For half a century, Klättermusen has built gear for those who live their lives outdoors: mountaineers who demand performance, durability, and responsibility. We asked our owner & CEO Gonz Ferrero and Head of Design Isabelle Liahaugen to share their perspectives on what craftsmanship means today, how it shapes the gear you trust and where Klättermusen is heading in the next 50 years.
1. Looking back over 50 years, what does “craftsmanship” mean to you personally? And how does it guide Klättermusen today?
Gonz: For me, craftsmanship is about more than making something well, it’s making something worth keeping. It’s the consideration in material choices, the reason for every cut, the refusal to take shortcuts. After 50 years, that mindset hasn’t changed. We still approach every product as a tool for real mountain life, built to last and built to be repaired, not replaced.
Isabelle: In design, craftsmanship means precision. Knowing when to leave something alone and when to improve it. It’s about respecting proven techniques but applying them with the most progressive materials we can find. That’s how you create pieces that perform now and for decades ahead.
We don’t archive ideas; we evolve them. If a detail worked 30 years ago, we’ll keep it. But if there’s a better way now, we’ll use it.– Gonz Ferrero
2. How do you balance honoring heritage with pushing forward into new materials, designs, and ideas?
Gonz: Heritage isn’t about looking backwards, it’s about knowing where you came from so you can move with purpose. We don’t archive ideas; we evolve them. If a detail worked 30 years ago, we’ll keep it. But if there’s a better way now, we’ll use it.
Isabelle: Honoring our DNA isn’t hard, we’ve got plenty of great ideas in the family album. We combine them with new materials and designs, staying connected to how people use our products today — that’s how we carry our heritage forward with purpose.
3. For someone discovering Klättermusen for the first time, what do you want them to understand about our products and the people behind them?
Gonz: You’re not buying fashion. You’re buying a partner for your time in the mountains, whether that’s an hour’s trail run or a month-long expedition. Our team lives this life; we design for ourselves first, because we know what the conditions demand.
Isabelle: Every product has a purpose, and every detail has a reason. If you turn it inside out, you’ll see the same care on the inside as you do on the outside. That’s not an accident, it’s how you build gear you can trust in the most challenging conditions.
Every product has a purpose, and every detail has a reason.– Isabelle Liahaugen
4. What’s the one innovation you’re most proud of?
Gonz: The biggest innovation isn’t one product, it’s the way we’ve proved you can combine extreme durability with progressive sustainability. At Klättermusen, those aren’t trade-offs; they’re design principles.
Isabelle: Our innovation isn’t a single breakthrough, it’s how we continuously combine ideas to achieve more. In FW25’s Rå, we layered Re:Down with bio-based tear-resistant polyamide and hydrophobic polyester for optimal performance. For the Drifa mid layer, we used post-consumer recycled Primaloft lining with a breathable face fabric which, when paired with our WP Brage shell, maximizes membrane breathability. The magic is in how we make these elements work together.
5. If we meet again in 50 years’ time, what do you hope Klättermusen will be known for?
Gonz: I’d hope we’re still known as the mountaineer’s brand. Trusted in every corner of the mountains, still doing things our way, still refusing to compromise on function or responsibility.
Isabelle: I’d like people to say: they never stopped progressing. They kept designing gear that was ahead of its time, but never lost sight of the people using it or the places it was made to protect.
