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!

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Tom Bihn Organic Cotton Truck Review

Here is a review of the Tom Bihn Truck, made, for the first time, in "domestic organic cotton canvas — grown, woven, and dyed right here in the U.S.A."  

I was provided a review copy of this bag for free, in exchange for my feedback.

It is currently offered in Natural (undyed), Santa Cruz (electric purple-blue), and Talus (dark grey/pastel black). I requested the "natural", and somehow thought it would be a grey or olive color, but not at all -- it's a creamy white! It is quite nice: very stiff (ie, holds its shape), and pleasant to touch, without any of the shininess of the ballistic fabric. To be honest, if I'd known it was going to be white, though, I might have requested it in the dark grey, because I have an incredible talent for getting things dirty. However, in its pristine state, I think it is my favorite of the three choices on offer. 

The purple/blue color is already garnering a lot of interest, but I prefer more muted colors.

This is the first Tom Bihn truck I've owned in this size. I do love the idea of the natural fabrics. I don't know if I'd take this one to the grocery store, but will find a use for it indoors. It's nicer than the ballistic versions, so it could be on standby for bringing drinks and treats to a get-together, particularly with that pretty moon label!

A close-up of the fabric to show the texture:

 

A top view. Again, I'm kind of scared of the white, but it's certainly easy to see what's inside! I'm also enjoying the contrast of the black piping.

This version of the Truck seems to have the same stiff base as the ones in Ballistic or Cordura, and the compartments and piping give it structure.

It's funny to see the strong feelings about the labels. Some people seek out black ones (count me in on that, particularly on bags with a black exterior) and someone else managed to cut theirs off and replace it with the traditional red airplane one. I personally don't mind any of them, and the red airplane is great, but not if it clashes (ie, with an orange or blue bag). When I make color choices I'm looking at the totality of inside fabric, outside fabric and label. For this series, I think the moon label goes well with the grey, white or blue/purple.

Final note: This is not meant to be an exhaustive review showing all the functions of the Truck, a product which has been out for a while. Tom Bihn has gathered many great photos on uses and ideas, and there's not much point in my trying to recreate all that. Check out the regular Truck product page, as well as the one for the Organic Cotton Truck.

 

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Tray Bien Review

A review of the Tray Bien, which was provided to me by Tom Bihn for free in return for my feedback.

It's a tray, covered in fabric. Simple, but useful. 

It was designed "to hold and display Organizer Pouches in our Seattle Factory Showroom — and visitors to the Showroom always asked if they could purchase the tray itself. Now they can: the Tray Bien is at home as a desk or drawer organizer."

The one I requested is in the color Boreal, which is a soothing, low-key green.

I like this in the larger size of the two that were offered. It was immediately put to use as a place to empty out all the items that I carry in my backpack, which I try to do every weekend. 

 

When it's time to pack up for the workweek, anything I might need to throw in my bag -- keys,  pouches, mask, headphones, etc. --  is right there and I don't risk forgetting it.

The company is considering offering a larger size, if this is popular. For me, this "medium" is the best size because it's the appropriate width for most of my pouches. But given the amount of stuff I carry, I could actually use two of these trays!

I wondered if it would pack flat for traveling, but it doesn't, as the product page also notes. This is an item that lives permanently in your home or office.  

 

 

EDIT: I was asked to expand this review, which admittedly was a very quick writeup. 

 

Here's another photo with literally everything in my Paragon backpack emptied out (minus the papers I carried home, and the apple, which I ate), to show the maximum capacity of the medium-sized Tray Bien.

 

The product page shows more usage examples, and I'm sure other reviewers will have ideas too. For me, I don't really need something so upscale to use as drawer organizers, since they aren't highly visible -- I already have a collection of little boxes, and I sometimes even use electronic boxes (such as the white ones from Apple products, which are really well-built).

 

This tray would make a good place to corral electronics, too, though for my particular situation it would need to be much larger to deal gracefully with my monster-sized surge protector, and also leave extra space on the sides. 

