Bear, I sewed it all by hand. Every stitch and it is all Saddle Stitched, so Really strong. Kodiak is the oil tanned Leather I got from Tandy Leather. It is their name for it. Still cow but nice pebble grain and a rich pull. For now he wants to use it when we camp, as it is too big for his HS lockers. But I think in Collage, he'll really like having the room to haul stuff. It weighs 7.4 pounds empty and I think would hold about everything a youngster would need for collage. And then some!