[0:00:00] Hi.
I’m Antonio Centeno.
I’m the founder of Real Men Real Style.
Today, gentlemen I’m going to be helping you go out there and purchase your first briefcase.
I know a lot of you guys just graduating from college, maybe you’re transitioning out
the military, maybe you just got your fancy MBA and you’re heading off to New York City
or Chicago.
You want to look good when you transit to and from work, you want to when you’re commuting
on that bus or you’re over on the subway, you want to be able to protect your important
documents.
Guys, a briefcase it’s a great thing to own, but you’re out there looking $100 to
well over $1,000 for different types of briefcases, different styles, different sizes.
How do you make a smart purchasing decision?
Guys, in these five tips I’m going to go into a lot of detail, but I can tell you over
at Real Men Real Style, I’ve got an article I’m going to go into even more detail there.
I’ve got actually nine tips in the article.
Today, I’m going to keep it a little bit simple and I would love to hear from you guys
down on the comments below, what tip did I miss and did you go over and check out the
article and which of those ones did you enjoy.
So, make sure to go check it out.
Okay.
So, the number one tip I can give a person when they’re out there looking to purchase
a good quality briefcase is to look at the quality of the materials used.
The one I’m going to spend the most time talking about is leather.
Yes, I know there are briefcases out there made from other materials that are not leather,
but leather I find is the most common and is going to stand up to the test of time.
But, there’s a wide variety of leathers out there.
I’m going to talk about the three most common types you’re going to see.
So, we’re going to see full grain, we’re going to see top grain, and we’re going
to see genuine leather.
Now, understand that leather is obviously the skin of an animal and most likely cattle.
And so, full grain if we start at the top of the spectrum is oftentimes the highest
quality.
It’s the most desired and the reason being is it’s oftentimes the most durable.
Now, I’m saying oftentimes because there are variations there are, you know, depending
on what type of animal and all of those other stuff.
But, in general, if you find a full grain briefcase and it is priced pretty high, you
check it out and it’s very malleable, looks good, it’s coming from a reputable dealer.
This is – these are going to be the briefcases that are going to cost anywhere from more
than $500 to well over $1,000 and it’s usually because of the materials used.
They’re going to have to take it from – so, if you take a single hide which can cost,
you know, well over $100, so just the cost of the materials can be $100 to $200 to go
into this briefcase with a leather.
Now, you don’t always have to go with full grain, full grain is great, very durable,
but you can also look at top grain.
What is top grain?
That’s where they’ve actually shaved off the top – you’re going to actually get
a bit of the corium.
So, the corium is – and it’s very actually pretty darn durable, but if you can imagine
it’s going to have larger fibers, it’s going to have to go through a treating process,
it’s oftentimes going to be a bit more malleable softer.
It will oftentimes be easily more penetrated by water, so not something that maybe it’s
going to be as protective, but you’re going to get a discount usually in price and it’s
also going to make the bag look a little bit softer.
Now, I’ve got one example here.
This is – and, this is from the company Kattee, they make good quality, very good
value entry level bags that you can check them out.
I’m going to link to it over there.
This is a full grain and I can tell this because it actually, you know, I can see some of the
blemishes, it needs some time to be broken in.
You know so a lot of full grain, it’s going to need to be broken in.
Now, this right here, this is a top grain, much softer.
I’ll talk about the difference styles here in a second.
You’re also going to see genuine leather and this is even when they’re going a little
bit lower and there’s probably not much of the top grain in that genuine leather,
again, these terms are going to be all over.
You’re also going to see and this is a fourth term, it’s not truly a leather it’s faux
or faux leather however you want to pronounce that, basically fake leather.
Now, fake leather is not leather.
And, for some people like this bag right here, this is an attaché- style case.
One of my first cases I’ve ever owned, I bought it when I was in Ukraine back in what?
Like 2002, so that one is like thirteen years old.
I don’t really use it much anymore, but that may be an option, I’m not going to,
you know, some of you guys are going to say, Antonio can’t believe you’re recommending
that.
You know for your first briefcase, it’s about experimentation and you finding something
that you can actually work in years.
So, I talked about the different leathers, so that is the biggest – that’s the biggest
driver of cost, gentlemen.
So, look at the leather, I personally recommend after you get your second maybe third briefcase,
that’s when you go in and you spend the big money.