(This is a space I'm still working on in terms of containing the visual clutter, while still keeping all my cords and chargers accessible. To be honest, I've never found an electronics organizer that does 100% of what I want, though I recently obtained a shallow wood ex-wine crate, which might do the job when I have time to modify and finish it.)

 

Also, it's worth mentioning that the tray is meant to sit on a solid surface. It does not seem to be strong enough to be used to carry things around, like you would with something designed as a platter for crackers and cheese, or drinks, for instance.

Finally, to go further into why the tray can't be flattened out -- which would make it feasible to stow in a travel bag -- here is the explanation from the product page:

The Tray Bien represents a miniature architectural triumph (well, at least in Tom’s mind.) Since it’s nigh well impossible to sew off the corners of the tray that make it into a rigid, three dimensional object, we use snaps for that final stage of the assembly. Note that, while you can unsnap the corner snaps, doing so does not make it lay entirely flat: the Tray Bien is not intended to be a stowable travel item, but rather a household or office accoutrement.

When I first received this tray, I unsnapped a corner to see what would happen. The overall shape doesn't change; the snap basically provides a way to make it look neat.

 

If I try to flatten out the corner, it is not possible, though it bends a little:

 

If you really start to take apart the tray and poke into the seams, the corrugated polypropylene stiffener will be visible. In normal use, however they are not.

 

But obviously this wasn't intended for travel; it's a nice-looking tray that is meant to sit on a solid surface and corral the little messes that are part of our day-to-day lives. I would recommend that you buy one of these if you have objects in your home or office that could benefit from being "contained" a bit more, and one of the current colors on offer would look good in the spot that it's needed. (For me, the Boreal was perfect for my particular space.)

If you are reading this on the publication date, Happy Thanksgiving! Or, if you are anywhere in the world aside from the U.S., Happy Thursday!

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My Very Long Review of Tom Bihn's Old School Carry-All

I've been a customer of the Tom Bihn company for quite a while, and one of the more fascinating parts of following their product line is seeing the creativity of new designs (or re-imagined vintage ones). In the category of small totes/bags, there have been quite a few fun products, including the OSCA, or Old School Carry-All. I was provided a review copy of this bag for free, in exchange for my feedback.

To read more reviews, check out the forums on the Tom Bihn site, or go to Facebook and search for the Tom Bihn BST & Discussion group. For this item, the forum has more reviews at the time of this writing.

TLDR

1. This bag is on the small side. It's 22 liters, which is about the same capacity as a Pop Tote, and midway between the Mini and Small Yeoman Duffel, for those familiar with these other Tom Bihn products. 
2. The OSCA is highly structured, with three internal compartments. It is similar to the now-discontinued Night Flight Travel Duffel in that respect, though the overall shape and aesthetic is different.
   
3. There is a long, narrow main compartment. It's hard to measure soft-sided luggage, but I'd estimate that it is about the same width as a typical paperback book.

But to go back in time for a sec...

In 2014 Tom Bihn came out with the NIGHT FLIGHT TRAVEL DUFFEL, which was a diminutive rectangular "duffel". In their description:

Though the Night Flight is designed to be your on-board companion for air travel, you may find it tagging along on a rail, bus, or boat trip, and perhaps even to the gym. When fully loaded, its external dimensions are 17" x 10" x 9" / 432 x 254 x 229mm, just meeting the maximum size for United Airlines' "personal item." Don't over-stuff it and you should be fine with Allegiant Air's 16" x 15" x 7" / 406 x 381 x 178mm limit.

I did take a few trips with the NFTD, and while it was a challenge to pack into something so small, it was light and easy to carry.

One drawback of this design was that the sizes of the three separate compartments were constraining, particularly the main section being just a little bit too narrow for certain iPads or even some books. But it built up quite a following! The NFTD was eventually discontinued, I believe in part due to a component that was no longer available. Perhaps I should have held onto mine, but I pared down my collection in 2020.

POP TOTE

The Pop Tote is another 20 liter size bag that falls into the "weekender" category. This is a simple tote bag -- no internal dividers -- with surprisingly strong handles. It is great for EDC, for shopping, or for throwing into the car on a road trip. I've even used it to haul books.

