Buffalo Jackson Ryder Reserve Bison Leather Duffle Review – $549.95

I’ll be the first to extol the virtues of nylon; it’s lightweight, extremely durable and cheap. It comprises the vast majority of travel bags. It also has no soul or character. Sometimes, dear readers, you just need a big, manly and rugged hold all. Not because you should or because it makes sense..but because you can. Enter the Buffalo Jackson Ryder Reserve Bison Leather Duffle.

Construction

Now, what sets this bag apart from most of the items we review is that it’s made from Bison and not cowhide. Bison hides have distinctive wrinkles and striations due to their less domesticated nature. The Ryder Reserve features full grain bison leather. This leather is remarkably supple and pliable, there’s virtually no need for breaking it in.

Copper rivets are used at all critical stress point areas as well as hefty stitching. The interior of the bag is lined with soft canvas and has two slotted pockets at either end with a large zippered pouch as well. The exterior has a slotted sleeve and buckled pouches on the ends. There are plenty of handles on this bag, you can briefcase carry, shoulder carry or even sling it over your back and carry from the end handles. All hardware is antique nickel including the bottom studs.

Those studs at the bottom are a nice feature to have, and you can tell Buffalo Jackson thought this out and just didn’t add metal bling wherever the eyes could see.

Function

Make no mistake, the Ryder Reserve is a large bag. With enough space for everything but the kitchen sink. My wife and daughter recently were out of a town for the weekend. I tried a little experiment and instead of us all packing a bag, we fit it all in the Ryder. It all fit, we just used little plastic bags to divide our contents. It really made for a more pleasurable outing since we all weren’t toting bags. However, the bag was very heavy. The Ryder is just under 10 lbs empty. The shoulder strap definitely helps with the load though.

The outside slotted sleeve was great for quick access to items like tablets and phones. The side pockets feature a buckle, great for securing more sensitive belongings. In a crowded place, such as a airport or subway, a thief can unzip a bag without detection pretty easily, but a buckle? No way! The interior zippered pocket is handy for smaller items you don’t want floating around.

Aesthetic

This bag really stands out. It’s funny, but the compliments almost get tedious after awhile. The Bison leather exudes a very masculine vibe that seems lost in another era. The antique nickel hardware gives the bag that polished feel and really completes the look. I appreciate the way the supple leather conforms to its surroundings. Taking a long look at the Ryder Reserve, and I can’t really think of anything that could be changed. I’m not saying it’s perfect, but I find it well balanced in its manufacture.

Definition of a hold all bag, if you can’t get it all in here – you’re probably packing too much!

Conclusion

After spending some quality time with the Ryder Reserve Bison Leather Duffle, I can draw out some main takeaways. This bag isn’t always the best option when you need to travel light and quick. When you’re taking your time and enjoying the trip however, this bag absolutely shines. With the almost overdone construction, I can imagine one day my future great grandchildren finding the Ryder in a dusty attic and using it, and the bag wouldn’t miss a beat.

August 26, 2015December 19, 2017

Moore & Giles Carlton Courier Bag Review – $610

There are tons of messenger bags on the market, and sometimes it can be tough to choose one that stands out as your style. An easy way to make your bag stand out is by selecting a unique leather. Moore & Giles has done just this with their Carlton Courier Bag made with American Bison leather.

ABOUT MOORE AND GILES

Moore & Giles has been firmly entrenched in the leather industry since it was founded in 1933 in Lynchburg, VA. Currently, Moore & Giles employs more than 70 people in its headquarters in Forest, Virginia with representation in every major metropolitan area as well as strategic partnerships in England, Germany, France, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, and Hong Kong.

Moore & Giles designs and develops luxurious natural leathers for leather upholstery, residential leather, hospitality leather and aviation leather. In 2007 they also introduced a collection of luxury leather bags and accessories as an additional avenue to showcase their leathers.

We’ve reviewed quite a few Moore & Giles products including the Bray Sportsman Duffel, Donald Dopp Kitt, and Brennan Rucksack. A few weeks ago, we published an interview with Thomas Brennan, one of their product designers. You can read the interview here. Today, we’ll be taking a look at the Carlton Courier Bag.

