Mission Mercantile Steamer Backpack Review – $345

One of my favorite parts about the leather industry is the fascinating history behind many of the its traditions. It’s amazing how some of the smallest details of classic bag designs can have the most interesting backgrounds. Mission Mercantile is a company that really seems to share this passion for history, and their Steamer Backpack demonstrates this perfectly.

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ABOUT MISSION MERCANTILE

Mission Mercantile is a new brand, launched in fall 2015. They operate out of their own factory in Leon, Mexico– Blue Artisan Group. We recently reviewed Mission Mercantile’s Stateroom Weekender, an incredibly tough overnight bag made entirely with full grain veg-tanned leather- just like all their products. Learn a bit more about the company in my recent interview with Chuck Bowen, one of MM’s founders, who is passionate about serving “mission men and women” who love leather goods.

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AESTHETIC

Many of Mission Mercantile’s products hark back to inspiration found in days gone by. The Steamer Backpack in particular was designed after the steamer bag – a sturdy, flat-bottom bag built to be packed into a larger steamer trunk that was loaded onto a train or steamboat for lengthy travel. The steamer bag was, in fact, perfected by Louis Vuitton in the late Victorian era.

The Steamer Backpack also has its roots in vintage mail sacks, many of which were mainly canvas but reinforced with sturdy leather at the bottom and top, where they featured a similar belted closure.

This backpack certainly has an eye-catching look, with its wide swath of solid waxed canvas and unique belted closure. The bag instantly looks like there’s a story behind it…so prepare to have LOTS of people ask you about it wherever you go.

M Mercantile Steamer Backpack 1

CONSTRUCTION & FUNCTION

The Steamer Backpack is made with full-grain vegetable tanned leather and thick waxed canvas. In accordance with its steamer and mail sack roots, it has a heavy, flat leather base with subtly squared edges, all held together with contrasting stitching and heavy rivets. It weights in at about 3 1/2 pounds, which is a nice medium weight for such a sturdy bag. Seeing as the bulk of the bag is canvas, it wears very comfortably for daily use.

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The waxed canvas has survived several spring showers with no issue. There are three canvas color options and a total of six leather and canvas combinations at this time. The pictured backpack is Oil leather with Dirt canvas.

The bag is unlined with the exception of the top flap, which is lined with matching canvas. It measures around 14″ x 6″ x 18″, making it large enough to carry a laptop and school or business essentials. There’s also enough room to pack for an overnight trip. The bag is tapered, however, and is belted at the top, so larger items don’t fit in as easily as some wide-opening backpacks. Its tapered shape also makes it look kind of funny if there’s lots of stuff in it, but this isn’t an issue unless you have a habit of overpacking.

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The ideal setup for this bag is to have your laptop and folders/notebooks at the back, and then chargers, wallet, and other small items at the front where they’ll sink down to the bottom and maintain the backpack’s nice tapered look. There’s a key strap and a hanging zippered pouch at the back, which works beautifully for keeping small items that you want to access quickly.

M Mercantile Steamer Backpack 4

The Steamer Backpack has padded shoulder straps that are adjustable (about 6″ of adjustable length). The detachable straps attach at the bottom to two D-rings on either side, and a centered O-ring at the top. There’s a nice sturdy handle at the top, as well. The handles and solid brass hardware pieces all feel very sturdy and well-made.

The bag closes via a long belt that starts on the back of the bag, runs through three rectangular brass loops, and secures again at the back with a tuck lock. The belt closure with a quick release tuck lock is a nice compromise – it adheres to the aesthetic of vintage mailbags without requiring the user to padlock its contents every time. Still, the belt closure requires a little more patience than most backpacks, but its unique aesthetic is totally worth it.

M Mercantile Steamer Backpack 2

CONCLUSION

The Mission Mercantile Steamer Backpack is another impressive piece from this young company’s product line. It’s a gorgeous, unique bag with heritage roots and a great story that just begs for more chapters. At $345, it’s priced very fairly for top-of-the-line materials (full grain leather, solid brass hardware, 18 oz canvas, etc.) that will last a lifetime and more.

*Keep an eye out next Wednesday, June 1st for an AWESOME giveaway from Mission Mercantile!*

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Jenny Brotherton
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Jenny Brotherton

Looks like a nice sturdy bag. I like the colour combo!

