Fjallraven High Coast Tote 30 Review

Fjallraven’s bags have a pretty recognizable look, but the brand makes gear with a surprisingly wide range of materials. The Fjallraven High Coast Tote 30 falls toward the lighter, more packable end of that spectrum. Rather than the thick, canvas-like construction you might associate with some of the brand’s other bags (like the Kankens), this one uses lightweight 210D recycled polyamide with DWR and PU coatings for added weather resistance. We’ve been testing it for two weeks, taking it through multiple airports and stuffing it into overhead bins, and that lightweight construction makes a lot of sense once you start traveling with it. It doesn’t have the rigid structure of a traditional travel tote, but that’s also part of what makes it so easy to pack away when you don’t need it.

We took the Fjallraven High Coast Tote 30 on a trip to New Hampshire, where it accompanied our tester through four flights and plenty of time in airport terminals. We used it as our only bag for the trip, giving us a good opportunity to see just how much flexibility that 30-liter capacity offers. Between clothing, tech, headphones, an extra layer, and a laptop, we were able to make it work without feeling like we were playing an aggressive game of Tetris. There are some compromises, particularly with organization and structure, but that’s kind of the deal with this bag. If you’re looking for something lightweight that can shift between a tote, crossbody, carry-on, and packable backup bag, there’s a lot to like here.

External Components

The High Coast Tote 30 is made from 210D recycled polyamide, which has a lightweight, nylon-like feel. There’s a DWR coating on the exterior along with a PU coating for some additional weather resistance. After several flights and plenty of handling during our testing, we didn’t notice any major blemishes or damage. There was a little scuffing, but it was mostly cosmetic; nothing major like a tear or loose threads. The bottom also has a ripstop design for extra durability where most needed.

There’s a small amount of padding on the bottom and back panel, too. We’re talking roughly a quarter inch of padding, so this isn’t exactly a protective fortress. Still, it gives the bag a little more substance when we’re putting it down, and it provides some welcome separation between whatever is inside and the ground. We’d still be careful about tossing delicate items into the bag, especially because the overall construction remains quite flexible.

The High Coast Tote 30 gives you a few ways to carry it. The included crossbody strap attaches with gatekeeper clips, and moving the clips around changes the direction of the diagonal carry. That’s a useful little detail if you have a preference for which shoulder you want to carry it on. We found the crossbody configuration surprisingly comfortable, even when the bag was packed for travel. The strap isn’t padded, but during our airport testing, it didn’t dig into our tester’s shoulder or become particularly uncomfortable.

The main handles are where things get a little more complicated. These are essentially adjustable webbing straps, so we changed their length depending on how we wanted to carry the bag. If you keep them shorter, they work nicely as grab handles. Extend them, and they become long enough to carry the bag over your shoulder like a traditional tote. We really like that flexibility because we’re not left with a pair of long tote straps hanging around when we don’t need them.

The downside is that the two-piece construction of the handles can be slightly awkward. When they’re extended, it’s surprisingly easy to grab one section instead of both, which makes the handle feel extra long and a little weird. It’s not a dealbreaker, and it’s technically avoidable if we remember to grab both pieces, but it’s one of those small quirks that becomes noticeable when we’re constantly grabbing the bag in an airport.

The bag also has two side pockets intended for water bottles. These are made from the same lightweight material, but their usefulness depends heavily on how the main compartment is packed. When we filled the bag, the contents could push into the bottle pocket, making it difficult to slide a bottle in. We could get an 18-ounce YETI bottle into one side with a little finagling, but it wasn’t something we’d want to wrestle with while rushing through an airport. As a result, we often used these pockets for smaller items like a phone instead.

Fit Notes

We’re generally more comfortable carrying a tote over one shoulder than wearing one crossbody-style, but the High Coast Tote 30 worked well in both configurations. When we loaded it with a 16-inch laptop, the extra weight was definitely noticeable, but carrying it over the shoulder distributed that weight in a way that still felt manageable. We wouldn’t necessarily choose it for walking around all day with a heavy bag, but for getting from one airport terminal to another, it worked well. We also liked being able to grab one of the handles for additional support when moving around with a fuller load.

