Kodiak Leather

The Kodiak Leather catalog reads like a map of Alaska. There is a Kobuk backpack, a Katmai laptop case, a Kasilof messenger and a Yukon line that runs from dopp kits to duffels, all from a company that designs them in Lehi. Lately the map has picked up Hawaii as well, with a Kapolei backpack and a Kona duffel.

BestLeather.org, a leather goods review site, wrote in 2019 that Jared Morse started the company as an outdoorsman who could not find a reasonably priced leather bag that would hold up to daily use. The About page says the family began by making and selling its first products from home. The first Kickstarter, in March 2017, offered a buffalo leather satchel and a wallet, with bags starting at $159.

Crowdfunding became a habit. Yanko Design called Morse a seasoned Kickstarter campaigner in 2018, and by 2019 BestLeather counted four successful campaigns. The Classic Weekender Duffel from 2017 was cut from full grain buffalo leather and stood on five solid brass feet to keep its bottom off the ground.

The design happens in Utah, and the making is handed to partners. The About page says the bags are designed in Lehi and made by partner artisans from the US to India, and that every piece is inspected before it ships. Top grain water buffalo leather is still the base of the best sellers, and the company keeps a storefront in American Fork, though it asks you to email before visiting because hours vary.

The Hawaiian names come with an explanation. Kodiak's pages for the Kapolei and Kona bags say they come from its parent company, RŌMFRĒ, which says it designs its own bags in Kapolei, Hawaii, and works with partner artisans much the way Kodiak does. So bags named for two states at opposite ends of the Pacific now share one Utah storefront.

The FAQ is plain about weather. Leather can get wet without harm, it says, but the dye that gives the bags their vintage color can spot, so keep yours out of the rain when you can. It also notes the store ships only to the US and Canada, which leaves Alaska and Hawaii in range.

BestLeather's reviewer of the 30L weekender opened with a theory of bags. A baby needs a diaper bag and a boy needs a backpack, he wrote. A grown man, in his view, needs a quality leather duffel. After unpacking his, he reported the result in four words: "I am now a man."