After dedicated outdoor testing and lively discussions, we as an international jury of outdoor journalists, outdoor gear specialists, adventurers and one retailers have agreed on the winners of the Scandinavian Outdoor Awards Winners for Fall/winter 22/23.
Sustainability is a key concept and the overall winner of the Scandinavian Outdoor Awards for Fall/winter 22/23 is Alfa with the boot Stad, a technical boot with a focus on sustainability and comfort. The second most prestigious award is the Sustainability Award. This prize goes to Silva, for the new Terra Scout, the jury was impressed with Silva’s use of innovative material.
Overall Winner: Alfa Sko Stad
Alfa use 100% wool from Norwegian sheep in their new boot Stad, its woven to give better tear resistance than more commonly used felted wool.
Statement from the Jury: The lightweight winter boot Stad from the Norwegian footwear specialist Alfa looks and performs great and won every jury member’s heart. Upper and lining are woven with Norwegian wool that is more durable than the normally used felted wool. Woven wool has been used for over 100 years for manufacturing furniture and folklore. Wool keeps your feet warm, breathes better than leather or waterproof membranes and sheds snow. The sole uses Vibram Megagrip compound. “What a great way to use Norwegian wool”, the jury agrees.
Information
More on the Alfa Sko Stad here
Sustainability Award: Silva Terra Scout
Silva Global has found a very exciting way to reduce their products impact on the environment with an innovative way of using hemp in their headlamps instead of plastic.
Statement from the jury: The Swedish brand Silva brings sustainable materials into the head-lamp-category: The Terra Scout is made from hemp and recycled plastics with a CO2-footprint reduction of up to 90 percent compared to standard plastics. The compact and lightweight headlamp (84 g with three AAA-batteries) is easy to use and will be available at an affordable price. A rechargeable battery pack can be purchased separately and will add to the lamp convenience and sustainability.
Information
More on the Silva Terra Scout here
Hardware Award IAMRUNBOX Pannier Rolltop 22L
A great combination of usability and reusability when recycled plastic is used in a pack that can handle all your daily activities, such as commute by foot or bike to avoid using your car but still bring what you need.
Statement from the jury: The more versatile a product, the less we need to buy and the better for the environment. The waterproof Pannier Rolltop 22L from the Swedish label Iamrunbox meets this need perfectly. You can use it as a bike pannier or transform it within less than a minute into a backpack that is ideal for running, commuting, or shopping. The waterproof fabric of each product is made of 58 PET-bottles. Inside the bag there is a notebook sleeve, a dirt cover will protect the shoulder straps when attached to a bike.
Information
More on the IAMRUNBOX Pannier Rolltop 22L here
Footwear Award Polyver Classic Winter Boot
The new Classic Winter Boot represents 15 years of customer feedback, testing and development to get to the final design. Resulting in a boot that is way more anatomic and comfortable than previous generations.
Statement from the jury: Insulated cold weather boots out of rubber-like materials are typical for Scandinavia: for walking, fishing, hunting etc. The Swedish label Polyver takes this concept in the Classic Winter Boot to the next level. Due to millions of tiny air bubbles in the new material called CLI Tech (Comfort, lightness and insulation), it insulates extremely well and keeps your feet toasty and dry. CLI Tech is also super durable and long lasting. After testing even jury members not being used to this kind of footwear were convinced of the functionality and comfort in this fair priced, made in Sweden Classic Winter Boot.
Information
More on the Polyver Classic Winter Boot here
Kids award Reima Megapito
This is a very warm boot for the kids who spend a lot of time outside. It has insulation from Primaloft that is both recycled and keeps feet warm down to at least -30°C.
Statement from the jury: Parents who want outstanding gear for the kids will love this winter boot from the Finnish children brand Reima just as much as the jury. For the Megapito only highly functional materials are used like the new Vibram-Tractionlug-outsole with 25 percent more grip than standard soles or super warm soft Primaloft Gold Insulation that has 90 percent recycle content. The shoes are easy to put on and off, very comfortable to wear and lightweight. Available in four colors.
Information
More on the Reima Megapito here
Scandinavian Outdoor Awards: Those that did not win
In every contest there are winners and the ones that did not win… we like to call them losers. I don’t think this is justified since every product that participated in the Scandinavian Outdoor Award is a high quality product. If you are interested in the non-award winning products just follow this link and see if there is anything to your liking. All products are also discussed in the video that I made on my trip to the Scandinavian Outdoor Award jury-meeting in Sweden. Just follow the link and sit back and relax and enjoy this video.
Some useful links
Scandinavian Outdoor Award website https://geni.us/jTen
Meet the jury https://geni.us/2eOuc9T
