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Learn about the basic survival skill navigating, from Johan Skullman, survival expert and product developer at Fjällräven in Sweden

Learn about the basic survival skill navigating from Johan Skullman, survival expert and product developer at Fjällräven in Sweden

Read part 2 of Ruben Reynosos guest post on Louisiana:

If you’ve never been to New Orleans, you’ll be amazed when you first walk through the famous French Quarter! The “Quarter” looks pretty harmless in the daylight, but comes alive at night. The people you find in the area are friendly as can be, giving a cheerful good morning and a nod everywhere you go, and the food will have you loosening your belt every evening.

I spent some time in New Orleans, getting there in the morning just as the delta fog was lifting from the streets and last nights partying was being washed from the sidewalks. Still open bars, with patrons sitting on stools, shared the same block as nightclubs, and voodoo shops.

Wrought iron balconies burst beautifully with flowers and vines, while New orleans Jazz mixed with the sound of garbage trucks, the clip-clop of horses pulling carriages and clinking bottles from last night’s festivities, and created a crazy soundtrack that just seemed to float through the air.

I photographed everything I could, almost overwhelmed by the colors and the brightness of the light. I could feel the energy of the French Quarter, it seemed to engulf everything, including myself. People smiled as they walked to work, tourists walked around looking up at everything, and even the patrons stumbling from one bar to another seemed to be in cheerful moods! Laissez les bons temps rouler for sure! The whole trip was the epitome of this saying! The good times followed me from the streets of the French Quarter, to the waters of the delta.

Our last day there, we went down to the Mississippi River Bridge to shoot the sun coming up over the water. Again, the astonishing beauty of the area just took my breath away. I watched as the sun rose up over the river; tugboats and ferries crossed the water as the sky turned orange, then blue and bright. Louisiana had captured my heart, and I, in turn, hoped I had captured it’s light with my photographs.

Project: Reuben has been working as a cameraman on a new travel/fishing show, which has taken him to such exotic locales as the Amazon and Mexico, where he’s had the chance to document the local culture for his new project. His yet untitled project involves documenting the local people of the countries he visits to in order to show that we are, at our basic core, all alike, in the hopes of destroying stereotypes. He would like to thank Fjällräven for their continued support with his project.

For the coming weeks we will be posting videos from a series of great hiking tips from our survival expert Johan Skullman.  Please feel free to share your own as well, we’d love to hear from you. Firstly, we wanted to share some tips on how to pack your backpack the best way for a hike.

Happy New Year from us at Fjallraven, see you in 2012!

We’ve been lucky enough to work together with Reuben Reynoso a photographer, cameraman and traveler, who’s search for adventure and fun has taken him all over the world. He believes that travel is the best antidote to ignorance and that life should be enjoyed to its fullest. Please read his guest post from Lousiana below:

“Watch out for stingrays, they hide in the mud and hurt like crazy! If you get stung someone’s going to have to pee on you!” said the guide with a laugh.

I slid into the brackish Louisiana water with my camera in hand and those words ringing in my ear! I tried to look through the muddy water for any signs of stingrays, but I couldn’t see anything through the brown silt. I started shuffling along the bottom, hoping getting peed on was not in my future!

I was in Louisiana as a cameraman on a new fishing show and doing the “Stingray Shuffle” was only one of the adventures I experienced on that trip. I rode flat bottom speed-skiffs through the delta waters, had alligators show up at breakfast looking for handouts, fished in some amazingly beautiful waters and got to fully experience New Orleans, and it’s people!

While having breakfast the first morning, I happened to look up at the lake next to the restaurant we were eating at, and spotted what looked like three logs floating in the water. Except that these logs seemed to be heading towards me, against the current in the water!

I walked to the edge just as those logs surfaced and turned into alligators. They stopped a few feet from where I was standing, and as I eyeballed them, wondering if they were discussing a plan of attack, a gentleman in an old worn ball-cap and cajun accent walked up.

“They’s lookin’ for a handout,” the man nodded towards them. “They tame… kinda. This is too steep for them to climb… I think.”

I watched as they got closer to shore and I crouched down for a photo op. As I stood up, one came out of the water slowly, probably wondering why I wasn’t sharing my breakfast sandwich with him. That was my signal to leave.

Throughout the week we cruised around the delta waters in flat bottomed speed-skiffs, flying along shallow water, hunting for Red Fish, Louisiana’s favorite game fish. We motored around small canals, past fishing camps and houses that looked to be a throwback to earlier times.

On the third day, we filmed until the sun kissed the horizon and our boats raced back to port, trying to beat the encroaching darkness. The sky lit up in amazing pastels, the water reflecting the colors of the sky, and it simply took our breath away. Oil rigs could be seen in the distance, looking more like strange swamp trees rising out of the water. A lone fishing boat broke the color of the horizon as it headed out for a night of fishing. I looked around, amazed that this beauty could be found in our backyard.

Project: Reuben has been working as a cameraman on a new travel/fishing show, which has taken him to such exotic locales as the Amazon and Mexico, where he’s had the chance to document the local culture for his new project. His yet untitled project involves documenting the local people of the countries he visits to in order to show that we are, at our basic core, all alike, in the hopes of destroying stereotypes. He would like to thank Fjällräven for their continued support with his project.

Our staple winter jacket, the Expedition down was launched back in 1974. To create the jacket fabrics were tested and a search was launched for the highest quality down. Unfortunately, the early prototypes were not as warm as Åke Nordin had hoped. But then he was struck by an unusually good idea – if one jacket was not warm enough, why not make two jackets? And, as simple as that, two warm jackets were sewn together into one.

