A waxed canvas backpack on a leather trim, 43.2 cm tall and 35 cm wide, weighing 1.2 kg empty. The canvas is proofed with beeswax rather than a synthetic finish. The seams are hand sewn with a saddle stitch.
- 43.2 cm tall (17 in), 35 cm wide (13.78 in).
- 1.2 kg (2.65 lb) empty.
- 88% waxed canvas, 12% calfskin leather. Treated with beeswax. Matte finish.
- Lined in polyester and fabric.
- Hand-sewn saddle stitch. Handmade.
Size: 43.2 cm tall and 35 cm wide
The backpack is 43.2 cm tall and 35 cm wide. In inches that is 17 by 13.78.
That 43.2 by 35 is the panel that sits against your back, and it is the measurement to check anything flat against before you pack it.
Beeswax, and what proofing actually does
The canvas is treated with beeswax, which is the traditional proofing rather than a modern synthetic one, and the composition puts the canvas at 88% of the bag.
Wax is worked into the weave and fills the space between the cotton fibers. Three things follow. The fabric sheds water, which is covered separately below. It stiffens, so the bag stands up on its own rather than collapsing when you set it down. And it creases: fold a waxed panel and the crease shows lighter than the fabric around it, because the wax has moved out of the fold.
That last one is not a defect and it is the thing to decide about before ordering. Every one of these develops its own map of marks within a few months, and it is permanent in the sense that it keeps changing rather than in the sense that it goes away. If you want a bag that looks new indefinitely, this is the wrong fabric.
Beeswax wears out of the high spots over a year or two of regular use. Reproofing with a wax bar and gentle heat restores both the water resistance and the depth of color. That is maintenance, not repair, and it is the reason these bags outlast coated synthetics: you can put the finish back.
Rain, and where water gets in
This bag is not waterproof. Beeswaxed cotton is water-repellent, which is a smaller and more specific claim.
Waxed canvas sheds rain properly: water beads and runs off, and in a shower or a walk from a station the contents stay dry. That is what a well-proofed panel does, and it is why people buy this material.
The limits are in the construction, not in the wax. The seams are sewn, so there is a line of needle perforations along every joint, and nothing is taped or welded over them. The zips have no gaskets, so water tracks along the teeth. In sustained rain those are the two routes in, on this bag and on every bag of this construction from anyone.
Fine in weather, not a dry bag. If something must stay dry in a downpour, put it in its own bag inside this one.
Twelve percent leather, in the right places
Calfskin is 12% of the bag by composition, and where it goes is the whole logic of the construction.
Canvas is light and does not crack, which is why the panels are canvas. But canvas abrades where it drags, so the places that drag get leather: the base and its corners, the points where strap hardware pulls against the body, and the edges that are opened and closed several times a day. A backpack meets the world base first, on floors, train seats and gravel, always with the packed weight pressing the fabric against grit.
The two materials age differently and that is intended. Canvas softens and pales at the folds; leather darkens and takes a shine where hands touch it. After a year they are further apart in tone than they were on the shelf.
1.2 kilograms empty
1.2 kg is 2.65 lb, and that is the bag with nothing in it.
For a waxed canvas backpack with leather trim and metal hardware that is on the light side. Our urban waxed canvas backpack is 1.37 kg and our waxed canvas messenger bag is 1.42 kg, so this is the lightest of the three despite being a full-size pack.
Wax adds weight to canvas, leather adds more, and metal hardware adds more again. Those are the same three things that make the bag last, so the weight is not waste; it is simply worth knowing that a nylon pack of this size would be half of it and would also be finished in five years.
Lined, not bare
The interior is lined in polyester and fabric rather than left as raw canvas on the inside.
That is a detail people only notice by its absence. A bare canvas interior has a rough weave, so small objects catch in it, dust works into it and it is difficult to shake out. A lined interior is smooth: a pen, a cable or a key sits on the surface and comes back out, and the bag empties by turning it over.
The lining also protects the inside face of the wax. Waxed cotton is proofed on the outside; scuffing the inner face against hard objects wears at the fabric from the direction you cannot see or re-proof.
Hand-sewn saddle stitch
The seams are hand-sewn with a saddle stitch: two needles pass through the same hole from opposite sides, so every hole carries two independent loops of thread.
A machine lockstitch has one thread pulled through and locked by another. Cut it or wear one stitch and the seam can unzip along its length, which on a backpack means the shoulder strap anchor, because that is the joint under permanent tension. Cut a saddle stitch and the threads either side of the cut are still knotted to themselves; you lose a stitch instead of a strap.
It is an order of magnitude slower than machine sewing and it is a large part of why a bag like this costs what it does. It is also visible: look at the strap anchors and see whether the stitch spacing stays even where the seam turns.
Hardware and finish
The buckles, studs and buttons are solid metal with an antiqued finish, not plated plastic.
The canvas finish is matte and the surface is gritty to the hand, because the beeswax sits inside the weave rather than as a coating on top of it. Nothing on the bag is glossy.
What owners report
The comments here are consistent, and about durability as much as looks. Several describe the material as rugged and the construction as sturdy, one owner reports a month of daily use with the bag holding up, and one liked it enough to buy several more of our waxed canvas pieces afterward.
The most useful moderate review says it meets expectations, with durable material and a functional design. That is the right register for this bag: it is a well-made, plain, hard-wearing pack rather than a clever one, and the people who like it seem to like it for exactly that.
Questions
How big is it? 43.2 cm tall and 35 cm wide, which is 17 by 13.78 in.
Is it waterproof? It is not waterproof. The beeswaxed canvas is water-repellent and sheds rain well; the sewn seams and ungasketed zips are where sustained rain gets in.
How heavy is it? 1.2 kg empty, which is 2.65 lb. It is the lightest of our three waxed canvas bags.
Can I re-wax it? Yes, with a wax bar and gentle heat, once the high spots start to look dry. The leather trim is a separate job and our cleaning guide covers it.
Will the creases come out? No. Waxed cotton keeps a record of how it has been folded. That is the material working, not failing.
