Lexol & Piel Leather Giveaway – Ends Jan. 5, 2015

BestLeather is excited to be able to offer this great giveaway from two well known and trusted brands: Lexol & Piel Leather. The combined value of this great giveaway is over $450! The winner will receive a gift basket chock full of Lexol’s best leather cleaners and conditioners. And, along with that basket, the winner will receive a Piel Leather Vintage Laptop Briefcase.

BestLeather has long been a fan of Lexol’s products. We featured an article about their conditioner a couple of year’s ago. And, we’re getting ready to feature some of their newer products…look for that soon. Lexol, has been the conditioner and cleaner trusted by professionals for decades. They have been the leader in luxury leather care for over 80 years, developing and crafting innovative leather care solutions that help consumers clean, maintain, and restore their leather goods for a lifetime and beyond of enjoyment. The company retails its line of American-made products and kits at leading specialty and national retailers within North America. There is a Lexol formula for virtually any leather application, from automotive, fashion, furniture, and sporting goods to equine market needs. The company, including its development lab and manufacturing facilities, is headquartered in Marietta, Ga.

The Lexol leather cleaner and conditioner basket contains:

3-in-1 Leather Care Pads – 20 pcs
1 pH-balanced Leather Cleaner (8oz bottle)
1 Leather Conditioner (8oz bottle)
1 3-in-1 Leather Care (8oz bottle)
1 Lexol Applicator Sponge

Be sure to visit Lexol’s website to learn more about each of these great products. Lexol’s product contain a UV protectant and a non-darkening formula. They are also alcohol free and silicone free. Each has been specially designed and formulated to help you keep your valuable leather products protected and looking great for many, many years to come.

For over 40 years, Piel Leather has remained the internationally recognized Leader in Naked Leather. Their high standards for quality and workmanship have allowed them to produce leather goods of exceptional distinction and durability. Piel Leather feels that their customers deserve a product that is manufactured to the highest quality standards at a price you can afford. By remaining completely dedicated to their craft, they have survived as the leading manufacturer and distributor of naked leather products. Piel Leather takes pride in their talented employees that for over three decades have dedicated their lives to mastering the art of leather craftsmanship. Their loyalty, commitment, and hard work are reflected in Piel Leather’s exceptional line of genuine handmade leather goods. All of their products are manufactured and handmade in their factory located in Bogota, Colombia, South America. Piel Leather specializes in providing quality leather products for all markets. As the pioneer of some of the finest naked leather goods available, Piel Leather is able to provide a spectrum of leather goods to suit your every need.

About the Vintage Laptop Briefcase

“The Piel Leather Vintage Collection incorporates a timeless style with a rich classic (or waxed or glazed) finish. Made from 100% Genuine Colombian Full-Grain leather and trimmed with our traditional (chocolate) Vaquetta leather. This soft, supple, and smooth leather is accented with silver hardware and nylon lining creating a luxurious look that will stand the test of time. The Vintage Laptop Briefcase has a top zip-opening to spacious main compartment. Zip-down opening to a second compartment featuring a padded laptop pocket, large zip-pocket, full organizer, and a thin pocket, perfect for any size tablet. Additional features include front open pocket, back strap to attach to a telescopic handle, double carry handles, and an adjustable/detachable shoulder strap. The bag is 15 x 11.5 x 4 and can accommodate a laptop up to 15 x 10.5 x 1.25.” To see the complete line of Piel Leather products, visit www.pielleather.com.

Enter to Win!

We hope you’ll enjoy entering this contest. Be sure to follow all of the steps and glean the most entries possible. And, be sure to share the contest for even more entry points! We look forward to announcing the winner on January 5th!

October 9, 2014May 9, 2020

Saddleback Leather Bucket Backpack & Umuragi Legacy Bag Giveaway – Ends Oct 30th

****The first winner has been selected. Congratulations to Jonathan P! Jonathan P has chosen to receive the Bucket Backpack. Our second winner, Nancy B. will receive the Umuragi Legacy Bag. Congratulations to both of our winners! Thanks to everyone who entered! And, stop by the site frequently…we have another giveaway coming soon!****

Saddleback Leather is partnering with BestLeather to give away not just one, but two of their new products – a Classic Bucket Backpack and an Umuragi Legacy Bag. Both of these are amazing pieces and are sure to be best sellers. And, with all of Saddleback’s expertly crafted leather products, they will most likely outlast you – so, be sure to plan ahead as to who will inherit your new Saddleback gear.

