Goatskin Leather Camera Satchels by LeftOverStudio

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Mr_Toad

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Hi, All,

Just an FYI about yet ANOTHER line of camera bags!! :eek:

These last five years have been kinda awful...so I treated myself to not one, but TWO of the camera satchels from LeftOverStudio....at ETSY.com. (ETSY.com is a kinder, gentler, perhaps more reputable(?) version of eBay, and seems favored by some of my more "artsy craftsy" friends.)

Anyway...below is a link and the two satchels I purchased, and I am very happy with the two bags. The black is a more dressy, non-distressed, coarse grain leather...while the tan is more one-of-a-kind, slightly distressed, varied brown to tan look. (However, because the leather is a bit stiffer than some, I will be careful to not be bending it excessively, in case it might crease a bit.)

Since they make the bags on order, it took about three weeks from my payment to delivery from India. Also, since the bags were securely wrapped for shipping, the brown bag arrives with a bit of odor from treatment, but it's not noticeable after a day or so. (Each bag comes in a fabric pouch, to protect from dust when not being used...if one chooses.)

Anyway...I definitely recommend these two bags at these price points! (I'm not such a big fan of the design of the other bags on the site, though. One unhappy reviewer I read ordered the large, leather duffle...and it arrived folded, which caused a crease. The bags i purchased aren't "foldable" for shipping, so not an issue.)


http://www.etsy.com/shop/LeftoverStudio


TAN - Leather Camera Bag / Satchel / Messenger Bag - Two in One - Vintage Retro Look.
$119.00 USD; 13.5"W x 9.5"H x 4.5"D (Bottom)

BLACK - Leather Camera Bag / Satchel / Messenger Bag - Two in One - Top Grain Black Leather.
$129.00 USD; 13.5"W x 9.5"H x 4.5"D (Bottom)

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Obviously I don't expect shell cordovan at this price point, but what can you say for the suppleness and quality or the leather? How about the construction? Is it something that could bear a bit of weight day-in, day-out without breaking?
 
folville said:
Obviously I don't expect shell cordovan at this price point, but what can you say for the suppleness and quality or the leather? How about the construction? Is it something that could bear a bit of weight day-in, day-out without breaking?
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Well...to be honest, I am not so knowledgeable in the leather department. The stitching seems quite good, and these are definitely far better than those cheap, "plasticky" looking knock-offs that I see for sale on fleaBay. The straps could be a bit thicker, but they seem well-made....and I am ignorant of the tensile strength of goathide...having never pulled on a goat. :rolleyes: The hardware is antiqued brass and seems good quality. Also, the LeftOverStudio folks have hundreds of positive reviews on ETSY...and the reviews seem legitimate (i.e., not all written by one grammatically-challenged author, like some "reviews" i see on eBay and Amazon that all seem to be lacking the same helping verbs).

As far as rugged performance, these are definitely not going to stand up to abuse like my heavy canvas ThinkTank Retrospective 7...especially not if one should choose to yield it as a weapon in case of attack. :bang:

But for carrying a couple rangefinders while walking in and out of trendy shops and brewpubs in downtown Salt Lake City, these are far more presentable than any other $120 dollar bag that I own.

Robt.
 
They do look nice. I like real leather, and the removable padded insert is neat. If I already didn't have too many camera bags ...
 
Well...in the dialog that I did have, it felt good that I was dealing with a "person", versus a "company". ...and they seem willing to do some custom work.
 
Mr_Toad said:
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Well...to be honest, I am not so knowledgeable in the leather department. The stitching seems quite good, and these are definitely far better than those cheap, "plasticky" looking knock-offs that I see for sale on fleaBay. The straps could be a bit thicker, but they seem well-made....and I am ignorant of the tensile strength of goathide...having never pulled on a goat. :rolleyes: The hardware is antiqued brass and seems good quality. Also, the LeftOverStudio folks have hundreds of positive reviews on ETSY...and the reviews seem legitimate (i.e., not all written by one grammatically-challenged author, like in some "reviews" i see on eBay and Amazon).

