Every summer for the past 16 years, the Swedish outdoor gear and clothing company has invited folks up above the Arctic Circle in Sweden for a weeklong trek among the glacier-covered peaks and sprawling tundra. Known simply as , it鈥檚 arguably the most fun and family-friendly trekking party on the planet.
This year鈥檚 Sweden event sold out in seconds as people clamored for the chance to catch sight of reindeer, waterfalls, and the never-ending sunlight of the Arctic summer. 贵箩盲濒濒谤盲惫别苍聽takes care of all the logistics, from providing food for each participant to manning checkpoints along the way, and, in very Swedish fashion, there is no real objective. The idea is for the trekkers to have total flexibility, to go as fast and far as they want each day, camp wherever they want, and make the experience wholly their own. 鈥淧eople sign up for The 贵箩盲濒濒谤盲惫别苍 Classic from all over the world,鈥 says Jean-Marie Shields, the company鈥檚 VP of Brand Experience for North America and a Swede herself. 鈥淚t鈥檚 so Swedish. The event is super communal and inclusive.鈥
It鈥檚 been such a hit鈥攎ore than 2,000 people now make the trip to Sweden every summer鈥攖hat a few years ago 贵箩盲濒濒谤盲惫别苍 decided to take the show on the road, and there are now shorter versions of the event聽in Denmark, the U.S., Korea, and even Hong Kong. Next year, the program will expand further, to Germany, China, and the United Kingdom. (This year鈥檚 , now in its fourth iteration, will explore the mountains surrounding Colorado鈥檚 Copper Mountain this September 6 to 8.) 鈥淲ith The聽Classic, we鈥檙e committed to making it immersive,鈥 says 贵箩盲濒濒谤盲惫别苍鈥檚 North American CEO, Nathan Dopp. 鈥淭he idea is that the best introduction to a backcountry experience is one that you, the hiker, define, not a guide. Want to hang out for an hour in that swimming hole? Go for it. Want to carry a guitar so you can play and sing around that night鈥檚 campfire? By all means, bring it.鈥
The聽贵箩盲濒濒谤盲惫别苍 Classic isn鈥檛 the only thing 贵箩盲濒濒谤盲惫别苍 has brought to the States. While the company was founded in 1960 and has earned a global reputation for making products that are as simple and stylish as they are durable and versatile, it didn鈥檛 officially launch its U.S. operations until 2012. Since then it鈥檚 opened 24 stores in the U.S., with ambitious plans for further expansion over the next five years. Translation: 贵箩盲濒濒谤盲惫别苍鈥檚 blowing up.
If you haven鈥檛 yet wandered into a store or asked a friend how to pronounce 贵箩盲濒濒谤盲惫别苍 (fyall-raah-ven), you鈥檝e probably at least spied its logo, a curled-up red fox (fj盲llr盲ven means 鈥渁rctic fox鈥), bobbing down the street, most likely on the company鈥檚 most iconic product, the . This ubiquitous small backpack, long carried by European kids, burst into popular culture in the late aughts, finding fans among American influencers, Asian pop stars, and everyone in between. The pack was seen on Madonna鈥檚 kids and the two-year-old daughter of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. To fuel this zeitgeist, 贵箩盲濒濒谤盲惫别苍 offers the pack in dozens of styles and hundreds of color combos.
But what most people don鈥檛 know is that the 碍氓苍办别苍聽has been around, virtually unchanged, since the late 鈥70s, first designed as an improvement on the standard shoulder bag for Swedish schoolchildren. 鈥淚鈥檝e had my 碍氓苍办别苍 for more than 30 years,鈥 says Shields, the VP of Brand Experience. 鈥淚鈥檇 wear mine on treks with my grandmother in the north of Sweden all the time. Hers was yellow, and my earliest memories of being truly immersed in nature are from following my grandmother鈥檚 little yellow 碍氓苍办别苍 through the woods.鈥
Today, the 碍氓苍办别苍 is just one of the hundreds of products 贵箩盲濒濒谤盲惫别苍 makes, but its design story鈥攁s a simple and smart solution to a real problem鈥攊s at the root of everything the brand does. The company鈥檚 founder, 脜ke Nordin, grew up along Sweden鈥檚 High Coast, exploring the region鈥檚 famously rugged mountains, tundra, and boreal forests. Using his dad鈥檚 tools and mom鈥檚 sewing machine, he designed his first piece of gear, a wood-framed backpack, in his basement. Thus began Nordin鈥檚 lifelong quest to solve problems, to develop gear that was better than anything available, including lightweight down sleeping bags and the revolutionary Thermo Tent, a nylon and polyester tube-style tent that was lighter, sturdier, and way more breathable than the heavy canvas tents of the day.
