Tenson: Swedish outdoor clothing – new at SportFits

A jacket for Mount Everest, Olympic gold in cross-country skiing, parkas for winter in the city: Tenson has been making outdoor clothing for more than 70 years. The brand comes from Varberg on Sweden’s west coast.

Tenson is now available at SportFits: ski shells and insulated ski jackets, parkas, down jackets and coats for women and men. Here you can find out where the brand comes from, what goes into the jackets and which model is meant for what.

All Tenson products in the shop →

Paul Rydholm started out in Varberg in 1951, together with his sister and two seamstresses. In the 1970s, Tenson partnered with the Swedish cross-country ski team, and in 1972 Sven-Åke Lundbäck won Olympic gold in Sapporo wearing Tenson.

The brand became known for its Himalaya jacket, worn by a British expedition on the south-west face of Mount Everest in 1975. The line still exists today: the Himalaya collection is now made for hiking. In 1979 came the Lapplander, the brand’s first down jacket. Naomi Uemura wore it on his Everest expedition in 1980/81. Since 2021 it has been back as the Naomi Expedition Jacket, filled with 90/10 duck down.

Two terms come up again and again at Tenson. MPC is the brand’s own membrane, in use since 1981. Today’s version, MPC Extreme, is found in the ski shells, the parkas and the Trench Nouveau. Air-Push is the synthetic insulation that keeps many of the jackets warm.

The ski shells have a 20,000 mm hydrostatic head and 20,000 g/m² breathability, the parkas and coats 10,000 each. Both are enough for the city and normal days on the piste. If you spend many hours in wet snow or ride off-piste, the higher values give you more reserve.

Whether a shell or an insulated jacket suits you better is explained in our guide Shell jacket or insulated ski jacket?.

The Shibui is Tenson’s shell: jacket and trousers in three-layer MPC Extreme, with no insulation of their own but flexible with layers underneath. The hood fits over a helmet, and there is a snow skirt, underarm vents and a RECCO reflector.

The Aero XX has the same ratings but is insulated with 80 g/m² Air-Push, the jacket for cold days on the piste, also with RECCO. More relaxed is the Aerismo Jackorak 2.0 with a large kangaroo pocket at the front. Its predecessor won a gold ISPO Award in 2020.

A large part of the collection is made for everyday wear: long jackets that reach below the hips and stay dry in sleet on the way to work.

The Kenun Parka combines MPC Extreme with light insulation and taped seams and comes for women and men. Considerably warmer is the Vision Storm Parka with 240 g/m² Air-Push, made for really cold winter days. Both have a fixed hood and lined pockets.

If you prefer down, there is the long Shanna 2.0 Down Coat for women and the Naomi Expedition Jacket. Both are water-repellent but not waterproof: in steady rain, a parka with a membrane is the better choice.

The Trench Nouveau looks like a classic trench coat, with a belt and high collar, but has the same membrane as the parkas and welded seams. The hood is removable. It is not insulated: in winter you wear a jumper underneath, in spring a shirt is enough.

Tenson suits you if you want clothing that works just as well in the city in winter as on the piste. The parkas and coats have a clean cut and still feature a membrane, while the ski jackets bring what counts on the mountain.

For ski touring with lightweight kit, Tenson is not our first choice. And if you mainly expect steady rain, go for a parka rather than a down jacket.