight blue for my birthday.

I also managed to injure my back, there’s one for the mean old man thread. So, since I’m walking like I live in a crooked house, I only managed a couple of pictures of the cat expressing her approval.



Initial impressions are incredibly positive. The leather is still quite a bit stiff in movement, but somehow it’s still soft to the touch. It feels new and broken in at the same time, which is quite the feat. And for all the thoughtful touches I thought I’d appreciate, well, I appreciate every single one. Setting it beside my normal daily bag, a Saddleback Rounded Satchel, you can see the massive differences in design philosophy. Instead of raw edges that look rugged and vintage, the Cravar’s edges are rolled over and covered in more leather, a complementary brown (hard to tell which shade it is from their site, but I’m sure it’s one of the colors available as a full bag if you don’t like the blue). The SBL has lots of D-rings so you can attach things to it, strap things to it, convert it into a backpack, etc, the Cravar has no jangling metal whatsoever. Even the strap is attached using a leather strap and buckle, so there’s no metal on metal contact. The Cravar wears like a ninja and the SBL wears like a cowboy dramatically entering a saloon. The Cravar has one medium sized interior slip pocket and no laptop divider, the SBL two small side pockets, about big enough to hold a couple pens and your AirPods, but it does have a laptop divider, which is nice to have if you carry liquids in your bag (even, say, a sealed bottle that could have condensation on it), but if you keep any larger electronics their own cover, you should be fine. But, the Cravar has large exterior front pockets the SBL doesn’t have.

So again, all positive so far. So far there are only things I feel like could be added to the bag to make it even better. SBL bags mostly have a key strap with a clip in them, the Cravar lacks that. It’s a surprisingly convenient feature that I do miss when I use a bag without it. I’d love pockets added to the sides of the outside like my SBL bag (though, for the most part, in the Rounded Satchel, they’re useless because they’re so small, but when I had the larger version in Tokyo, the pocket was big enough to fit an entire 1L bottle of Smart Water in it. It is nice, especially when you’re walking around the city with a bag full of notebooks and a laptop as a thirsty student who still had hope for the future. Didn’t cut into the interior space to hold the bottle.

To compare, the Rounded Satchel is $349 and measures 12.25" x 10.50" x 4.50", with a weight of 4.05 pounds. The Cravar is $425 and measures 15.5" x 12" x 5" and weights 4 pounds. It’s more, but it’s also a size class up. Cravar makes an FC13 at 14.5" x 11" x 4.5" and 3.5 pounds and $385 and an FC11 for $355 that’s 13.5" x 10.25" x 4" and 2.65 pounds.

It’s a rare comparison where the Saddleback is cheaper, but compared to the FC11, that’s only a $6 difference and I’d be hard pressed to make a choice between the two. Although, I will say, disappointingly, the smaller you go in the Cravar FC series, the fewer colors are available. The midnight blue I got is not available as an FC11, and the deep, rich color of the blue is one of the things that made me want it.

[uchinanchu]

So, I got a Cravar FC15 in midnight blue for my birthday.

I also managed to injure my back, there’s one for the mean old man thread. So, since I’m walking like I live in a crooked house, I only managed a couple of pictures of the cat expressing her approval.



Initial impressions are incredibly positive. The leather is still quite a bit stiff in movement, but somehow it’s still soft to the touch. It feels new and broken in at the same time, which is quite the feat. And for all the thoughtful touches I thought I’d appreciate, well, I appreciate every single one. Setting it beside my normal daily bag, a Saddleback Rounded Satchel, you can see the massive differences in design philosophy. Instead of raw edges that look rugged and vintage, the Cravar’s edges are rolled over and covered in more leather, a complementary brown (hard to tell which shade it is from their site, but I’m sure it’s one of the colors available as a full bag if you don’t like the blue). The SBL has lots of D-rings so you can attach things to it, strap things to it, convert it into a backpack, etc, the Cravar has no jangling metal whatsoever. Even the strap is attached using a leather strap and buckle, so there’s no metal on metal contact. The Cravar wears like a ninja and the SBL wears like a cowboy dramatically entering a saloon. The Cravar has one medium sized interior slip pocket and no laptop divider, the SBL two small side pockets, about big enough to hold a couple pens and your AirPods, but it does have a laptop divider, which is nice to have if you carry liquids in your bag (even, say, a sealed bottle that could have condensation on it), but if you keep any larger electronics their own cover, you should be fine. But, the Cravar has large exterior front pockets the SBL doesn’t have.

