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Staff Sweden Trip testing Tentipi & Primus

Staff Sweden Trip testing Tentipi & Primus

Visit Sweden for “The Nature” outdoor experience.

The opportunity to take part in a fully organised trip to Sweden was something that seemed too good to pass up. Superbly organised by OAS (Outdoor Academy of Sweden) and Visit Sweden. The aim of the trip was to give retailers like myself a taste of Sweden and the chance to use equipment from Swedish outdoor brands.

I have spent many enjoyable nights in a Tentipi so I was no stranger to putting up the tents but what made this occasion special was that we were relatively wild camping. No flattened grass pitch just a forest floor to clear your own a space and make a home for the night. Tentipi’s are designed for use in harsh environments so the rough undergrowth proved no problem to the materials used and the tents were still quick and easy to set up with just one pole and plenty of pegging points and odd improvised tree stump or root.

I was glad I opted for the Eldfell wood burning stove as temperatures fell to minus 5 that night and my drinking water bladder froze solid! The stove is mightily impressive and surprisingly quick to assemble as all the chimney section stack inside themselves and are stored in the main fire chamber for transport.
Bear in mind we camped in a new place each night and did not allow lots of time for setting up or taking down but this combination was still relatively effortless to use.

 

 

 

The trip was designed to pack as much in to as little time as possible. I was in there for 5 days but on the day I arrived in Sweden I was out mountain biking in the afternoon followed by a quick go in the Torsby Ski Tunnel on some cross country skis. The Tunnel is the 1.3 kilometers long and forms a loop so you end up where you started. This proved quite a hoot as I had not used this type of ski before, I was not expecting a gradient and I was still wearing my cycle gear, as there was no time to change.

Friday was a great day to experience timber rafting as the sun was out and it made the cold Klaralven River look strangely inviting. In groups of six we were shown how to build a timber raft that would carry the team and all our gear for four hours down the river to the next rendezvous.

We cooked lunch on the way aboard our raft on our Primus Eta stoves and drifted for the most part at the mercy of the river, paddling or poling from time to time to keep out of the trees or the shallows. After dismantling the rafts we hiked 8k through the forest with our gear to the next campsite.

 

 

 

The final two days we were back out on the river in open canoes for some exceptional scenery on the rivers of Varmland. Along the way the teams all stopped to cook lunch on the Primus stoves. As the willing chefs stepped up to prepare a fresh fish soup we were glad we had plenty of cooking pots with the stoves and the hand made Gransfors axe that we were given certainly came in handy for chopping the vegetables! After lunch with an Osprey circling above we were all treated with a talk from a local conservationist on the wild life in the area and showed us the spot where a wolf had recently killed and eaten a moose. We were even taught how to do a moose call!

As we paddled down through the creeks to our final camp destination there was plenty of evidence of beaver as some trees were felled with a pencil tip point.

I did not see any but you have to respect the power in their jaws and sharpness in their teeth  as the log they chewed through were easily 10cm in diameter.

 

I have to say I was very impressed by the EtaPower EF Primus stoves that we were using. Not only are they highly fuel efficient due to the heat exchanger pot base (up to 25% fuel saving) but they are simply a pleasure to use. It is now my stove of choice as it can be stripped down for lighter trips or expanded upon for the family outings

 

The final campsite was a sight to behold, set in the forest on the edge of a lake with a setting sun we set up the Tentipi tents, made a large fire and set about cooking a meal.
I came away from Sweden with fantastic memories having met some really great people from all aspects of the outdoor and travel industry.

Perhaps the thing that sits in my mind the most is the efforts to not only embrace the outdoors but to protect it with a strong influence of ecotourism for the future.

Often referred to on the trip as “The Nature”, it does seem that everyone very much appreciates what they have and there is a strong desire to protect, enjoy and live in harmony with their natural world.

Go to the visitsweden.com website to find out more on this great country

Or for more information on this trip go the blog.