Material standards
What it is made of, and why that
Six materials cover the whole catalog. Each product page lists which ones are in that piece and at what weight. This is the page that explains what the numbers mean.
Full-grain vegetable-tanned leather
2 oz – 9 oz depending on the piece
Full-grain is the top layer of the hide with nothing sanded off it. That means the scars, insect marks and growth lines stay visible — and it also means the densest, strongest fibre in the hide is still there. Corrected-grain leather removes exactly that layer and embosses a printed grain over the top.
Vegetable tanning takes weeks rather than a day and produces leather that darkens with light and handling instead of staying flat. Every piece here is drum-dyed through the thickness, so a deep scuff shows the same colour underneath rather than a pale core.
Weight is thickness: 1 oz ≈ 0.4 mm. A 9 oz belt strip is roughly 3.6 mm.
Ballistic nylon
840D, 1000D and 1680D
Denier is the weight of the yarn, not a quality score. 840D is right for a commuter pack that you want to carry empty; 1680D is right for a checked duffel that other people will throw. Using 1680D everywhere would just make a daypack heavier for no benefit.
Ballistic weave abrades rather than tearing — a scrape leaves a fuzzed patch instead of a hole that propagates. That is the whole reason it is used on luggage, and it is why the base corners on the soft bags are leather rather than more nylon.
All shells are PU-backed or DWR-finished. None of them is a dry bag.
Solid brass hardware
Hand-antiqued, never plated
Plated hardware is zinc or steel with a microns-thick brass coat. It looks identical on day one and wears through to a grey base metal in a year of pocket contact. Solid brass has no coat to wear through; it goes darker and duller and keeps working.
It is heavier and it costs several times as much per part, which is why most bags at this price use plate. It is also why the buckles and split rings can be sold as spares and fitted at home.
Buckles are screw-fixed where possible, so hardware outlives the strap.
YKK zips
#3 to #10, RC and AquaGuard
The number is the chain width in millimetres. We specify one size heavier than the load calls for, because a zip that is working near its limit is the part that fails first and takes the whole bag with it.
RC is a reverse-coil chain — smoother and more forgiving of grit. AquaGuard adds a laminated tape that sheds water at the teeth. Neither makes a bag waterproof, and we are not going to say otherwise.
Sliders are replaceable on every piece. Email us with the code on the pull.
Saddle stitching
Waxed linen thread, hand-stitched on small leather goods
A machine lockstitch is two threads locked around each other. Cut one stitch and the seam can unzip along its length. A saddle stitch is one thread passing through each hole twice from opposite sides — cut it and the damage stays local.
It is slow, which is why it is reserved for the wallets, the cardholders and the stress points on the bags rather than every seam in the catalog. Bar tacks do the same job at the handle roots.
Edges are burnished in four passes, not painted. Painted edges chip.
Polycarbonate shell
100% virgin resin
Most cases in this price band use a recycled polycarbonate blend. It is cheaper and it is measurably more brittle in cold — which is the exact condition a checked bag meets in a hold at altitude.
The trade is cost, not weight or looks. A virgin-resin shell will still crack if a loader drops something heavy enough on the corner; it just takes considerably more to get there.
Shells are not covered against impact damage from carrier handling.
What the warranty does and does not cover
Stitching and hardware are covered for 10 years from delivery against failure in normal use. Patina, darkening, surface marks, stretched leather and the fuzz a ballistic weave gets from abrasion are not faults — they are the material behaving correctly, and they are not covered. Carrier impact damage to a hard shell is not covered either.
Repairs outside the warranty are quoted before any work starts. If you are inside the 45-day return window, use the returns policy instead — it is faster and it is a full refund.