OGZ Membership Recruitment
Last day, one day, I visited Vibram Japan, which I met at the TOAD (Trail Open Air Demo) 10 venue at the beginning of April.
My first encounter with Vibram was at the booth of the outdoor trade fair "OutDoor Friedrichshafen 2016" held in Germany eight years ago.
The booth was filled with excitement from cheerful Italians, but I still remember that Hashimoto Masaya, the product designer who developed "Furoshiki," who introduced the unique and functional new product with great care, saying, "Isn't this okay?" Through Hashimoto, I had been experiencing the appeal of the brand and had always dreamed of something I could do from then on, so I was very excited to visit the Japanese subsidiary, which was established a few years ago.
(Article at that time↓↓)
The office is quietly located in a corner of an office building in the middle of Tokyo, and as you step inside, the familiar smell of rubber wraps around your nose, and the container is packed with samples of soles that are so diverse, almost all inside, making you feel excited.
I met Hirano from Vibram Japan. First, they were given an explanation of Vibram's history, its philosophy, and the latest activities of Vibram, and were able to show us valuable videos of the factory's appearance until the sole was made.
Speaking of Vibram, it is unmissable that its sole, "Mega Grip," is a hugely trusted sole that hikers and trail runners have a strong reputation. Here we have a demonstration device that lets you experience how the eyes can grip on wet rocks below, and of course we were able to experience it.
When you stand on the device that creates a steep slope of stone slabs where water flows down, you can see the difference in grip strength by wearing Megagrips and non-skinned shoes separately on the left and right sides. I have always felt the performance, but I was able to experience the same clear differences as they actually are.
There are also simulation equipment that allows you to try out the effects by wearing Arctic Grips on both sides, which do not slip on smooth, frozen roads. This was actually my first time, so it was an eye-opener.
From the history of the outdoor sole market where Vibram soles opened its doors, to the secrets of the high functionality of Vibram soles, to the latest information on Vibram soles that continues to evolve to this day, time passed in a flash.
This is an even better off topic for Outdoor Gearzine's offline talk event. I asked Hirano to accept this, and was gratefully accepted, so I was given a job offer from Vibram NIGHT for the real-life talk event for membership in June!
Hirano will be participating in the world's largest outdoor trade fair in Germany, ISPO, at the beginning of June, so he will be holding a talk event with the latest information on Hoyahoya. I hope that I can share the deep world of Vibram and outdoor soles that I was able to hear this time with more people, and I can't wait to see it.
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