Ortovox: Protecting the mountaineer, protecting the mountains

Discover the Ortovox brand

The Ortovox brand was founded in 1980 by Gerald Kampel and Jürgen Wegner, two winter sports enthusiasts convinced that it should be possibleto explore the mountains more safely. In that very first year, Gerald Kampel developed the very first avalanche transceiver capable of transmitting and receiving on a dual frequency, thereby saving many lives and launching the brand’s journey.

Since the company’s founding south of Munich in 1980, an inner voice has dictated Ortovox’s values and guided its actions. In 1985, the two founders developed a backpack for deep snow, then continuously improved their avalanche transceivers. It was also in the late 1980s that the first collection of technical clothing made from full-wool was born, bucking the trend toward all-synthetic materials that was then in vogue.

Did you know?

The name ORTOVOX comes directly from the brand’s founding product: the Ortovox F2, the first dual-frequency avalanche transceiver launched in 1980, which revolutionized the avalanche search sector and immediately positioned the brand as a leader.

Product Development and Innovations at Ortovox

Ortovox was one of the first brands to incorporate merino wool into its technical apparel as early as 1995, also launching its own standard for wool— the Ortovox Wool Promise —which guarantees optimal protection for animals, nature, and workers.

In 2011, Ortovox partnered with Swisswool, a wool fiber sourced from the Swiss Alps with exceptional thermal properties, the use of which supports small-scale Swiss mountain farmers.

In the sportswear sector, Ortovox has developed a groundbreaking innovation in mid-layers with Swisswool insulation, recognized for its functionality, design, and sustainability.

On the safety front, Ortovox and Arc'teryx jointly introduced the LiTRIC avalanche airbag technology, which is lightweight, intuitive, and reliable, featuring an electronic system capable of at least two deployments while weighing just 1,100 g.

Ortovox products

The Ortovox product range is organized around three complementary pillars.

• Avalanche safety is the brand’s historical DNA: avalanche transceivers, probes, and shovels are designed to be simple, robust, and effective even in critical situations, complemented by electronic airbag packs offering lightweight, reliable, and easily rechargeable protection.
• Technical apparel is all designed around a signature material: wool. From the first to the third layer, wool is present in every piece of the collection: base layers, socks, fleeces, Swisswool insulated jackets, softshells, and hardshells, with the unique feature of combining merino wool and technical fibersto optimize moisture wicking.
• Backpacks round out the lineup, ranging from ski touring models to mountaineering packs, some of which feature the LiTRIC airbag system.

Ortovox’s commitment to sustainability

Ortovox structures its sustainability policy around a comprehensive strategy called ProtACT, covering six areas of commitment: animal welfare, fair working conditions, regionally anchored production, climate neutrality, elimination of PFCs, and product longevity.

Since 2023, the entire Ortovox collection has been produced without PFCs—per- and polyfluorinated chemicals that are effective as water-repellents but are non-biodegradable and harmful to groundwater, living organisms, and the food chain.