Saddleback Leather Company Man Bag Giveaway

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For centuries, men have used bags to carry their stuff. Cavemen used manly leather satchels to hold all their caveman gear. Peasants used them to carry seeds. During colonial times and up and through the Civil War, a soldier would always have a trusty man bag to carry his rations and other manly accouterments. But then something happened to this manly tradition. Men’s pants started being made with pockets, men began transferring the contents of their bags to them, and the demise of the man bag soon followed. Women’s dresses lacked pockets, of course, and so carrying a bag began to be seen as the exclusive domain of ladies.

The modern man has too much crap to carry around in his pockets- wallet, change, keys, cell phone, pocket knife, moleskine. The list goes on. And yet he steadfastly refuses to invest in a trusty bag, preferring to haul all this stuff in increasingly lumpy, bumpy, uncomfortable and difficult to access pockets.

And some men take their paranoia about bags to another level; they don’t own anything smaller than a suitcase. These men have made the transition from college student to business professional, and yet they tote around their stuff in a backpack or attempt to carry all their possessions in their arms. When they stay overnight with a friend, they bring over a change of clothes in a grocery bag.

Thankfully, a classy briefcase has never gone out of style, and even the man bag is making a comeback. We’re not talking about the European caryall or “murse” as made famous by Jerry Seinfeld. You’re just going to get funny looks if you carry something like that. The key to pulling off the man bag is that it needs to look manly. Really manly. And there’s nothing manlier than the bags and briefcases at Saddleback Leather Company.

And as luck would have it, we’re giving away a manly Saddleback leather bag to a lucky Art of Manliness reader. Find out how you can get your hands on one.

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