The leather is stretching out, softening up, breaking in. The pen sleeves, the leather strap to the main compartment, everything is loosening up. What is most noticeable is the rigidity of the bag. When I first got it, I felt like I could stand on it and it would hold it's shape. Now it's more flexible. The leather holding the D-rings are loosening up and now they clank a bit as I walk around or in the car when I'm driving. That huge ring that digs into your back when you sling it across your shoulder? Problem solved. Since the handle has loosened up, I can just tuck it and problem solved.
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| Metal pieces digging into your back? Just flip it back! |
I've walked out in the rain with the bag- twice it was nothing, just a few sprinkles. One time it was raining a fair bit. I didn't know what to make of the leather when it got wet- would the water roll off like it was made of Gore-tex? Laugh at water like the website says? When it gets wet, it's like any other material- the leather absorbs the water and darkens. When it dries up, no spots. Now I'm not sure what would happen if I was walking around in a rain storm- I drive everywhere so I'm not really exposed to the elements.
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| A little blurry, but you get the idea. |
I'm not sure when I'm gonna condition or clean the bag- so far it's not that dirty and it's holding up well. I'm thinking I might do it yearly, if that. No trips to the amazon or anything like that so I'll play it by ear. I'm not too concerned with it because it seems like it's tough enough to handle my daily life. And this is one of the big reasons why I got this bag- it doesn't need to be babied. Look! A scratch? Life goes on. Gets a bit wet? Whatever. Just use it and forget it.
