This review introduces a new sub-category which will focus on outdoor products made here in Finland. From cottage to large companies, these will either be products that I’ve purchased and/or owned for some time, or which I have handpicked for testing. However I will not be presenting anything that I would not myself normally use, or find useful.

With this quick introduction, let’s jump to the first product in the series, and the company behind it. Alcohol consumption in the woods is hardly a trending topic for an outdoorsy discussion, but many, myself included, appreciate a dram of whisky or a shot of something of their liking at the end of the day. Proven good also for the digestion after a heavy dinner by the fire, it’s a modest habit that I’ve had for years. Not much of a drinker otherwise, I think outdoors is where for example a good whisky excels.

For the last three winters in a row, our family’s winter vacation (school’s out for week 8) has taken us to Åre, in Jämtland. Main reason we have been lately opting to go to Sweden, instead of heading up north in Finland, is the ease of travel, requiring lot less driving. Each time we’ve driven there, a small town called Järvsö has been passed, just before Ljusdal, and each time we’ve wondered out loud, what kind of resort that would be.

With Christmas vacations typically spent around southern Ostrobothnia, from where our families are, many times we’ve been discussing to free up a few days around Christmas and/or New Year and travel across kvarken to ski in the Swedish fells. While typically we dash through bunch of friends and relatives during those days, which is great but also hectic and consuming, we welcomed a late reservation through booking.com into Hemavans Fjällcenter, a Svenska Turistföreningen (STF) facility. Once confirmed, we booked the ferry across the kvarken, from Vaasa to Umeå, nowadays operated by Wasaline.