As far as rugged performance, these are definitely not going to stand up to abuse like my heavy canvas ThinkTank Retrospective 7...especially not if one should choose to yield it as a weapon in case of attack.

But for carrying a couple rangefinders while walking in and out of trendy shops and brewpubs in downtown Salt Lake City, these are far more presentable than any other $120 dollar bag that I own.

Robt.
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I do a fair bit of leatherworking (albeit with heavier weight leather and handstitching), and it seems to check out well from the pics––I'm honestly pretty impressed, if not a little suspicious, for the price. The attention to detail and quality in the stitching looks really nice from the pics; I don't see any skipped stitches, and the corners look quite nice and not bunched up or uneven. The only thing I noticed is that some rivets were set a little off-center from one another, in some of the samples.

Of the cheaper (~$100) bags I've seen about Etsy and ebay, this looks to be pretty decent in the photos. Most of the cheapies look nice at first glance, but upon closer inspection of the photos, are lacking in overall quality and detail, and shamelessly copied off of more famous designs. These bags look to be of pretty decent quality and not a billingham knockoff.

That's my $.02. Would I buy it? Probably not; not quite my style. I like a mix of leather and canvas, and am not a huge fan of antiqued brass hardware. However, I still haven't found a bag that fits this; I'm probably going to end up making my own.
 
Thanks for the additional info, Mr Toad. I'm curious, but still a bit skeptical. I'm in the market for a decent looking backpack and/or carry-on or gym bag that I wouldn't be ashamed to take into the office, and the alternatives are all pretty expensive. There's no doubt in my mind that something like one of these: http://www.jwhulmeco.com/ would be higher quality, but the price is a bit -- well, a lot -- higher.

hamradio, seeing that you're a Minnesotan (and seem to know a bit about this), I wonder if you have an opinion of JW Hulme or Duluth Pack, maybe in comparison to what we can see from these goatskin bags.
 
folville said:
Thanks for the additional info, Mr Toad. I'm curious, but still a bit skeptical. I'm in the market for a decent looking backpack and/or carry-on or gym bag that I wouldn't be ashamed to take into the office, and the alternatives are all pretty expensive. There's no doubt in my mind that something like one of these: http://www.jwhulmeco.com/ would be higher quality, but the price is a bit -- well, a lot -- higher.

hamradio, seeing that you're a Minnesotan (and seem to know a bit about this), I wonder if you have an opinion of JW Hulme or Duluth Pack, maybe in comparison to what we can see from these goatskin bags.
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Funny you should ask; the scrap/seconds that I use to make my camera straps come from JW Hulme via a third party. I've never seen one of their products in person, but they seem to be of top quality. The leather scrap I work with is certainly nice.

Here in Duluth, Duluth Pack products are ubiquitous. The quality seems to be quite nice, and I see a lot of older ones still kicking. Were I to buy something in that vein, I might opt for something from these guys:

https://www.frostriver.com/

Also a local company, but they use waxed canvas in their products, which I like.
 
folville said:
Thanks for the additional info, Mr Toad. I'm curious, but still a bit skeptical. I'm in the market for a decent looking backpack and/or carry-on or gym bag that I wouldn't be ashamed to take into the office, and the alternatives are all pretty expensive. There's no doubt in my mind that something like one of these: http://www.jwhulmeco.com/ would be higher quality, but the price is a bit -- well, a lot -- higher.

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Hi, Mr. Folville!

Yes...I have to agree with you about some of the items in the LeftoverStudio line. I think the basic satchel items that I purchased are definitely nice enough for me to tote in and out of more classy establishments. (I wouldn't eat at a restaurant that would have me as a customer.) But, I'm not so sure about the other, non-satchel items. Again, i would be concerned about creasing of this stiffer leather. :confused:

For the price, I am very happy with the two bags I purchased, but would look elsewhere for a more durable and pricey everyday professional bag.

