I BOUGHT and USED this item. It WAS NOT PROVIDED to me for review by any company.
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Good Things Come in Small Packages
This review of the Tom Bihn Bantam was written in December 2024 and posted on Medium. I’ll be bringing reviews written before over to Fantasticarry to keep everything in one place.
How is it possible that the sewing together of a few pieces of fabric into a 1 liter container could be as impactful as it has been since I opened the package the Tom Bihn Bantam came in?
Yes, “sewing together of a few pieces of fabric” is a huge oversimplification and not meant to be dismissive of the R&D process and the countless hours of work that goes into it. Bantam truly did transform me from being an overpacked “lugger” of way too many things to a much more streamlined carrier of daily essentials.
Just look at it. What’s not to love?? I thought I was crazy about my Synik 30 in black X-Pac® with the Kiwi 200 Halcyon lining — and I am — but there was just something about this little 1 liter crossbody bag that pulled me in.
The Materials
Down the rabbit hole…
Bantam is made from high quality materials that are dependent on the colorway that you choose, as well as availability at any given time. It changes all the time. The one I bought is faced with and backed by the instantly recognizable and 100% recycled RX30 black X-Pac® that they’ve been using at Tom Bihn on other products. Forming the dome and going down the sides all the way around the bottom to add structure is a ring of black 525d ballistic nylon.
The bag also uses two plastic raquet coil #5 YKK® zippers and a 5/8″ Shoulder Strap made from soft webbing with a bit of a sheen to it and what appears to be a Duraflex® sliplock adjuster and YKK LN-15-Z fasteners on each end.
You can really geek out on any of the materials used at Tom Bihn by visiting the Materials page on the website.
It’s also interesting to listen to Jose, the designer, talk about how Bantam came to be in the first place.
The Front
Functionally, there’s nothing to the front of Bantam. It’s the only crossbody bag they produce that has no external organization on the front. There are no stretchy mesh pockets to put anything in. There are no zippers and no slots or admin of any sort. Quite simply and in an understated way that packs a big punch, the 8.7″ x 5.1″ panel in gorgeous black X-Pac® speaks for itself. It’s clean. It’s fresh and just a small showcase of the material/colorway that one chooses and others can look at and comment on — and they do look and comment.
The only branding is a Tom Bihn logo prominently centered and sewn at the bottom of the panel. It leaves no question. Well, aside from:
Dude, that crossbody is fire! Do I just get that on tombihn.com or what?
The Back
Unlike on the front, Bantam offers a bit more on its reverse. It retains the same shape, measurements, and materials but there is a second rectangular layer of X-Pac® with a concave right and left side finished with bias binding. The second layer is divided into three separate and functional slots. The top and bottom slot can be used to hold a pen or whatever else you may have that resembles the shape and size of a pen.
I’d digress into the Pilot G2 vs. Bic Crystal 1.6mm debate with Jose but maybe another time. Any way you slice it, the functional top and bottom slots are… super fun… (see the following video for reference).
How do YOU wear Bantam?
The middle and largest slot on the back of Bantam serves a larger purpose. Scrub to 36 seconds into the YouTube short below, produced by Tom Bihn, Inc. and see for yourself the intended function of the largest slot.
Or I can just tell you.
It can be used as a belt or strap passthrough and worn as either a hip/fanny pack or on the staps of another bag.
Yes, you can also store flat items like business cards, maybe even cash in the larger slot but I suspect that it’s not the best place to securely store things of that nature.
I’m definitely an advocate for swapping out the standard 5/8″ Shoulder Strap with a 1″ Shoulder Strap and rocking Bantam that way. No buckles to fuss with. And all the length one needs. But, again, I digress. Tangents can be so tangential.
The Sides
As was just mentioned, Bantam features lashing on each side that serves as attachment points for the Gatekeeper Shoulder Strap. But the sides also serve as the attachment points for the well-known Tom Bihn O-ring system. The 5/8″ Shoulder Strap attaches here. But so does the 1″ Shoulder Strap, which elevates the appearance of Bantam quite a bit — especially a packed out Bantam.
