Fjällräven Färden Duffel 50 review: a classy travel pack made with swish Swedish flair and attention to detail

Depending on the context, the Swedish word Färden means ‘the journey’ or ‘traveling’, making it the perfect name for Fjällräven's family of durable and functional travel bags. There are six members in this family: two roller bags, a toiletry bag, a travel backpack and two duffel bags: an 80-liter version and this 50-liter version.

Durability and functionality are two qualities we’ve come to expect from Fjällräven but it’s the design quality and style of the gear that has elevated it to become one of the most desirable brands in the world, where outdoor apparel and casual daypacks are concerned anyway. Its Kanken daypacks are perennially popular, while we’ve yet to discover a sub-par piece of adventure kit with the Arctic fox logo attached to it.

So, I was stoked to test out the Färden Duffel to see how it measured up against the other leading haulers on the market today.

First impressions

Having tested Fjällräven’s excellent Kajka 55 backpack last year, this immediately sprung to mind as I inspected the Färden. The two bags share the same timeless aesthetic, where modern design meets buccaneering Indiana Jones vibes. It looks the part whether you're on safari, at the campground or staying in a fancy hotel.

It’s obviously hard-wearing but the design slants more towards travel elegance than belt-and-braces outdoor adventure. There are only two grab handles and they’re not particularly meaty; there are no gear loops for lashing equipment, and the shoulder straps are noticeably thinner than most. While something like the hard-as-nails Highlander Hauler Duffel says: ‘Go ahead, grab me, put your ice axes in me, throw me around…I don't care' – the Färden, although it’d hold its own in the adventure stakes, seems to be saying: 'I’m a little bit sophisticated for all that'.

And sophisticated it is. The shoulder straps ingeniously slot away into long, zippered compartments. When not in use the side compression straps can be used to flatten everything down for easy storage. The side pocket expands depending on your needs. And the whole thing is constructed from recycled materials entirely free of PFAS.

Design and materials

There are a few unique design features that I’ve not seen in other duffel bags, such as the side compression straps. As mentioned, you can use them to flatten the pack when it's empty, but they’re also great for compressing everything down if the pack isn’t completely full. They can then be released via a buckle if you feel like you don't need them.

The shoulder straps are ergonomically shaped for a comfortable backpack carry, and the way they taper in the middle means that they can be used as carry handles too, negating the need for separate handles. Clever. Even more neat is the way they can be stashed away into long zippered compartments when not needed. A snap link connects the straps to fabric loops on the pack. Once undone, all you have to do is feed the straps into the compartment and zip up. If your first sight was of the Färden in this transformed state and you didn’t know any better, you’d think the pack never had straps in the first place.

Fjällräven is a brand that takes pride in its sustainability efforts, using recycled materials where possible. The Färden makes use of super durable, recycled 500-denier polyamide for the main material and it feels extremely robust. As is usually the case with duffel bags, it’s water-resistant, rather than fully waterproof. So, it’ll cope with the occasional shower but don’t leave it outside during a Bangkok downpour.

Storage options

The storage options on the Färden are a little stripped back compared to some. There’s the large main compartment, which features a central, long, zippered opening rather than the usual U-shaped lid. Once inside, one of the side walls features two side-by-side mesh compartments opened using just the one zipper. I like that Fjällräven have divided this space into two, as it stops items sliding around too much inside. These are ideal for storing little items you want to have separate to the main bulk, such as a headlamp or pocket guidebook.

On the opposite side there’s a small exterior zippered pocket, which is handy for items you might want to keep handy, without having to access the main storage area. The Färden features an expandable side pocket – a design feature also seen on the Wandrd Carryall Duffel – that can be clipped out of the way using a button press when not needed. This allows you to keep larger items separate from the main compartment, such as a drybag full of laundry or wet hiking boots (in fact, Fjällräven calls it 'the boot compartment').

The Zip pulls (on both the main compartment and the boot compartment) feature rings for attaching a padlock, for peace of mind when travelling.

You can technically store items in the shoulder strap compartments too. I managed to slot a pair of folded trekking poles into them. However, there’s a couple of caveats here. Firstly, you can’t zip these up unless the shoulder straps are folded away inside and, secondly, items that aren’t as long as something like a trekking pole could easily get stuck in the bottom. It’s fair to say, I don’t think Fjällräven really envisaged these as storage options for anything other than the straps.

In the field

I’ve been using the Färden during late spring and early summer travels around Britain’s southwest, hauling kit on the way to hiking missions, using it as a car camping storage solution and even shouldering it to hike to a wild camping spot.

I was pleasantly surprised with how comfortable the backpack carry option was, given that the straps don’t look as chunky and cushioned as some. The key word here may be ergonomic. The straps are shaped like extended hourglasses, wide towards the top, thin in the middle and then wider again at the bottom. This helps to distribute the weight away from the shoulders, while the part of the pack that the back comes into contact with is nicely padded. I’d go as far as to say that this is the comfiest duffel I’ve tested when it comes to a backpack carry.

I also like the way the shoulder straps can be stowed away when not in use. However, the system, while undoubtedly fancy, isn’t as well designed as the simpler yet more effective stashing system on Cotopaxi’s peerless Allpa Duffel. On the Allpa, it’s dead easy to detach the straps and stash them in the Velcro side pockets.

Here, liberating the strap from the pack can be a bit of a chore, as the fabric loop it’s linked to is a little bit too thick in comparison to the dainty snap link. After opening the gate, the fabric tends to get caught in the groove that the gate sits in. It gets better with practice but it’s hardly intuitive. Likewise, feeding the strap into its long compartment is fairly straightforward, but not as easy as just popping it in a pocket. This is perhaps an example of where the pack is a little over-engineered – a little too sophisticated.

All in all, I very much like the Färden. It’s an elegantly designed duffel that’s perfect for travel but less so for expedition life. If you’re off to Hawaii, it’s the perfect pack. If you’re hauling an elephant’s weight in mountaineering gear to a remote basecamp, something more straightforward and with a bit more grit, like Patagonia’s Black Hole, is better suited.

Also consider

Comparison table