Fjällräven Räven 28L Review | A Year of Daily Use
6.9/10
Great look and feel, frustrating in daily use.
Fjällräven Räven 28L Review
A few small design tweaks could've made this the perfect bag. The look, the materials, the build. It ticks every box on paper. After just over a year of daily use across work, travel and everything in between, it's a frustrating one to write up.
Materials and build
The G1000 fabric is the headline feature and it lives up to the reputation. Super tough, looks and feels great. The leather on the grab handle is a lovely touch, the fabric combined with this leather creates an expensive feel. YKK zips are solid. Back panel padding is comfortable and gives reasonable ventilation.
Aesthetically, the Dark Olive is fantastic. Understated, looks better the more it's used, pairs with anything.
My first issue is actually with the G1000 fabric. While it looks and feels great, it's also a dirt, fluff and pet hair magnet. A quick brush sorts it, but it's a constant low-level annoyance.
The laptop compartment
A great bit of organisation here, done well. Padded, false bottom, lined with a soft felt, and roomy enough to take up to a 15" laptop.
Everything else, organisation-wise
While there are definitely some nice zipped mesh pockets inside, a lot of the internal organization pockets have no zip or velcro closure. Combine that with the slick lining and the bag's habit of tipping over, and the contents can slide out into the main compartment if not pocket-clipped in. I got so fed up I tried to glue velcro strips inside one of them. The cure peeled straight off, wrong glue, obviously. But you can imagine the frustration that got me to that point.
Another issue, the side pockets have no elasticity, it's straight canvas. Drop a bottle or umbrella in, tip the bag over, and they're on the floor. Which happens constantly, because this bag will not stand up on its own. Doesn't matter how you pack it. Even for the photos I took for this review, I had it packed weirdly to try and balance it, but still had to prop it up. This alone knocks the score down considerably, it's truly a daily frustration.
Size-wise, they are big pockets, so big in-fact that they handle my hefty 36oz Yeti Rambler (my favourite bottle ever, read my review here) if the bag isn't overpacked. It's a tight fit, but that makes it feel more secure in lieu of the elastic. But that's kind of a double-edged sword in itself; being so big, they allow "normal" sized water bottles to slide right out.
Also worth mentioning, the strap attachment points at the top of the bag are too close together. I'm a big guy with wide shoulders and it doesn't take long for the straps to dig in and become uncomfortable.
The bits that do work
Two quick-access pockets I use every day.
The small zip pocket near the grab handle is perfect for keys, painkillers, hand sanitiser. The stuff you want without taking the bag off. Soft felt lining, super convenient, brilliant, no notes.
The front zip pocket is also great, with one caveat. The zip runs through the centre of the pocket rather than along the top, so to actually get at what's inside you need the bag laid flat on its back. Vertical access is awkward.
The protective flaps over the zips are a nice touch but tend to get in the way sometimes.
What I carry in it
For context, daily load:
- Work books
- Filofax personal
- 11" tablet
- Organiser EDC pouch (separate post coming on this)
- Painkillers and hand sanitiser
- USB-C cable plus A-to-C, C-to-micro and C-to-Lightning adapters
- Anker power bank
- Yeti Rambler 36oz
- Carabiner and keys on a key leash
Comfortably fits the lot with room to spare. Capacity isn't the issue.
| Spec | Value |
|---|---|
| Capacity | 28L |
| Dimensions | 47 x 31 x 15.5 cm |
| Weight | 1000g |
| Material | G-1000 HeavyDuty Eco (65% recycled polyester, 35% organic cotton) |
| Laptop compartment | Padded, fits up to 15" |
| Colour reviewed | Dark Olive |
| RRP | £120 |
Pros
- Premium looks, particularly in Dark Olive
- G1000 fabric feels properly tough and expensive
- Lovely leather grab handle
- Great zips
- Excellent padded laptop compartment
- Two well-placed quick-access zip pockets (top and front)
- Plenty of capacity for a full daily load
Cons
- A lot of internal organiser pockets have no closure, contents slide out
- Side pockets have no elasticity, lose anything in them if the bag tips
- Bag will not stand up on its own, however it is packed
- Strap attachment points are too close together for broader shoulders
- G1000 grabs every bit of fluff and pet hair within a 100 mile radius
- Front zip pocket really needs the bag laid flat to use properly
- Zip flaps can get in the way
Verdict
I really wanted to love this bag. The materials are excellent, the look is brilliant, and bits of it (the laptop compartment, the leather handle, the quick-access pockets) are properly well done. It really does feel expensive.
The rest of it just doesn't work for me. Pockets that won't hold what you put in them, a bag that falls over the moment you set it down, uncomfortable straps. None of these are dealbreakers individually. Together they add up to a bag I find myself fighting with more than I should after a year of daily use.
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