My name is Arnaud Cottet. I’m a Salewa athlete and the founder of Glacier Optics. In 2022, I had the opportunity to step beyond my usual role as an athlete and join Salewa’s product development process, contributing directly to the creation of the new Sella Tour 32L ski backpack.
For me, it was more than a product project. It was a chance to bring real mountain experience into the design process — and to help shape a backpack built for ski touring and freeride, by people who actually use it in the field.
The Sella Tour 32L was designed to replace Salewa’s long-established Randonnée line. The idea wasn’t to start from scratch, but to go back to what made Salewa backpacks iconic in the first place — especially the Dry Back carrying system — and push it one step further with new ideas and modern use cases.
The goal was clear: create a backpack that feels at home both in ski touring missions and freeride days, without compromising on functionality, comfort, or durability.
From idea to prototype: a long-term process
The project was led by Salewa’s product management team, Alessio Innocente and Matteo Rolando, who guided the overall vision, market positioning, and production strategy. At the heart of the design process was Mario Malacesck, a senior designer with decades of experience in backpack development.
Developing a backpack like the Sella Tour 32L takes time — around three years from the first idea to the final product reaching the market. Everything has to be considered: intended use and user profile, volume and weight, materials and durability, carrying comfort, features and accessibility, price and positioning within the range
The process starts with hand-drawn sketches, followed by handmade prototypes. These early versions are essential: they allow us to test proportions, openings, and carry systems before moving further.
The hybrid opening system
One of the central ideas behind the Sella 32L is its hybrid Back–Side opening.
In freeride backpacks, back panel access is often preferred. In more classic mountaineering packs, side access is common. We wanted to combine both worlds.
The result is a Back–Side opening, offering fast access to gear without fully opening the pack or unpacking everything. It’s a small detail, but one that makes a big difference when conditions are cold, windy, or exposed.
Of course, the Sella 32L keeps all the essential mountain features: A-frame ski carry, ice axe attachment and dedicated avalanche safety pocket for shovel and probe
Testing, feedback, and refinement
Once the concept was validated, the backpack moved into production and we received the first samples. These prototypes were tested extensively to evaluate materials, comfort, and overall functionality.
Together with the Salewa R&D team, we collected feedback, identified weak points, and refined the design. After several months, a second prototype was developed, incorporating improvements based on both athlete testing and input from additional users.
This loop — test, feedback, adjust — is where a good product becomes a reliable one.
Why athlete involvement matters
Including athletes in product development isn’t just about performance. It’s about connection. Athletes are part of a broader community of mountain users, and they act as a bridge between brand and real-world practice. They bring not only personal experience, but also insights from the people they ski, tour, and climb with. As the founder of Glacier Optics, it was also interesting to create parallels between backpack development and eyewear design.
The Sella 32L is now part of Salewa’s Winter 2025/2026 collection, ready to be used where it was designed to belong: in the mountains. I’m grateful for the opportunity to be involved in this project, and proud of what the team has built together. I’m already looking forward to the next collaboration — and to seeing this backpack out there, on real ski days, in real conditions