THE LEATHER

Moore & Giles beautiful bison leather is really the star of the show here. The natural wrinkles and striations of the bison hide set it apart and give it a very luxurious look. The leather is supple, yet sturdy. The bag also comes in a slightly darker cowhide called Titan Milled Brown. Each bag comes with a monogramming option, located at the top of the exterior pocket. The leather is absolutely perfect, and will require some maintenance to remain supple and scuff-free. We reviewed Moore & Giles proprietary leather conditioner here, which works very well on this bag. We’ve reviewed quite a few other leather conditioners, which you can read about on our “Leather Care” tag.

CONSTRUCTION & AESTHETIC

The Carlton Courier measures in at 15” x 10” x 4”, slightly smaller than the average messenger bag. Its compact inside space is maximized by several zippered pockets: a small pouch on the front, a slim one on the front of the inside, and a large pocket that stretches the whole back of the bag. The rest of the bag, between the two interior zippered pouches, is totally open in the middle, leaving room for books, tablets, notebooks, or a 13″ laptop.

The edges are all trimmed and finished nicely, and the inside of the bag and the top flap are lined with Moore & Giles classic fabric liner. Despite the thick leather, the messenger bag stays fairly slim, and doesn’t get bulky even when full.

The Carlton has the classic, buckled double strap look, but with a convenient twist — you won’t have to fiddle with a buckle every time you want to open your bag. Instead of traditional heel bar buckles, hidden slide locks fasten the straps for quick access with the press of the button. The slide locks don’t feel cheap or easily breakable, making the tradeoff from heel buckles feel less scary. They also hide very well under the buckles, and no one will ever know the difference.

The strap is attached to the bag with D-rings and a lobster claw clasp, and the thick padded strap is unusually comfortable. These straps are removable if you prefer to carry it as a briefcase, and the top handle is sturdy enough to do so.

CONCLUSION

The Carlton Courier Bag is a traditionally styled, compact messenger bag set apart by its thick, beautifully finished American Bison leather. American Bison leather is always quite pricy, so $610 seems a fair price for such a large amount of high quality leather. Moore & Giles continues to make classy, well-constructed items for the high-end buyer.

November 25, 2014December 19, 2017

Bison No. 1 Belt in Burgundy Review – $100

With a strong line of leather wallets including the No. 2 Wallet in Navy and the iPhone 5 Wallet, Bison has made the next logical leap in leather good designs – equally strong belts. Starting out with just two belt designs, Bison has once again successfully blended tough American hides with smooth sophisticated construction. Today, we get to look at the No. 1 Belt in Burgundy.

CONSTRUCTION

Like all Bison goods, The No. 1 belt is constructed by hand in the U.S.A. This single prime strip of thick full-grain English bridle leather is sourced from the Hermann Oak tannery in St. Louis, Missouri. All metal is solid brass casting. A buckle and belt loop are fastened to the belt with solid brass Chicago screws so the belt may be disassembled to switch buckles. You can then pick a raw brass finishing option or brushed nickel plating. Sizing is according to the conventional fashion standard similar to buying jeans and not to true measured size. Belt width measures 3.5 cm. This belt definitely feels tougher than it looks and you can feel the weight and strength of the leather in your hands when comparing it to those typical “fashion” belts you see at the mall.

FUNCTION

I put this belt to the test. Both a coworker and I tried it on, sat down, stood up, and walked around, and it was able to hold back the leviathans that are our midsections without difficulty. Upon taking off the belt (yes, my coworker wanted to keep it for himself), there was no evidence of any permanent creasing, warping, or frayed edges, even after multiple wears. The Chicago screw features adds some versatility to the belt in case you want to switch up the buckle with your own selection not offered on the website.

AESTHETIC

Bison goods have a simple, clean sophistication to them and this belt fits right in. The leather is uniformly dyed without any marks, blemishes, or uneven coloring even in harsh lighting conditions. The edges are unwaxed but have a nice smooth fully-dyed and burnished look to them. This allows the belt to work in both the casual and dress settings particularly with the raw brass option. The No. 1 belt also comes in golden tan, cognac, brown, and black color options all in Hermann Oak English bridle leather. For even more options, buyers can pick a more modern buckle style with the No. 2 Belt.

BisonNo1Belt8 — No one will fault you for taking off your belt in the office and showing it off on your desk.

BESTLEATHER CONCLUSION

The Bison No. 1 Belt in Burgundy is a classy yet versatile belt with quality that you can see and feel. Stop wasting your time and money repeatedly buying cheap leather designer belts that fall apart on the clearance rack. At $100, the No. 1 Belt is a worthy investment that will put your other generic cowhide belts to shame.

