Oberwerth M Bag review

[FlashAndPoof]

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Recently had the pleasure of buying an Oberwerth M bag to use as my daily Leica camera bag. Right off the bat, the quality of the leather stood out as soft and luxurious but with a unique hydrophobic coating, making this an excellent choice in all types of weather conditions. The fasteners are spring loaded and require pulling out on the button to release the locking mechanism. Closing it requires lining up the strap and pushing back in firmly. While this makes for a very secure engagement, it can take a bit of practice to perform quickly. But to help expedite this, you can leave one completely unbuttoned and still maintain a secure closure of the top flap. There is a very slim zippered compartment on the back of the bag suitable for documents. The interior has a beautiful red lining that makes it easy to quickly find your gear inside.

 

The inside of the bag comes with two Velcro attached dividers for partitioning and additional dividers are available for purchase if needed. I was able to comfortably fit my M11-D with a 35mm APO attached, a 75mm Noctilux, and a 50mm APO inside comfortably. One could even fit additional lenses with an OP/Tech double lens mount. There are also two open pockets suitable for holding lens caps and filters. And a small leather flap section suitable for an AirTag and SD cards. There is finally a front pocket that is able to hold additional accessories like charging cables or rolls of film. I was able to fit my Visoflex 2 in this pocket, but I would actually keep that in the main compartment because it was pushing the limits of this front pocket in terms of depth. 

 

The strap is very wide and easy to adjust but it is not a quick adjust if you prefer carrying in different positions throughout the day. There is a nice leather pad to help distribute the weight but the lack of a quick adjust can make it slow to center it with position changes.

 

While most everything about the bag shouts quality, I was ultimately let down by a defect in the stitching for one of the strap ends. At $750 and with a signed certificate of quality inspection… I believe this should have been caught by Oberwerth. As such, I am returning this particular bag. This remains a fantastic choice for a daily M Leica photographer, and I may still end up buying a different copy without the stitching issue, but I am still looking into other bags as I would personally prefer quick adjustment on the strap and a faster locking mechanism for the main compartment. 

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Edited February 23 by FlashAndPoof

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[erl]

A short comment about leather camera bags. I have one. An ONA. It looks good, smells good, but is heavy! That is the nature of leather. I only use mine for short shoots or when I want to 'look' upmarket. LOL. Frankly, I find it hard/impossible to do better than a Billingham or maybe a FOGG, for absolute practicality.

Another thing about leather, it does not have the flexibility and expandability of canvas.

[bocaburger]

3 hours ago, erl said:

A short comment about leather camera bags. I have one. An ONA. It looks good, smells good, but is heavy! That is the nature of leather. I only use mine for short shoots or when I want to 'look' upmarket. LOL. Frankly, I find it hard/impossible to do better than a Billingham or maybe a FOGG, for absolute practicality.

Another thing about leather, it does not have the flexibility and expandability of canvas.

IIRC quite a few years ago when Leica first began associating with Oberwerth I happened into a stockist and had a look, mainly to see why they were do ghastly expensive and came away quite unimpressed with their construction.  Although they were good-looking.   Now I've not ever paid that much for a single bag but I admit sheepishly that my ridiculous accumulation of Billinghams cost me the equivalent of perhaps a half-dozen Oberworths so I'm not someone a troll could legitimately accuse of being a jealous have-not.  

I do agree about leather bags!  I have 3, a limited-edition Billingham Hadley  Small in pebble-grain black leather; a Barbour in "mailbag tan" with a Billingham Hadley insert; and a brown Billingham-clone of indeterminate lineage embossed with "Canon".  They all weigh at least 1.5x their canvas counterparts.  But they are nice-looking!

[kiwidad]

I have the LSI reporter bag , the small one. love it. Bought it in open box condition. I cannot imaging a more compact way to carry 4 or 5 lens plus a 6th on an M11 body!

decided to get a shoulder bag , specifically the Louis visoflex bag and found my self very unhappy. There is no stiffness in the base so the contents sag and the first thing to hit is the camera in the bottom, being the heaviest item. I don't get this with my ONA bags and to a lesser extent I do with a few of the Billingham bags. Also what with this crinkly stuff behind the lining ? They couldn't find a material that doesn't crinkle like mylar to put there. My parter, who thought I paid to much in the first place though it terrible, I agreed it lets the "quality" down. I sent it back.

I was in Seattle last weekend at the Bellvue Leica store  and discovered the Harry met Sally bag with an insert which proved extra stiffness and support in the bottom. I like it and my M11 and M10M, each with a lens fit in it nicely so I took it home. 

I find myself less than happy with Oberwerth as their return instructions neglected to include an important requirement so the return and my money are now tied up in customs in Germany... If you decide to buy one of their bags, do not buy direct is all I can say. Hopefully it will get sorted next week.

 

 

Edited April 4 by kiwidad