Saddleback Leather Wallet Review

Brand Introduction: Saddleback

I must admit for years I actually thought Saddleback was a type of leather and not an actual brand, so it probably explains why it’s taken me so long to get my hands on one of their wallets. Saddleback’s story and founding is cool to say the least. Founded by Dave Munson, who can only be described as quite the character, the Saddleback story began at a Mexican bullfight where a brief and ill-advised fifteen-minute career as an amateur matador came to an abrupt end. Shortly after, while working as a volunteer English teacher in southern Mexico, Munson walked into a small leather shop and asked the craftsman inside if he could make a bag from a sketch. He told him he wanted it made so well that his grandkids would fight over it while he was still warm in the grave. The craftsman said yes, and that was the beginning of Saddleback.

That first bag drew three to four compliments a day and according to Munson people would cross the streets to ask about it. Munson went back to Mexico and had eight more made, selling most of them off the safari rack of his Land Cruiser in Portland in about three hours. The company grew from there, with Munson eventually finding his master craftsman in Don David, a leatherworker in León, Mexico whose family had been working leather in the same workshop since the 1800s.

Today Saddleback is based in Azle, Texas and is known for three things above most others: the quality of the full-grain leather used across their entire range, the 100-year warranty that backs every product they make, and a brand voice that is entirely, unapologetically its own and by all accounts very Munson.

Look & Design: A unique combination of materials

Simplicity is the name of the game here. The Saddleback cardholder is not much larger than a standard credit card and perfect for people who tend to carry less and don’t want a brick sized wallet protruding from their pockets. Due to the simplicity of this wallet I’m going to focus mainly on the leather itself when it comes to this wallet as I feel Saddleback’s choice of leather and quality is really the main selling point of their range.

First of all Saddleback uses real pigskin in many of their wallets including the one I have here. It’s fair to say pigskin isn’t a common type of leather and one that I’ve personally never used in the past. This unusual leather type is best known for its thin yet durable nature and unique dot pattern caused by the hair follicle pores. It’s considered a cheaper leather, but it’s a clever pick as it provides a beautiful rugged look for those who want that natural flair, the sort of enhanced durability the brand prides itself on and a cheaper price tag so everyone can enjoy a quality wallet at a lower price.

But the thoughtful choice in materials doesn’t end there. To stitch this wallet all together Saddleback uses a so-called Marine-grade polyester continuous filament thread, which is a fancy way of saying fantastic quality, heavy duty thread that is UV-resistant, waterproof and resistant to weathering. As you can see Saddleback is focused heavily on the durability of their products and it shows with their great choice in materials, and having used it for around 4 weeks now I can attest to the wallet’s quality. There’s a reason why the brand’s tagline is “They’ll fight over it when you’re dead.”

Saddleback wallets are stripped back to basics and they do so in the most unapologetic and honest way. Simple materials, very unique, but with a simple craftsmanship with charm throughout. The leather is rough and ready, the stitching great, but jaunty in places, and the edges unburnished and raw like it’s literally just been peeled off the pig it came from. And I’m not knocking the wallet for saying this. This isn’t a bad thing. It’s a choice, and a choice Saddleback made in developing a rugged and ready range of wallets that are very good and very much suited to a specific individual. Is that you, maybe?

Functionality & Daily Use

As I said earlier this front pocket wallet I’ve been using is incredibly simple but also a very clever and well thought out design. I’ve used an ungodly amount of cardholders over the years and I often find they’re all either very similar or copycats of each other with very little in the way of creativity or innovation. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing but I also need to acknowledge when a brand takes the time to do something different and try something new.

Now Saddleback’s ID wallet is simple in design. Like a lot of cardholders it has card slots on either side of the incredibly thin wallet measuring just 9.4mm thick, with an overall footprint of 102mm x 76mm. Both of these card slots can easily carry two cards each. Just keep in mind that the slots may be a little tight and I found it was quite difficult to get cards in and out.

But it isn’t permanent and is simply a case of having to break the wallet in like you’d need to do with a good pair of leather boots. After a week the leather started to conform to the contours of the card slots and loosen up nicely. It took an extra week on top of that before the leather was properly broken in and it became easy to both take cards out and put them in. In total, the wallet can easily accommodate 3-4 cards, 2 on each side, which is about right for a wallet of this size. One thing to note is that on one side is a cutout window, an ID card slot so to speak, which is a nice touch.

Where the Saddleback ID wallet really innovates is in its middle section. Essentially the wallet fans open at the middle to reveal a middle area designed for storage of banknotes and other small paper items. I think maybe I’ve seen this style of cardholder in perhaps only 3 other cardholders in my time reviewing wallets and I must say it’s very good.

100-Year Warranty? Is it as good as it sounds?

Many brands can be misleading with their warranties, touting lifetime replacements or other equally outlandish claims when in actuality it’s misleading marketing and the fine print and terms and conditions make it not as it seems.

So when a brand comes around like Saddleback with claims of a so-called heirloom lifetime warranty I have to show a bit of skepticism. So what does Saddleback’s 100-year warranty really mean for you? Well… you can make that decision for yourself. The 100 years is a real, honored warranty, but the “100” number does far more work than the terms do. That 100 years covers defects in materials and workmanship but not much else. Misuse, abuse, accidents, modifications, and explicitly normal wear and tear are not covered.

Look, the Saddleback wallet in all its glory is good enough in and of itself that I really don’t think the warranty should come into the equation when considering it. The headline is this: the Saddleback range of wallets are very good and I would still recommend the wallet outside of any warranty, good or bad, Saddleback offers. To be fair to them, the page does soften it: if thread wears thin in a much-rubbed spot they’ll try to fix it or help as much as possible. That’s discretionary goodwill rather than a contractual right, and by reputation they do generally honor it, run an in-house repair operation and lend you a bag while yours is away. Their claims record is decent and I appreciate that.

Final Verdict: Is a Saddleback Wallet worth it?

What I love most about Saddleback is their affordable prices yet genuinely good quality. These wallets are rough and ready and use materials that might not be the most sophisticated or refined but you really can’t knock the quality and durability of them.

The idea of using pigskin to line the wallet is genius as it’s cheap to buy and has fantastic qualities. And it’s this ethos of maybe not using the most attractive material in the world but using something that from a functionality standpoint works and works well is how I believe Saddleback can sell their wallets for such reasonable prices. And the cherry on top is if you’re also a big fan of, as I called it earlier, the rough, ready and rustic look that is found in all of Saddleback’s wallets (and I assume the wider range).

There really is a reason why this brand is so popular and for a price of just $49 you really can’t go wrong. The 100-year warranty seals the deal and as Saddleback says in their clever tagline, “they’ll fight over it when you’re dead.” Usually I scoff at such potentially cringe or bold taglines but having used this wallet and understood the materials used and how each plays its role in the sheer durability of the wallet I really have no reason to doubt this at all.