Le Petit Derriere

Disclosure: This LPD was provided to me by TOM BIHN in exchange for my overview/review. The content was not shared with the company prior to posting it here.

 

INTRO

The LPD (Le Petit Derriere) is Tom Bihn's smaller version of their LGD (Le Grand Derriere). The designs are very similar if not identical, except for the scale. Both bags can be worn as a waist pack, a shoulder bag (because the straps can be tucked into the back panel), a cross-body bag, or, as I described in my review of the original, a 'cube' that fits nicely into something like the Paragon backpack from Tom Bihn.

Here are the specs. The LGD is almost double the volume of the LPD.

One note: the waist strap is the same size for both bags. This is great if you are wearing it as a hip pack. For those who are primarily using it as a shoulder or sling bag, note that the LPD means that the same waist strap gets tucked into a slightly smaller back panel, which is less of a smooth operation, and reduces usable space inside the LPD.

 

COLORS

I requested the LPD in Cordura Red Blend, which is a wine red. Cordura is a textured fabric that can be abrasive when it rubs against clothing, but I like it because it has a 'matte' look and a natural feel -- not as shiny as the ballistic fabrics.  Cordura fabrics vary, and the Red Blend actually feels like it's smoother than some of the others. I don't think I'll have any problem wearing it long term, and as well, most of the back (which is against the body) is made of black ballistic.

 

 

The front facing stripes on the LGD, which were a third color -- often different from the exterior and interior fabrics -- are now solid black for this offering of the LPD. To me, this is a nicer look. I thought there was a little too much going on before, and I appreciate the simpler appearance.

The interior for the bag I received is a Mountain Grey Cerylon, which is similar to the Halcyon fabric in some ways, but is lighter and doesn't have the same richness. I prefer Halcyon in general, but I wanted to give this alternative fabric a try. For this item, which isn't fully lined, I'm not noticing the difference much. Here is the interior, which is mostly the flipside of the exterior fabric, except for the flat pocket in back, and one side on the front.

WHAT FITS INSIDE

Like its larger sibling, the LPD has only the two front pockets, and one inside pocket that is flat and tucked up against the back wall. There are four o-rings in the main compartment, plus an additional two in the front pockets; six in all.

What fits?

front flap pocket:

bottle of hand sanitizer and lip balm

Mini or Supermini Ghost Whale pouch

iphone 12 -- I'll note that my much-clunkier Pixel 4A fit as well, though barely. That's all the tech I have to show in this pocket.

front zippered pocket:

Supermini Ghost Whale Pouch (the Mini GWP doesn't work as well).

Chums Wallet

main compartment

Anything "A5" size fits with ease. As shown here, my A5 Leuchtturm notebook, Kindle and iPad Mini are all fine in that space.

HLT-1, HLT-2, Everyday Cubelet... all fit in the main compartment.

I tried my recent purchase: the 9th Generation iPad, in its very clunky case (sorry for the hideous clashing colors). It doesn't quite make it, though perhaps without the case it would be ok. Still, this bag wouldn't be my first choice if I wanted to regularly carry that device; I might opt for the larger LGD (or more likely, a backpack, since there's only so much weight I want to carry in a hip pack anyway).

 

Coffee mug: sort of, based on my Zojirushi, but it's a very tight fit - I would move up to the LGD if I routinely wanted to carry water or coffee inside of it. The Padded Hip Belt Pocket is probably a better option.

I don't believe that a laptop of any size would fit. 

Definitely, the slimmer profile of this hip-pack limits what can fit in the main compartment compared to the LGD. For example, I sometimes wear a particular mask made of molded plastic that is quite bulky, and it doesn't easily go into the LPD -- if I was in a situation where I wanted that with me, I'd have to change to something larger.

SIDE KICK SHOWDOWN

If I had my Le Grand Derriere to compare in photos, I would do that. But strangely enough, a family member who doesn't usually show interest in my Tom Bihn gear liked it, and so it has been given away. Instead I'm going to compare the LPD to a Side Kick, which is very similar in size, though not as deep, and is my everyday carry. Hopefully this will give a sense of the capacity of the LPD.

Normal contents of my Side Kick include the all fabric organizer wallet, mini GWP with cash, mini GWP with headphones, iPhone, Chums wallet, sanitizer, lip balm, keys, papers, two pens, two masks (and that isn't even all the masks I carry, but that's another story), and sometimes a pouch with a spare battery and cords.

In the Side Kick. You can see that it all fits very neatly. I'm showing it next to the LPD, which is deeper and slightly wider, but shorter, than the Side Kick. 

And here is the LPD filled with the same items. In reality, for the circumstances I'd use the LPD, it wouldn't be exactly the same items. For example, there's no pen slot in the LPD, so if I wanted to carry one I might add my "Nook" pouch which has a built-in pen slot. The sanitizer would go in the front flap pocket for ease of access, and I would probably minimize my wallet from the largish one I usually take to something smaller that could fit more easily in that zippered front pocket. Because the main compartment of the LPD doesn't have a lot of built-in organization, I'd add some cubes or whatever would make it work better. But at any rate, all the contents of the Side Kick fit easily in the LPD with room to spare.

Here is the best photo I could get of myself wearing the LPD. I'm 5'2". Hiding my pandemic hair, which is particularly unflattering from the back. :)

FINAL THOUGHTS

Pros:

The LPD is a great size for an urban or minimalist waist pack. It's a lightweight item that can convert to a shoulder bag.

Cons: 

I still find the rain flap over the main zippers, combined with their off-center placement, to be mildly annoying, and I don't know if it's needed for weatherproofing, or if it's more of an aesthetic choice. For the Tom Bihn bag that is my favorite, I always come back to the unfussy, centered, zipper-on-top, Side Kick, which is my daily carry, and I wonder if the zipper on the LPD could also have a similar placement and design.

What to choose

For any kind of serious hiking, I think the original size of the LGD might be better for most people, unless someone is very minimalist. But I personally prefer this smaller size. It would be great for a farmer's market, festival, general-walking-around kind of situation where someone wants to be hands-free and backpacks are not allowed. 

If you're looking to keep the waist straps tucked in most of the time to use this as a shoulder or sling bag, keep in mind that it's potentially more awkward to do this with the smaller size. The waist straps in the back panel will protrude slightly into the already-smaller interior.

If someone asks for this bag, I think I'd buy them one instead of giving mine away, like I did with the LGD. Its thinner, sleeker profile makes it more useful to me, despite its limitations.

 

Happy travels!