We will be choosing two winners – whoever is chosen first will get their pick of which piece they want to receive while the second winner will receive the other piece by default.

Please continue to read below and learn more about these great pieces being offered by Saddleback Leather for you to win. They are also offering 35% off on select items.

Here’s the scoop on the Classic Bucket Backpack:

Simple and strong design for our lightest backpack yet
Leather drawstring closure for a quick in and out
Back panel reinforced with pigskin lining for added strength where needed
Removable top handle can be used for over arm carry
Interior unlined tablet pocket & lined cell phone pocket keeps things organized
Drawstring color may not match your Bucket Backpack color
No breakable parts, e.g. zippers, snaps, buttons, etc.
Because of natural oils shade of leather may vary
Dimensions (approximate size):
- Exterior: 16″H x 10 ½”W x 8 ½”D
- Interior: 15″ H x 10″ W x 8″ D
Empty Weight: 3.4 pounds
Is available in Carbon, Chestnut, Dark Coffee Brown, and Tobacco

The Umuragi Legacy Bag

This is a purse designed by Suzette Munson. Instead of carrying the Saddleback Leather brand, it proudly displays the Love41 moniker. You may not be fully aware of Love41 and its commendable mission. So, we encourage you to visit the Love41 website and learn about how this company is making a positive impact in Rwanda, Africa and beyond. Here are the details about the Umuragi Legacy Bag:

Love 41’s most durable purse
Unique no-stitching, riveted construction
Umuragi means legacy in Kinyarwandan (the language of Rwanda), befitting a bag you can hand down to future generations
Two small interior pockets for keys, cell phone, and other accessories
Fully adjustable shoulder strap and turn-lock closure
Antiqued brass hardware
Made with thick, vegetable tanned full grain leather
Love 41 products are covered by a 41 year warranty
A portion of the proceeds from this item will be donated to Africa New Life Ministries
Dimensions (approximate size):
- Adjustable strap length: 37 ¼” – 52 ¾”
- Exterior: 13“ W x 7 ½“ H x 4” D
- Interior: 12 ½“ W x 7 ½“ H x 2 ¼” D
Empty Weight: 3 pounds
Is available in two colors: Carbon Black or Tobacco Brown

With Holiday shopping already beginning to ramp up, this contest’s timing is excellent. The contest will run for 21 days, starting today, October 9, 2014 and ending on Thursday, October 30, 2014.

Please be sure to follow all of the steps to ensure that you are entered to win. Enjoy! We look forward to seeing who wins. And, please be sure to comment below and let us know what your plans are for these products should you win one.

What do you think?

August 27, 2014December 19, 2017

$425 Origins Leather Company Briefcase Giveaway – Ends September 19th (Winner: Wayne B.)

Update: congratulations to Wayne B. for winning this lovely briefcase and thank you to everyone who made this giveaway a lot of fun!

How many products are you aware of that have lasted for 100 years? Perhaps a piece of furniture your great great grandfather made? Or maybe a gun that the same great great grandfather owned with an accompanying leather holster? My guess is that there are not too many items in your possession that meet this description. The Origins Leather Company has a mission to change this trend, for the benefit of your future progeny. They offer a 100 year warranty on all of their products, including their Briefcase, which we are giving away this coming month. The contest will be open till September 19th.

We had the opportunity of reviewing Origin’s Briefcase a couple of weeks ago, the review of which you can read here. This briefcase is an heirloom quality leather bag built to last generations. Though Origins is a relatively new leather goods company, they have contracted with one of the premium leather goods makers to produce their products. The result is a briefcase that has a premium feel, looks beautiful, and has purpose.

Origin’s Briefcase is an excellent example of Occam’s Razor in leather form. According to Wikipedia, Occam’s Razor is a principal of parsimony, economy, or succinctness used in problem solving. In leather form, applying Occam’s Razor means creating an item that efficiently serves its purpose, does so handsomely, and is stripped of unnecessary fluff.