Several tests showed that the two layers of down did not only make the jacket warmer, the overlapping construction made it even more insulating by preventing heat from leaking out or cold winds from forcing their way in through the seams.

After testing the jacket on an expediton to Himalaya in 1973, the jacket was finally ready to be released in 1974. Read more about the Expedition down jacket here.

The new Luhkka Cape is now available online! Inspired by the Swedish samis, this cape will keep you warm during the cold months ahead!

At Fjällräven we’re very excited about our new collaboration with Outdoor Bound, an organization dedicated to creating and bringing you on amazing trips in the outdoors. We met with the guides at Outdoor Bound a couple of weeks back and we thought we’d share one of their Brunch hike stories here:

In a city where endless mimosas and bottomless bellinis entice brunch-goers at every corner café, there are a handful of adventurous gourmands who would break from the traditional Sunday Funday fare and scene and opt to enjoy a leisurely meal next to a crackling mountain lakeside bonfire, huddled together over autumn-themed delicacies that warm the heart as well as chilled hands. Northern New Jersey’s late fall foliage is at its transformational peak, dramatically painting the hills with a blend of reds, oranges, yellows, and a few remaining greens.

Saturday’s dismal weather blanketed the New York metro area and outlying towns with soggy flurries, but by Sunday morning the storm had passed and clear skies beckoned us to the trails. Max, Garan, Dan, Jess, and I waited anxiously at Union Square to guide our hungry hikers – some old friends and some new faces – up to Surprise Lake. Once the last person had arrived we packed into our vans amongst portable stoves, cookware, and food. Weeks of menu planning and trip preparation could not account for the unexpected snowfall, and the effects of a premature winter storm in autumn didn’t go unnoticed. Trees had buckled and tumbled under the weight of a new white coat causing downed power lines and road closures, but detours are what turn trips into adventures, and we rerouted a few times.

At the trailhead Max and Garan forged ahead, leading the group through nearly a foot of snow from one blue marker to the next on the State Line trail. As the path wound its way uphill the promise of a hot meal sustained our intrepid party and kept spirits high. We darted nimbly along switchbacks as mid-morning sunlight glanced though the fiery leaves, casting warm rays on our backs and sending clumps of snow plummeting down from overhanging limbs. We crested the saddle between Bellvale Mountain in New York and Bearfort Mountain in New Jersey and veered left onto Ernest Walter trail knowing there was only a half mile to go from the new trailhead to our woodland brunch venue at Surprise Lake. Yellow markers led us up and over glacier-scarred rocks made slick from thawing snow and ice while nearly six hundred feet below, Greenwood Lake glittered in the noon sun. Garan, Max, and Jess arrived first at a clearing on the eastern shore of Surprise Lake and started preparing the site for our meal. Dan and I followed shortly after with the rest of our group.

Crouched low behind a large boulder Max sheltered the flame of the portable stove from wind gusting off the lake. In mere minutes he was stirring a large pot of bubbling pumpkin chili. Apple spice tea with cinnamon sticks and apple cider muffin hors d’oevres satisfied growling stomachs as Garan, Jess, and Dan set to work carving pineapples, making pumpkin pancakes, warming up scrambled eggs with peppers, onions, and cranberries, and roasting seasoned potatoes. I enlisted the help of a few hikers to forage for wood to fuel a fire. The snow storm had brought down a number of trees, and we built a teepee over a base of dead leaves that lit up easily.

Between mouthfuls our brunch hikers exclaimed how delicious the food was – well worth the effort and so much more rewarding that cramming into a busy restaurant and rushing through the meal. Beside the lake we could sit back and admire nature’s fine decoration and an ambience that would garner a perfect rating from Zagat himself. Once the food was gone we packed up camp, put out the fire, and made our way back to the vans. The first brunch hike was a huge success, and we look forward to bringing our hikers back for seconds.

– Brent, Outdoor Bound

Hej hej! We’ve been quite busy here in NYC. We have expanded our store, gone to trade shows, and all sorts of other neat events! Wednesday evening, Outdoor Bound came to our store to check out what we have to offer.

Outdoor Bound is an adventure agency founded in 1982 to take New Yorkers to the great outdoors. They offer local, national and international trips; you can take a hike in the Hudson Valley or trek all the way up Kilimanjaro with Outdoor Bound! They have trips every weekend for short jaunts in the local region, and even have evening events during the week after work. We at Fjällräven love anything about the outdoors, and we fully support the idea to make great trips for people who want to get out in a group and be safe!

We invited the guides from Outdoor Bound to our store in Nolita, at 262 Mott St, to come look at our clothes and products and see how they are perfect for the loads of adventures they go on! We got to know the team, had skagenrora on toast (shrimp salad sandwiches!) and hung out. White Slab Palace made really great food for us, so in a short time everyone was in good spirits and ready to rock our clothes!

They loved our products so much! Some of the more popular items were the Kalfjäll Softshell, Oban jacket, Keb trousers, Vidda trousers, and the Vintage 30L pack! They really loved the G-1000 fabric, how it’s so durable (2x more hard-wearing than the strongest denim!) and how you can wax it to make it waterproof and even stronger. The guides also appreciated the reinforcements made on our trousers so when scrambling, your legs are protected.

We also did some fun things like show them how to wax their G-1000 fabric!

The event was a success and we are proud to announce that we will be working with Outdoor Bound to outfit their guides throughout their brilliant excursions. If you’d like to learn more about Outdoor Bound, you can check out their website here.

They have a lot planned for the upcoming months, and soon you will see the Arctic Foxes accompanying you! The Outdoor Club is planning on joining them for some of their adventures, so expect to see a lot more Outdoor Bound on here! You can read some previous entries on our Fjällräven US Outdoor Club here!