A highly versatile, stylish and practical duffel bag for car camping, weekends away and international travel.
With a focus on practicality and versatility, duffel bags cater for travellers who need ease and comfort as much as robustness and security. Plus, the ability to comfortably carry it as a backpack makes it one of the most useful bag designs for those who get around a bit! And a bit of style doesn’t go amiss, either! So, does the Fjallraven Farden Duffel 50 hit the mark as a viable option for adventures and city breaks alike? We think so.
Fjallraven Farden Duffel 50: The stats
| Best for: | Car camping, local and international travel |
| Weight: | 960g |
| Waterproof: | No, water reistant (3000 HH) |
| Fabric: | 500D polyamide |
| Number of pockets: | 4 |
| Eco-conscious: | Produced without PFAS, Recycled polyamide |
| Overall rating: |
Features of the Fjallraven Farden Duffel 50
Shoulder straps
The lightly padded shoulder straps provide enough comfort for lugging a fully loaded pack for short distances, around the airport or sightseeing around town if you’re travelling light. But what makes them really well suited to packing and travelling is that the straps are completely stow-able. Unclip them at the bottom end and tuck them into a zippered sleeve at the top for a streamlined duffel that is easily stowed as hang luggage on a flight, packed into a car boot or as checked-in luggage without anything to get caught on the conveyor-belts.
Boot compartment
At one end of the duffel is a zippered compartment that is completely separate to the main compartment. This is a mega feature which is designed for storing boots or shoes but is useful for so much more. It fits in a large pair or walking boots or a couple of pairs of normal shoes. But the best bit? If you don’t want use its full capacity, it can be folded up inside the main compartment and the excess material that forms the pocket can be clipped out of the way to maximise fully on the main compartment space. Additionally, the two-way zip to the compartment is lockable (with your own padlock).
Internal mesh pocket
Usefully, there’s a long mesh pocket that runs the full length of the side panel inside the main compartment. The pocket itself has a divider in the middle to help organise your things, but just one zip that covers both parts of the pocket.
Compression straps
A very thoughtful design feature of the Farden is the compression straps at both ends of the duffel. Cinch them right in when you need to compress the bag down as much as possible for on-flight hang luggage. Or loosen them right up when you need to really make the best of every inch of storage. The strap at the boot compartment end can be undone using a buckle, making it easier to fully access the compartment.
Carry handles
When the shoulder straps are stowed the two carry handles on either side of the duffel really come into their own. They make it super easy to haul it around and I really like that there are two. Even when the shoulder straps are out, these handles get a lot of use.
Main opening
A super burly two-way zipper provides a huge entry to the main compartment. This is maximised if you fully loosen the compression straps creating a really wide entry and easy access to all your stuff. Additionally, the zip is lockable (with your own padlock).
External pocket
There’s a small zippered pocket on the outside of the pack that’s ideal for a wallet, passport or easy access snacks whilst on the go! I can just about access this whilst the duffel is on my back.
Fjallraven Farden Duffel 50 review
Fjallraven are renowned for their incredibly high quality, well designed and aesthetically appealing products, leaving them somewhat vulnerable to criticism if they don’t deliver (especially as the price is usually as high as the quality!). However, I’ve encountered very few failings in Fjallraven equipment and clothes that I’ve tried out over the years, and the Farden Duffel is no exception.
Initial impressions were only positive. This duffel oozes style and functionality. Helped by the tough 500D recycled polyamide outer fabric and super burly zippers and zipper pulls, I found myself touching it and turning it over in my hands, wanting to pack it full and head away for the weekend immediately!
This year, Rob and I have been putting the Farden through it’s paces on some car camping trips in the UK, a night staying in a creekside shed(!) and weekends staying with family, all with a 1-year-old in tow. Rob also used it as his sole bag for a week-long Ultimate Frisbee tournament in Sweden (he blended right in!).
Camping and local travel
For overnight trips the 50 litre capacity is just about big enough for the three of us. We tend to stuff all of the kiddo’s items in the boot compartment and then I share the main compartment with Rob. Conveniently, we can both have a section of the internal mesh pocket to ourselves. On longer trips we give the kiddo his own bag, share the Farden and put the boot compartment to full use as a boot compartment! This pocket also gets used for damp or dirty clothes, toiletries, or when I use it on my own it becomes the pocket for everything that’s not clothes. I really love the ability to organise my stuff so the presence of this pocket is a total deal breaker for me in terms of versatility, usefulness and practicality.
Another thing I love about the boot compartment is that you can access items even when the pack is in the middle of a stack of other luggage in the boot of the car. If you can’t get to the top zip then the front zip is usually accessible – just make sure you’re smart about packing items you’re likely to need whilst on the road.
International travel
The 50 litre Farden is very well suited to international travel for those who want to keep it to hand luggage only. The size and capacity is right at the limit of what’s accepted by airlines. But the important thing is that it is accepted! Be sure to get the duffel as compact as possible using the compression straps and even a fully loaded duffel will fit into the overhead locker of a plane.
Packing the shoulder straps away into their discreet little zippered pockets is actually easier than you might think. The openings to the stow-away sleeves are just big enough for the shoulder straps to slide into easily, even when you’re in a bit of a hurry at the airport.
As Rob was using the duffel in Sweden as his only baggage, he took it to the pitches everyday, put stinky cleats and sweaty kit in the boot compartment and filled the rest of the duffel with clean clothes, waterproofs, food and a water bottle. The little side pocket was perfect for his sun cream, and the compression straps were cinched right down for a more stable carry, as it wasn’t filled to capacity. The bag got slung onto the ground, pitch side, without a thought for the wet ground and odd shower thanks to the water resistant fabric with a 3,000mm HH (Hydrostatic Head) rating. It’s not waterproof, but it certainly resists water well so long as it’s not for prolonged periods.
Whilst travelling, Rob put a carabiner onto the carry handle (which is super tough and strong). To this he clipped his water bottle so that it didn’t take up space inside the duffel and for easy access.
What I love the most about the Fjallraven Farden Duffel 50
The Farden is incredibly spacious without seeming like a big bag. It’s also very well made with super appealing aesthetics. However, the thing that we both love the most is the boot compartment which adds a whole load of versatility and usefulness to an otherwise fairly standard duffel.
What I don’t love so much about the Fjallraven Farden Duffel 50
The placement of the one compression strap (although essential to the design of the bag) can be slightly annoying if you’re in and out of the boot compartment lots as you have to keep clipping it back up or it just flaps around. A small gripe. And if I’m getting picky, I’d love to see another internal mesh pocket for more organisation options. A key clip inside the mesh pocket wouldn’t go amiss either, but now I’m getting really picky!
Verdict
The Fjallraven Farden Duffel 50 is a highly aesthetic, practical, versatile and durable option for car camping, weekends away, local travel and international travel. It has some appealing design features that make it stand out from other options out there and shoot its usability and versatility scores right up. These features, along with the usual Fjallraven quality, help to make the comparatively high price tag just about worth the spend. That said, there are a couple of little extras I’d love to see in the Farden which are currently missing. As such, it get’s a solid 4 out of 5 from me.
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Disclaimer: Cool of the Wild received this product free in return for an honest review. We only recommend gear that we love from companies we trust and we are under no obligation to give a positive review. All thoughts and opinions are that of the reviewer and we are in no way influenced by the brand or company.
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