Chapman Bags: Eleven Things You Need to Know About Man Bags By Daniel Chamier

Chapman Bags are made in Carlisle, England. It was founded in the 1980s by John Chapman who made shooting and fishing bags which he sold around the world. John Chapman is no longer involved in the business, but the sporting heritage is still evident in the style of the bags, giving them their practicability and robustness. 

My Chapman Traveller 19 - all ready for the summer sun

I've been using a Chapman Traveller 19 and have found it stylish and ideal for cabin luggage, weekends and short breaks. Robust and well-made, this is an ideal holiday companion.

Stitching a webbing strap

Chapman Bags is now headed by Daniel Chamier who gives some helpful and expert advice on selecting a bag below.

Eleven things to know about bags for men, by Daniel Chamier

1. No bag does it all:

No-one has yet designed a bag that does it all. You can, however, boil your collection down to around three styles. The first is a handheld bag suitable for work, reasonably slim so you can travel without obstruction and suitable if necessary for wearing with a suit. In the old days this would have been a briefcase; nowadays the choice is much wider and many would include a tote in this category. The second is a piece of luggage suitable for carrying onto a plane or for a weekend away. While small pieces of rolling luggage are very popular, frankly they can look a bit naff trailing behind a bloke. The third is more leisure orientated, likely to be carried on the shoulder or the back and could include a touring bag or a rucksack depending on your personal preference and habits. 

2. Do you really need all those features?

My view is that most bags only need a handful of essential features: first, an exterior pocket for keys and so forth; second, at least one internal divider or pocket to help with organisation; and finally in the case of luggage a lockable zip, the best being the kind with interlocking metal circles. 

3. You generally get what you pay for

While labour rates vary enormously around the world, one thing which does not change much is the cost of high quality materials and fittings. The inevitable consequence of this is that if you buy a cheap bag, you will also be buying cheap materials and fittings. Beware especially cheap bags which look expensive. This can only be achieved by using second or third rate materials and the bag may well fail you quite quickly. 

From the Chapman archive

4. No bag will last forever

Well that’s not strictly true, but it does depend how you use it. My general rule of thumb is that the life of a decent quality work bag can be measured as follows: Ly = 25/Dn where L equals the useful life of the bag in years and D equals the number of days a working week (defined as 5 days) it receives serious use. So if you use a good quality work bag hard every working day, it should last you around 5 years, or 10 years if only 2.5 days a week. Luggage can last a very long time indeed, a lifetime even, if used sparingly. You can help ensure your bags last longer by buying well and looking after them (see below!). 

5. How to check leather is good quality

The most expensive bags are generally full leather, essentially because of the cost of the raw materials. If you are buying what you think is a leather bag and it’s relatively cheap compared to similar products, you should check whether it is actually made from real leather. Real leather wrinkles and “gives” when you press it. The absence of natural variation is usually a giveaway on man-made materials, although not definitive. 

If your bag has leather fittings (e.g. straps) check that these are robust, reasonably stiff and at least 2-3mm thick. Beware cheap leather fittings with interior fillers used to reduce cost; they may disintegrate. Avoid leather bags with poor quality edge paint on the side of straps, particularly the type of inflexible edge paint “filler” which cracks when bent. 

 Chapman Traveller 19 

6. How to check canvas is good quality

Originally canvas was a rough material woven from jute or hemp and often used for sail making. Modern canvas tends to be cotton. Its quality and fitness for purpose will depend on a number of factors including thickness, water proofing, lightfastness and abrasion resistance. My view is that Man Bags should be made from canvas of around 18oz weight or more, or they will tend to wear through relatively quickly. The colours of all natural materials will tend to fade and wear over time. If this is a concern to you, then ask the manufacturers whether they test their materials for lightfastness and abrasion (dry and wet rub). Ideally canvas should be proofed (like waxed cotton) or laminated with a waterproof membrane to protect against rainfall. 

7. Hardware and zips

A bag’s functionality and longevity will also depend on the quality of the fastenings, closures and general hardware. Main zips should be made of metal (unless there is a specific reason for using a nylon zip such as on a gun cover) and run smoothly and securely. The best known manufacturers are YKK and RiRi, although the latter come at a substantial premium. Quality hardware is usually made from brass or brass coated with nickel, gold or copper plating. Steel hardware should be avoided as it will tend to rust. Poor quality brass can often be identified by pitting on the surface of the metal. 

8. Check a shoulder strap for material and fittings

Shoulder straps are vulnerable to degradation of the strap material and failure of the fastenings (in the case of a detachable shoulder strap) or anchor points. Make sure your strap has a nice thick webbing with a tight weave and a reasonable degree of stiffness. The quality of full leather straps will depend on the leather itself (see above) and the fastenings. Make sure the latter are reasonably chunky and solid and the anchor points have lots of stitching. Remember also, rivets are less secure than stitches; in the wrong kind of material rivets are simply holes waiting to happen. Smaller anchor points on thinner material should ideally have reinforced back panels to avoid the material ripping. 

Hardware for a Chapman bag

9. Check the wear points

All bags have points which are subject to more stress than others. For instance, luggage will tend to stress around the base corners and the shoulder strap anchor points. Shoulder bags will tend to rub against the body in certain places and may also wear around the base corners when placed on the ground. 

Rucksack straps and back panels will be first in the firing line. Important fastenings like buckles, zips and straps will be potentially vulnerable on many bags. High quality bags will anticipate these issues by using expensive materials and fittings and by incorporating added protection like metal feet and leather panels and corners on potential wear points. A good tip is to stick to bags with simple fastenings and closures like buckles, straps and Sam Browne studs. Magnetic closures can work fine but are less secure and vulnerable to degradation, so best avoided on important Man Bag fastenings. 

10. Colours don't last forever

We all have our favourite colours but you need to remember that they will fade and wear in time, especially in natural materials like cotton canvas. Generally speaking dark colours fade more noticeably, especially Navy. Lighter colours like Khaki also fade but it’s less noticeable. Synthetic materials like nylon may retain their original colour for longer but they tend to wear less gracefully over time. Prolonged exposure to sunlight will wash out most colours quite quickly. In the desert, pretty much all colours end up looking the same after a while! This may sound alarming but when you think about it your work bag is unlikely to see that much direct sunlight even if you use it every day; unless of course you have a major walk or cycle to work, in which case you might want to get something a bit more prosaic for the journey and keep something nicer at work. 

Looking after your bag

11. Care, guarantees and repairs

Never ever put your bag in a washing machine (yes, people do that). Don’t send it to be dry cleaned. Don’t leave it on a radiator when it’s got wet. Those are the 3 golden rules. Canvas or material bags should be cleaned with soapy water and left to dry naturally. Leather should be cleaned, perhaps with a lightly dampened cloth, left to dry naturally then rubbed with a leather cream or restorer. Although brass tarnishes naturally, hardware can be kept shiny with a metal cleaner. 

If you are still confused about which bag to buy, or would like to discuss any of the points raised in this article, please feel free to call our helpline during working hours on +44 (0)1228 514514. 

See Chapman Bags

[Grey Fox: I received no payment for this guest feature. The Chapman bag was given to me for review and all opinions expressed in that part of this piece are my own.]