During these times of uncertainty, we like to share ways for you and our community to stay connected to nature anytime and anywhere to prepare, comfort and inspire.
Nature Is Waiting
In the early 1970s during an expedition, Åke Nordin, Fjällräven’s founder, dug a bivouac pit in the snow on the barren mountain plateau of Abisko in Sweden’s far north, enduring an unbearably cold and windy night. The freezing bitter cold was Åke’s least favorite aspect of outdoor life.
As he lay there freezing with his teeth chattering, Åke began thinking about the possibility of inventing a jacket in which it would be impossible to feel cold. He imagined a lighter garment that could be compressed to occupy less space in the backpack and when worn could insulate at any temperature. This bone-chilling experience was the beginning of the Expedition Series journey.
Throughout his life, Åke had always learned his craft by working with people who were more skilled than himself. Knowing that in the ’70s the down insulation professionals were in the United States, he decided to plan a trip to be among his peers. At an outdoor fair in Chicago, Åke met a rock climber who at that time was one of America’s foremost manufacturers of down jackets and sleeping bags. This new friend invited Åke to the outdoor-centric city of Boulder, Colorado (the present home of Fjällräven North America) to teach him how best to develop his own insulating “never feel cold again” down jacket.
On returning to his hometown of Örnsköldsvik, Sweden, Åke finally had the tools and knowledge he needed to design a functional garment that prevented freezing while spending time in nature. Sitting at his Singer sewing machine, he crafted a jacket of a durable fabric comprising a smaller jacket inside a larger one.
Using the techniques, he’d learned in Boulder, Colorado, Åke filled the air ducts of his invention with goose down and feathers but packed the shoulders with a layer of durable polyester fiber. He fitted the jacket with an insulating hood that covered everything but the eyes when pulled tight, and he made the garment long enough to cover the backside.
Finally, after testing his prototype, in 1974, Åke began producing his Fjällräven Expedition Down Jacket. It was a jacket made from two down jackets offset-sewn together to minimize heat loss and to retain warmth in extreme temperatures, especially in places without indoor shelter. His revolutionary jacket quickly become an essential part of tough expeditions around the world – from the Himalayas to the Arctic Circle.
This season Fjällräven is launching a new series of insulating winter jackets based on the design and high functionality of the original Expedition Down Jacket from 1974. The jacket series offers versatility according to temperature and climate while maintaining our standards of sustainability, durability, and honoring our heritage. Creating durable, functional, timeless clothes and equipment has always been our design goal and serves as a clear compass throughout all aspects of the production process. By being thoughtful in each product design, we make sure it has a long life. When we all commit to keeping our products longer, we create less waste together.
Sustainability is also a very high priority at Fjällräven so we’ve worked hard to ensure that the new Expedition Series stands up to our standards in that respect too. All the jackets in the new series use 100% recycled nylon in both the face fabric and the lining. The models that use the down insulation use only Fjällräven’s ethically sourced 100% traceable down abiding by our very own Down Promise.
With Åke Nordin's same "never feel cold again" double-baffled design, the iconic jackets come in bright, clean colors with details that not only clearly honor the original Expedition Down Jacket from ’74 but acknowledge a more important reason - to stay visible in the mountains.
This year's launch of the new Fjällräven Expedition Jacket Series will make it easy to enjoy the nearby nature that is waiting for us all. From the bone-chilling damp to the bitter freezing winds, we invite you to never feel cold again for many winters to come.
See you out there.