LYNNO BLASTS THE WORLD: A guide to the Fjällräven Classic Sweden: Do’s and Don’ts

When I was preparing for the Fjällräven Classic Sweden, I found that there was a lack of information on what I should do or how it’s like. This post is therefore an overview of the entire trek, having gone through it once. I’ll be sharing my lessons learnt, the type of terrain, weather, and gear you should bring for an enjoyable experience.

The Fjällräven Classic Sweden route uses the Kungsleden, or the King’s Trail, and it’s a very popular hiking route that the Swedish do. We saw quite a number of people embarking on the trail who weren’t part of the Fjällräven Classic. If you want to know more about the Fjällräven Classic Sweden, feel free to explore their website. They do have quite a comprehensive amount of information, but I just found it useful if I had heard from a past participant's experience!

Weather
The temperature in August is about 15 degrees Celsius in the day and 5 degrees Celsius at night. As you hike, your body produces heat. So, it can get pretty warm after 1-2 hours. However, when the wind blows, it does get pretty chilly. I found myself having to remove and put on my jacket multiple times during the day. At night, it does get cold. Wear a thicker pair of socks to sleep - those suitable for winter would be great. Also, wear a thermal layer with a fleece jacket and ensure that your sleeping bag can keep you warm till about 0 degrees Celsius. That way, you’ll be warm enough to sleep. The overall weather on the trail is generally unpredictable - but expect rain. It’s almost a guarantee that it will rain at some point in time during the hike. We were lucky this year - it only rained half the time. There were some years when it rained everyday!

Terrain
Living in Singapore meant that there was no way for me to train for the terrain. It is 70% rocks and 30% wooden planks to go through those places that are water-logged or contain too many uneven rocks. You also have to cross some shallow rivers. It’s very important to have a sturdy pair of waterproof boots. They will protect your ankles and toes as you navigate your way through the rocks, and I don’t know about you but I hate wet footwear, so the waterproofing to me was key in the river crossings. To me, the rocks were the part that made the trail difficult, not the distance or the load.

Wooden planks covering parts that were harder to cross

Rocky terrain that you'll be experiencing 70% of the journey

Do’s and Don’ts

Be prepared for the rain - have a rain jacket that is AT LEAST 15,000 to 20,000 mm in waterproof rating. And also ensure that your backpack has a rain cover that is large enough for your whole bag, including the attachments that you’re adding on. I would also recommend waterproof pants that go over the boots, because the rain soaked my pants and the water dripped down my ankles into my boots, which resulted in soaking wet socks and boots, rendering my waterproof boots useless.
Pitch your tent near a stream and on a flat piece of land with grass - seems like common sense but the stream was so important for us to refill our bottles, cook and also wash up in the morning. We pitched our tents near the checkpoints at Alesjaure and Kieron and they did not have running streams, which made it extremely inconvenient in the morning.
Pitch your tent as soon as you know you’re going to stop for the day - we made the mistake of eating pancakes first instead of pitching our tent and then the rained came and all our things got soaked. So, if the weather is good and you know you’re done with your walking, just pitch your tent.
Drink from clear, flowing streams - I loved drinking from the streams! It beats drinking from any water containers provided at the checkpoints because it's instant cold water that's fresh from the source. However, don't drink from the lake or very shallow streams because those contain a lot of impurities and the last thing you need is food poisoning on the hike.
Pack as light as possible - this is a no brainer. You’ll be carrying your backpack over the course of 5 days. Only bring what’s necessary and your shoulders will thank you along the hike when they get fatigue. And ensure that you train with the same backpack and load too.
Make lots of friends - you’ll meet lots of people who are going to be trekking at the same pace as you. The Fjällräven Classic isn’t a competition, so take time to stop and chat with fellow hikers, encourage them. It’s a rare opportunity for people to gather internationally so make the best use of the time to do so rather than huddle in your team!

Gear
This is the gear we used and I’ll be giving a short review on the necessity of them based on my experience. This post is in no way sponsored by anyone.

Backpack - Fjällräven Kaipak 28. It’s a little small and I had to place my sleeping mat outside and my boyfriend had to carry my sleeping bag. A 38L would be the minimum size if you want to carry everything yourself. My Boyfriend used the Kaipak 58 and together, it was sufficient for the both of us.
Tent - Decathlon Arpenaz 3 man tent (3kg). Space was sufficient for both of us and the setup was self-explanatory and easy enough. Also shelters from the rain well and withstands the wind.
Jacket - Columbia Ski Outer shell with inner down padded jacket. It’s an old jacket and I can’t remember the model but Ski-jackets are not waterproof enough and not breathable. Though there were pit-zips, I found myself sweating in my jacket easily. It’s also not waterproof enough. Choose a jacket made using Gore-tex or the Fjällräven Eco-shell.
Shirts - I wore one short sleeve dry-fit shirt and brought a spare. The spare is useful in case you get soaked in the rain, but if you have a good outer shell you don’t need this.
Pants - decathlon youth hiking pants. It had a zip that allowed me to remove the bottom half but I didn’t need that function for the Classic Sweden. It wasn’t waterproof at all and after one round of rain, water was dripping from my pants into my boots. It’s best to get something more waterproof. I’m looking at the Fjällräven Keb trousers next.
Undergarments - I used the normal ones I would wear for running. Also brought a bikini as backup and for the sauna.
Sleep wear - Uniqlo extra warm heat tech with an extra track pants and Columbia fleece jacket. This was sufficiently warm for me.
Sleeping bag and mat - decathlon. They were 900g and 800g respectively. They were sufficiently comfortable to insulate us from the weather.
Stove - a random China made 3000W portable gas stove that’s compatible with Primus gas cans. I bought it from qoo10 for $17.10. It worked well and cooked about 1L of water in a few mins. It weighs 300g including packaging.
Pot - decathlon. I think you don’t have to be particular about this. Anything light and big enough for your usage would work.
Hiking pole - the cheapest decathlon one. It was sufficient for the purposes of providing support as we navigated through the rocks.
Slipper - Havaianas. It’s wateproof so that’s great, but I kept getting mud and sand on my feet, so I would suggest Crocs or something similar instead.
Boots - The North Face Storm Strike II. These are winter hiking boots, and they're completely waterproof, so that's super great. They also have a very sturdy base, but are really comfortable. I didn't get any blisters from them. The grip on these is also excellent, because they have ice pick grips that harden in the cold.
Socks - Wigwam. These were great. They don't absorb and retain too much sweat so it didn't feel extremely gross. I used one pair for the whole hike.
Camera - I used my dad's Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II Mirrorless Camera, which is light but gives really good quality photos. However, it's not waterproof so when it rained I couldn't use it at all. If you have a phone with a really great camera, like the Huawei P30, I think that would suffice.
Powerbank - Xiaomi. My power bank was used to charge my phone and Garmin everyday and it lasted beyond the 5 days of hiking, so I think it's sufficient.
Gloves - Cheap Korean wool gloves. I think they served their purpose well and not everyone hikes with gloves, but my hands get cold easily.
Beanie - Montbell. I didn't use it at all in the end because it wasn't necessary. I think a cap may have functioned better.

Those are all the main points I have to share! I will be blogging about my various days on the hike, as well as a more detailed one about the check in process. I will link them below once they're up! Hope this helps (: