Norwegian Woolly Jumpers

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Spacemonkey

Native
May 8, 2005
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Llamaville.
www.jasperfforde.com
Back in the early 90's when i lived in Oslo for a while, my forlovede knitted me a traditional Norwegian jumper which I still have. The shops then were selling them at about £250!! The question is, does anyone, particularily our Norsk friends, know of any online retailers? So far the only one i have managed to find is www.volund.no
 

CLEM

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Jul 10, 2004
2,420
428
Stourbridge
When I did my stint in that beautifull country I remember that there were allways ads for traditional Norwegian jumpers in the Aftenposten newspaper! check out that newspapers website!
 

big_swede

Native
Sep 22, 2006
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W Yorkshire
Spacemonkey said:
Back in the early 90's when i lived in Oslo for a while, my forlovede knitted me a traditional Norwegian jumper which I still have. The shops then were selling them at about £250!! The question is, does anyone, particularily our Norsk friends, know of any online retailers? So far the only one i have managed to find is www.volund.no

Check with www.devold.no for UK retailers. Good stuff.
 

arctic hobo

Native
Oct 7, 2004
1,630
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Devon *sigh*
www.dyrhaug.co.uk
Dale is the big (touristy) make that is sold a lot over here. They do make good stuff though. I have a Devold jumper that cost about what you named, and I had to get it from Norway - I don't know that there actually are any UK stockists as their official importer last time I checked (about 18mth ago) didn't seem to actually exist. Dale are probably the way to go.
 

Moonraker

Need to contact Admin...
Aug 20, 2004
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I'm with Chris on this one and picked up a Devold sweater 18 months ago in Bergan. Luckily it was half price and cost around £80 :)

Looking at their web site really is a bit confusing. They appear to have a lot of designery models now in their 2006-07 range? I couldn't even find my model which is the traditional 'Icelander' or 'Islender'. But nosing around I eventually found it in the 'Protection' section :confused: :rolleyes:

It is a lot more traditional and simpler than the others and a superb sweater with really soft but durable wool and good and thick (pre-washed and pre-shrunk). The link is here;

Devold - Icelander Sweater

Blurb:
The Devold Icelander is a robust and thick wool garment made according to traditional and timeless Norwegian pattern. The curling of the wool and the garment?s volume and thickness provide excellent insulation against cold. Wool can absorb a significant amount of condensation and still keep your body dry and warm. A Devold Icelander also provides a high degree of protection against rain and snow.
As sales speak goes that's pretty spoty on actually from my experience.

There is also an open/ zipped collar version called the 'North Sea' linked on the same page. I also picked up some merino wool hunting socks which are superb (can't see these though) and the merino wool underwear is really rated but pricey.

There are some more tradtional models and the ones mentioned on this web site which gives prices in euro and ship to UK. All prices are tax free and postage per item is about £14 for Air Mail. All in English and lots of info.

Norway Shop - Devold Norwegian Sweaters

Use links on left for more choses, ranges etc. Islender model is just under £100.

They also do the Dale brand mentioned which work out a bit more expensive here;

Norway Shop - Dale Men - Heritage

They have 50% off some of the Nordstrikk brand traditional sweaters here;

Norway Shop - Nordstrikk Sales

Finally, this shop in Cumbria appear to stock both Devold and Dale. Web site is not so sorted but there is a phone number.

Norwegian Store

Hope that helps.
 

arctic hobo

Native
Oct 7, 2004
1,630
4
37
Devon *sigh*
www.dyrhaug.co.uk
Moonraker said:
Looking at their web site really is a bit confusing. They appear to have a lot of designery models now in their 2006-07 range? I couldn't even find my model which is the traditional 'Icelander' or 'Islender'. But nosing around I eventually found it in the 'Protection' section :confused: :rolleyes:

They seem to have changed an awful lot recently. My jumper is a blue "Nansen" but when I bought it they told me it was all but the very last one. Seems strange to abandon such a great product :confused:
 

Moonraker

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Aug 20, 2004
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arctic hobo said:
They seem to have changed an awful lot recently. My jumper is a blue "Nansen" but when I bought it they told me it was all but the very last one. Seems strange to abandon such a great product :confused:
Yes, the web site is not helpful. The Norway shop linked above however has quite a few other models shown including several forms of the 'Nansen', but in grey.