Robt.
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hamradio said:
Of the cheaper (~$100) bags I've seen about Etsy and ebay, this looks to be pretty decent in the photos. Most of the cheapies look nice at first glance, but upon closer inspection of the photos, are lacking in overall quality and detail, and shamelessly copied off of more famous designs. These bags look to be of pretty decent quality and not a billingham knockoff.
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Hi, Mr. Ham!

Uhhh...well...to be fair, I think these are more of an "Ona knock-off". :eek:

..and yes, the actual bags I received do not look quite as "perfect" as those in the photos....but frankly, the differences are so minute, that no one besides me would ever notice.

And thank you for the Duluth link! Their canvas and leather bags look really great and a good price.

Robt.
 
Weight?

Weight?

The bags seem look pretty but they appear a little stiff and heavy. Of course, my opinion is just based on the web images, so can anybody confirm the weight? I don't see that important bit of info on their product pages.
 
froyd said:
The bags seem look pretty but they appear a little stiff and heavy. Of course, my opinion is just based on the web images, so can anybody confirm the weight? I don't see that important bit of info on their product pages.
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Moderately stiff they ARE. (I'm glad they're somewhat stiff, since I purchased the two bags specifically for the more dressy character of the bag. They flex like a heavily starched, canvas shirt, or like sheets of leather covered cardboard, but I see no evidence that they are made with cardboard. :bang: They definitely sit upright on their own, and do not flop or collapse over when carrying cameras (like my Domke canvas bags do). The leather covers tend to flip forward on their own, to cover the camera compartment...which I prefer to the alternative. And the removable padding has a nice, soft feel, but still offers additional camera support.)

Heavy they are NOT. (Because the leather is not very thick....these aren't like a heavy saddle leather kinda thing..and the leather is not as thick as the Ona leather bags, which cost over three times as much, and are also not made in America.)

Again...please realize these are not going to be rugged, go everywhere, do everything, post-Apocalypse kinda bags like my ThinkTank Retrospective. However, these do seem like a bag you can take to the dressy charity fundraiser at the local snobby art museum. :rolleyes: (Yeah okay, so I'm into that sort of thing.)


Robt.
 
folville said:
Thanks for the additional info, Mr Toad. I'm curious, but still a bit skeptical.
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Why? They are hand-made in India by a craftsman selling direct, so you get the low cost of Indian labor and don't pay fat markups for Western middlemen.
I wouldn't expect the leather tanning to be Hermès grade, but most leather sold by "designer" brands in the US is quite dismal.
 
majid said:
Why? They are hand-made in India by a craftsman selling direct, so you get the low cost of Indian labor and don't pay fat markups for Western middlemen.
I wouldn't expect the leather tanning to be Hermès grade, but most leather sold by "designer" brands in the US is quite dismal.
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The prices are attractive, but I worry about the quality of the leather. As you say, most leather goods passing as designer are "genuine leather," which is about as low a grade as they come by. The question for me is, is this a high-quality leather good--perhaps with manufacturing flaws and imperfections--that can take some abuse?
 
folville said:
The prices are attractive, but I worry about the quality of the leather. As you say, most leather goods passing as designer are "genuine leather," which is about as low a grade as they come by. The question for me is, is this a high-quality leather good--perhaps with manufacturing flaws and imperfections--that can take some abuse?
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Considering that's India, where goats are kept as livestock for meat, and thus goatskin plentiful, I would expect it to be full-grain leather, the question mark being the quality of the tanning. Just because it is vegetable tanned doesn't mean the tanning process is run competently, or is allowed to run the full time required, as time is throughput is money. In the West vegetable tanning equates to quality as low-grade leather gets chemical tanning, but that is not true everywhere. Ultimately, the only way to know would be to hear back from previous purchasers.
 
Does anybody here actually have one of the backpacks?

If so, could you comment on the inside dimensions and how cameras might be stowed?
 
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