Land Cruisers to Leather: Saddleback Bags Have an Overlanding Heritage
By Roseann Hanson
Take a look at any of the leather satchels, briefcases, or suitcases from Saddleback Leather Company and you'll notice something: These aren't mass-produced boutique leathergoods carefully patinaed to look adventurous for well-known lifestyle catalogues. Each bag is simple, practical, overbuilt, sourced from the best materials, and handmade by the finest craftsmen. It will remind you of a venerable old Land Cruiser. Which it should. Because each Saddleback bag has the soul of a 1971 FJ55 sewn into it.
The story begins in 1999 with Dave Munson of Portland, a 28-year-old with a case of wanderlust and a strong Christian conviction to help others, who packed up for southern Mexico to teach English to poor children. It so happened near the town of Morelia were some famed leatherworkers, and Dave had a plan: he wanted a bag to carry his books--a bag like Indiana Jones would have carried. It had to be hand-sewn, with no zippers, only buckles. And it had to be built to last--something he'd "set down on the floor next to my chair and pull gifts out of for my grandkids." ...
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