Fjallraven Kanken Backpack
Fjallraven is a name known in every Swedish household. It was first crafted as a school bag for children who had to carry a lot of books, so that they would not feel the weight. But its attractive design and useful features soon made it popular with adults as well.
With its rapid sales and consistent quality amongst all the versions it has launched, Fjallraven is one of the most popular backpacks all over the world.
Design and Specs
The design of most Fjallraven Kanken backpacks can be described as ‘pedestrian’. The frames of the bags are quite square, which provides them with easy recognition amongst other brands whose bags tend to display a more elliptical frame. Furthermore, the red-colored logo which they stamp at the center of every bag makes it easy to spot any Fjallraven bag in a crowd.
The Fjallraven backpack is tall enough to fit most school textbooks and slimmer, 13” laptops. Fitting a regular-sized laptop (typically 15.6”) might get a little tight.
In terms of its capacity, the Kanken backpack holds less than most standard backpacks of today. For instance, the average volume on the market is between 20 - 30 liters while the Kanken big backpack has a volume of close to 16 liters. Sufficient for school purposes without a doubt, but the Kanken is lacking in volume to fit clothing, a jacket, or other bulkier items. On the other hand, this bag is conveniently super light due to its minimalistic design. Other available bags on the market typically have such an intricate design that they themselves weigh around 2 lbs.
Comfort and Durability
The fabric used in the making of the Fjallraven Kanken Mini and Classic bags is Vinylon, a material produced by the company itself. It is one of the three types of fabrics used in the making of the Fjallraven backpacks. The material is known for its water resistance capabilities and for its strength; even under stressful conditions, it cannot be torn easily.
The feel of the fabric is not the most pleasant; that is, it is not soft and comfy like other fabrics. But comfort has never been the main motive of Kanken backpacks - their bags are designed for durability, not luxury.Another benefit of the strong fabric is that while it may seem to scuff easily, a damp towel can remove all marks without leaving a trace on the Fjallraven bags.There are four compartments in the Classic backpack, held together by two broad shoulder straps running from the top to bottom. There is actually a fifth compartment if you also include the inside sleeve that has a seat pad. On each side of the main compartment are two open pockets and at the front of the bag is a zipped one.
An additional factor that makes these Swedish backpacks stand out from other backpacks of today is the way in which the shoulder straps are arranged. Unlike the straight pattern which one often sees on other brands today, the shoulder straps on the Kanken bags are mounted in a cross pattern.
It is because of this innovation that the weight of the bag feels even lighter compared to the same weight carried in a backpack of a different design.
The Kanken bag has two handles, one at the front and other at the rear. It gives the backpack the feel of a tote as well, distributing the weight evenly across the four joints of the bag. The two handles give it a more balanced handling.
On the one hand, I just love its design – it’s so retro. And the sea of different colors really makes me want to get at least two of them, because it’s so hard to pick just one! It’s decent enough for school and it even works well as a carry on, since it’s basically weightless and you can fit a bunch of stuff in it. On the other hand, it’s pretty expensive for pretty much a piece of fabric. With so little pockets and extra features, it’s kind of hard to justify such a high price tag. You can get a much better backpack for the same price, which will be much more comfortable to carry around on a daily basis