The Origins Briefcase is made from thick, five to six ounce vegetable tanned leather, thicker than most boot leather. It has a pocket on the inside for your laptop, a couple of pens, and a small pocket for accessories. It has a sleeve on the outside that you can use to carry a magazine, newspaper, or other thin items. It is as simple as that. Oftentimes those items that are most simple are the most classic. The Origin’s Briefcase fits that bill.

The Origins Briefcase is a classy, well designed, durable briefcase that can be used at work, school, church, or a variety of other settings. It is a bag that is guaranteed for 100 years and is one that could be sitting on your great great grandchild’s desk one day if you win this giveaway.

What do you think?

July 11, 2014December 19, 2017

Thrux Lawrence Dopp Kit Giveaway – $150 – Ends July 26th

Do you need something hefty to carry your toothbrush around in? Are you tired of wearing your lightweight dopp kit out with your toothpaste tube? How many dopp kits are you going to tear through until you buy something indestructible and toothbrush proof? (satire)

the question is – will it blend?

Maybe. Those blenders are ridiculous.

Not only will you have this your entire lifetime (if you don’t blend it), but so will the next ten generations of your offspring. It’s that ridiculously tough. Usually this is the level of construction used on items that get a lot of use with heavy loads like backpacks and briefcases, but no, your toothbrush also deserves better levels of protection.

To be fair, there are a lot of ways to use the dopp kit. Thrux Lawrence told me that people use these kits for all sorts of reasons–carrying golf balls, beauty goodies, tools, etc. Whatever you put inside will stay inside, which is really a handy feature. It’s much better than a ziploc bag.

Thrux Lawrence Dopp Kit Giveaway4 — Here is the dopp kit carrying pool balls very effectively. Just in case you find a perfectly smooth place to whip out your EDC pool set.

Let’s just put it this way. When you win this dopp kit, no one will ever mock you for having too wimpy of a dopp kit. NEVER!

Thrux Lawrence Dopp Kit Giveaway2 — The dopp kit also looks good sitting on a motorcycle… Or the motorcycle looks good with a dopp kit on it. I’m not sure. This may be a hot new trend.

Check out the Thrux Lawrence goods here.

June 3, 2014May 9, 2020

Ended – A Simple Leather Belt Giveaway – Two $60 Belts – Ends June 15th, 12PM PST

A Simple Leather Belt Co., which shall henceforth be known as ASLB, has undertaken the noble task of supplying America with tough belts custom sized to our various burgeoning waistlines. To say that these belts will do a good job holding up your britches is an understatement. I think I could tow my car with one of these (not a wise thing to do!). Now you can get one for free with this giveaway.

Pssst…. I know you are wondering where to enter the giveaway… Keep scrolling… Continue reading “Ended – A Simple Leather Belt Giveaway – Two $60 Belts – Ends June 15th, 12PM PST”

April 14, 2014December 19, 2017

And The Winner Of The Saddleback Leather Side Pocket Duffel Is Nick S. in Columbus, OH!

Congratulations to Nick S. for winning this beautiful Saddleback Leather bag out of 13,000 entries. He told me he would be using the bag for traveling and overnight trips.

Nick, the bag is shipping today! Enjoy!

We are grateful for the 13,000+ entries and to Saddleback Leather for providing this excellent giveaway!

Our next giveaway will be for several sets of Bickmore’s Leather Conditioners.

April 11, 2014May 9, 2020

Two Days Left To Enter The Saddleback Leather Duffel Giveaway

The Saddleback Leather Side Pocket Duffle is a redesigned weekender bag from Saddleback Leather. The very first thing I noticed when opened up the box was the rich, beautiful color. I own several SBL pieces in chestnut, but when I saw this one, my jaw dropped. It is positively gorgeous. I thought my other pieces were great looking, but it shocked me to see an exemplar of this idyllic hue in the real world. My other chestnut pieces are beautiful, but the color on SBL’s updated chestnut is somehow even richer…

Go here to enter to giveaway: http://bestleather.org/saddleback-leather-side-pocket-duffel-giveaway/

The giveaway will end on April 12th at 12PM. A winner will be selected at random and emailed.

March 11, 2014May 9, 2020

Saddleback Leather Side Pocket Duffel Review & Giveaway (Winner: Nick S.)- $655

[Congratulations to Nick S. for winning this beautiful S addleback Leather bag out of 13,000 entries. He told me he would be using the bag for traveling and overnight trips!]

