The STEEP editorial department visited the "SNOW SPORTS Joint Exhibition" held at Pacifico Yokohama from Tuesday, February 16th to Wednesday, February 17th. We visited the booths of the manufacturers we were interested in and asked about new models and recommended items for next season. This time [soft goods edition]!
STEEP-like
soft goods recommended by manufacturers
HESTRA has been greatly supported mainly by the powder freeride group. It is a brand of craftsmanship that shines with the functions and characteristics of leather with the craftsmanship spirit of Sweden. Several new items will be added next season, but what are the topics among them? I asked.
The best is the new color " Bordeaux "
The most important topic for next season is the emergence of a new color called “Bordeaux”. The color is named after the red wine produced in the Bordeaux region of France, and although it is darker than wine red, it has an indescribably astringent taste. It seems to be popular with adult skiers. It is used in HESTRA's iron plate model 3-finger and Wakayama.
Featured new items "Ergo Grip Active Wool" "Tarfala"
"Ergo Grip Active Wool" (top photo) is now available. The inner is wool, so it has excellent heat retention. The ergo grip makes it easy to use. Especially recommended for people who use it on site, guides and mountain skiers.
The “Tarfala” (top center of the photo) is also a newly released model. The high-quality European taste design shines. The shape is almost the same as "Patrol", but the manufacturing method is to use lead to process the leather. This is the goatskin version.
“Wakayama” continues to sell well
"Wakayama", which became a worldwide hit, is still doing great. It is said that it is selling well. The reaction when I introduced it in STEEP before was amazing, but I'm happy to say that the movement has become active and the number of orders has increased at the time of the article's publication. It's a model that I'm looking forward to seeing next season.
poc was born in Stockholm, Sweden. A brand that develops products with the mission of protecting athletes from serious accidents in gravity sports. It has been developed from winter to the road bike market, and is attracting a lot of attention, including that it is handled by Full Marks.
poc's self-confidence "LARITY COMP NIGHT SPARE LENS"
"LARITY COMP NIGHT SPARE LENS" is poc's proud product that has been announced this season and will be rolled out in earnest next season. High-contrast lenses that are almost clear and have little coloring, developed for night games. It has a finish that can be used not only for night games, but also for a wide range of conditions such as cloudy to cloudy weather and poor gas visibility. By the way, this is what it actually looks like.
Now that goggles are becoming more sophisticated, it is only natural that you can see well in bright conditions, but it is important to ensure good visibility when it gets dark or in poor visibility conditions. I really want to try the new poc lens.
❖ Full Marks official website https://www.full-marks.com/
When I visited the booth and listened to the story, it turned out that he was actually a pioneer who produced the world's first Food Warmer 11 years ago. Initially, it started with 300 copies, but when the snowboard boom took off, more than 20,000 copies were sold in a season. The last two years have been tough due to the warm winter, but this season's stock is almost sold out. It's exactly the perfect item for the current corona misfortune.
The standard of the world's first Food Warmer
Although the color variations and materials have been changed to match the trends of clothing and other items, the design has remained unchanged for 11 years.
SHOWTIME COLLECTIVE's hood warmers are made of thin material, so they fit perfectly. Quick-drying, heat retention, softness, lightness, and many other advantages. It is also a nice point that it can be worn over a helmet. It is said that people who want to hide the unfashionable outline of the helmet are pleased. The best recommendation is the one made of velor material (left photo). It is very comfortable on the skin and has a soothing effect when touched, and it is said that it is especially popular with female snowboarders because it looks a little high-class and stylish.
❖ Reeight Associates Official HP http://graysnowboards.co.jp/
At the Yamamoto Kogaku booth, which celebrated its 110th anniversary, there was a line-up of products such as SWANS, a long-established ski goggle brand, DICE, which arranged its technology for snowboarding, and evoc, a backpack with a protective function.
RIDGELINE strong
The main product number for next season will be RIDGELINE, which continues SWANS' proud high-performance goggles.
The biggest feature is the "A-BLOW SYSTEM" that pops up the lens when the side parts are twisted to ventilate the inside of the goggles and prevent fogging. It is said that the reputation of "SWANS is not cloudy" in recent years is summarized in this part. It is also possible to change lenses such as two types of photochromic lenses that automatically adjust the darkness of the lens according to the brightness, polarized lenses that make it easy to see the unevenness of the slope, and ULTRA low light lenses. Even if you wear glasses, the lenses are large enough to cover the top of them, which is convenient. "Anyway, it's easy to see and doesn't fog up, so you can ski aggressively with confidence," is highly praised by the riders who use it.
This is a collaboration model with the newly announced HAKUBAVALLRY. The frame is RIDGELINE. Since we have continued to support Hakuba riders, we have realized a thoughtful collaboration with Hakuba, who leads the Japanese snow scene.
ULTRA LENS GRAY adopted for RACAN
The molded cylinder lens goggles called "RACAN" that came out last season will come with a new "ULTRA LENS GRAY" lens this year. In SWANS, he uses the term ULTRA LENS for high-contrast lenses, but ULTRA LENS GRAY has a fairly clear appearance, and it has dimming added to it.
