The Secret to This Iconic, Super-Warm Jacket’s 50-Year Reign? Doubling Down (Literally)

With an innovation dreamed up by Fjällräven’s founder on a frigid Arctic night, the Expedition Down Jacket continues to outduel the elements.

By Steve Mazzucchi

Published December 2, 2024

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Updated December 2, 2024

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On a Christmas Day we were mushing our way over the Dawson trail.
Talk of your cold! Through the parka’s fold it stabbed like a driven nail.
If our eyes we’d close, then the lashes froze till sometimes we couldn’t see;
It wasn’t much fun, but the only one to whimper was Sam McGee.

So goes a pair of couplets in the epic, hilarious Robert Service poem “The Cremation of Sam McGee.” The Arctic adventure tale was a favorite of my Grandpa Leon, and to this day, reading it aloud is a beloved Christmas tradition (that I recommend adopting!).

Nordin returned from a frigid and windy bivouac in Sweden’s far north, nearly 200 miles inside the Arctic Circle, determined to never feel that cold again. His big idea? Two down jackets, sewn together into one, for unbeatable insulation, no matter what Mother Nature dished out.

On a related note, I imagine that’s the sort of chill Fjällräven founder Åke Nordin faced during his own trip to the Arctic Circle in the early ’70s.

Only such a teeth-chattering deep freeze could have inspired him to come home and create the Expedition Jacket, a garment so fantastic the 64-year-old Swedish brand still sells it — along with dozens of variations — a half-century later.

expedition down jacket couple — Over 50 years, the Expedition Jacket has evolved from a single offering to dozens of styles and colors.

Doubling down

That’s how the legend goes, anyway. According to the brand, Nordin returned from a frigid and windy bivouac in Sweden’s far north, nearly 200 miles inside the Arctic Circle, determined to never feel that cold again. His big idea? Two down jackets, sewn together into one, for unbeatable insulation, no matter what Mother Nature dished out.

With that notion in his head, Nordin traveled to the US to educate himself. At an outdoor expo in Chicago, he met rock climber George Lamb, founder of a hugely successful down jacket and sleeping bag manufacturer called Camp 7. Lamb took him to Boulder, Colorado, and shared his best down insulation tips and techniques.

Nordin returned to Örnsköldsvik (that’s right, Fjällräven was founded in a town that is equally difficult to pronounce), sat down at a Singer sewing machine and created a garment of durable Rutarme polyamide (nylon) fabric consisting of a smaller jacket inside a larger one.

ake nordin expedition down jacket — Nordin repping the brand he founded — and trying not to freeze his tookus off in the process.

But that’s not all. Nordin was aware of US army tests showing that a 10-centimeter (3.9-inch) layer, with air ducts sewn in the space between, could insulate down to -40°C (-40°F).

So he filled the ducts in this garment with goose down and feathers, packing the shoulders with Dacron polyester fiber to prevent them from losing insulation when wearers toted heavy tools in their pockets. The jacket’s hood, which could be tightened with the type of yellow waxed strings used in ice hockey skate laces, covered everything but the eyes, and its hem extended well below the waist.

After thorough field testing, the truly bombproof — perhaps even bomb cyclone proof? — Expedition Down Jacket hit the market in 1974.

Accidental hit

While the Expedition Down Jacket has gone on to be used by Swedish researchers in the South Pole and Greenland, rock climbers in the Himalayas and sled dog drivers in the Arctic Circle (hear that, Sam McGee?), it also became a surprise fashion sensation.

Perhaps not unlike the way The North Face’s parkas blew up in US urban areas a few decades back, the Expedition Down Jacket became popular in the chic neighborhoods of Stockholm. It also attracted tourists and female consumers, who appreciated the generous rear coverage.

The jacket really caught on with outdoor adventurers in the 1990s, and saw a second urban boom in the mid-2000s, when the brand began to offer a wider range of sizes and styles.

fjallraven expedition jacket alpine fashion — These vintage images demonstrate the jacket’s appeal from high alpine to high fashion. And don’t let it be said that the Swedes lack a sense of humor; the ad copy translated to “for a hard outdoor life.”

Perhaps nothing speaks to the jacket’s enduring appeal than just how many varieties are now available. Fjällräven currently offers 16 Expedition-branded products for men and 15 for women. Most are jackets, but there are also parkas, vests, shorts and skirts.

If you are looking to brave the elements like Nordin before you, fear not. The brand still offers the classic Expedition Jacket, as well as special anniversary editions featuring a special Grand Blue colorway and a sewn-in label relating a (very abridged) origin story of the jacket.

These jackets boast the same basic materials, style and design as Nordin’s revolutionary original. However, in case you were wondering, they are PFAS-free.

Availability and pricing

The official limited-edition Fjällräven 50th Anniversary Expedition Down Jkt is available now for $800. Lighter-weight versions are available for men and women for $600.

The Expedition Series features dozens of related items ranging from vests to parkas — plus standard, non-anniversary Expedition Jackets in a variety of colors — starting at $122.50.