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 , itβs arguably the most fun and family-friendly trekking party on the planet.
This yearβs 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. ΉσΒαΓ€±τ±τ°ωΓ€±Ή±π²ΤΒ 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. βPeople sign up for The ΉσΒαΓ€±τ±τ°ωΓ€±Ή±π²Τ Classic from all over the world,β says Jean-Marie Shields, the companyβs VP of Brand Experience for North America and a Swede herself. βItβs so Swedish. The event is super communal and inclusive.β
Itβs been such a hitβmore than 2,000 people now make the trip to Sweden every summerβthat a few years ago ΉσΒαΓ€±τ±τ°ωΓ€±Ή±π²Τ decided to take the show on the road, and there are now shorter versions of the eventΒ 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 yearβs , now in its fourth iteration, will explore the mountains surrounding Coloradoβs Copper Mountain this September 6 to 8.) βWith TheΒ Classic, weβre committed to making it immersive,β says ΉσΒαΓ€±τ±τ°ωΓ€±Ή±π²Τβs North American CEO, Nathan Dopp. βThe 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 nightβs campfire? By all means, bring it.β
TheΒ ΉσΒαΓ€±τ±τ°ωΓ€±Ή±π²Τ Classic isnβt the only thing ΉσΒαΓ€±τ±τ°ωΓ€±Ή±π²Τ 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 didnβt officially launch its U.S. operations until 2012. Since then itβs opened 24 stores in the U.S., with ambitious plans for further expansion over the next five years. Translation: ΉσΒαΓ€±τ±τ°ωΓ€±Ή±π²Τβs blowing up.
If you havenβt yet wandered into a store or asked a friend how to pronounce ΉσΒαΓ€±τ±τ°ωΓ€±Ή±π²Τ (fyall-raah-ven), youβve probably at least spied its logo, a curled-up red fox (fjΓ€llrΓ€ven means βarctic foxβ), bobbing down the street, most likely on the companyβs 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 Madonnaβs kids and the two-year-old daughter of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. To fuel this zeitgeist, ΉσΒαΓ€±τ±τ°ωΓ€±Ή±π²Τ offers the pack in dozens of styles and hundreds of color combos.
But what most people donβt know is that the °Γ₯²Τ°μ±π²ΤΒ has been around, virtually unchanged, since the late β70s, first designed as an improvement on the standard shoulder bag for Swedish schoolchildren. βIβve had my °Γ₯²Τ°μ±π²Τ for more than 30 years,β says Shields, the VP of Brand Experience. βIβd 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 grandmotherβs little yellow °Γ₯²Τ°μ±π²Τ through the woods.β
Today, the °Γ₯²Τ°μ±π²Τ is just one of the hundreds of products ΉσΒαΓ€±τ±τ°ωΓ€±Ή±π²Τ makes, but its design storyβas a simple and smart solution to a real problemβis at the root of everything the brand does. The companyβs founder, Γ ke Nordin, grew up along Swedenβs High Coast, exploring the regionβs famously rugged mountains, tundra, and boreal forests. Using his dadβs tools and momβs sewing machine, he designed his first piece of gear, a wood-framed backpack, in his basement. Thus began Nordinβs 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, ΉσΒαΓ€±τ±τ°ωΓ€±Ή±π²Τ had become the go-to supplier of gear for Swedish expeditions. The polar explorers were so enamored with their ΉσΒαΓ€±τ±τ°ωΓ€±Ή±π²Τ equipment that they askedΒ 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 childhoodβin addition to waxing his skis, heβd also wax his pants to make them more waterproof. After months of tinkering, one of the outdoor worldβs most durable fabrics was born: the G-1000, a densely woven fabric made from recycled polyester and organic cotton made even more durableΒ and wind- and water-resistantΒ by the companyβs proprietary Greenland Wax, a special mix of beeswax and paraffin.
By the late 1960s, ΉσΒαΓ€±τ±τ°ωΓ€±Ή±π²Τ had become the go-to supplier of gear for Swedish expeditions.
G-1000 remains ΉσΒαΓ€±τ±τ°ωΓ€±Ή±π²Τβs hallmark fabric. Itβs now available in five different versions and used in everything from pants to packs. As with everything ΉσΒαΓ€±τ±τ°ωΓ€±Ή±π²Τ 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 ΉσΒαΓ€±τ±τ°ωΓ€±Ή±π²Τ 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 βand the °Γ₯²Τ°μ±π²Τ and deep polar rootsβare all key to understanding ΉσΒαΓ€±τ±τ°ωΓ€±Ή±π²Τ. 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 allemansrΓ€tten, the right of everyone to spend time in Swedenβs 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 ownerβs 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 TheΒ ΉσΒαΓ€±τ±τ°ωΓ€±Ή±π²Τ Classic, itβs less about bagging peaks and more about chilling out with friends and family in beautiful places.
ΉσΒαΓ€±τ±τ°ωΓ€±Ή±π²Τ has never set out to make the worldβs 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 Swedesβ enviable and relaxed relationship with nature informs everything ΉσΒαΓ€±τ±τ°ωΓ€±Ή±π²Τ makes. In todayβs 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. ΉσΒαΓ€±τ±τ°ωΓ€±Ή±π²Τ has never set out to make the worldβs 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 developβand theyβre built to handle years of rambling around rocky terrain.
βΉσΒαΓ€±τ±τ°ωΓ€±Ή±π²Τ is all about the journey,β Shields says. βOur products meet you wherever you are in your personal journey.β 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 °Γ₯²Τ°μ±π²Τ and taking a hike at age 90.
One of Doppβs favorite examples is from last yearβs . βA solo woman trekker from Vail signed up. Sheβd been trying to wrangle her friends to go for a backpacking trip all summer, but it never worked out,β remembers Dopp. βSo she ended up on The ΉσΒαΓ€±τ±τ°ωΓ€±Ή±π²Τ Classic. She hiked alone and set up her campsite away from everyone else. It was perfect. The ΉσΒαΓ€±τ±τ°ωΓ€±Ή±π²Τ 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 ΉσΒαΓ€±τ±τ°ωΓ€±Ή±π²Τ way of doing things.β
In 1960, Γ ke Nordin founded in his basement in the Swedish town of ΓrnskΓΆldsvik. 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.