It all started with a need
When your gear can't keep up with the adventure, it's time to invent something better
You know the feeling. You head out to enjoy nature, but soon you're too warm. Then you start to sweat. And when you stop, the cold hits. Suddenly you're thinking more about your clothes than the landscape around you.
That's exactly what happened to Kyösti Svala.
Kyösti was an outdoorsman through and through. He went cross-country skiing in deep, untracked snow, ran marathons and crept into the forest in the small hours to photograph birds. But his clothes didn't always keep up. Cotton got soaked with sweat, and the technical shirts of the day didn't stretch the way he wanted.
Kyösti wanted underwear that would help keep his skin dry, hold in warmth and stretch as he moved.
Nothing like it existed.
So what does a Finn do? They make it themselves.
Luckily, Kyösti was the son of the founders of a clothing factory.
The answer was in the air.
At the family factory in Kärsämäki, Kyösti began developing a new kind of underwear together with a British knitting specialist.
Years of trial and error produced a special mesh knit built on a simple but clever idea: the air trapped between your skin and the next layer helps hold in warmth, while the open structure lets moisture move away from your skin.
It also included a technical solution Kyösti developed himself – and we're still keeping the details to ourselves.
But it wasn't enough for Kyösti that the shirt worked in the factory.
It had to work where it was really needed.
Tested on the open sea. In an ordinary rowing boat.
Kyösti and his friend Heikki Haavikko rowed from Helsinki to Tallinn. Twice. And that's not all. The pair also rowed from Vaasa to Umeå.
In an ordinary rowing boat.
At the oars the sweat poured, during breaks the sea wind blew cold, and there was hardly any room for spare clothes. The new mesh shirt was put to a real test.
And it worked.
Airbase was born.
Later Heikki phoned Kärsämäki with an unusual complaint. The new shirt, he said, was too good. His other shirts had been left unworn.
“You should start putting a warning on these: they can be addictive.”
– Heikki Haavikko, 1995
You couldn't ask for better feedback.
Different paths. The same freedom.
Kyösti was probably a Freebird long before we started using the name.
For him, being outdoors sometimes meant a long cross-country ski trip through deep snow, and sometimes a quiet morning in the forest with his camera. Not always big adventures – above all, the joy of simply being outside.
Today you'll find Freebirds just about everywhere.
For one person, being outdoors means the first tracks in the morning snow; for another, kilometres of gravel road. For someone else, it's a quiet lake, a week on the fells or a familiar forest path right outside the door.
Some go far, others stay close. Some seek their limits, others seek peace.
For us, there's no one right way to enjoy life outdoors. What matters most is curiosity, the urge to see what's waiting over the next hill or round the next bend – and the feeling that makes you head out again and again.
Find out what a Svala Freebird is
Your clothes should adapt to the adventure. Not the other way round.
Outdoors, conditions are always changing. Sometimes you're moving fast, sometimes you stop. Climbs turn into descents, sun into wind and autumn into winter.
That's why Kyösti's first mesh shirt has grown into the Svala AIR System™, a layering system in which every layer has its own job.
The Zero Layer helps keep your skin dry. The Base Layer manages moisture and warmth, the Mid Layer keeps the cold out and the Shell Layer shields you from wind and weather.
You add a layer when the frost bites harder and take it off when you pick up the pace.
We still develop our products with the same curiosity Kyösti had. Together with the people who use them in real life – on the fells, in the forest, on the water and wherever curiosity leads.
Discover Svala AIR System™ layering
More time where you want to be
“Our job is to make outdoor people happy.”
– Kimmo Aakko, Chief Growth Officer, 2026
Not because good clothing makes anyone happy on its own, but because at its best, you don't have to think about what you're wearing at all.
Imagine stopping on top of a fell. The wind is blowing, but you feel comfortable. You set off again, pick up the pace and the landscape changes.
You're not thinking about what you're wearing. You're thinking about the next trail, a new view or what's around the next bend.
That's exactly what Svala is here for.
So you can stay out longer, go a little further and come back when you choose.
More days outdoors. More reasons to head out.
Svala For freebirds.
The people behind Svala
Svala’s CEO takes 10,000 steps a day, whatever the weather. Design motto: “Nothing unnecessary.”
Chief Executive Officer
Onerva Aakko
Our Chief Growth Officer jumps on a bike or into cold water whenever there’s time. Growth motto: “Our job is to make outdoor people happy.”
Chief Growth Officer
Kimmo Aakko
Our head of operations and administration loves the local woods and the woodchip trail, and neither −30 °C nor a snowstorm will stop them. In nature, the changing seasons, forest animals, plants and mushrooms bring joy. Outdoor motto: “I have to get outside every day.”
Head of Operations and Administration
Hanne Pellikka
Online shop manager who enjoys the outdoors all year round. Hunts and fishes whenever possible. Persuades friends to head to the fells at weekends too. Motto: “The weather is always right for setting up a sauna tent and enjoying a sauna.”
Head of eCommerce
Ossi Salo
In their free time, our head of reseller and B2B sales can be found at the ice hockey rink, on a running trail or on the golf course. Motto: “In the words of Mae West: You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.”
Sales & Export Manager
Jan Koskinen
Holds all the threads at the factory – literally and figuratively. Mari is production’s walking ERP. In her free time, you will find this organiser on the golf course. She follows her mother’s outdoor motto: “Rain is good for your skin.”
Production Manager
Mari Einiö
Freebird community manager and perpetual motion machine on a board, skis or a mountain bike – adventures from Mont Blanc to Kuusamo, always packing light.
Motto: Get outside whenever you can.
Customer Experience & Influencer Marketing Specialist
Henna Lauhasmaa
In their free time, the person in charge of our visual identity and design can be found on forest trails with their dog – preferably in November, when it is dark and quiet and thoughts can wander freely. Motto: “Collect moments, not things – unless they are beautiful.”
Visual Lead
Ninni Pohto
A Kärsämäki native who connects the different areas of the business. In their free time, they stay active through everyday activities all year round and have an almost infallible nose for Arctic raspberries. Outdoor motto: “It’s fun when you’re warm enough.”
Business Support Manager
Milla Ojalehto
Father of two boys from Jyväskylä. The uncrowned king of sand pies. Always fishing whenever he has the time. Motto: “Get the little ones outside before 9 am!”
eCommerce Manager
Tomas Nordström
Guardian of the Svala brand and storyteller. Tests products on the bike in sleet, with friends on the fells of Lapland and along the levadas of Madeira. Motto: “You can ski down Malla on cross-country skis too. As long as you don’t get cold.”
Brand & Content Lead
Venla Aakko
Finnsvala Oy
Business ID 0764063-3
Paanutie 4, 86710 Kärsämäki
info@svala.com
+358 8 770 080