So again, all positive so far. So far there are only things I feel like could be added to the bag to make it even better. SBL bags mostly have a key strap with a clip in them, the Cravar lacks that. It’s a surprisingly convenient feature that I do miss when I use a bag without it. I’d love pockets added to the sides of the outside like my SBL bag (though, for the most part, in the Rounded Satchel, they’re useless because they’re so small, but when I had the larger version in Tokyo, the pocket was big enough to fit an entire 1L bottle of Smart Water in it. It is nice, especially when you’re walking around the city with a bag full of notebooks and a laptop as a thirsty student who still had hope for the future. Didn’t cut into the interior space to hold the bottle.

To compare, the Rounded Satchel is $349 and measures 12.25" x 10.50" x 4.50", with a weight of 4.05 pounds. The Cravar is $425 and measures 15.5" x 12" x 5" and weights 4 pounds. It’s more, but it’s also a size class up. Cravar makes an FC13 at 14.5" x 11" x 4.5" and 3.5 pounds and $385 and an FC11 for $355 that’s 13.5" x 10.25" x 4" and 2.65 pounds.

It’s a rare comparison where the Saddleback is cheaper, but compared to the FC11, that’s only a $6 difference and I’d be hard pressed to make a choice between the two. Although, I will say, disappointingly, the smaller you go in the Cravar FC series, the fewer colors are available. The midnight blue I got is not available as an FC11, and the deep, rich color of the blue is one of the things that made me want it.

Hope your back gets better soon Raza . . . nice bag, the blue is nice, great review ! Hard to stay away from Cravar - the leather Rana 13 I had was sold and I opted for the same bag in their Olive waxed twill, lighter but/and just as cool and quality built as the leather one.

[Raza]

Hope your back gets better soon Raza . . . nice bag, the blue is nice, great review ! Hard to stay away from Cravar - the leather Rana 13 I had was sold and I opted for the same bag in their Olive waxed twill, lighter but/and just as cool and quality built as the leather one.

Oh yeah, the waxed twill bags are definitely in my view as well. Had I not preordered a Bexar Goods canvas bag last year, I’d have bought an FC13 in waxed twill myself. But the racing green leather is also really good looking, which is strange to me, since I usually hate the color green. How do you like the olive waxed twill?

[uchinanchu]

Oh yeah, the waxed twill bags are definitely in my view as well. Had I not preordered a Bexar Goods canvas bag last year, I’d have bought an FC13 in waxed twill myself. But the racing green leather is also really good looking, which is strange to me, since I usually hate the color green. How do you like the olive waxed twill?

I like it a lot, mainly because it's lighter . . . strange, on paper it weighs just a bit less than the leather version but it makes a big difference when carrying it about with a load, at least to me.

[Raza]

Strap was a little short, so I emailed Cravar. Same day, the CEO and founder got back to me. I offered to pay for a new strap and shipping, since they have to make a custom length strap. He said the strap is gratis and asked me to just cover the shipping, about $30 from Indonesia. I agreed, the next day he sent me an invoice, I paid it, and he said he’d ship it out next week. Very excited about that. I mean, talk about excellent customer service!

[uchinanchu]

Strap was a little short, so I emailed Cravar. Same day, the CEO and founder got back to me. I offered to pay for a new strap and shipping, since they have to make a custom length strap. He said the strap is gratis and asked me to just cover the shipping, about $30 from Indonesia. I agreed, the next day he sent me an invoice, I paid it, and he said he’d ship it out next week. Very excited about that. I mean, talk about excellent customer service!

Wow, I know the response time for fulfillment of orders is fantastic and Yoki is always very attentive to questions, etc but to do a custom strap length for just the cost of shipping is over and above, his reputation is well deserved me thinks . . .

[Raza]

Wow, I know the response time for fulfillment of orders is fantastic and Yoki is always very attentive to questions, etc but to do a custom strap length for just the cost of shipping is over and above, his reputation is well deserved me thinks . . .

Couldn’t agree more. I’m thoroughly impressed.