A shocking story about wearing a Yamada Packs backpack at the Shirataka Hills Trail kickoff event
Written by Yasushi Hisatomi
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Last weekend, I participated in the Shirataka Hills Trail Kickoff Event, a trail event held at the Yamagata City Youth Nature House/Prefectural Forest
The Shirataka Hills Trail is one of the new trails in Tohoku being developed by Masafumi Saito, who has often helped Gearjin with interviews and talk events
Saito, needless to say, is a leading expert on long trails, having walked tens of thousands of kilometers on long trails around the world. He met Japanese trail pioneer Noriyoshi Kato and inherited his legacy. He founded the NPO "YLT Club" to preserve the natural environment, which is currently being destroyed by humans, and to ensure that the same scenery will be shared with future generations 100 years from now. He is now working alone, steadily developing trails, mainly in Yamagata Prefecture. OGZ cannot help but support those who strive to open up new possibilities for Japan's outdoor activities, seeing with their own eyes, thinking for themselves, and using their own methods. Of course, that's one reason, but the Tohoku region's nature is truly beautiful at this time of year, and I was also looking forward to reuniting with all the participants, so I rushed to Yamagata to set up a flea market booth again this year, following on from last year's first event
The weather was clear and the temperature was just right, just a little chilly in the shade. The quiet venue, enveloped in fresh air and warm sunshine, was comfortable no matter how long you stayed
The cover photo shows the event booth. Once again, we were able to chat with many participants over the shoes, backpacks, clothing, and gear we could fit in our car. What struck me there was that everyone's knowledge of gear is growing year by year. They asked questions like, "Is this an Alpha?" or "Is it an Octa?" or "I don't like this thing about my current backpack. Is there anything better?" or "My air mattress is quiet." It was impressive to see everyone eagerly absorbing information about better gear, something you'd never guess from its appearance. Personally, it was a truly inspiring experience. The event continued with outdoor dinner and a bonfire, bingo, and a campfire (which was both nostalgic and refreshing, and surprisingly fun). We continued talking until late into the night (though the unfortunate punchline was that I had an unbelievable hangover the next day)
My encounter with Yamada Packs
OGZ had another purpose for the day: to meet Yamada Packs, a local backpack brand from Yamagata
I had heard about it from Mr. Saito, but the creator, who has walked long trails, has carefully considered the functions that are truly necessary to create backpacks that are tailored to the mountains of Japan. All of them are handmade, and the sizes are custom made
Rather than making the bag lighter for no apparent reason, the concept of a lightweight bag that can be carried securely on the waist and a simple design with no unnecessary elements was very close to my ideal, so I really wanted to try wearing the bag and hear more about it in detail
And I actually had the opportunity to carry this
https://ymdpacks.com/front/gears/backpack40/
Oh, this is amazing! I felt like I'd found the product I'd been looking for. The hip belt (waist harness) that hugs the waist is particularly outstanding. It supports the weight firmly across the waist without shaking when you move, the back cushion is just the right amount of comfortable, and the shoulder harness is three-dimensional and fits perfectly - it was almost ideal for carrying. It's amazing that he was able to make this all by himself, without any particular professional training. We also hit it off as lovers of Tohoku, mountain stream fishing, and the Kakkonda River. I'm already daydreaming about doing something together at Outdoor Gearzine
The talk event in May is coming up! Information on the next event on June 26th has been released!
On Thursday, May 30th, we will be holding our first talk event since reopening, "Let's talk about the secrets of Haglöfs that you don't know yet and can only hear here!"
Haglofs is a backpack manufacturer that is not well known in Japan, and we will be talking to key people in the company about the secrets behind their calculated patterning, the unique coloring, the close relationship between work-life balance and manufacturing that is unique to Scandinavia, and more.We will not only be talking about product development, but also about what nature and the outdoors mean to the lives of Scandinavian people, and other stories that you can only hear here, so please come!
To apply for participation, both on-site and online, please click below:
Enter the event (Go to the Peatix ticket purchase page)
The next talk event has been scheduled for Wednesday, June 26th. Details will be announced soon, but the theme will be "We still don't know anything about Vibram" - a special feature on outsoles and Vibram!
Sorry for the core topic as usual. But this time too, it's sure to be a really interesting talk event. The speaker will be Mr. Hirano from Vibram Japan. How are outsoles designed? How are they made? What are amazing outsoles? What will the soles of the future be like? Let's enjoy the deep world of shoe soles that we don't usually think about. On the day, we will also have a booth where you can try out the Megagrip outsole. We are also planning to reveal the latest information on the 2025 season for the first time! Anyway, we have prepared lots of interesting stories that you can only hear here (and there will be souvenirs too) so we look forward to seeing you!
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[Finally happening this weekend] This weekend is the Shirataka Hills Trail kickoff event. Walk the brand new Yamagata green trail