Great review! The only thing I'd add is that these things are dirt magnets. Cannot overstate how filthy they get, nor how quickly. If you even look at these things too hard they get covered in dirt. Lovely bags, but I like them more in theory than in practice. Doughnut makes a version that's similar and a little more convenient if people are looking for an alternative. I have one of each and I find myself using the Doughnut way more.
I've looked at Kankens a lot over the years and always been troubled by the shoulder straps and umbrella pockets on the sides. this looks great, but, £150 in the UK seems a bit much.
Man, everyone is complaining that kankens arent comfortable. Maybe they just arent made for you. Kanken straps are the moat comfortable backpack straps ive ever used, due to my incredibly small frame. Its nice to finally have something that isnt catered to people over 5'8
I too technically have asmall frame at 5'2". Not everything is made for everyone and I usually have an incredible time shopping for stuff that firs right, I love these bags. Seriously comfortable to me. I've had a 13 inch kanken for 4 years and used it as my daily work backpack a lot of that time. Loved it so much I bought my daughter one for her 1st school bag. I'm never getting rid of this bag, ridiculously durable and easy to care for.
I have this bag and the og kanken 17” along with other kanken bags (hip pack, hip pack plus, totepack, totepack mini and mini sling) and i absolutely love all of them. This one is specifically useful because of the external bottle pockets and shoe pocket at the bottom.
I've got a Kanken 17". As a larger guy, it sits very high on my back and the straps are very close together so I found it very uncomfortable after carrying for about 20 minutes. The strap attachment is the same on this one. I like the pockets and squared off form, but it was painful to carry. It's now my kid's school bag and he loves it. Still looking for a bag for me.
If you haven't, check out the Doughnuts. They have the same square shape but are a lot more comfortable. I'm 6'3" and have no issues with their larger-sized ones. I basically wear my kanken like a sling over just one shoulder because it doesn't fit otherwise.
I believe Fjallraven mentions that these bags aren't for laptops due to lack of padding and you shouldn'tuse them as laptop bags. There are specifically designed Kånkens for laptops
I have a classic Kanken with my 15 inch laptop. I flip up the whole upper half of the bag to pull out my laptop - like when you flip a bag inside out - but just for the upper part. (Similar to what you did for the bottom bag - flip up the fabric. ) In this way i can easily get my laptop without removing other items from the bag.
I'm not sure why this pack got an 8.0 review on the pack hacker site. Based on the video I thought, "ok this pack doesn't seem that great, I'll stick with my Jansport Right Pack", which seems like a better pack for a lot of reasons, the sticky zippers, hard to access laptop compartment and difficult to adjust straps being the top ones. All these things are less of a problem on that bag, not to mention the price and materials are much better.
I have a Kanken 15" laptop precisely because of the laptop compartment. I am delighted with it and I use it every day for work and short trips. The Outlong seems a bit unpractical and expensive despite the new features. I think I will stick to what I have.
Great review! I would love for you to do a review of the Kanken Weekender. I like the look, but I can't figure out if it would be a good travel bag or not. Thanks!
I like that they are trying because I do like kankens but refused to buy it given (imo) it's not comfortable and more of a cult following 😅 Shame there's no trolley sleeve
It looks big but when i tried it on, it looks hella small and i am only 175cm. And the color will fade away after 3 days is beyond me. Ok maybe this version is still not for me 😢
The original Kånken is a terrible, gimmicky hipsterpack with outdated features. This new version seems to improve somewhat, but that price is risiculous.