Cheryl
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I love this backpack. It looks like it will last a lifetime.

Cairine
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Cairine

This looks like a well-made backpack. I like the styleing as well.

Geobert Palencia
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Geobert Palencia

Love the detail in quality.

Scott Macmillan
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Scott Macmillan

Veg tanning is the only way to go.It develops character with time.

Shannon McClendon
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Shannon McClendon

What a great looking bag!

Verli Anne Morales
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Verli Anne Morales

Oooh.. love it!

kimmye
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kimmye

I love it! It’s beautiful and so versatile!

Brian Kautz
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Brian Kautz

Like the style

Fly Monday
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Fly Monday

Really stylish and cool. Smart move

BaileyDexter
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BaileyDexter

What a great bag! Love the craftsmanship of it!

Thanh Ngo
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Thanh Ngo

Looks very durable!

Tammy Iler
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Tammy Iler

This looks awesome

Erica Weaver
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Erica Weaver

LOVE THIS LOOKS SO DURABLE AND GREAT FOR CARRYING EVERYTHING

Jill Hanson
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Jill Hanson

I like the combination of the leather and canvas, it looks sharp & should be sturdy.

heatherswanson
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heatherswanson

My son-in-law Matt would love this product

cristina
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cristina

great looking bags

Rom Kruse
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Rom Kruse

Love it

Joe
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noice

Lea Ann Edwards
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Lea Ann Edwards

Very nice!

Angel Sanchez
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Angel Sanchez

Interesting. Looks convenient and unique.

Lorri Dockery
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Lorri Dockery

Awesome, thank you for the chance to win!

Mikhail_Sergeevich
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Mikhail_Sergeevich

Pretty cool design, like in good old times! And quality seems perfect too.

Sri Widianingsih
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Sri Widianingsih

the best i’ve ever seen!

Jennifer Grunwald
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Jennifer Grunwald

Beautiful craftmanship, quality product, I would love to own one!

tharuka madushan
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tharuka madushan

nics

Madushan Tharuka
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Madushan Tharuka

nice

Michelle Castagne
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Michelle Castagne

Beautifully made. I want to gift it to someone!

n73asser
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n73asser

Good

L H
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L H

This is such a stylish and sturdy looking bag.

Amber Hume
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Amber Hume

This is awesome bag, never seen like this before.

shannon fowler
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shannon fowler

these are gorgeous and so unique. it looks like they’d be perfect for taking things to work or traveling.

Kelsey Mygatt
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Kelsey Mygatt

This is so beautiful.

pam w
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pam w

Nice

marc123
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marc123

winner

Dorothea Collington
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Dorothea Collington

Loving the hardware and material details on your bags.

russrpm
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russrpm

Looks a lot like an old mail bag. I like it a lot.

John Agwazim
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John Agwazim

It looks beautiful. Thumbs up…………………

Jasmine Cervantes
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Jasmine Cervantes

wow this would be perfect

Jennie
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Jennie

Like the sturdy construction — most of the time you just see that with ‘sturdy’ guy stuff — not good looking items you’d be happy to carry.

George(tte) Washington Bunny
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George(tte) Washington Bunny

Love the styling, this is a gorgeous bag.

Tess Chalk
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Tess Chalk

These bags are classic and beautiful. Fine quality and style are just a few more ways to describe these awesome bags…. Fingers crossed…hoping to win. I would be so grateful to win. Thanks

‫مسابقات مجانية‬‎
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‫مسابقات مجانية‬‎

ohhh *-* i like it ♥

Linda Poplees
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Linda Poplees

Great review on such a stylish bag. Would love to own one.

Jonathan Felipe Furieri
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Jonathan Felipe Furieri

nice !!

duha
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duha

I like it
hope to win ^^

Murphy Cat
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Murphy Cat

I really love this backpack I would love to win it. I can’t stop looking at it . Also love the colors .Great Bag!!!!!!!

Kurt Kidder
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Kurt Kidder

Nice

Erin Cao
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Erin Cao

Wow, it looks really nice! Looks so high quality!

MixedFeeling
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MixedFeeling

terbaik toooik!