Until now, the purple lens called Ultra Dimming had a visible light transmittance between 17% and 35%, and the color of the lens became darker and lighter, but this ULTRA LENS GRAY color has a visible light transmittance of 17% to 35%. 15% to 55%, so it's brighter and darker than before, so it's a very wide lens. It's close to a clear lens, but the contrast is solid, so it's pretty easy to see. This single lens can handle a variety of weather and sunlight conditions. It is said that the speed of color change is also fast.
Reliable helmet of Japan fit continues
One of the strengths of a domestic manufacturer with a long history is manufacturing that makes use of a huge amount of information about the heads of Japanese people. The SWANS helmet is attractive with the Japan fit along with the goggles. There are no major changes to next year's model. For core skaters, No. 240, which was released last year, is recommended. Anti-vibration shock absorption is included, so you can protect your head in the event of a fall. Of course, the compatibility with SWANS goggles is perfect.
Yamamoto Kogaku's goggle brand "DICE" for snowboarders is also a very popular brand. SWANS technology is shared, but developed separately from skiing.
Back entry for evok
evoc, a stylish backpack brand. Until now, you could only enter from the top, but next season's model will be upgraded to allow entry from the back. Easy to pack and easy to use. 20L and 30L are perfect for one day backcountry.
The Pro Series has a back pad that protects the spine and is effective in preventing injuries. "Protector back" is the concept of evok. For that reason, the original price is about 30,000 yen, which is a little high-end specification, but the quality is certified. There is also a camera bag with a two-chamber structure, which is said to be favored by photographers who shoot in the backcountry.
❖ Yamamoto Kogaku official website https://www.swans.co.jp/
A long-established glove manufacturer founded in 1927 based in Provence, Southern France. It has a track record of supporting athletes at the Winter Olympics, and currently manufactures a wide range of products for mountain bikes, motorcycles, and horseback riding.
A unique item with the idea that the glove itself generates heat.
This glove is an exothermic heat glove that the glove itself heats up and becomes warm, developed independently by Racer.
Without relying on your body temperature, you can always keep a comfortable temperature with the power of electricity even in harsh natural environments such as -20 degrees cold. In addition, it is completely waterproof and highly breathable, making it the strongest machine glove. The built-in battery can generate heat for 6 hours on snow with a full charge. Heat retention can be adjusted in 3 temperature levels + conventional gloves. It also has a rapid heating mode that heats up quickly, which is convenient. Very soft and easy to grip. It is understandable that it is especially useful in tough worksites such as rescue and cableway work that requires fine finger movements.
From the thick GORE-TEX completely waterproof type "IWARM GTX2" (left photo), the thin inner glove "IWARM LAYER" can be used under mittens. There are three types, including (center of the photo) and one designed for use in the city (right of the photo). A wide range of sizes from XS to XXL.
❖ KEM Official HP http://kemjapan.com/
Duke Co., Ltd., which participates in an NPO called "Eyes Arc" that protects the eyes from ultraviolet rays, sells sunglasses, snow goggles, reading glasses for seniors, etc., and supports many athletes. I asked him about the snow goggles "D: RECT."
The green mirror photochromic lens has a good reputation among riders
D: The top model of RECT. is "BUGGY". Uses a dimming lens that changes the brightness of the lens with a neon color-based UV reaction. In particular, the green mirror model "DN10-G" (upper left of the photo) has a wide range of visible light transmittance, from 19% to 46%. It looks high contrast. It is said that it is very popular with riders because it can be used from early morning to the night just before the night game.
In addition, the anti-fogging process is 7 times more than normal, making it a super anti-fogging lens. With ski goggles, if the anti-fogging effect lasts for 30 seconds, it is certified as having an anti-fogging effect, but "BUGGY" is 227 seconds. The sense of security that it does not fog up seven times as much as the standard is also a selling point.
❖ Duke Official HP http://www.de3.jp/
Matsuoka gloves are said to be used by riders such as motorcycles and, interestingly, by police officers. A brand full of craftsmanship that is truly made in Japan, and the selling point is reliable technology.
Introducing Ergo Grip's 3-finger line
Next season, in addition to the existing five-finger gloves, three new lines including a three-finger style will be released. All of them are easy to use with Ergo Grip (Ergo Grip), making them easy to grip and less tiring. The manufacturing method called ergo grip is ergonomically designed and three-dimensionally sewn in a position that creates a natural shape so that the hand does not get tired.
Ordinary gloves have gussets on the sides of the fingers to give them a three-dimensional look, but with that style, they tend to bend and wrinkle, resulting in stiffness. In order to prevent this, the gussets are removed and the knuckles are sewn sideways along the knuckles to prevent wrinkles from forming when bending the fingers. It also reduces the consumption of grip strength when gripping.
❖ Matsuoka Glove Official Website http://matsuoka-glove.co.jp/
*2021-22 Product sales and specifications are subject to change without notice.
❖ Click here for the [Gear] report!