For all of its beauty, however, there is what (initially) seems like a huge red flag: the strap containing the buckles that secure the side pocket flaps is fixed to the main pocket flap. It is just one long strap across the top of the bag that gets threaded through loops on the side pocket flaps and buckled to the side pockets themselves. This means that you cannot open the main pocket without the side pockets being unfastened. Either you travel with your side pockets unfastened, or you have to open three buckles every time you want to get into your main compartment. Opening the main flap all the way requires you to unthread that strap from the side pocket flaps. If you were opening the bag many times per day, this could get quite old.

When I first saw this, I was surprised. Saddleback is typically very thoughtful in their designs. SURELY, they know best and there is some brilliant reason for this that I will love once I figure it out. SURELY, they would not offer a bag with such an obvious design flaw. It seems that Dave uses his prototypes for something like 20 years to perfect them, sending a complimentary bag to Jesus of Nazareth by angelic courier via Jacob’s Ladder, and offering the remainder for sale to the rest of us.

Then I remembered that this is luggage! The majority of my Saddleback Leather products happen to be everyday use items (like my backpack). But not so much with this one; you will put all your travel goodies in it and only open it up when you arrive. More than likely, it will stay open on the hotel bed until you depart.

As usual, you can see pictures and a 3D model of the bag on the Saddleback website, and you can see Dave handling the bag and commenting on it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kcf_gd-QNUQ. Also, as is par for the course, there are a number of reviews floating around on the web. The reviews on the site and on Amazon are standard SBL fare—the kind of glowing testimonials you would expect on an SBL piece.

One issue that kept coming up is whether or not it fits into the overhead bins on various aircraft. One reviewer said it did not fit “easily” into an overhead bin on an aircraft flown by Southwest, though I assume that it ultimately did fit. Another said it fit easily into an overhead bin on a Jet Blue airplane, and a flyer in a Delta MD80 did not have any issues. In the video, Dave basically says it fits until it does not, in which case it fits below your seat. Based on the dimensions on Saddleback’s website (20.25” x 10” x 11.25”), it should be well within most airline carry-on size restrictions. If you are truly worried, you can lookup the dimensions acceptable to your airline for your upcoming flight at www.seatguru.com.

For all of my complaining about the top flap, the five straps do add more security for checking the bag if it is unable to be a carry-on, and the flap is generous enough to keep out heavy precipitation (the lack of which on my Rustic Leather mailbag—despite how much I love it—plagues me).

Users also seem to disagree about the utility of the interior pocket. In the video, Dave explains that it is for muddy sandals, sweaty clothes, or seashells (basically, anything you’d rather keep separate from your other garments). I say brilliant. Cut it out if it truly bothers you. It’s supposed to be floppy, but, being constructed from that nice pigskin, the one in this bag is fairly rigid (for now).

It’s nice to see that the interior pocket is merely pigskin, and not the leather/pigskin sandwich that used to be used for literally every panel and pocket everywhere. I have an older version of the backpack, which I love, but it is quite heavy. A lot of the pigskin is just unnecessary, and it seems Saddleback has become sensitive to that. This duffle, like the newer backpacks, is constructed using a more appropriate use of pigskin (for example, the side pockets are unlined), which keeps the duffel a bit lighter.

Another deliberate aspect of the design, which I was glad to have pointed out to me, is the flat handle. I love the round briefcase handle and wish my backpack had the same. For me, it is much more satisfying to hold the rigid, round handles than the flat ones. However, they can cause problems for a bag of these dimensions when being stuffed into an overhead bin.

From a practical standpoint, this bag should have enough space for the average adult to comfortably pack for a 2-3 day trip, minus any speciality equipment or bulky warm clothing. That said, you can fit your blueprints, map tubes, or harpoons right underneath the top flap of this bag and still fasten it closed, if you run the top strap through slits designed for this purpose. The side pockets can fit about three cans of beer.

BestLeather conclusion

This is a nice bag that is excellent for travel, but does not seem designed for the everyday grind (unless yours is at 35,000 feet in between investment property visits). Aesthetically, it is a knockout and the construction is the standard robust Saddleback Leather fare.

Check out the Side Pocket Duffel on Saddleback Leather’s website here.