Fjallraven Kanken Totepack, Frost Green

I was a little wary of ordering a Kanken off Amazon because I’d heard of people receiving pre owned bags instead of new or being sent bags that weren’t actually authentic. It was on a really good sale at the time that I purchased so I was a little worried that it was too good to be true. However when my bag arrived it was obviously brand new as it was still in its original packaging and in pristine condition! It’s authentic as far as I can tell but I really didn’t look that hard to be honest. It’s a great size with plenty of room for my 11 inch iPad, my kindle, and all my various daily necessities. I upgraded from the mini tote because I needed a little more room and this is perfect. It’s a little wider and deeper than the mini which allows me to keep my things more organized and accessible compared to the mini. The side pockets are too small to hold my 40 oz owala bottle so I bought the Kanken bottle pocket to go with the bag and it holds my bottle perfectly. It’s made of the same durable material as all the other Kankens. They hold up fantastic overtime and I’ve only ever switched because of a new style or needing more room. It’s fairly light depending on how you pack it. The straps can be a little stiff and uncomfortable at first but I’ve found they soften up over time. You can buy like padding for them. I use it as a daily bag and couldn’t be happier. Being able to change it from tote to back pack makes it super functional for almost any situation. If I could ask for one thing though it would be more dividers or pockets but it’s easily fixed with stuff I had at home.

I'm more of a wristlet person, I like to travel as light as possible around my own major city (DC) because here in DC, many points of interest destinations require extra security with scanners and bag searches, so I try to avoid that as much as possible. Still, this has become my go-to bag for days when I need to travel with a bit more supplies than usual. It's not massive but has a large capacity for day trips. I personally work twelve hour shifts, have been through numerous totes and backpacks, and this by far is my favorite. My husband had a Kanken that I was rather "meh" on, however the ability to convert this between a tote and a backpack was intriguing to me, and it has really been quite handy. A medium to large purse organizer helps to keep things organized though, because it is just a large compartment inside with a largish pouch pocket, so not very helpful to keep things in order. The straps do pull out a litter shorter than I'd normally wear for a backpack, however I've gotten used to the length and even though I'm curvy with probably larger arms, it's not a bother. Recently we took an extended vacation abroad to Europe, and really came to appreciate this bag fully for what it is. Almost every museum we went to had a "No Backpack" policy, but by just pulling the loops to carry it like a tote bag, worked well to bypass this rule. Only one small museum in Budapest refused allowing me entry with the bag. Out of probably a dozen museums between Czechia, Austria, and Hungary, I was fine with them calling out the technicality. STILL, it's an awesomely convenient feature when out traveling as such.

Well made, perfect size, can be a tote or a backpack when my hands are full of other stuff. Love!

Sometimes a purse just isn’t enough, but a tote is too inconvenient. At a kid’s soccer game, a day at the zoo, or out from day into evening and you need a jacket. You can carry your water bottle and a small umbrella in the exterior sleeves and all of those little extras, including your iPad in this bag! There is an internal padded sleeve - the padding is dense foam that can be removed to function as a seat pad. I added a small purse organizer to compensate for the lack of small pockets on the interior. The internal laptop sleeve is fronted by a second, shorter and elasticized pocket that I’ll use for that light jacket I’ll need for later. There is a large ID label on the front of the laptop sleeve, and as seen in the photo, a bold logo on the front. The big draw for me, after seeing a really cool gym mom with the ochre version, was the long shoulder straps that she was using to casually carry her bag in her shoulder. There are hand grips, and non-bulky, flat-woven shoulder straps can be quickly converted to a light backpack via a hardware-free design. Love it enough that I purchased a second! The second is a neutral, but I like it best as a pop of color when worn with casual wear.

The backpack looks very nice and stylish, and I really like the color. It’s great for daily use and looks exactly like the pictures. However, the shoulder straps feel a bit short. When I put slightly more items inside, the straps start to feel tight and uncomfortable on my shoulders. Overall it looks great, but the comfort could be improved.

love my bag!!

It is smaller than a backpack. It has good capacity and good pockets. My favorite thing is the color and the handle/straps.

The front pocket is a bit small but love the flexibility between back pack and shoulder bag.