Åke Nordin (; 17 March 1936 – 27 December 2013) was a Swedish entrepreneur. He was the founder of Fjällräven, a company that specializes in outdoor equipment, mainly clothing and the parent company Fenix Outdoors. In 1950, at the age of 14, Nordin went

hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

in the mountains of

Västerbotten Västerbotten (), sometimes called West Bothnia or Westrobothnia, is a province (''landskap'') in northern Sweden, located by the Gulf of Bothnia. It borders the provinces of Ångermanland, Lapland and Norrbotten. The region is famous for Väs ...

and was not pleased with the design of his uncomfortable

backpack A backpack, also called knapsack, schoolbag, rucksack, pack, booksack, bookbag, haversack, packsack, or backsack, is in its simplest frameless form, a fabric sack carried on one's back and secured with two straps that go over the shoulders; b ...

. After doing some research, he learned that a pack's weight should be positioned high and close to the wearer's spine. Using his mother's

treadle A treadle (from , "to tread") is a foot-powered lever mechanism; it is operated by treading on it repeatedly. A treadle, unlike some other types of pedals, is not directly mounted on the crank (see treadle bicycle for a clear example). Most ...

sewing machine Diagram of a modern sewing machine Animation of a modern sewing machine as it stitches A sewing machine is a machine used to sew fabric and materials together with thread. Sewing machines were invented during the first Industrial Revolutio ...

, he made a bag out of strong cotton material. He fastened it to a wooden frame using leather straps. The frame distributed the load better across his back and increased the ventilation between him and the pack. In addition, he could carry a heavier pack. Ten years later, his invention formed the basis of his company, Fjällräven, which he began out of the cellar of his home in

Örnsköldsvik Örnsköldsvik (; ), often shortened to just Ö-vik, is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Örnsköldsvik Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden, with 32,953 inhabitants in 2017. Its natural harbour and archipelago is in th ...

. During those ten years, he completed his military service at the Swedish Army Paratroop School in

Karlsborg Karlsborg (, outdatedly ) is a locality and the seat of Karlsborg Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 3,551 inhabitants in 2010. This garrison town lies at the shore of lake Vättern in Västergötland Västergötland (), ...

, where he saw the need for functional and durable outdoor equipment.About Fjällräven
Retrieved 1 January 2014. In the summer of 2013, Nordin was diagnosed with an undisclosed terminal illness. He died on 27 December at the age of 77.Åke Nordin avliden

References

1936 births 2013 deaths People from Örnsköldsvik Municipality Swedish company founders 20th-century Swedish inventors {{Sweden-business-bio-stub