Impressing the Military with the ColsenKeane 215
I had on a new straw hat and had just gotten off the plane at a small airport on a tropical island when a soldier asked for my papers. It was the kind of airport that doesn’t have jetways, and you take a movable stairway down from the plane and walk across the tarmac to the terminal. I had to admit that I didn’t know which papers he asked for and was politely shuttled into a barren room reserved for those who had not done their homework. Luckily I had my ColsenKeane 215 Travel Case.
I guess I should have expected that I would need to show Covid-19 vaccination or test status. I knew I had a photo of my vaccination card somewhere in my phone, but it would be a a challenge to scroll through myriad photos in the steamy room with a polite, but stern, officer awaiting my compliance. Luckily, I had thought to stow my vaccination card into my luggage in a distinct place with the rest of those things that I generally don’t know where to put but want to be able to locate.
I unzipped my roller bag and swiftly placed my hand on the leather of my ColsenKeane 215 Standard Travel Case. My hand is big enough to fit over the top, and my fingers fell gently on one side and my thumb wrapped around the other. I noticed how the leather felt even softer than normal in the humidity.
I placed the 215 (given our experience together, I now refer to it by its number) on the top of the bag and unstrapped the handsome buckles. In my mind, the look the officer gave me showed that he was impressed. How could he not be? Here was this pencil-necked traveler in a somewhat absurd straw hat doing his best to impersonate Felix Leiter–the CIA agent who frequently partners with James Bond–and show he has a plan and the right equipment for implementing it.
Deploying the ColsenKeane 215 Standard Travel Case
When I was packing for the trip I had thought it might be wise to stick in my vaccination card, and I remember wondering where to put it. My backpack has plenty of pockets and slots and compartments, but I tend to think of those as places to hide things from myself.
Thankfully, Scott Hofert had generously sent along two products from ColsenKeane Leather Goods & Provisions, a company he started on his back porch. ColsenKeane has grown into a thriving leather goods manufacturer of distinctive and top-quality products. I interviewed Scott for the On the Dogwatch podcast (Episode 15), and he sent along these for me to try out.
Scott included the 510 Travel Journal, a beautiful wrap of their thick and luxurious leather that surrounds Moleskine notebooks. This would have been a logical place for the vaccination card, although I didn’t think it would be necessary to have it that close at hand.
Packing the 215 Standard Travel Case
Instead, I stowed the card in the 215. When I had received the Standard Travel Case from Scott, I was in the middle of a whirlwind of personal and professional issues that required my attention for several weeks. I placed the bag on the desk in my office. I wasn’t traveling during that time and picked it up periodically, appreciating the fine construction and aesthetics.
The first thing I noticed was the thickness and quality of the leather. Scott had talked about this on the podcast, and had mentioned that you really need to hold ColsenKeane products in your hand to understand, and he was right. The 215 is thick and sturdy, but remains pliable. It is not brittle, and it clearly is up for whatever you can throw at it, or into it. Ever since, the surface has taken on an attractive patina of the marks of travel and use.
The Hardware
Closer inspection revealed that the main part of the case is made from a single piece of leather, and is riveted to the side panels with sizable hardware. Seen from the side it looks almost like a bombproof safe box made of leather, and it is clear that nothing is getting in or out without it being opened. The buckles share a burly nature with the rivets. They are easy to fasten and unfasten, in a way that is different from most similar straps. Their size and structure allow the leather to move smoothly through the buckle, like a well-made belt.
Given how well the formed leather holds a rectangular shape, there is ample space on the inside. I placed all manner of random items–random when related to each other–into the case and I was surprised how much I could fit. I put in things like my National Parks Passport, a deck of Night Sky playing cards, a set of drawing pencils, a belt, several charging cords for electronic devices, a hand lens, and an extra box of instant film. It all fit easily, and I had room to spare. I hadn’t realized how nice it would be to have more of a “box” function to pack in, as I’m used to most of my travel gear being a bag, foam lined, or soft sided.
I closed it up and the 215 tucked neatly into my roller bag between my stack of clothes and a pair of shoes. It is solid, but not too rigid. It was accommodating while still protecting the integrity of its contents. I can imagine it tucking into a variety of travel spaces, like the center console of my car, into a backpack, or below deck in a sailboat.
As a Dopp Kit?
I have never had a nice dopp kit, and I’m wondering if I would use the 215 for things like my razor and shaving cream. It would clearly be up to the task, but personally I have enough things that I’d love to store in this kind of bag that the old plastic dopp kit is going to stay in use. However, maybe I need an additional 215? It hasn’t escaped my notice that the Havana Brown finish that ColsenKeane uses looks irresistible.
A Travel Case for Life
Regardless of how you use it–whether a true Point-to-Point walk, packing for a Caribbean vacation, or to impress a soldier–the ColsenKeane 215 is a clear winner as a small bag for travel. I’d suggest ditching your cheap organizers, dopp kits, and travel cubes, and choose the 215 as something that will be a pleasure to carry, and virtually impossible to wear out.
Point to Point Ratings (3 point scale)
Quality: 3.0 ++
Value: 3.0
Function: 3.0
Style: 3.0 +
Point to Point Review Key:
Quality – Made with care, lasts its lifetime.
Value – Costs an honest dollar, has meaning.
Function – Does. Its. Job.
Style – Like Jusserand’s gloves, makes no apologies for looking good.
1 = subpar.
2 = solid.
3 = exceptional
