Fjallraven Kajka or Abisko?

[emrock]

Hi all,

I have been mulling over buying a new rucksack, and have pretty much decided on Fjallraven. They just seem to make well designed (e.g. a main section that can be completely unzipped from the front) and durable, without being neon. Also they do lots of womens models that arn't pink or baby blue, which is always nice.

I'm after something about 65 litres for hiking/backpacking with all my gear and my bergans lavvo. So this means either the Fjallraven Abisko, or the Kajka. The Abisko seems to be slightly more lightweight, and has some nice design features such as movable straps, a hard base and slim front pocket. It also comes in a pretty red colour, which is after all a large attraction.

The Kajka on the other hand is quite heavy but packed ith features. Removable lid, expandable side pockets, mess base pocket for airing wet stuff, and a more adjustable harness. However it is only available in green and black .

So what do you think, which should I go for?

Emma

 

[Man of Tanith]

got any links?

 

[emrock]

The Abisko
and the Kajka

 

[Dave]

Pablo reccomends the Kajka on his site. Depends what you need it for Emma. The lightwave rucksacks are worth considering as well.

 

[grey-array]

I could personally recommend the Kajka, but I am 186 cm tall and from working in a shop that sells packs like these I have seen Women before that have trouble with the size of the packs, as the length of the back of the pack even on its smallest length sometimes doesnt fit them. so my advice to you, as someone who sells a whole load of packs, and seeing the fact I never had the Abisko in my hands, go to a shop where they have them both and try them on, take the time to correctly adjust the packs exactly to your body and load them up with about 10 kilograms so you know how they feel and you can get a feel for wearing them for 50 k's straight

A few pointers from a future backpack designer ( that would be me ^^):
always make sure that the hipsupport belt fits snugly on top of the hipbone, and with on top I mean that the centre of the belt hits the centre of the top of the hipbone, so it kinda wraps around your hipbone. This gives the hipbelt its carrying capabilities you want from your pack, also the Fjallraven packs allow for the width of the shoulderstraps to be adjusted, if they fit to slim they can start to chafe around the neck, and to wide would mean that the weight on the shoulderstraps would be on outer 30% of the straps causing pressure points.

Last but certainly not least, sorry for making your head spin: Materials
The Kajka is made of a 600D polyester very tough stuff but also made in a way that it wont make allot of sound which would alert wildlife
The Abisko however is made from a recycled nylon type, which makes the pack Lighter, a whole kilogram even, but it will produce more sound because of the material, and it also is less tough then a 600d polyester which makes it a little more vulnerable.

As for a fit the Abisko has at the end of the shoulderstraps a thinner strap, this is done so that female with a cupsize worth mentioning have less discomfort from the straps acting like a pressure pressing the breasts against eachother, I see this often and it is neither charming or comfortable so make sure that does not happen to you.

As a final word I wish you good luck with the search
if you need any more advice just drop me a pm
And really just try them on a backpack is a type of equipment that you cant buy of a e-shop, just like you can buy a pair of hiking boots from the Internet as it has to fit your body and you cant see that from an image online, if you need some fitting advice for how to adjust the pack to your body just ask and I will bombard this thread with more information ^^, but for now I think I terrorized these pages enough

Yours sincerely Ruud

 

[susi]

I own the Kajka75 and the wife has the 65W version. They've had quite a lot of use and we're happy with them. The fact that you can detach the lid and use it as a bum-bag is very useful for short trips from a fixed camp. The adjustable back pad is superb, I'm 190cm and 89Kg, and there is plenty of adjustment for that sort of length. The compressions straps work well and there is enough adjustment straps to get the pack close to your back. In the words of certain "feminine products" adverts, "you hardly know you're wearing one". The fabric is tough and no damage so far, even scraping through very tight spruce forests. The belt has a couple of very useful pockets for phone/camera/hipflask/cigars, etc.

On the negative side, the tough fabric means this pack isn't the lightest.... and we both think the zips for the long side pockets should be on the "outside" of the pack and not the side nearest your back. The "wet towel" bag in the base of the pack is next to useless (unless you leave your sleeping bag behind). Reading some of the Swedish forums shows some guys have had problem carrying heavier loads in the Kajka (>25Kg or so) and some have had failed straps. I no longer carry that sort of weight, so haven't tested it beyond 20Kg.

Any specific questions, just drop a PM!