Gearing up to meet an Axopar is, in some ways, a little intense. Perhaps that’s because of the promise of rugged performance the brand’s renowned for – or maybe it’s a subliminal ripple from Axopar’s founding partner and Creative & Innovation Director Jan-Erik Viitala, a perfectionist, workaholic and self-confessed adventure- seeking Norwegian.

When he’s not on the factory floor, Viitala is an accomplished snowmobile free-rider, happily spending most of his spare time in Finland’s vast outback landscape. With no route maps or convenient signposts, free-riders love the challenge of traversing both above and below the treeline, exploring places your average rider simply wouldn’t dare go.

And so, it’s no wonder that Axopar – whose name’s derived from Viitala’s existing portfolio of successful Scandinavian boats Aquador, XO Boats and Paragon Yachts – is all about adventure, as well as continual tweaks to get the most out of every vessel.