Durable functional wear are everything for an active family. Which is why the clothing company Tuxer sent a family to test their upcoming winter collection at Branäs ski resort, - This feedback is valuable and helps us develop clothes faster, says Andreas Robling, CEO.

What difference can a large and active family really do for the development of a collection? The answer is "everything" according Tuxers CEO Andreas Robling who sent an active family to test their clothes in Branäs slopes.

"When we create clothes for active families, it is important for us that we deliver what we promise. In some cases we are not 100% sure if a functional garment is successful until after the end of the season when we evaluate each product group. But by asking one of our most active test families to try out the new collection before it ships to stores, we can correct features and solutions before the season starts. That kind of insight is very helpful." Says Andreas Robling, CEO of Tuxer.

Those who carried out the test are one of Tuxers experienced blog families (also called Active Families) – Åmålsfamiljen. The family consists of mom Elin who is a social worker and a leader at Friluftsfrämjandet and the father Andreas, who works as a teacher and a leader in parkour; together they have the children Agnes, Irma, Greta and Salim. They are experienced skiers and wear out clothes to the extreme which makes them the ultimate test family for this project.

The tests were divided into three separate parts; skiing, coffee break and free play. The idea was that the function of the garments would be measured by physical activity, sitting still and external stresses like play and fun. This way, they can see which garments that insulates heat, have the right technical features and which material works best.

After the test there were a few improvements in the collection. Some jackets got reduced padding for increased mobility and a lightweight jacket would be made into a shorter model. When Tuxer themselves evaluated the weekend's test Andreas Robling discovered that the trials of the garments surpassed their expectations and they got more out of the test than previously thought;

"We have worked with product testing in many forms in the past but have never realized how valuable it actually is to just observe the family using the garments. We noticed that there are more factors at play in the test than just the physical activities; like spillage, crying, eating on the collar and zippers while their parents throw themselves to the right and left to catch up with the kids. The insights we gained are incredibly rewarding for the production and these kinds of observations are something we encourage other companies in our industry to do too". Concludes Andreas.

The test family also runs a blog where they openly review clothes and share their active everyday life. Read their post on the product test at Branäs here.