By the late 1960s, 贵箩盲濒濒谤盲惫别苍 had become the go-to supplier of gear for Swedish expeditions. The polar explorers were so enamored with their 贵箩盲濒濒谤盲惫别苍 equipment that they asked聽Nordin to design their clothing as well. To do so, Nordin took a fabric that had been too heavy for his tents and a lesson from his childhood鈥攊n addition to waxing his skis, he鈥檇 also wax his pants to make them more waterproof. After months of tinkering, one of the outdoor world鈥檚 most durable fabrics was born: the G-1000, a densely woven fabric made from recycled polyester and organic cotton made even more durable聽and wind- and water-resistant聽by the company鈥檚 proprietary Greenland Wax, a special mix of beeswax and paraffin.
By the late 1960s, 贵箩盲濒濒谤盲惫别苍 had become the go-to supplier of gear for Swedish expeditions.
G-1000 remains 贵箩盲濒濒谤盲惫别苍鈥檚 hallmark fabric. It鈥檚 now available in five different versions and used in everything from pants to packs. As with everything 贵箩盲濒濒谤盲惫别苍 makes, all things G-1000 come with a lifetime guarantee. So if your or needs a bit more wax, you can buy a bar from 贵箩盲濒濒谤盲惫别苍 and do it yourself or take it into the store and an expert will re-wax it for you free of charge.
The wax and 鈥攁nd the 碍氓苍办别苍 and deep polar roots鈥攁re all key to understanding 贵箩盲濒濒谤盲惫别苍. But if you really want to get what makes the company so unique and cool, we need to talk about the uniquely Swedish and centuries-old concept of allemansr盲tten, the right of everyone to spend time in Sweden鈥檚 outdoors. With this right, walkers, backpackers, anglers, and others may trek across and even camp for a short period on private property without asking for the owner鈥檚 permission.
And roam they do. The country is home to thousands of miles of trails supported by hundreds of well-maintained hostels, mountain stations, and backcountry huts. But as with The聽贵箩盲濒濒谤盲惫别苍 Classic, it鈥檚 less about bagging peaks and more about chilling out with friends and family in beautiful places.
贵箩盲濒濒谤盲惫别苍 has never set out to make the world鈥檚 most lightweight things; the focus is always on function, sustainability, and durability, with the goal of creating products that last 30-plus years and look better with age and use.
The Swedes鈥 enviable and relaxed relationship with nature informs everything 贵箩盲濒濒谤盲惫别苍 makes. In today鈥檚 fast and disposable world, it prefers to go slowly and tread carefully. While its products are designed specifically for trekking and hiking, they can be worn for a number of other outdoor sports and also casually. 贵箩盲濒濒谤盲惫别苍 has never set out to make the world鈥檚 most lightweight things; the focus is always on function, sustainability, and durability, with the goal of creating products that last 30-plus years and look better with age and use. Take its popular , which have reinforcements in the knees and rear and an iPhone-size side pocket. They took nearly four years to develop鈥攁nd they鈥檙e built to handle years of rambling around rocky terrain.
鈥湽舐崦け舯舭け贡鸩 is all about the journey,鈥 Shields says. 鈥淥ur products meet you wherever you are in your personal journey.鈥 You could be an office worker getting out for a simple two-hour walk in a nearby open space or a diehard hiker out for a two-week trek along the Continental Divide, according to Shields. Or you could be her Swedish grandmother, still pulling on her yellow 碍氓苍办别苍 and taking a hike at age 90.
One of Dopp鈥檚 favorite examples is from last year鈥檚 . 鈥淎 solo woman trekker from Vail signed up. She鈥檇 been trying to wrangle her friends to go for a backpacking trip all summer, but it never worked out,鈥 remembers Dopp. 鈥淪o she ended up on The 贵箩盲濒濒谤盲惫别苍 Classic. She hiked alone and set up her campsite away from everyone else. It was perfect. The 贵箩盲濒濒谤盲惫别苍 Classic enabled her to get into the wilderness and enjoy some time by herself, while still feeling secure knowing that she was connected to the comfort of a larger group. I was totally aware of how grateful she was for the trip and for the 贵箩盲濒濒谤盲惫别苍 way of doing things.鈥
In 1960, 脜ke Nordin founded in his basement in the Swedish town of 脰rnsk枚ldsvik. Since then the brand has stayed true to its mission of developing timeless, functional and durable outdoor equipment, acting responsibly towards people, animals, and the environment and inspiring more people to discover outdoor life.