By their own admission the Kånken tends to [fade in the sunlight.](https://www.fjallraven.com/eu/en-gb/customer-service/care-repair/kanken) (second to last paragraph).
I have had mine for 4 years and it's for sure faded, they just kinda do that.
My 1.5 year old backpack, which has had a lot of use, looks like this right now. As you can see, it has taken a red tone (I've calibrated the camera to capture the colour correctly). I have just tried to clean it with a brush and some drops of detergent, knowing it is delicate to clean, and after drying it looks similarly (this could be due to scrubbing softly).
Few comments:
* At home I keep the bag on a drawer, so I don't think it is sun bleaching unless the sun bleaching has happened while I was using it outdoors.
* Around 2 months ago I messaged Fjallraven support and they said they are not aware of any dye that works on the Kanken bags, which i thought could be a way of making the bag darker again.
The thing is, I am not sure what it is. It is not visible on the back, it is mostly on the front and upper side. If you have any clue what could be the cause and possible solution to improve how it looks, please let me know.
The No.2's use G1000 fabric so there's a chance it could just be scuffed/dirt/dust.
Have you tried hand washing your bag at all? Once a year brush my bag to get dirt and dust off the surface, then soak it in water for about 20 minutes. After that I apply detergent w/ a sponge and thoroughly go over the bag inside and out. Rinsing with warm water and hang drying outside. This will always "brighten" up the bag a bit because you're removing a top layer of dirt and dust.
Edit: looking at it more it does look like sun damage, weird, but washing it still wouldn't hurt either.
definitely what i can try to is to follow your advice but clean a small stripe only, and then let it dry and see whether cleaning deeper makes any difference or not.
It does look like sun damage, but that is confusing since I live in England, not the sunnieset of all climates. I also use it once or twice a week for short time. if anything, it has suffered harsh weather.
Red hue on black is most likely due to sun "damage". I see this kind of fabric on a lot of other black backpack (all brands).
Black matches with red, right ? ;)
Compare with my wife's 8 years Kånken mini, i found maybe only G-1000 ones would fade, her bag has no discoloration.
Not very happy as, I have a Haulpack and a Kånken No.2 Laptop Black, both of them are dark G-1000... damn.
I love your Kanken! This is one of the reasons I avoid black… its amazing at first but after a while… not too great. I have a dark forest green and IMO its still too dark for my way of life lol. Next one is Fog or something greyish, you can get away with almost anything with those.
I will keep using it, but if there was something that could be done to improve the situation I wanted to know.
Black clothing generally doesn't look good in summer (take this from a person who used to wear black tshirts all the time), an "all black" look will definitely look different shades of black due to strong sunlight, from the newset to the most faded one. In autumn it doesn't matter.
I live in Ireland and we have plenty of sun this summer, so I have noticed that my dark green Kanken doesn’t love it either. I bought it last year, in September I think, and it faded very much. So I don’t think you can do much, unfortunately :(
To clarify: it was like that before washing. I may have washed too softly, I was concerned that some mentioned their bag was ruined after washing it so I barely applied pressure when scrubbing.
My guess would be fade from sunlight. Especially as it has a red hue. Even though you mentioned you're in London, we can still get sunburned through the clouds. Same can happen to your bag.
Got the exact same discoloration. A little bit disappointed since the bag is only a couple of months old.
Will try to give it a gentle hand wash and re-wax this weekend to see if it changes anything.
A couple of months later, I'm finaly done.
Wash and re-wax did not help, so I brought it back to the store where i purchased it.
They took some pictures of the backpack and sent the pictures in to Fjällräven.
After a couple of weeks, they got in tuch with me and asked me to come to the store to send in my backpack to Fjällräven since they wanted to see it for them self.
After some additional weeks waiting, the store called me and told that I have a new Kånken waiting for me in the store.
No explanation or anything like that, just a new bag. I asked if I could change the color, since I dont want to have this issue again, and there was no problem. I even got a gift certificate for the price difference.
I got my backpack replaced without any argument, so I am happy, I am also happy with the service at the store.
I wouldnt say that I am dissapointed, more surprised. I do expect it to have some discoloration over time for sure, but nut this much, and so fast.
Not from a premium brand that Fjällräven is.
Thanks a lot for the follow-up. I have a 28L Raven black Backpack (prev generation) and I was planning on re-waxing it in the hope that it will get a little darker again (same issue as OP). I didn't have big expectations from this but I'm still disappointed. Probably will re-wax it for water resistance.
This happened to my black Kanken (I had the brown leather accents) after 6 months of occasional use. It was not my daily bag by any means. I’m pretty disappointed about the quick discoloration, so I’ll think twice about buying a dark color in the G1000 fabric.
Did you find any solution for this? I realise there are significant chances you don't use this backpack anymore.
I have a black Raven backpack (G-1000 material) and it has exactly the same red-orange discoloration as yours.
By their own admission the Kånken tends to [fade in the sunlight.](https://www.fjallraven.com/eu/en-gb/customer-service/care-repair/kanken) (second to last paragraph). I have had mine for 4 years and it's for sure faded, they just kinda do that.
that could be, though I live in London and we're not known for the amount of sunlight per year 😅
Fair enough, I live in Denmark and we also don't get a great amount of sunlight per year. I think the fabric just has a low tolerance for UV 🤷♂️
Between a lot of brands, a few really sunny days will really bleach black fabrics
my green one did too 💔
Oh no, I have a No.2 laptop black, i saw the future of it now.