 

The shape of the Pop Tote makes it easy to pack, as it can fit a laptop, iPad, even a folder of papers. I've used mine for short trips -- it's shown here with two cubes originally designed for one of their other products, the Western Flyer.

But the single-carry mode limits its use a little, as there isn't anywhere to attach a shoulder strap (unless it's modified by a tailor).

 

The OLD SCHOOL CARRY-ALL

I liked this immediately when I saw it!

Front view (excuse the unfortunate moire effect):

 

Top view (and clear evidence that the colors rendered by my iPhone are somewhat arbitrary; it's a deeper shade than what appears below):

 

Rear view, with the partially-mesh side pocket:

Its curved shape, though maybe not as efficient for packing as something boxy, will make it easier to carry and more acceptable as an at-seat bag. And... it's just nice-looking. Very classic and classy. The one I requested is made in the company's toughest fabric, the 1050 ballistic. It's in the Coyote color, which seems richer and deeper than the way it appears in most photos.

It has the same side handles that jut out at a diagonal as the smaller Grab Bag. They can be used for hanging the bag, or just as a way to pick it up.

 

The top handles are well-done. Quite sturdy, but not too large to easily grasp with a hand.

Here's a quick shot of the inside of one of the side pockets. Sorry for the graininess from my iPhone camera, but I'm just showing that there is some built-in depth to each one (the area between the seams); they are not flat. The two pockets run along the entire side.  As a result, if the main compartment is not stuffed to the point of bulging, any of the Tom Bihn minibags (such as the Side Kick, Side Effect or Travel Cubelet) will fit nicely in one of the side compartments.

So what fits in the center compartment? If laid flat, a packing cube shoulder bag (PCSB) does, but projects a little bit into the side pockets. I would probably place it upright, like this. Two cubes could fit side-by-side.

 

I have other, smaller cubes that happen to fit perfectly and can lay flat on the base of the OSCA. I'm not pointing out these particular cubes, which are probably discontinued; just that it's worth experimenting. The endpocket A30 cubes -- and most likely the endpocket A45's as well -- also work.

 

Here is another view of the main compartment. It's long and narrow. A paperback book that is 5 3/8 inches wide is shown:

And this view of the bottom of the bag gives an idea of the overall divisions of the compartments (though the folds of the fabric obscure that a bit):

Opposite each shoulder strap attachment point is a loop, called a "webbing lash strap", for attaching items.

 

It does not seem like a good fit for my 13" Macbook, and I'd be more inclined to place that in an item with a protected sleeve. 

[EDIT: I just read another review of this bag by someone who thought their 13" laptop, in a case, fit fine. So opinions may vary. I prefer to keep mine in a dedicated device sleeve or a situation where it's well-padded, because I'll inevitably forget it's there and bang it against something.]

FINAL THOUGHTS

A quick chart comparing some other Tom Bihn products of similar sizes. I don't personally have any of the YD's, but they seemed like a logical thing to compare, as well as the Western Flyer, which I didn't photograph but in some ways it falls into this lineup. If any of my stats below are incorrect, feel free to comment and I will update the chart. (current version last revised 25-Nov-2021):

When I think about how I might use the OSCA:

• Combined with a backpack, there would be plenty of capacity for short trips. I'm thinking particularly of the Paragon, which is also 20 liters.
• Paired with a suitcase that goes into the overhead or gets checked.
  
• As a gym bag. If I were the type of person who went to gyms.
• Road trip bag.
  
• It could serve as one's only piece of luggage, if you were a very light packer.

This might not be for you if:

• You want to carry a laptop, or would like a dedicated device sleeve.
  
• You want a bag that maximizes packing efficiency; in that case, a regular duffel, or something with a squarish shape might be better.
• You're looking for the most economical option.

 

Hoping to pull this into service for upcoming holiday vacations! I may follow up with a packout of this with my Paragon or T30, which is probably how I'd use it on a real-life trip. 

 

 

 

 

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