THE NORTH FACE JAPAN
THE NORTH FACE BEHEMOUTH DRAWS A LOT OF FLACK FOR ITS MONOLITHIC INDUSTRY POSITION, AND OFTEN RIGHTLY SO. OUR SMALL PRODUCER, LOW VOLUME, HUMAN TO HUMAN, HIGH CRAFTMANSHIP ETHIC CLASHES WITH THE NORTH FACES SLICK CORPORATE POSTURING JUST AS IT DOES WITH ALL THE OTHER SUPER-COMPANIES WHO HINDER THE DEVELOPMENT IN FAVOR OF PLAYING TO THE MASSES. LIKE MANY WE CRINGE AT THE MENTION OF THE NORTH FACE, ASSOCIATING IT WITH AVERAGE GEAR BLINGED UP WITH A FEW GIMMICKS, TO BE SOLD AT ELITE LEVEL PRICES TO THOSE WHO DON’T KNOW OR CARE WHAT THE OPTIONS ARE – EXCEPT IN ONE INSTANCE.
LIKE SO MUCH IN JAPAN, THINGS DON’T FOLLOW THE ‘NORMAL’ MEANS OF PROCESS. JAPAN IS A PLACE THAT HAS $40 WATERMELONS BUT SUSHI CHEAPER THAN MCDONALDS, WHERE SUBWAYS RUN TO THE SECOND BUT SHOPS DON’T OPEN TILL 11am, WHERE 7-11 IS ACTUALLY A BANK, AND WHERE THE NORTH FACE PRODUCES SOME OF THE BEST AND MOST SPECIALIZED HIGH ALTITUDE CLIMBING GEAR AVAILABLE.
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SINCE THE 80s THE NORTH FACE IN JAPAN HAS BEEN AN INDEPENDENT COMPANY UNDER THE DIRECTION OF GOLDWIN, SOME INDUSTRY CONGLOMERATE THAT RUNS ALL SORTS OF BRANDS, AND TREATS THE NORTH FACE AS A VEHICLE FOR JAPANS MONOPOLY ON THE MATERIAL POLYMER INDUSTRY. THAT JAPAN DEVELOPS THE VAST MAJORITY OF FABRICS THAT THE BIG PLAYERS USE, INCLUDING POLARTEC, PERTEX, PRIMALOFT AND OF COURSE TORAY, IS NOTHING NEW, BUT ALMOST NO ONE OUTSIDE JAPAN KNOWS THAT THE JAPANESE NORTH FACE IS TURNING OUT ALPINE GEAR THAT LEAVES ANY OTHER BIG COMPANY FAR BEHIND.
ALONG SIDE SEVERAL OTHER VARIANTS OF THE BRAND, MOST AIMED AT STREETWEAR, FESTIVALS, OR BIZARRE CONCEPT MARKETS, THE NORTH FACE JAPAN SUMMIT SERIES IS THAT TROVE OF SPECIALIST STUFF THAT YOU HAVE PROBABLY BEEN LOOKING FOR. WHERE THE FAMED/NOTORIOUS ADVANCED MOUNTAIN KIT SERIES CAME AND WENT WITHOUT NOTICE ELSEWHERE, IN JAPAN IT IS ON THE SHELVES, AND HAS SPROUTED ALL SORTS OF ADD-ONS USING THE TECHNOLOGY AND MATERIALS THAT COME WITH IT.
FOR THOSE WHO MISSED IT, THE ADVANCED MOUNTAIN KIT IS A SET OF CLOTHES AND GEAR AIMED SPECIFICALLY AT HIGH ALTITUDE ALPINISM, AS OPPOSED TO THE NORTH FACE’S USUAL HI ALT STUFF WHICH IS AIMED AT THOSE WAITING IN LINE ON FIXED ROPES. THE AMK USES VERY HIGH QUALITY MATERIALS, PUT TOGETHER IN INNOVATIVE WAYS, TO WORK AS A FOUR-PIECE SUIT. WHILST THE SHELLS ARE NOTHING SPECIAL OTHER THAN VERY LIGHT, THE OTHER LAYERS ARE BEST-IN-CLASS, AS ARE THE ACCESSORIES THAT ALL USE 1000FP DOWN (EURO/JAPANESE 900FP) AND VERSIONS OF FUTURELIGHT NOT SEEN ELSEWHERE. IT’S VERY EXPENSIVE, BUT YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR, AND WE HAVE BEEN USING MUCH OF IT ON TRIPS TO TIBET IN EARLY WINTER.
AS A PRODUCER OF EXTREMELY HIGH QUALITY DOWN, THE NORTH FACE JAPAN PUTS OUT ALL SORTS OF 900FP GARMENTS, USING THE SAME STUFF CALLED 1000FP IN THE AMK RANGE DUE TO THE DIFFERENCE IN AMERICAN LABELLING. LIKEWISE THE JAPAN COMPANY HAS ARRAYS OF SYNTHETIC GARMENTS THAT ARE UNHEARD OF OUTSIDE THE COUNTRY, TAKING PRIMALOFT TO NEW LEVELS OF USE, AMONG THEM THE BEST BIVY JACKET WE HAVE EVER SEEN.
GARMENT-WISE THE JAPANESE NORTH FACE IS A RIOT OF IDEAS, PRODUCING THINGS THAT NO OTHER COMPANY GOES NEAR; STRETCH BIBS, DYNEEMA JACKETS, INFLATABLE INSULATION, HYBRID MIDLAYERS, DOZENS OF BASELAYERS – ALL MADE WITH THE IDEA OF A SYSTEM THAT HAS COME DOWN FROM THE AMK. A SPECIALITY OF THE NORTH FACE JAPAN IS GLOVES, WITH A LARGE RANGE USING TECH THAT FEW OTHER COMPANIES DO, COMBINING DYNEEMA-LINED LEATHER, 3D MOLDING, TYPES OF INSULATION AND DESIGN IDEAS TO MAKE ARGUABLY THE BEST GLOVES AVAILABLE.
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FOR THE HIGH ALTITUDE ALPINIST, THE NORTH FACE JAPAN IS ONE OF THE FEW COMPANIES INNOVATING SPECIFICALLY FOR THE SPORT, USING ATHLETES FROM THE NORTH FACES GLOBAL TEAMS MIXED WITH ADVANTAGES OF THE JAPAN INDUSTRY AND CONSUMER MARKET. IN A WAY THIS IS LARGE SCALE TEST MARKETING, WHERE THE INNOVATIONS IN MATERIALS AND CONSTRUCTION CAN BE RUN THROUGH A LARGE BUYING POPULATION, AND STUFF THAT WON’T STICK ELSEWHERE IN JAPAN CAN BE FLOATED.
THIS MAKES A SOURCE OF THE SORT OF GEAR WE NEED – STUFF THAT GOES BEYOND WHAT MOST COMPANIES SELL – AND THOUGH THEIR TENTS, PACKS AND MOST SLEEPING BAGS ARE STILL A FEW STEPS FROM THE BEST AROUND, THIS IS A PLACE WHERE MOST NEEDS ARE MET.
TO SEE WHAT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT GO TO THE GOLDWIN WEBSITE, TURN ON TRANSLATE, AND DIG AROUND TOWARDS THE BACK OF THE CATALOGUE, THE OUTLET AND SALES SECTIONS.