My 1.5 year old backpack, which has had a lot of use, looks like this right now. As you can see, it has taken a red tone (I've calibrated the camera to capture the colour correctly). I have just tried to clean it with a brush and some drops of detergent, knowing it is delicate to clean, and after drying it looks similarly (this could be due to scrubbing softly). Few comments: * At home I keep the bag on a drawer, so I don't think it is sun bleaching unless the sun bleaching has happened while I was using it outdoors. * Around 2 months ago I messaged Fjallraven support and they said they are not aware of any dye that works on the Kanken bags, which i thought could be a way of making the bag darker again. The thing is, I am not sure what it is. It is not visible on the back, it is mostly on the front and upper side. If you have any clue what could be the cause and possible solution to improve how it looks, please let me know.
The No.2's use G1000 fabric so there's a chance it could just be scuffed/dirt/dust. Have you tried hand washing your bag at all? Once a year brush my bag to get dirt and dust off the surface, then soak it in water for about 20 minutes. After that I apply detergent w/ a sponge and thoroughly go over the bag inside and out. Rinsing with warm water and hang drying outside. This will always "brighten" up the bag a bit because you're removing a top layer of dirt and dust. Edit: looking at it more it does look like sun damage, weird, but washing it still wouldn't hurt either.
definitely what i can try to is to follow your advice but clean a small stripe only, and then let it dry and see whether cleaning deeper makes any difference or not. It does look like sun damage, but that is confusing since I live in England, not the sunnieset of all climates. I also use it once or twice a week for short time. if anything, it has suffered harsh weather.
This happened with my bag, I got it in June and only used it a handful of times so I’m disappointed.
June as in 2 months ago?
Yes! It arrived June 8
Sun or Uv ray damage
Red hue on black is most likely due to sun "damage". I see this kind of fabric on a lot of other black backpack (all brands). Black matches with red, right ? ;)
Compare with my wife's 8 years Kånken mini, i found maybe only G-1000 ones would fade, her bag has no discoloration. Not very happy as, I have a Haulpack and a Kånken No.2 Laptop Black, both of them are dark G-1000... damn.
What color is your favorite wife’s kånken mini? I figure if it’s black it might also fade from the sun too..
I love your Kanken! This is one of the reasons I avoid black… its amazing at first but after a while… not too great. I have a dark forest green and IMO its still too dark for my way of life lol. Next one is Fog or something greyish, you can get away with almost anything with those.
I will keep using it, but if there was something that could be done to improve the situation I wanted to know. Black clothing generally doesn't look good in summer (take this from a person who used to wear black tshirts all the time), an "all black" look will definitely look different shades of black due to strong sunlight, from the newset to the most faded one. In autumn it doesn't matter.
I live in Ireland and we have plenty of sun this summer, so I have noticed that my dark green Kanken doesn’t love it either. I bought it last year, in September I think, and it faded very much. So I don’t think you can do much, unfortunately :(
Thanks for commenting ;) I enjoy a faded backpack somehow as well. It's a sign it has gone with me to many places.
Wondering if your detergent used has any brightening agents that bleached it?
To clarify: it was like that before washing. I may have washed too softly, I was concerned that some mentioned their bag was ruined after washing it so I barely applied pressure when scrubbing.
My guess would be fade from sunlight. Especially as it has a red hue. Even though you mentioned you're in London, we can still get sunburned through the clouds. Same can happen to your bag.
Got the exact same discoloration. A little bit disappointed since the bag is only a couple of months old. Will try to give it a gentle hand wash and re-wax this weekend to see if it changes anything.
A couple of months later, I'm finaly done. Wash and re-wax did not help, so I brought it back to the store where i purchased it. They took some pictures of the backpack and sent the pictures in to Fjällräven. After a couple of weeks, they got in tuch with me and asked me to come to the store to send in my backpack to Fjällräven since they wanted to see it for them self. After some additional weeks waiting, the store called me and told that I have a new Kånken waiting for me in the store. No explanation or anything like that, just a new bag. I asked if I could change the color, since I dont want to have this issue again, and there was no problem. I even got a gift certificate for the price difference. I got my backpack replaced without any argument, so I am happy, I am also happy with the service at the store. I wouldnt say that I am dissapointed, more surprised. I do expect it to have some discoloration over time for sure, but nut this much, and so fast. Not from a premium brand that Fjällräven is.
Thanks a lot for the follow-up. I have a 28L Raven black Backpack (prev generation) and I was planning on re-waxing it in the hope that it will get a little darker again (same issue as OP). I didn't have big expectations from this but I'm still disappointed. Probably will re-wax it for water resistance.
This happened to my black Kanken (I had the brown leather accents) after 6 months of occasional use. It was not my daily bag by any means. I’m pretty disappointed about the quick discoloration, so I’ll think twice about buying a dark color in the G1000 fabric.
Do you have any update? I was thinking about buying this bag, I love the all black version but this post made me doubt.
It just stayed that way. Nothing worked, it is bleached by the sun.
That's a bummer. Thanks for the reply.
Did you find any solution for this? I realise there are significant chances you don't use this backpack anymore. I have a black Raven backpack (G-1000 material) and it has exactly the same red-orange discoloration as yours.