Devold Norwegian Sweaters

Also I did find a part of the Devold web site with the 'Nansen' crew neck in blue too :)

NANSEN SWEATER

I like what's in the sweater too as it goes ;)

Their new web site does them no favours. The 'Nansen' in grey only is on the newer 2006/07 details too here;

Devold Classic - Wool Sweater
they have the classic Devold Blaatrøye wool top too still;

Devold Blaatrøye - Mid Layer

Available in the UK here;

Devold-Blaatroie Troyer-Style Pullover
 

boots12

Tenderfoot
Jan 29, 2006
58
0
66
West Yorkshire
i used to have the army ones, but someone else always ended up with them :cussing: but if i had the chance i would get one again.
Had a chance to get a sweater/jumper when in norway the other month the typr that has the linning inside, but the price was a bit steep, as it seemed more suited to the dryersnow/weather in norway, as here in UK i think we have a bit more rain, i wait to be told wrong, as i am going back soon.
 

TallMikeM

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Dec 30, 2005
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I can't help but think that the ideal jumper for UK conditions is a gansey made from good, oiled wool. A hell of a lot cheaper than some of those norwegian ones as well.
 

Moonraker

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Aug 20, 2004
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TallMikeM said:
I can't help but think that the ideal jumper for UK conditions is a gansey made from good, oiled wool. A hell of a lot cheaper than some of those norwegian ones as well.
I agree that there are some very good British options too. Like these ones;

Sou’west Chunkies - Fishermans Sweaters & Cornish Gansey's

For £20 - £30 plus PP they are great value and made in Cornwall from Devon and & Cornish wool.

The reason I went for the Norwegian one which is a lot more cost wise is that I find my skin gets irritated quite easily from rougher wool. Also, being pre-washed and pre-shrunk you know that if you wash it properly it will keep it's shape/ size better. And also means the wool is a lot softer and I find has a better insulating quality (it captures the air within the fibres better). It also dries out more quickly if it does get wet. if it's something I wear a lot not just for outdoor use which I do I want it to be comfortable.

The downside is that it is not so resilient to prickly bushes and tends to get snagged, in these types of situations I either wear a poly/cotton smock over the top as an outer layer which also aids wind proofing and keeping showers off.

But one of the benefits to me is that when it is cold and clear then I can walk and it breathes better whilst still providing good insulative qualities. And they are actually made in the country not in China ;)
 

d.s.k.

Member
Sep 17, 2006
11
0
60
Norway
If price and quality counts, but not how it looks, my favourite is the Norwegian Army surplus jumper. Not The NATO model, it looks better, and is a good one too, but I prefere this one.
http://www.forsvarsbrukt.no/shopexd.asp?id=67
The price of NOK 150 (used) or NOK 220(£~18) (new) should not be too bad.

(Remember the Norwegian army sizes L=Little M=Medium S=Large(Stor))

dsk
 

BorderReiver

Full Member
Mar 31, 2004
2,693
16
Norfolk U.K.
d.s.k. said:
If price and quality counts, but not how it looks, my favourite is the Norwegian Army surplus jumper. Not The NATO model, it looks better, and is a good one too, but I prefere this one.
http://www.forsvarsbrukt.no/shopexd.asp?id=67
The price of NOK 150 (used) or NOK 220(£~18) (new) should not be too bad.

(Remember the Norwegian army sizes L=Little M=Medium S=Large(Stor))

dsk

Are these all wool dsk?
 

Silverback

Full Member
Sep 29, 2006
978
15
England
Moonraker said:
The reason I went for the Norwegian one which is a lot more cost wise is that I find my skin gets irritated quite easily from rougher wool.
Sounds like you suffer the same way I do - I would be interested to hear your views on some of the other kit with wool content (swanni) as I am reluctant to buy what I can't 'try' :)
 

Toddy

Mod
Mod
Jan 21, 2005
38,937
4,570
S. Lanarkshire
Y'know knitting's not hard, little five year olds manage it :rolleyes:........I hasten to add that I'm not volunteering.........but it's a real d.i.f.y. skill that's well worth acquiring. Spinning your own is pretty straightforward too, and it's satisfying :D There's even a web site for men knitters, they're awfully good too; not only innovative but very skillful. :cool:
http://menknit.net/

Itchy wool; well yes it can be, but you can always stitch in a lining piece of silk or soft leather or sandwashed fabric or from your very well worn jeans at the places where the wool might touch your skin. So long as it's only irritation and not an allergy, merino, Shetland or cashmere wool ought to be fine enough not to cause any grief.

Cheers,
Toddy
 

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