Initially, look at brand like Kattee, they’re decent value, they’re on Amazon, it’s
got plenty of reviews.
That is probably a good entry level place to start.
[0:04:55] Let’s go to point number two which is the
hardware.
So, the hardware is all the other components; the zipper, the buckles, all the other things
like that, understand that if they’re spending good money on the leather usually they’re
not going to skimp on the hardware.
So, the hardware is something that can – it can drive up the cost especially if they start
using lighter materials, steel is very heavy, titanium or aluminum that’s going to be
more lighter weight, but it’s going to cost more.
You also want to be careful, so when you’re looking at the bag, think about what you’re
going to be using it for.
If you are going to be using it on a daily basis, be careful of zippers, they’re simply
going to fail more often than a buckle.
A buckle is going to last you, you know, if it’s made from well-made leather, take care
of the bag, I think it would last you a hundred years.
So, look at the hardware, that is the other indicator that will tell you good quality
and how it’s attached, how it’s – so did they use rivets, things like that.
So, let’s get into the third point, the style of the bag.
I already showed you a couple of styles.
This is an attaché-style.
The traditional briefcase is hard and is going to basically have hard ends.
The reason is is you wanted to protect important papers.
Nowadays, that we’re using, you know, laptops, that’s how most of the briefcases are being
designed.
If you go back historic-wise, go to the 14th century, it started with a satchel, then all
of sudden we got in about 1850’s, 1900’s we started getting into harder shaped briefcases
and now, we’re going back, funny enough, to messenger bags, satchels, things like that.
Because, hey, we’re carrying around these laptops and things need to be able to adjust
to them, we’re carrying around less paper, so that gives you an idea.
But, you want to choose the style that is right for you.
This right here is a messenger bag style.
This is specifically designed to be able to carry not just – just maybe some books,
but really it’s going to be bag for your laptop.
So, that’s why it’s got a, you know, a light laptop sleeve.
All of that goes into play.
This, you know, technically is a brief case, however it’s got, you know, backpack straps
on it.
You’re going to see some of them, they are these – this is an example of a more classic
style briefcase, a little bit harder although it’s not truly doesn’t maintain shape.
So those are the styles.
Now, let’s talk about the size.
So, I’ve got a good friend and he has a beautiful briefcase and he never uses it.
You know why?
It’s way too big for his needs.
He just like he got it as a gift and it sits in his office.
He’s told me he’s used it like twice over the last ten years.
It’s beautiful, he loves it, but it’s just way too big.
So, make sure you get the right size.
In addition, I’ve talked about the hardware I’ve talked about the leather.
Understand that affects the weight and the overall size.
Some of these bags especially there are companies out there that may be use very durable or
heavy duty hardware, but it over sizes the bag it makes it harder and heavier to carry.
So make sure you pay all attention and you get something that is the right weight, is
the right dimension for your needs.
See what type of laptop, that’s why I love Amazon and, you know, again, go check out
Kattee, they are the ones bringing you this video.
And I really do appreciate how you can actually see the exact dimensions, how people are getting
in there and telling you exactly what type of laptop fits in there, very important for
your needs.
Point number five is your lifestyle.
So, if you live in an urban area and you want something that is just going to look slick,
you’re in New York City you’re out in Los Angeles, you want something that is going
to have maybe being black.
If you’re in a more rural area, perhaps you’re like me you live – I live in Wittenberg,
Wisconsin and the big city next to me is, you know, Wausau, Wisconsin.
The other big city is Green Bay, Wisconsin which has only 103,000 people.
So, I can go for a much more, I would say rugged type of look.
Usually, the lighter color the briefcase, it’s going to also be able to show up stains
or other scratches which to me if you take care of it and you condition it which I’ll
be getting into in another video, I really like that look, but you’re probably going
to want to go with something darker maybe even in black if you live in a city, but it
all depends on your lifestyle.
So, those are the five points.
I go into four more in the article over at Real Men Real Style.
If you want a great value, again, go check out Kattee they are giving some of these bags.
I think it’s a good company, a good value bag.
Let me know what you guys thought about this in the comments and what is your favorite
type of briefcase.
I’ll see you in the comments, gentlemen.
Take care.
Bye.
[0:09:31] End of Audio