Speaking of packed out…
The Main Compartment — What can Bantam hold?
WPK. Wallet Phone Keys. That’s the intended use-case for Bantam. It’s supposed to hold your wallet, your phone, and your keys. It’s a 1 liter crossbody. But I say that it holds a bit more. WPK+.
The front interior panel of Bantam, like its exterior, is understated but bold. Save for one O-ring, there’s no admin. There isn’t a pocket to be found. In fact, there’s not even a high-visibility lining in there. The interior front is comprised of little more than the reverse side of the RX30 black X-Pac® that is as shiny as can be. No, that’s not a wrapped burrito you’re looking at. It’s Bantam. You can even see the logo stitching. The inside is as gorgeous as the outside!
Flip it around to the opposite panel, while it’s inside-out, and you can see all the admin that Bantam has to offer: two stretch pockets in front of a larger pocket edged by gray/white bias binding (for visibility) that runs the entire width of the panel. Note the phone number on the tag. They really do answer!
What remains of the interior is a dump pocket where one can fit quite a few items.
So what have I packed in there?
Like I said earlier: Bantam is a little more than a WPK crossbody. It’s WPK+. On the day I took these pictures, this was my WPK+.
In the rear wide pocket:
- My phone (not shown — It was taking the picture. But it fits easily)
- Wallet (Alpaka Zip Pouch Coin with a few cards and plenty of change)
In the left stretchy pocket:
- AirPods Pro
- Lip Balm
- Vicks Vapoinhaler (I had a cold)
In the right stretchy pocket:
- Nothing (though I could have put something in there but I like to try to keep it thin).
In the dump pocket that remains:
- Halls cough drops (several just dropped in)
- Reading glasses (you can’t see them on the bottom but they’re there)
- Small pack of Kleenex
- Car key (tethered to O-ring by an 8″ Tom Bihn Key Strap)
See why I say Bantam is really a WPK+ crossbody? It’s a generous 1 liter.
Could Bantam be better?
Though I’ve sung its praises throughout this review, there are a couple of things that may make Bantam even better — at least for me and my use case. Kind of selfish, now that I think about it.
- Lining. Though it doesn’t need it and I understand Jose’s reasoning behind using no lining (see his comments in the video above), I think putting a lining inside would enhance visibility without adding so much structure that Bantam would lose its pliability or character. It’s not ballistic nylon we’re talking about. It’s Halcyon. I don’t feel that there’s that much difference between Bantam and the Synik with its gorgeous Halcyon lining in terms of structural rigidity. I’d love to see and touch one with a lining.
- More a personal issue but, as Jose stated in his video (above), I also tend to carry Bantam cross body over the same shoulder. As such, the right side hangs lower. I tether my car key to the O-ring and drop it in the dump space in the main compartment. The key has a tendency to wind up on the lower hanging side of the bag, which drapes the key strap across everything in the dump space. It’s kind of in the way. I would have liked to see the O-ring attached either in the direct middle or on the right. There are others, of course, who would rather see it on the left. I get it. So let’s meet in the middle. Middle O-ring FTW!
No offense, Jose! I think it’s pretty clear that I had to search to find a couple of things to balance all my praise for Bantam. It’s that great!
The Conclusion
I don’t think I need to belabor the point but I really love this bag!
Bantam is a statement piece that offers all the utility of its bigger siblings (Side Effect, Everyday Cubelet, maybe even Side Kick) in a 1 liter WPK+ package. It’s exactly what was needed to shake up the line and mark what could be a closer convergence of function and more modern form without being fully disruptive. Just look at the cross body category page. Bantam kind of stands out a little bit. A small but mighty statement piece.
Have I said “nice job, Jose” yet? Keep on keepin’ on, brother. You have vision. I can see it.
How I Got This Item for Review
I purchased this item myself. Tom Bihn did not supply it to me for review. The opinions in this review are my own and would not be swayed one way or another if I had been given a review unit by Tom Bihn.
