Swedish brand releases expedition film Made to Last

The participants of the Made to Last documentary (Image credit: Klättermusen)

Swedish outdoors brand Klättermusen has released the first episode of a two-part expedition film titled Made to Last.

In 2020, Klättermusen teamed up with neuroscientist Helena Backlund Wasling to discern the key factors in creating long-lasting memories. They identified three important stimuli: a life-changing experience, a moment that ignites a fire for a new passion, or an event that inspires a change in perspective. These are the moments that change us deeply and stay in our memory forever.

To put this theory to the test, mountaineering equipment brand planned a demanding expedition, designed to challenge and inspire its participants, and subsequently create memories Made To Last.

The film focuses on five individuals with one shared trait - a complete lack of trekking and hiking experience.

Exposed to the will of nature, the group had to overcome demanding environmental challenges with a mix of excitement and fear of the unknown. Every day presented a new test for their minds and bodies, bringing a sense of completion and achievement after each phase of the journey.

made to last film — Swidish brand Klättermusen is behind the Made to Last documentary (Image credit: Klättermusen)

Success of memory making outdoors experiment

Klättermusen is delighted by the outcome of the experiment. Wasling said: "For this unique experiment, Klättermusen asked me to identify key factors in the formation of lasting memories, so they could put them to the test on an expedition.

"I caught up with participants six months after and found that for all of them, being present in the outdoors and taking on new challenges had formed long-lasting memories."

Klättermusen head of marketing Ida Holmen said: "This has been an exhilarating journey to be a part of, putting our intrepid participants, and our gear, to the test in a remarkable way.

"I’m happy that our social experiment did succeed, and the experiences of the group during the trip have stayed with them, creating a genuine connection with their adventure selves and a new passion for the outdoors.

"We hope that many more adventurous explorers will enjoy similar experiences."

You can watch the first episode on Youtube (opens in new tab). Episode 2 will follow in the next few weeks.

Fiona Russell is a widely published adventure journalist and blogger, who is better known as Fiona Outdoors. She is based in Scotland and is an all-round outdoors enthusiast with favourite activities including trail running, mountain walking, mountain biking, road cycling, triathlon and skiing, both downhill and back country. Her target for 2021 is to finish the final nine summits in her first round of all 282 Munros, the Scottish mountains of more than 3,000ft high. Aside from being outdoors, Fiona's biggest aim is to inspire others to enjoy the great outdoors, especially through her writing. She is also rarely seen without a running skort! Find out more at Fiona Outdoors (opens in new tab).