Took a while, but this is the big 500.

The Frank Clegg English Briefcase is one of the finest bags or packs a human can buy. And while it is not bespoke, its glorious leather will take on marks and age in a way that makes each individual bag unique. It is simple, meticulously made, impeccably designed, and visually stunning. It is also 5 or 6 times more expensive than any bag I have ever owned. In the luxury realm price is not really rational, but in a world of Panerai watches with substandard guts, there is luxury where you pay for the logo and luxury where you pay for a superior product. Clegg’s briefcase is in the second category.

Before we get to the review I want to lay out a couple of terms relating to leather—full grain and vegetable tanned. If you know a lot about leather you can skip this section. Otherwise, get ready for a very simplistic leathercation.

Full grain leather is leather made from the entire outermost layer of the hide. Full grain leather tends to be thicker and more durable than top grain leather, but it is not as supple or flexible. As a result full grain leather, which is what this bag is made of, tends to be more expensive. But it lasts longer, patinas and burnishes more beautifully, and tends not to tear. Top grain leather is still better than “genuine leather” which is the leather equivalent of “surgical steel” but if you want the best, full grain leather is where it is at.

Tanning is the process by which cow hides are changed into leather. There are three ways to do this: vegetable tanning, chrome tanning, and non-chrome chemical tanning. Chrome tanning is a quick and relatively automated process that uses chromium sulfate to tan hides into leather. It is a harsh chemical agent that produces tanned leather in roughly a day. The result is an inferior leather but one that can be dyed many different colors. Chrome tanning is a brutal process on people (hence the extensive automation) and the environment. As a result, non-chrome chemical alternatives have been developed. They are better on people and the planet than chrome tanning but they still produce an inferior leather.

If you want durable, thick, and beautiful leather (and that amazing leather smell) you need to use vegetable tanning. “Vegetable tanning” is really a misnomer as most of the tanning agents in vegetable tanning are derived from the bark of trees. The bark is treated and manipulated to extract the tannins (the same magic bits that make wine) and these tannins are then used in the much longer tanning process. In vegetable tanning, hides, mostly by-products of the meat industry, are cleaned and then soaked in a salt bath to kill bacteria. After that they are soaked in a milk of lime bath to strengthen the hides. The lime is then removed in a deliming bath and after that tanning actually begins. Here the hides are kept in bathes of tanning solution and carefully watched and rotated over the period of about a month to two months. Vegetable tanning has been developed over about 7,000 years and was really perfected (and regulated) in Roman Empire. Once the hides have been soaked and rotated they are then dried, stretched, oiled, trimmed, and measured. The result of vegetable tanning is stunningly beautiful, exceptionally durable, and typically more expensive leather.

Clegg calls the leather used in this bag “harness belting” leather. This is full grain leather that has been vegetable tanned, but Clegg adds two additional things in the finishing process. First, they add a bit of a protective waterproofing. Clegg notes this is “light waterproofing.” Second, they add a bit of extra fats during the tanning process that produces a VERY smooth surface. While I don’t know a lot about the details of these two steps I can confirm that the leather here is stupendous.

Here is the product page. The Frank Clegg English Briefcase costs $1250. There is no written review. Here is how this glorious piece of kit came into my possession.

Design: 2

In the 14th century papers and money were carried in highly durable leather bags with some way of closing or sealing the opening. These designs, called budget bags or “limp satchels,” gave way to the modern briefcase around the 16th century. That design itself split into two designs—the modern hardside designs which were first produced in the 1850s and the original softside configuration like this design. As courts and lawyers became more common after the 14th century they needed a way to carry all of their papers on a given case to court. These papers were referred to as “briefs” and as a result their carrying case was a “briefcase.” After laptops took over and papers became less common lawyers, and other businesspeople (who adopted the briefcase as their own), the merits of a highly durable, protective carrying case became clear. Briefcases morphed from paper carriers to electronic protectors. While more modern briefcases are festooned with pouches, pockets, and other subdividers, the original designs generally had one large compartment or one large compartment, one flats compartment and two small pockets. This four-compartment design is universal and the Clegg English Briefcase is a perfect representation of this form.

With stout leather, the bag is capable of standing on his own. The pockets are correctly sized and their layout is simple and flexible enough to be used in a wide variety of ways. I have taken this bag on a trip and used it in its intended way as a briefcase and I have not be disappointed. One thing that is hard to evaluate is its looks. This is a luminous piece of kit, something that attract the eye and is pleasing to the touch. There are only a handful of times that I have used it and NOT received a comment. Lawyers where I practice aren’t a particularly fashionable lot, but even among those that think nothing of a suit and LL Bean Duck Boots, the Clegg gets comments and notices. This is a really beautiful bag.

