WHETHER YOU CALL IT A WEEKENDER. DUFFLE, HOLDALL, OR CABIN BAG, THIS STYLE OF BAG IS DESIGNED FOR SHORT TRIPS AND SHOULD BE PRACTICAL AND VERSATILE. LARGE ENOUGH TO FIT A FEW DAYS’ WORTH OF CLOTHING, BUT COMPACT ENOUGH TO STOW IN THE OVERHEAD COMPARTMENT, THE DUFFLE BAG IS AN ESSENCIAL PIECE IN ANY JETSETTER’S WARDROBE.
A good duffle bag needs to do one single thing: hold stuff. The best duffle bag, however, needs to do a bit more. A great leather duffel bag should outlast your passport — or better yet, you — despite the years and years of being stuffed in an overhead bin and thrown in the trunk of your car.
On top of all that, your all-time favorite travel bag should look great. You’re going on this long awaited trip that you so deserve, and you should look great doing it! Turn head at the airport, hotel lobby, or just amongst your road trip pals!
In most cases the best duffle bags are made of leather. It really comes down to two critical and complementary factors: quality and durability. Top quality leather is an extremely resistant natural material and you need your travel bag to be pretty heavy duty.
But not just any leather will do and most brands won’t be offering you the best quality. For this reason, we suggest you treat your leather duffle bag purchase as a longterm investment and stick to specialized brands that truly dedicate themselves to traditional leather craft, such as Linden is Enough.
Here’s a brief intro to what makes a leather bag great quality and why Linden is Enough always makes the cut:
First off, all our leather bags, both cow and lamb hide, are made from full-grain leather. What this means is that our hides include the top, and most resistant, layer of the animal’s skin. This maintains all those tight knit fibers of the hide intact, and thus doesn’t compromise the durability of the hide! You will want that kind of sturdiness when traveling, for sure.
Full-grain leather is no doubt the strongest and most durable kind of leather available on the market. It is the crème de la crème of leather grades! For this reason, as you might expect, it is more expensive and rare than other types o leather. It is highly unlikely you will find full-grain leather bags anywhere other than traditional slow-fashion brands as ours, or big luxury brands with massive mark-ups.
Read all about full grain leather on our blog!
Our leather is also vegetable tanned, which means it is chemical free, and treated at the tannery with vegetable based oils rather than the most common alternative which is chrome. This is the most rare and traditional tanning technique available and thus will almost certainly not be offered just anywhere. In fact only around 10% of the leather on the market is vegetable tanned!
Owing up to its artisanal nature, the vegetable tanning process results in some of the sturdiest, most durable leather out there. Initially its texture is more stiff and rigid making it perfect for items that require resistance. Then, with time and use, it softens and develops beautiful patinas.
If you’d like to know more about vegetable tanned leather read our other blog posts!
We also have a great article on how to shop for the perfect leather bag if you’d like the whole lesson on what to look for in order to make the best possible purchase decision. But for the purposes of this post, we will keep it short and focused on traveling! After all, you have a whole trip to plan, don’t you?
So let’s get right down to it? Here are the best leather duffle bags:
The Classic Leather Duffle Bag
The Leather Duffle Bag was one of Linden is Enough's first ever items, so this is a true classic. We started out with this design in chestnut, keeping it elegant and simple. As the demand for this item grew and we realized just how adored the duffle was by customers, we launched cognac and black versions that were a great success.
The Classic Leather Duffle Bag is, as you know, made from full-grain, vegetable tanned leather, which means it is super high quality and extremely durable. The inside is lined with thick, resistant, Scottish tartan. After all, we are from Edinburgh, remember? This way your belongings are kept extra safe and neat.
Your things will surely be safe as the duffle has a double YKK zipper closure, plus the flap that is secured with a solid brass buckle. There’s no way things are falling out of this cabin bag while you’re on your way to your perfect destination.
On top of all that, it is comfortable to carry, with a double handle and removable, adjustable shoulder strap to carry over the shoulder or crossbody. The strap is also complete with a shoulder pad, for extra comfort.
We’ve also added studs to the bottom so that you can place your bag on the ground without worrying too much about damaging the leather. Its details like these that really make the difference!
The duffle comes in three sizes: small (23L), medium (40L) which is our classic, and large (50L) in case you need a little extra space. We’ve designed a zipper slip pocket on each side of the bag as well for your smaller items that you’ll want to access with more speed, such as your phone and passport.
This duffle is extremely elegant and eye-catching. We always get messages from happy customers telling us all about people staring and asking where to get their own. So if you pick the classic leather duffle, just make sure you’re not late for your flight, train, or bus, because you might have people stopping you along the journey!
The Leather Weekender Bag
If you’re looking for a more minimalistic alternative to the Classic Duffle Bag, you will really like our Leather Weekender Bag.
The weekender is slightly smaller, with a capacity of 35L. It is the ideal size for a weekend trip, hence its name. It is a stripped down travel bag, keeping it to a bare minimal.
This design is very special because it uses few large single pieces of leather, rather than multiple smaller pieces stitched together, which means we must be even more meticulous when picking out the hides at the tannery.
It is complete with sturdy double handles which also structure your bag’s shape given the modern design we opted for. The leather weekender bag also comes with a shoulder strap which is removable and adjustable. The strap, features a soft shoulder pad so that you can carry your weekender even more comfortably as you’re dashing through the airpot.
This leather holdall has a single YKK zipper closure allowing for easy and smooth opening and closing. Inside we’ve added a pocket for your smaller items such as your phone, wallet, and travel tickets.
This bag also makes a great gym bag due to its versatility, practically, and simplicity. Like the classic duffle bag, the weekender comes in cognac, chestnut and black. You will be sure to get plenty of attention carrying this masterpiece around.
The Overnight Zipper Tote
If you’re keeping your trip short or maybe just staying for one night, the Overnight Zipper Tote is a great choice for you!
This is one of the newer additions to the Linden is Enough collection. Unlike the two cow hide duffles above, this bag is made incredibly soft lamb leather. As you know, it’s vegetable tanned, which means with time the already malleable and buttery feel will just become softer! Not to brag, but the softness of our leather tote bag is really second to none.
Lamb leather is very sophisticated and certainly makes a statement, as it is an expensive and rare material that most often is offered only by high price luxury brands. If you’d like to know more about lamb leather make sure to read our blog post about it.
This bag has a YKK zipper closure, meaning you can open and close it quickly and easily with the smooth running of the zipper and no extra buttons or buckles are needed. There is a large outer slip pocket for anything you might be constantly grabbing and putting away, such as your phone, tickets, a book or newspaper.
The Overnight Zipper Tote has double handles to be carried in-hand, which makes it very elegant and chic. You can also transform it into a shoulder tote or carry it crossbody by attaching its removable, adjustable leather strap
This tote style weekender is also great as a carry on when heading on longer trips. With this in mind, we’ve added a luggage sleeve to the back of the bag. This way, when you’re rushing through the airport or train station, you can slip the handle of your wheeled bag through the sleeve, keeping your hands free for other things. Extremely practical!
All abord!
Now that you know what makes a perfect leather travel bag and have a few wonderful options to choose from, get planning, that holiday isn’t going to enjoy itself!
Whether you pick our duffle, weekender, or overnight tote, we’re always happy to answer any questions you may have that we haven’t clarified here. Happy customers are our ultimate goal, so do not hesitate to reach out if needed!
Have a lovely lovely trip!