Note: this item was provided for review.
You might be surprised to learn that one of the hardest things to get me to review is a backpack. I’ve tried way too many backpacks, own way too many, and I am largely not interested in taking review samples. So, it’s a bit of a surprise (to me at least) that I was game to take a look at the Shift Backpack 27L from KNKG. There’s something quite visually striking about this bag, both online in the product photos and in person.
I have to apologize to KNKG—I slightly forgot to write this sooner. This backpack quickly became my everything bag, and I forgot it was a review sample, and not just a workhorse of a bag for me.
This bag is everything I wanted other waxed canvas bags to be, put together in a way where it simply excels at everything I’ve thrown at it. And I have tossed quite a lot at this backpack—it’s fantastic all around.
Materials & Specs
Quick rundown, pulled straight from the product page:
- Water-resistant Scottish waxed canvas from Halley Stevensons (cotton, waxed finish)
- YKK metal zippers
- Ripstop nylon lining
- Nylon webbing
- 27 L
- Weight: 2.9 lbs
- Dimensions: 17.3″ x 11″ x 7.9″
There’s some spacer mesh on the back panel, but also waxed canvas there. The inside of the straps is spacer mesh. The two large compression straps secure with metal G-Hooks, and the ladder locks on the straps are also metal. This bag came with all the webbing management you see in the images, except one piece I added myself. There’s decent padding everywhere except the sides on this, which is smart, as that still allows for compression.
In Use
Here’s the design goal with this bag:
SHIFT bridges the gap between Everyday Carry (EDC) and performance-driven routines – a bag that transitions smoothly from the gym, to the office, or the streets.
Here’s some quick highlights I get asked about a lot with backpacks:
- It carries weight very well over long periods of time. I’ve biked with this, walked with this, and tossed it in and out of many car rides—it’s comfortable and easy to carry. The straps are lightly padded but wide enough that they do not dig in.
- The bag almost always stands up on its own when set down.
- The bottom is padded.
- The compression straps do work.
- The water bottle pockets do work.
- It holds a 16″ laptop.
- The zippers are easy to operate with one hand.
I think that takes care of the normal emails I get. For this bag I want to break my use into two sections: aesthetics and utility.
Aesthetics
I find this backpack to be very well balanced visually. So much so that while it is a large backpack, it does not look like a large backpack.
The two oversized webbing compression straps do a lot visually to break up the face of the bag, while also adding utility and visual interest. Most waxed canvas bags are too plain, and thus they look a little too uniform until they pick up a lot of wear, but the Shift out of the box doesn’t look plain, at all.
This is simply a well-proportioned and laid-out bag.
Utility
The hallmark of this bag is the utility it offers. It can carry a ton and work well, but even when not stuffed full, the organization allows for easy access and retrieval of your gear. I’ve been thoroughly impressed by the utility of this bag. I’ll give a quick rundown of what I am loving, and what I struggled with:
- The water bottle pockets fold away nearly flat when not being used, and have held Yeti mugs, as well as various travel mugs. The elastic is easy to cinch up, and even when this bag flipped over in the backseat, the bottle stayed put. When empty, these have been great for holding all sorts of random items, including a tripod, aided by the fact that both compression straps can help secure them.
- The quick-access pocket is quite large and is at the very front of the bag. I like that there’s a couple of pockets inside of this, but there’s limited capacity despite it being very deep. I also tend to forget this pocket exists, though I am not one who generally sees a lot of value in this pocket type.
- The front pocket is awesome, with a small padded sleeve for a tablet or notebook. Enough depth for a Travelers notebook outside of the padded sleeve and a large mesh pocket with a zipper as well. This pocket unzips a lot, but is restricted when the top compression strap is in place. You can get in and out fine, but need to release one side of that strap to really get at the bottom of it.
- The main compartment is massive. It has a top-loading laptop sleeve, and two zippered mesh pockets. The sleeve is surprisingly easy to get the laptop in and out of. The top mesh pocket is also very easy to get to, as is the bottom of the bag when you toss things in. The one main issue is the bottom mesh pocket, which is rather tricky to get to unless you release the top compression straps and unzip the compartment as far as it goes.
- There is no framesheet in this bag; instead, the back panel is sewn-in foam, which works well given how much the bag ties itself together. There will be flex on some laptops, but I’ve not seen any amount to where I am concerned.
I packed this bag with all of my EDC gear and went about my day—no issues and loads of extra space. Then I started working on my new house, carrying my office gear with me to work, but also many layers. Packing up at the end of the day often meant an extra pair of pants, a sweater, and things of that nature—all of this fit neatly in the bag.
It hit a few very surprising notes—like the day it was stuffed full, including two coffee mugs in either pocket, and I needed to bike home in the heat. No issues, perfectly comfortable, like a champ. It’s also been covered in dust, found itself in rain, and all of that is drama free.
The top handle is easy to grab, but not overly large. It does work better if the top compartment is zipped shut. All of the stitching and finishing look great, and give me zero reason to be worried. The webbing management that comes with the bag is well done, and much appreciated.
Overall
It’s a great backpack for carrying whatever your day throws at you. They back this with their 25-year warranty as well. The pricing on this is stellar at $250—you get a lot of value, and a well-made bag. It’s not overengineered or overdone in any way—it looks good, works really well, and has very nice materials.
I am a big fan, and I recommend it.