Saddleback Leather Company

Being an avid fan of high-quality leather products both in form and function and appreciating the humor and substance of their business moto, “They’ll fight over it when you’re dead!”, I am writing today about the Saddleback Leather Company.

The Saddleback Leather brand meets all of Jennifer Aaker's five "personality dimensions" of a brand: 

• Sincerity - The company owners speak for their products and use them themselves
• Excitement - One can go anywhere and do anything with a Saddleback
• Competence - Their products and business practices are consistent and professional
• Sophistication - I first saw a Saddleback briefcase on a Moscow elevator in the hands of an IBM businessman.  It made an impression I’ve never forgotten.  Now, like me with him, others constantly come up to me asking about my bag.
• Ruggedness - People actually hold competitions to see what their Saddlebacks will stand up too.  From Alligators to Tornados, they haven’t killed one yet!

Saddleback’s philosophy is to simply make the best leather products… period.  They literally offer a one-hundred year warranty, and they stand by it.  In their own words, they state their mission to be:

• To Raise the Bar on Quality
• To Innovate 
• To Create and Encourage Others to Create
•  To Influence Businesses
• To Encourage Quality Everywhere
• To Make High Quality Leather Goods Attainable to the Average Person
• Preserving the Craftsman’s Art
• Bring Art Into Everyday Home

Under their “Our Purpose and Mission” page, all this and more can be found along with all their stated policies and numerous video and customer accounts standing by their products.  

Dave, the owner and founder of the company, spent his young adult years traveling the world and found his bags and luggage could not stand up the the grueling treatment of being on the road.  Frustrated by the cost and inconvenience of constantly having to replace his wares, he finally went into a leather shop and asked the craftsman if he could make a bag of Dave’s own design.  The owner of the shop agreed and the first Saddleback Leather bag was born.  Realizing what he had, Dave saw a need for others like him and soon after, the Saddleback Leather Company was formed.

Like Dave himself, many have experienced the frustration of overpaying for travel products that don’t last either due to poor craftsmanship, poor design quality, mistreatment by baggage handlers or a combination of all three.  Giving consumers an option to purchase one product that will do the job without fail for years to come is completely in line with the original inspiration of the product and company’s genesis.

Saddleback leather offers a wide range of full grain leather products.  While they specialize in bags (purses, briefcases, backpacks, suitcases and more) they innovatively create a wide range of items from small trinkets to billfolds to chess sets to coffins!!  

Some of the main competitors to Saddleback leather are Marlondo Leather, Buffalo Jackson  and Tecovas to name a few.  None compare to the quality and craftsmanship of Saddleback Leather.

Saddleback Leather is a fairly premium brand.  Their products are not cheap relative to some other makers and that may turn some buyers off.  However, for those who know and appreciate high quality, hand crafted, full grain leather products that will stand the test of time, there is no substitute for Saddleback Leather.