Customer Reviews

Kipling Hiker Expandable Backpack

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have bought my wife several Kipling products, and they are nice for just giving a gift. It seems as they are made quite well, and while some folks consider them a bit expensive, thats a relative thing; for sure, a lot cheaper than a Louis Vuitton Backpack - and probably more durable too.

We like to take cruises on occasion, and she finds this to be just the right thing for carry-on aboard the ship. And with the bag's expansion feature, we can stuff it full of the souvenirs we seem to collect on the cruise.

This my first backpack from Kipling and I don't know why I waited so long to buy one. It's so light even when it's full. I carry my Canon 50D where ever I go and the padding inside keeps it safe.

I ordered this backpack due to its expandable feature and its favorable customer reviews on Amazon. Having ordered it in "true blue" color, I felt disappointed to see it's a drab navy-blue. The front (small-pouch) and rear (accordion expansion) zippers ride on thick gray plastic teeth, and are thus easy to find. However, the second (medium-pouch) and third (large-pouch) zippers ride on thin black plastic teeth. This, plus the fact that each zipper handle is finished with a black disk, makes the second and third zippers hard to locate, especially in dim lighting. Worse still, both the front (small-pouch) and second (medium-pouch) zipper track have the shape of an upside-down U, with a single zipper opening from the lower left corner. Due to this design, if you neglect to close the zipper completely, your items in the small or medium pouch are at risk of falling out -- as happened once with my cell phone. In a well-designed backpack, most items will remain secure even if you forget to completely close a zipper. The attached plush gorilla toy provide a cute touch, but does not make up for the careless zipper design.

The only plus of the Kipling backpack is just how much stuff it can hold. I have taken a full shopping bag of goods and fit it inside the expandable backpack to the amazement of friends. Only problem is the zippers aren't of the best quality and jam frequently and aren't made to bear the stress of the amount of goods that can fit in this backpack. The overall design is mediocre at best and the straps are pretty uncomfortable when you're carrying anything of substance. Backpacks like the Kensington Contour have super comfortable form fitting straps but hold next to nothing aside from your laptop. If you need sheer volume, buy the Kipling but don't be surprised if you need to have the zipper fixed in a year. It is the biggest small backpack I have found and that's what I need most. I just wish it wasn't so damn uncomfortable.

I ordered this backpack due to its expandable feature and its favorable customer reviews on Amazon. I ordered it in "true blue" color, which in fact is a drab navy-blue. The front (small-pouch) and rear (accordion expansion) zippers ride on thick gray plastic teeth, and are thus easy to find. However, the second (medium-pouch) and third (large-pouch) zippers ride on small black plastic teeth. This, plus the fact that each zipper handle is finished with a black disk, makes the second and third zippers hard to locate, especially in dim lighting. Worse still, both the front (small-pouch) and second (medium-pouch) zipper track have the shape of an upside-down U, with a single zipper opening from the lower left corner. Due to this design, if you neglect to close the zipper completely, your items in the small or medium pouch are at risk of falling out -- as happened once with my cell phone. In a well-designed backpack, most items will remain secure even if you forget to completely close a zipper. The attached plush gorilla toy provide a cute touch, but does not make up for the careless zipper design.

I have a couple of Kipling bags and I like them a lot, specially for traveling, so this backpack was a disappointment for me. It does not fit straight on by back unless it is completely full. When half-full it folds on my back (the bottom comes upwards) and it is uncomfortable to carry along. The first (biggest) pocket is fine to access with two zippers but the other two medium+smaller pockets in the front have a single zipper each that opens all the way from bottom to bottom so you must be careful not to drop things out of your bag when opening them.

very nice as all I have from Kipling. I love this color and comfortable pockets!

I am sure a lot of people have praised this bag - for the right reasons. So I will go through the one thing that I consider a flaw: The bag keeps slipping off my shoulder. The bag's design is such that if you carry it on one shoulder or two, there is a slump and if you carry it on one shoulder, it constantly slips off. Its quite irritating.