February 22, 2014December 19, 2017

Exquisite Bison Leather iPhone Sleeve Review – $75

In the scorching heat of Arizona, companies bring a different sense of style and design to leatherwork compared to styles found in the colder climes of the north. The necessity for cool is extremely prevalent, and therefore, designs found in Arizona are much lighter, designed to give off a sense of cool and lightness and above all, a sense of style that feels at home in the desert. And nobody does this better than Bison.

Bison

Based in Phoenix, Bison is a company with cool and style in mind. They design and build all of their products as works of art as well as works of modern engineering and use only American sourced materials. All of their products are built by hand with no glue or rubber — what you see is what you get. And I really like that.

construction

The iPhone 5 Wallet uses American-sourced leather and polyester thread. Really, that’s all there is to it. Two ingredients combined to make a perfectly simple piece of leatherwork.

The leather, as I mentioned, is American-sourced. It is relatively thin leather, maybe 2-3oz, and extremely soft to the touch, which I rather prefer in an iPhone sleeve. Thick leather is hard to get in and out of your pocket and it makes it hard to insert and remove the phone. It is a single piece of chrome tanned leather, which is really well burnished and finished to an exquisitely soft touch.

The stitching is done by hand with polyester thread. The polyester has the same qualities and function as nylon, but will not deteriorate with exposure UV rays. This comes in handy under the bright sun that can weaken thread with long term exposure.

The construction of this piece really is fantastic. I love how simple it is and how well it is done. The stitching feels strong and solid and the leather is soft to the touch.

aesthetic

This iPhone sleeve exudes simplicity. Made from a single piece of leather stitched to itself in two places, you really can’t get much more simple than that. And yet, Bison added a few aesthetic features that add so much to the personality of this product.

The sleeve (whiskey) is dyed to perfection. It comes out of the box in a beautiful whiskey amber color and then darkens with each day of use, getting more and more beautiful each day. This is complemented with light brown thread, which adds to the overall appeal as well.

The stitching is a huge aesthetic component to this sleeve. It is so delightfully simple. It is stitched in just two places, along the bottom and along the side. Nothing extra. There really is nothing else to this sleeve, which makes it so much better in my opinion. Nothing to distract you from it’s sole function, nothing to snag in your pocket as you carry it around, it’s just perfectly simple.

The branding on the back of the sleeve is absolutely fantastic. It is of a rearing bison preparing to charge. The simplicity and beauty of this logo really add a lot to this piece.

function

The iPhone 5 Wallet was actually designed with two functions — an iPhone sleeve combined with a minimal wallet. I personally have only used the iPhone sleeve function, but I love the idea that you can combine the two and simplify your life even more.

Basically, it’s what it sounds like. The iPhone (caseless) goes into the sleeve to protect it from your pocket. In that light, it really does it’s job well. The leather is thin enough to accommodate the iPhone without much added bulk and it’s slick enough to slide easily in and out of your pocket. The iPhone is easily slid into the sleeve and is securely held there until you remove it. The leather really adds a surprising amount of protection from encounters with gravity. More so than I would have expected, I’ll be honest. I dropped it out of my car the other day and all it did was add some character to the leather. Fantastic.

The attached wallet is a great idea. All it is is just a simple pocket found on the front of the sleeve, big enough for a few folded bills and a card or two. The simplicity that can be found in that is fantastic. Say you’re going for a run or something and you want to take some money to stop at the coffee shop on the way back, just stash a 5 in the pocket and you’re good to go. Or, if you’re like me and you spend all your money on espresso, stash a 5 in the front pocket for that one time that you run out of cash in your wallet and you really need that caffeine fix. Call it a rainy day fund of sorts.

BestLeather conclusion

Prior to this, I had an OtterBox, a Lifeproof, and one of the new Apple iPhone 5 cases. There is a trend here: thick, big, clunky. Not simple. Granted, I was moving in the right direction with the Apple case, but that really isn’t a quality case and wouldn’t do much if I dropped the phone.

Sleeves provide a great amount of protection and simplicity. Plus, you get to enjoy the feel of a naked iPhone. So, if you are in the market for a sleeve and you have an appreciation for style and simplicity, Bison makes a great option for you.

At $75, you’re really getting a lot for your money. Not only do you receive a quality product that feels and looks great, you receive a product that was fully American-sourced and built by hand.