Product Review

At the end of the 1970s, new statistics showed that close to 80% of the Swedish population at some point experienced back pain, and the problem was becoming apparent in increasingly younger age groups. At that time, shoulder bags were fashion- able and experts realized that the risk of back pain decreased if the weight of schoolbooks was redistributed from one shoulder to two. Fjallraven's Ake Nordin followed the debate and decided to design an affordable, functional backpack that had plenty of space for schoolchildren's books and binders. This design, which we now know as the Kanken, launched in 1978 in cooperation with the Swedish Scout Association. By redistributing the weight of the bag from one shoulder to two, the Kanken helped diminished back problems and even improve posture. Now, over 35 years later, Kanken has straightened out millions of backs.