Fjallraven Skule 28L Backpack

I have had this backpack for about 4 months now. Pros It's a huge upgrade from my old one. The body is nice and sturdy and holds its shape well. The material feels durable. The straps fit nicely on my frame (5'4, woman). The back panel is very comfortable so far. I can also reach the top pocket by pulling the handle of the backpack with my other hand without taking the whole bag off my back, which is very convenient. The front mesh is also useful. It fits my laptop easily (15.6 inches) Cons -I personally don't mind but the organization system (pockets and stuff) is somewhat lacking. -The hip belt is there for stability and not to take weight off the back. This isn’t really a flaw, just a design choice. I get it that in order to be aesthetically pleasing both in urban and outdoors environments it can't have a full on hip belt. If a detachable hip belt that takes weight off could be designed that would be ideal. - On flat smooth ground it doesn't stand on its own, sometimes it slips. Final thoughts I am not putting 5 stars yet because I have yet to see how it will withstand the passage of time and how well it will do in more extreme situations. I haven't gone to a backbag trip (haven't tried to put a lot with it and I haven't been in a lot of rain or snow with it. PLEASE if a designer is reading this, please put on this backpack or other backpacks pockets on the straps. My old one had those and they were very useful. If on the other hand someone who wants to buy it is reading this: This backpack is for dayhikes and the city and for what it’s made for, it’s great!

Top quality, enough compartments, great for both carrying in city and wilderness.

Thos backpack has ghe perfect blend of features for college, travel, and hiking. The stretchy water bottle holders are very useful for holding things and the pockets are fairly functional for school purposes. The backpack is sort of acking in space but it does the job. The thing i love the most is the fabric and outer construction. Its super sturdy and holds up really well against dirt, mud, snow, and water. Love the carabiner attachments and waist strap as well for hiking. This isn't the best backpack out there for any activity but it strikes a really good balance if you want one for all activities

Ive had this Bag for 3 years and used it for Travel, Hiking, School, basically everything. And I will say it is great at filling most roles, it fits plenty, it's very comfortable, and overall a great long lasting backpack. What I cant get behind is some more annoying parts, the smaller pockets especially the small one on top of the bag often was in the way and caught my computer at least half the times I took it out, now this can be fixed by bending the backpack backwards slightly but that's not a option when it was completely full. Additionally the elastic cord in the back was also finicky at times and while it did well at holding things like sweatshirts and or extra items it tended to have to be very tight to hold onto those items and that caused them to push into the internal space making it difficult at times to put and take things in and out of the front storage area. And same thing with the water bottle holder, it tended to push the water bottle into the main compartment taking up space and making it slightly thiner so I can put things back in after taking them out. The strap to help hold the water bottle also is great but I found it to be too high up or low depending on the water bottle, additionally the elastic band to hold the extra fabric of the strap became lose over time and therefor less useful in hold it in place. Further more I think having a bit more padding on the bottom of the bag could have to protect whats inside the bag and make it it more durable. And finally I found the smaller pockets around the inside of the front pocket to be a little weak and one of the mesh pockets has ripped on the bottom and the larger zipped up on has a hole but still usable. And I do want to say though I'm listing all these issues I have with the backpack I do find it to be one of the best backpacks I've owned and recommend it to anyone that needs a everyday/travel bag.

I want to say that I want dearly to like this bag. It feels tough, it's very spacious, and it's quite comfortable to wear (with a caveat-- we'll get to that), and it seemed perfect for my needs, that being a bag i could take to both campus and out on the trail for day trips. If you are male (or maybe a fairly tall woman), and you've got similar needs to me, I absolutely recommend this bag, and you'll probably love it. Unfortunately, I am a woman. I'm on the short side, and being that I am a woman, a problem has arisen with the across the chest strap- it's placed perfectly such that, when done up, sits directly where my extended chest happens to be and compresses it in just the worst strangest way. The chest strap is of course adjustable, and can be raised or lowered, but women should be aware that even the highest up setting will still be much too low. Now, if you, woman, don't use this strap, you might still be happy with this bag (and probably why you see reviews from petite women who indeed don't seem to have any problems with this bag), but be aware that the shoulder straps are also just a tad long, so the bag won't sit as high as you might like it to on your back for hiking. I really don't know why the across the chest strap is so low-- it's unusual, because in unisex hiking bags they're typically still high up on the chest so I'd imagine it's more comfortable for men as well (not that I'd have any experience there) to have the strap above their pectorals instead of compressing them. Frankly the slightly long shoulder straps could still be servicable to me if the chest strap adjusters were higher. Do note that I'm talking about the 28L, here-- the 20L may fit better, but it's much too small for my purposes and doesn't have a hip strap. Now, as I've said, despite my complaints, the bag itself is still fantastic and that's why it's a shame it's got that small problem to me, but if you don't use across the chest straps, it'll probably work great for you. This bag is almost perfect, and it indeed might well be perfect for you. Just thought I'd throw this out there for whoever finds it helpful. To Fjallraven: You've done a great job here, but I'd recommend, to make it fit more people, you guys shrink the straps a smidge (compensating instead with more length to the adjustable part so bigger guys can still wear it) and move the chest strap array way up the body like a proper hiking pack so they're out of the way. Do this, and it's an easy five stars from me. Cheers.

Received this bag as a present 2 years back and still love it as much as i did then. It can be used for a range of things, ive used it for: work, hiking, weekend trips, 7 day holidays, it does it all. With a bit of shoving it can also be used as an easyjet free hand luggage bag! I did an overnight hike up Snowdon in torrential rain last year and despite myself being wet through even with waterproofs everything in my bag remained dry and didn't even get damp!!

bought a year ago, used daily since then for classes. i've also brought it on 3 trips cross country and functions excellently as a day bag as well. hasn't started to experience wear/anything breaking yet. well worth for the price!

So perfect for college students with heavy books! My backpacks are always stuffed to the brim and my back and shoulders have suffered greatly for it. I used to think my spine was just weak, but once I switched to the Skule 28, I realized I was just using ill-fitting backpacks! For reference, I'm a 5'2 female with a short torso; this pack distributes weight perfectly. I don't feel any strain on my back or shoulders AT ALL! The pack has some rigidity to it in the straps and back area which I appreciate. The whole thing is so high quality and I can tell it'll last me years. Bonus: it works excellently as a hiking daypack. The side stretch pockets paired with the side clips allow me to carry my huge 48oz Nalgene without worrying about it slipping out. There's plenty of attachment points for hanging things or tying things down. I don't feel back pain while hiking anymore because of this pack!