History 歷史

From a small cellar space in Örnsköldsvik, Fjällräven has expanded to all corners of the world. It all started with a 14-year-old boy who didn’t think that the backpacks of the time were particularly comfortable, and who decided to do something about it.

The year was 1950, and Åke Nordin was going on a trek in the mountains of Västerbotten together with a good friend. Åke was a scout and loved being outdoors. But carrying his provisions uncomfortably was not the young boy from Örnsköldsvik’s idea of fun. And backpacks of the 1950s were certainly uncomfortable, as they hung like shapeless bags from your backside and forced the wearer to walk bent doubled to compensate for the weight.

Åke had read that if you were going to carry anything heavy, the weight should be positioned high up and close to the back. In a lodge adjoining the family’s holiday house outside Örnsköldsvik he made a wooden frame. Using his mother’s treadle sewing machine he sewed a bag out of strong cotton material which he fastened to the wooden frame using leather straps.

Åke was happy. The frame distributed the load better across his back and increased the ventilation between the back and the backpack. In addition, he could carry a heavier pack.

The backpack frame was the start

The backpack frame was the start of the Fjällräven company that Åke Nordin founded ten years later. By that time, he had done his military service at the newly founded and extremely demanding FJS Parachute Ranger School in Karlsborg. It was there that he realised there was a market for functional and hard-wearing outdoor equipment. Åke noticed that not even the equipment used by the most elite unit in the country made the grade.

In 1960, Åke Nordin registered his company, which he called Fjällräven. Its registered office was the family’s one-room flat just outside Örnsköldsvik. The workshop was in the cellar, which functioned as a factory and R&D department during the first year. This is where the first backpacks with aluminium frames were created, and gradually also the condensation-free, lightweight tents, functional outdoor clothing and revolutionary sleeping bags which would come to be loved by a growing corps of outdoor enthusiasts around the world.

從瑞典城市恩舍爾茲維克的一處小地窖，如今Fjällräven的據點已經遍佈世界各地。一切都從一位14歲男孩覺得當時的背囊不夠舒適，決定著手改良開始。

那一年是1950年，Åke Nordin正打算和一名好友前往瑞典北部西博滕的山區行山。Åke自己是童子軍，熱愛戶外活動。對這位來自恩舍爾茲維克的男孩來說，如果要忍受背負糧食的不舒適，樂趣必定會大打折扣。的確，1950年代的背囊都很難背，不成形地垂掛在背上，導致背負者在行走時必須加倍彎曲身體，才能抵消背包的重量。

Åke曾經讀過，如果要背負重物的話，重量應該上移、貼近背部。他們家在恩舍爾茲維克近郊有一座家庭度假屋，他在那旁邊的小屋裡做了一個木架。他用母親的腳踏式裁縫車，把強韌的棉料縫成一個背囊，再用皮繩綁在木架上。

Åke覺得很滿意，因為這組木架可以把背囊的重量分散在背上，又能增加背部和背囊之間的通風。除此之外，可以提升背負的重量。

一切始於背囊框架

這套背囊框架正是10年後Åke Nordin成立Fjällräven公司的開端。當時他剛從卡爾斯堡市新成立的嚴格FJS傘兵學校服完兵役，也是在這裡他發現市場上非常需要功能與耐用兼備的戶外用品，Åke注意到連國內頂尖的精英單位所使用的配備都不及格。

1960年，Åke Nordin登記成立了自己的公司，命名為Fjällräven。營業登記的辦公室是家族位於恩舍爾茲維克近郊的一房小公寓，工作室在地窖裡，頭一年這裡是工廠兼研發部。第一款採用鋁架的背囊就是在這裡創造出來的，後來更陸續研發出防凝水輕量帳篷、功能性戶外服飾和革命性的睡袋，受到世界各地越來越多的戶外運動愛好者青睞。