Fit and Finish: 2

There is simply nothing but the best there—the stitching, even across the long shoulder strap, is meticulous. The leather is beautifully finished, probably the nicest leather I have ever encountered. The brass hardware was gleaming when the bag was new and even today retains a bit of shine. I don’t know how something could be better made than the English Briefcase is—its spectacular.

Carry: 2

The bag empty is not light, especially when compared to cordura bags. But you know that going in—full grain leather is beefy stuff. But it always surprises me when I load this thing up and hoist it on my shoulder—its never too heavy. And the strap pad does an excellent job of distributing the weight. Finally, because of the symmetrical pocket layout it takes especially stupid packing to make this bag feel lopsided.

Materials: 2

Brass, top shelf leather, and some heavy duty stitching is all there is here and it is, as recounted above, glorious. Do something simple and do it well.

Accessibility: 2

With one flap open the entire bag is accessible. Each pocket flares open at the mouth just the right amount and the stuff stays put even when the bag is open. It is possible to get the two body straps out of whack and have them flop to the ground, but it is kinda hard to do that and requires an especially high level of inattention. In regular consistent use I have never had a problem with the bag or the straps.

Ease of Packing: 2

Ease of packing and accessibility usually go hand in hand and there that is definitely true. I have packed the English Briefcase many a times while wearing it with no problem. In my mind that is the test of how good the pack is—you are on the run, you have to grab a bunch of stuff, and then wedge it unceremoniously into the pack and go. Most of the time that results in an uneven messy load. Here, everything is cinched down and stowed nicely.

Pockets/Organization: 2

After a few years of lugging a be-pocketed Tumi bag around I realized the error of my ways and now I strongly prefer a simple set. It doesn’t get much simpler than this: 2 small pockets, two large pockets, and one zippered pouch—that’s it. Without all the nooks and crannies it is easy to find stuff. There is a minor concession the modernity in this briefcase, which, realistically, could come off the horse of an 18th century barrister pretty easily without looking out of place—a pen organizer and a small business card stash. See, this isn’t just for powdered wig types.

Snaps/Buckles/Zippers: 2

Zippers, no matter how nice, are devices with lots of parts. Keeping them to a minimum, as done here (only the one internal pocket has them) means that the bag will last longer and be more useful over time. I have had many a zipper fail before the thing itself stopped working—bags, packs, jackets, etc. To keep everything in order there are two leather straps and nice brass buckles. The shoulder straps have brass buckles too. Thus far they have worked exceedingly well. They also look pretty nice too.

Belts/Straps: 2

This is all about the straps. The shoulder strap makes the bag easy to carry, the two lashing straps keep it closed. Like everything with the Clegg English Briefase, they are exceedingly nice. Full grain leather and immaculately stitched, these straps are as nice as you will find in leather. That said, of course the Bihn shoulder strap and the straps on my Alpha One Niner bag are more comfy, but not by much and experience tells me the Clegg straps will last longer and look nicer doing so.

Modularity/Expansion: 0

There are no lash points, no accessory bags, and no way to expand capacity, but in the three plus years I have had the Clegg bag the issue has never come up. But still, this system is not about evaluating briefcases, but all packs and bags. If you are coming to the Clegg from the gear world, this is going to seem like a weakness. If you come at it from the legal world, you will realize there is nothing that needs to be added.

Other Considerations

Fidget Factor: N/A

I am not sure how this applies to a pack.

Fett Effect: Very High

This is the reason to by leather, especially full grain stuff. Over time it will look nicer and nicer, more unique, more YOURS.

Value: Very Low

Let’s not kid ourselves. Greatness here is expensive.

Overall Score: 18 of 20

There is a lot to love with the Clegg bag and I don’t think I will ever replace it. It is very likely to outlive me and look better doing so. This is a spectacular piece of kit that makes me feel better and more confident when I carry it. Even New England’s snowy wet winters haven’t dampened my enthusiasm for the bag, though I will admit that I carry it less in the darker months. The fact that this reminds me of one of dearest friends is a huge bonus. Its expensive, but if you want a one and done briefcase this is it. A newly minted law school graduate would be an ideal recipient.

Competition

This is unlike anything else I have reviewed and while it is vastly nicer than my Tom Bihn Cadet, I can’t really do an apples to apples comparison, so I will leave this section with this comment—greatness and peerlessness are often closely related.

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