Reliable clothing for everyday outdoor activities in every layer
Same outdoors, four seasons
Everyday time outdoors is mostly unhurried: walking the dog, playing with the children, working in the garden, going for a walk or skating on the nearby ice. When you keep a gentle pace, your body produces little heat of its own, so cold and wind reach your skin more easily than when you are moving briskly.
In winter, you usually get dressed in a warm room, so your body can start sweating before you even step out of the door. In spring and summer, the weather changes more within a single day than you might expect, from cool to warm and back again. The wrong layers mean sweating while you are busy and feeling cold when you stand still. The right ones keep you warm and dry for your whole time outdoors, from the first minutes to the last.
That is why we have put together a ready-made, practical set on this page: one trusted garment for each layer. With these garments, you will get your clothing right, whether you head outdoors every day or only now and then. You do not need to compare dozens of options or guess whether the garments work together. Here is a set in which every layer is designed to work with the next.
Every layer has its own job
The Zero Layer moves sweat away from your skin, the Base Layer evens out warmth on cool mornings and evenings, the Mid Layer adds insulation in frost and when you stand still for a long time and the Shell Layer protects you from wind, rain and snow. Merino and Airbase take care of moisture and warmth, so you can focus on being outdoors and spending time together.
Four layers, one set that works
For everyday time outdoors, layering is the answer, because one outing often takes you to both extremes: a brisk walk and a long spell standing still. We chose one trusted garment for each layer that works in both. Together they form the Svala AIR System™ layering system: four layers, each doing its own job, from the Zero Layer to the Shell Layer.
You do not always need all four. On a warm summer day a light layer is enough, for a short time in the garden some of the layers will do, and for long winter outings and hard frost you wear the full system.
Zero Layer – Next-to-skin performance
Everyday outings often start in a warm room, where your body can begin to sweat while you are still getting dressed. Garden work, walking and playing with the children also make you sweat, even when the morning feels cool. That is why you wear the Airbase mesh shirt and mesh bottoms next to your skin to keep it dry. Airbase is 100% polypropylene, which absorbs no moisture at all but moves sweat away from your skin to the next layer. So you do not end up cold outdoors with a wet shirt stuck to your back.
The loops of the 120 g/m² 3D mesh knit breathe and trap air, forming a thin layer against your skin: it cools you while you are busy and holds in warmth when you stand still. Airbase is thin and stretchy, so it fits under even light summer clothes and does not restrict your movement, for example when playing with the children. Silver-ion treatment keeps the garments fresh, so you can wear them outdoors many times and simply air them in between.
Men's Original Airbase 120 mesh set
Women's Original Airbase 120 mesh set
“We have a rule: the little ones have to be out of the door before 9 am! The cold doesn't catch me on the walk out to the garden. It catches me at the edge of the sandpit and by the swings, when I'm standing still for ages. So I dress for standing still: a thin layer next to my skin and a warm layer on top. Same thing when I'm fishing off the jetty.”
Base Layer – Temperature regulation
When you stand still or walk at a gentle pace, your body produces little heat of its own, and you need a layer that keeps you warm. Over Airbase, you wear a warming merino layer. Merino regulates temperature in both directions, so it does not feel stuffy on a brisk walk and does not let you get cold when you stop to watch the children play or chat with a neighbour. It also keeps you warm when it is damp from sweat or rain, which matters when the weather changes over the course of a day.
The double-layer construction of Merino Extreme combines the warmth of merino wool with the moisture-wicking of a technical fabric, so it keeps you warm but still breathes when you briefly pick up the pace. Moisture wicking works best when you wear Airbase underneath.
Men's Merino Extreme 200 base layer set
Women's Merino Extreme 200 base layer set
Mid Layer – Thermal insulation
When the weather turns colder or you are still for a long time, a temperature-regulating layer is no longer enough. Over Merino Extreme, you wear an insulating layer that adds warmth when your body no longer produces enough on its own: on a long dog walk, in a windy garden or while watching the children play.
In winter frost, Nordic Terry Wool comes into its own. The material, known as wool terry, has a smooth outer face and a looped inner face. The loops are the secret of the insulating layer: they hold in warmth and move moisture away from your skin at the same time, so the layer keeps you warm but stays breathable.
For cool spring mornings and summer evenings, the lighter Polartec Alpha™ hoodie is enough. It breathes efficiently, so it does not feel stuffy while you potter about, but it warms you as soon as you stop.
For a short time in the garden, you can leave the insulating layer at home. In hard frost or on a long outing, wear it over the other layers.
Men's Polartec Alpha 90 hoodie
Women's Polartec Alpha 90 hoodie
Shell Layer – Weather protection
The outermost layer completes your layering: a lightweight shell jacket or a windproof winter jacket. Its job is to block the wind and keep rain, sleet and snow out, so the warm air trapped in the layers beneath cannot escape. Protection alone is not enough, though: the shell must also breathe, so sweat does not soak your layers from the inside when you are clearing snow or walking briskly. Choose a shell that you can open when needed or leave open while you are working harder.
Choose a shell with enough room for your other layers underneath, as the air between the layers insulates and keeps you warm. Svala's own shell layer, the Ventile 200 jacket, is membrane-free and made from very tightly woven long-staple cotton. When it gets wet, the fibres swell and the weave tightens, so the fabric repels light rain and showers but breathes without a membrane.
Men's Ventile 200 jacket
Women's Ventile 200 jacket
You do not need everything at once – start here
The system works best when you choose your layers to suit the weather and what you are doing, but you do not need to buy everything at once or replace your whole wardrobe. The AIR System™ also works with the clothes you already have. If you are starting from scratch, start with the layer next to your skin: it is the most important part of the whole system. The most reliable foundation for everyday outings is Airbase mesh knit next to your skin with merino on top. Over these, add an insulating layer and a shell to suit the weather.
If you already have a layer that works, just get what is missing:
- Do you already have merino wool base layers? Complement them with Airbase: wear the mesh layer next to your skin under the merino, so you stay dry while you are busy and do not get cold as soon as you step outside.
- Are your next-to-skin and warming layers sorted? For hard frost and long outings, add Nordic Terry Wool, and for cool spring mornings and summer evenings, the lightweight Polartec Alpha™ hoodie.
- Do you already have a winter jacket or a shell jacket? There is no need to replace it. Make sure it breathes and that your other layers fit loosely underneath.
This way, you can build a system that works at your own pace. Although we put these layers together for everyday outings, they will not sit unused in the wardrobe: the same layers also work for other exercise and change seasons with you.
Four layers, one effective system
Layer: Zero Layer - next-to-skin performance
