Fogg Lyre Review

Introduction

It has been about 2 weeks since I bought the Fogg Lyre at a whoppin' $500 SGD est. For comparison's sake, for sizes at the same level, a Billingham will set you back about $200SGD, a Wotancraft $150SGD, and a Crumpler, $69SGD. This makes the Fogg the most expensive bag amongst the class. I would like to clarify that I was not paid to review this Fogg bag by anybody at all. I own a Wotancraft, and my friends own Billinghams and Crumplers amongst other brands. That is where I get my comparisons from.

Build Quality

The Lyre is full of leather, canvas and cotton. Compared to the Wotancraft, which is made of waxed canvas, the leather is a nice feel. The entire length of the strap is made of cotton, which gives a nice soft touch, causing less abrasion. The strap goes under and throughout the entire circumference of the bag - this lends a strong support to the entirety and as an additional effect, it gives a feeling of lightness. With just Leica M9 and a 35 cron in it, it hardly feels like I am carrying a bag!
Durability: So far with only 2 weeks of usage on it, I have seen no deterioration of quality of the bag. My wotancraft started to show signs of usage, peeled off wax, and decoloration of the canvas body after about a year of usage. We will see if the Fogg holds up.

Aesthetics

Minimalist look... is everything a Leica user would ask for. The Fogg Lyre looks and feels right. Nothing is too much, nothing is too little. It is pretty much perfect in design.

Above: Isn't it just a beauty?

Storage and Ergonomics

The Fogg Lyre is meant to be a bag that is small. It can literally hold only one camera and at most, two sets of lenses including a 35 cron attached to the camera. Both additional set of lenses cannot be more than F1.4 The giant F1 or F0.95 lenses will probably not fit if you intend to put more than one lens in the bag. Since I only travel around with a 35 cron, the other compartment will be where I placed some food (sweets), earphones and tissue. It is really just a small handy space. The Lyre also features 2 compartments in front and one sleeve compartment behind. These compartments are similar in size. I find that the front most compartment fits my wallet easily, while the middle front compartment fits my nook simple touch. My 6" pantech vega phone gets to sit at the back compartment.
Ergonomically, the Lyre handles well and shifts its weight around well. The strap design really helps in distributing the weight. After a long day where the Leica starts to feel its own weight, there is no desire to shift the bag around to get optimal ratios. It does take awhile to get used to for opening the front compartments due to the inverse latch design. It gets its job done though.

Above: Fogg Lyre with 35 cron and a Nook SimpleTouch

Conclusion

Is there a need for a conclusion? There is. The Fogg Lyre is probably the best bag available at the moment for compact camera lovers wishing to bring just a camera and with just enough space to store their essentials. However, DSLRs class users will find no use for this bag. Similarly, on a rainy day you will find that there is not enough storage for a small umbrella. There just isn't enough. You may be hard pressed to travel with a friend that has an umbrella - but we all have those friends don't we? :)

The price of the Fogg will be the factor that prevents most people from buying. It IS a luxury item and should not be mistaken as a functional item. However, if one has the luxury to buy a good, HOT and sexy bag, the Fogg will be undeniably the best. Billingham bags come very close in terms of quality, and the price of a Billin will be 2X cheaper. The jump in the quality is only minimal. What you get though, is a completionist feeling, that you will never need to upgrade your camera bag for a very, very long time. Only time will tell if the Fogg will hold up to its quality, but I have a feeling it will.

 
Left: Fogg Lyre with Dan Brown's Inferno Hardcover for size comparison
Right: Fogg Lyre with large size Coffee Bean frappucino