Fjällräven ‘Räven’ 28L Backpack Review

It is important to have a good backpack that fits ones backpack and other stuff, especially if you’re a digital nomad and need to take your office with you. I use a 17 inch MacBook Pro and since 17 inch screens are not made by Apple anymore, and by other manufactures, there are very few bags, rucksacks and messenger bags for that size. Also, you want the bag to feel great, look good and have room for other stuff too. My wife bought me the Räven 28L rucksack and it has all I need, and all you need if you’re after something new or better. Here are five reasons this is the ultimate backpack.


Update: I did a ‘3 Years Later’ video, as a follow up on this review. The video is at the end of this post.

1 – Space

You can fits all the stuff you need, up to a 17 inch laptop, tablets, chargers, some clothing, food or water. In my case I can fit the baby things I need, like water, diapers and some food for my baby. As you can see the bag can expand very well. There are zippered pockets and they are well made. Even inside compartments there are extra zipped pockets to separate your things.

Olive green 28 liter backpack.

2 – Durability

The G-1000 fabric is Fjällräven´s own material that provides water, wind and sun resistance for all outdoor and travel activities. You can wax it from time to time and keep it as new. I never bother with that if I’m not planning to go to a rainy place.

3 – Looks Great

When you invest money on a backpack, you want to be satisfied with the looks and not compromise. I have the dark olive green color, that my wife chosed for me, and it fits in both on trekking trips and in the city. Not to posh and not to rugged, just about right, minimal and functional.

4 – Comfortable

Without having all the extra straps and extra things handing around that you never use, this backpack has nothing extra except the extra comfort at the right places. The area in touch with your back is padded and feels great, just like the front straps that have soft padding. Nothing more is needed, otherwise you’re entering the bigger trekking backpack class. For this size, it really falls naturally on the back, both half- and fully packed.

5 – Environmentally friendly

To top it all, the backpack is made of organic cotton and recycled polyester. This is great, because the more money is invested in recycling, the better the industrial process of recycling will get and the less resources will be needed for manufacturing new products in the future.

Conclusion

For me this backpack is an everyday driver, for walks with my baby daughter, for traveling and for business. I can fit all I need and the durability of the backpack tells med it’ll last years to come. I hope this short review helps you in finding the right backpack for your purposes!

What do you think?

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7 Comments
  • Reading Reader
    August 26, 2016

    Great review! It’s been several months now, do you still feel the same about it? I love the look and the layout but I am put off by the price tag!

    • Sanjin Đumišić
      August 26, 2016

      Hello! Thanks for the feedback. I use it as my daily driver and don’t see any bag replacing it for me. The quality is great and what I like the most is the compartments for tech – that I can have combined with other (baby) stuff =)) The backpack was a great investment, and as time goes look out for sales or special deals. /All the best

  • Amelie
    September 11, 2016

    Thank you very much for your review! Do you think the “Räven” is big enough in order to be able to carry several books and excercise books (for studying) at the same time? I haven’t seen the backpack in reality yet, so it is quite hard for me to estimate… Best wishes from Germany!

    • Sanjin Đumišić
      September 13, 2016

      Hello Amelie and thank you for the feedback! The backpack is big enough for books. I use my daily for either laptop + books, baby stuff or for carrying home groceries. The only thing is that I get sweat on my back =) /All the best

      • Amelie
        September 13, 2016

        Thank you very much for your response!

  • Alex Elderfield
    August 4, 2018

    Fab review, really helpful.

    I’ve use a Fjallraven No. 21 small as my dad bag but now the kids have grown up a little (now 5&8) I’m looking for something a little larger as my carryon bringing them both to a wedding in New York at the end of the month and this looks pretty good. My only question is how wide is the bottom of the main compartment front to back and side to side as I’ve got to cart a couple of small rectangular pieces of medical equipment and it would be good to know if they would fit.

    • Sanjin Đumišić
      August 4, 2018

      Thank you,
      The front to front is 17cm (6,6 inches) and side to side 26cm (10,2 inches). Hope it helps /All the best