Fjallraven Kanken Hip Pack Review

If you’re a fan of the Kanken line from Fjallraven—if you couldn’t tell by the dozen reviews on our site of different bags and accessories from that line, we are—it’s easy to explain why. Fjallraven uses durable materials for the Kanken, gives its bags and accessories an easy-to-pack boxy shape, and—of course—imprints each one with that foxy logo. What’s not to love?

But you may wonder whether there’s really a market for yet another Kanken, this time in the waist pack style. After using it exclusively for over a month, we’re here to tell you why you might want to add it to your collection.

External Components

The primary material on this 2L sling is Vinylon F, the same fabric used on the original Fjallraven Kanken Laptop Backpack. Unlike more delicate fabric on some other slings, we just know that this durable, water-resistant material will stand the test of time. It’s very structured, yet not rough, and the only place you may wish for more flexibility is the welt covering the front zipper. On the other hand, the extra material keeps water away from that zipper, so maybe we shouldn’t complain.

We’re testing the Fog colorway, and we like its muted vibe, but at the time of this review, there are more than 20 other options if you like something more colorful (Spicy Orange or Ultramarine) or dark (Graphite, Black, or Navy).

The Vinylon F gives this little pack structure so it can stand easily on the counter next to you if there’s nowhere to hang it up. If you have a hook nearby, you can pop the carry handle onto it. It’s a sturdy webbing strap that’s folded in thirds for heft and easy grabbing. While it isn’t the softest material, it doesn’t hurt your hands, and we found ourselves using it quite often to move the Kanken Hip Back into the car and when taking it off our body. It sticks up from the top, but we had no issue with it catching on anything while wearing the bag.

Centered in the front of the bag is the iconic Fjallraven Kanken Arctic fox logo. The vinyl patch is stitched into place, giving it a classic, heritage look that we love. And if you can’t get enough of that adorable animal, you’ll find the fox hanging out on the YKK zipper pulls, as well, with Fjallraven stamped on the other side. We have no complaints about the zippers; they work as well as we expect from YKK, which makes our favorite fasteners. However, there is a double pull on the main compartment zipper, and the two metal pulls bump together as you walk for a jingle-jangle experience. It’s not irritating, just something we want to mention before you try to sneak out of the house incognito.

The fox is also embossed on the Woojin plastic buckle on the strap. It’s attached just a couple of inches from the right side of the back of the pack, so it won’t dig into your waist or back when you sit down. Plus, it is easy to access when you want to pop it open. We do find that this short piece of strap connecting the buckle to the bag is the part that tends to twist, however, so you may have to straighten it out if you plan to pop it over your head for crossbody use instead of unbuckling it first to wrap it around your waist.

Since this is a hip pack, it’s not surprising that the straps come straight out the back of the bag, just an inch from the top. That allows it to sit comfortably at your waist if that’s how you roll. Most of the time, however, we prefer to wear it crossbody. The strap is long enough to loosen for wearing it that way, though it doesn’t sit as tight to your chest as some other slings designed for that style of wear.

The strap has the same durable webbing as the carry handle; it’s just left flat instead of folded over. Even though it’s not satiny smooth, we haven’t had any issues with it rubbing uncomfortably against bare skin, and there’s an elastic keeper that holds the extra strap tight, so you don’t have to deal with dangling. The coarseness of the strap comes in handy here because the keeper stays put exactly where you place it, and the extra strap never slips out of place—nice! There’s no back panel padding, although we don’t miss it on a bag this size, so that’s it for the harness system.

Fit Notes

As a hip pack, this Kanken is simple to adjust and wear around your waist, though we find it protrudes quite a bit to wear that way. Even if you don’t stuff it full, there aren’t any compression straps or other means of flattening it down, so it will bulge out. It is very convenient to wear this way if you’re bike riding or want to avoid tan lines from a single strap on your shoulder. However, it’s just as easy to access when crossbody as it is at your waist, and we prefer it that way.

Wearing it across your chest, we find it best to leave it a little loose for the most comfortable fit. While the strap itself isn’t uncomfortable, you can actually fit quite a bit of gear in the Kanken Hip Pack. When it’s weighed down, it can pull uncomfortably at your neck if you have it adjusted too tightly on your chest. That feeling nearly disappears when you loosen it up, though, so we recommend doing that.

However you wear it, this is a great casual bag for shopping, going to the beach, exploring a new place, and generally carrying just about anywhere. It’s not fancy, so leave it behind for a wedding or when wearing a suit, but it goes with most travel clothing quite well, whether we’re talking T-shirts and pants or a sundress.

Inside The Sling

Many slings of this size have one compartment that may or may not include a pocket inside, and that’s about it. Not so with the Kanken: it has three different places to store your gear, so it’s easy to stay organized.

We’ll start at the front, where a fabric welt protects the zipper in case of splashes and gives the front of the bag a cleaner look. There’s a decent amount of space inside, and we’ve been using it to carry tiny toiletries like lip balm, lipstick, hand lotion, and a nail file. The pocket spans the entire width of the bag, and you can see everything just by pulling on the bottom flap when it’s unzipped. It shares capacity with the main compartment, but we never had an issue squeezing more things inside, like our bulky keys. You could toss a phone here, but since the zipper runs an inch from the top across the front, it’s not as easy to slip it inside as to pack it in the main compartment. You can—it just works better elsewhere.

However, before we go into that space, let’s flip the bag around and check out the back pocket. This zippered area is much more suited to flat gear like your passport, a small notebook, or bandages just in case you’re as accident-prone as some of us here at Pack Hacker. It spans the height and width of the bag just as the front pocket does; there’s just not as much room for bulky gear here. If you have a slim battery bank, like a Clutch Charger Pro, it will slide inside just fine; if yours is fatter, like an Anker 325 Power Bank (PowerCore 20K), you may want to put it in the main compartment instead.

And so, now we come to that primary area, the main compartment. The double-headed zipper extends a couple of inches down each side of the bag, giving you broad access to the gear inside. Surprisingly, the sturdy fabric doesn’t stand quite proud enough to allow you to zip it closed one-handed if you have to go around one of the corners, which is something to keep in mind when one hand is full at the grocery store and you need to close it after putting your phone away. It’s less of an issue if you wear it more tightly to your chest, but as we discussed earlier, we preferred to keep it a little loose. You win some, you lose some.

The interior features a slip pocket against the back where you can either keep your phone or wallet to have them separate from everything else you toss inside. In a nod to the schoolyard heritage of the Kanken (Fjallraven designed the Kanken backpack for Swedish students), there’s a large label on the front of this pocket where you can write your name and contact information in case you leave the bag behind. Mom would be proud.

A short key leash is attached to the upper right corner of the back panel, so you don’t have to dig into the detritus to pull them out when you get home. It’s a simple plastic clip on a short leash, but we haven’t had any issues using it daily. Depending on how you’re wearing the bag, there’s a decent chance that you’ll be able to reach a doorknob without disconnecting the keys, but they’re easy to pop off if you need to.

There’s a lot of space left in front of the pocket. We’re packing hand sanitizer, sunglasses, AirPods, tissues, and a phone without difficulty. That pretty much fills the space, but when you combine it with everything in the other pockets, we fit a lot of gear into one small bag.

So, if you’re looking for a sturdy way to carry small gear throughout the day and are a fan of the Kanken design, try the Hip Pack. We’ve found it convenient to use everywhere we roam, whether that’s at home or on a trip.