The adjustable handles provide plenty of flexibility in how the bag sits on the body. With the straps extended, we can carry it over the shoulder, while the shorter configuration works better for hand carry. The crossbody strap is another option for going hands-free. That versatility makes the bag feel less like a tote with a bonus strap and more like a travel bag that happens to have several carry configurations. The main thing to remember is that the bag’s lightweight construction doesn’t magically disappear when we load it up. The more we put inside, the more the flexible body can shift around, so thoughtful packing makes a noticeable difference.

Inside The Tote

Inside, the High Coast Tote 30 keeps things refreshingly simple. There’s a large main compartment, a front zippered pocket, and a dedicated laptop sleeve. That’s basically it, which is par for the course for most totes. If you want lots of built-in organization, this isn’t the bag to reach for. But if you’re happy to use pouches and packing cubes to create your own organization, the simple interior works quite well.

The front zippered pocket spans most of the front panel, giving us a substantial amount of space for quick-access items. It’s useful for things we want to reach without opening the main compartment, but the internal mesh pockets aren’t particularly effective. They’re quite loose, so smaller items can slide out when the bag is moved around. We experienced this firsthand when placing the bag upside down in the overhead compartment of a particularly small aircraft. Some of the items we’d placed in those mesh pockets worked their way out. The pockets aren’t completely useless, but we wouldn’t rely on them for keeping tiny essentials organized.

A pouch is a better solution for that kind of gear. During our testing, we ended up using another small crossbody bag as a sort of organizational pouch when we needed to consolidate smaller items. That worked much better than relying on the loose mesh pockets. We’d recommend doing something similar if you’re carrying things like chargers, earbuds, medication, cables, or other small items that tend to disappear into the bottom of a large tote.

The main compartment uses a dual-zipper design, which we appreciate. Instead of opening the entire bag every time we need something toward one end, we can pull one zipper toward the item we want and reach in. There are also paracord-style zipper pulls that make the zippers easy to grab.

There’s a hook at the top of the opening, too. We don’t necessarily need to use it when the zipper is closed, but it can be handy when we’ve packed the bag beyond what the zipper comfortably allows. Hooking it closed won’t replace a zipper for security, especially when we’re flying, but it can keep an overstuffed bag somewhat contained. It also slightly changes the silhouette, flattening the top of the bag.

The laptop sleeve sits against the back panel and has a buckle at the top to keep the computer from falling forward. Fjallraven rates it for a 15-inch laptop, although we fit a 16-inch laptop (a MacBook Pro) inside with some room to spare (note: laptop sizes vary, and they aren’t necessarily a strict function of display size). The sleeve itself isn’t heavily padded, though the padding on the back panel provides some additional protection.

There is technically a false bottom beneath the laptop sleeve, but we’d be cautious about relying on it. Because the bag is so flexible, that suspended space can compress when the bag isn’t packed enough to support it. If you’re carrying a laptop and want more protection, we’d still recommend using a dedicated sleeve.

Packing strategy matters with this tote. Since the materials are so flexible, putting a laptop in first makes the entire bag want to tip over until you add more structure. We found it worked better to put packing cubes or other relatively firm items into the bag first, then add the laptop and remaining gear. That essentially creates a more stable base for everything else.

The rest of the main compartment is essentially a large open bucket. During our trip, we packed two packing cubes with about a week’s worth of clothing. We also carried an extra layer, headphones, a tech pouch, a packable jacket, and other essentials. With that loadout, the High Coast Tote 30 worked well as our only bag.

Perhaps the biggest trick up its sleeve is how small it can get when we don’t need it. We were able to stuff the entire tote into another travel bag, where it took up roughly the space of a packable jacket. That made it easy to bring along as a secondary bag without taking up much packing space. Later, we pulled it back out and used it as our carry-on. That’s a genuinely useful travel feature, especially if your luggage needs might change throughout a trip.