This was my first visit to the US in about 15 years. My main purpose was to attend the Outdoor Retailer Show (OR Show) in Salt Lake City. I was really looking forward to going, and I had several missions in mind. One of them was to learn about the local outdoor scene. I visited some stores around LA to see what the real American stores were like.

The first place we visited was the area's best store, ADVENTURE 16, located in Santa Monica.

Originally founded in San Diego in 1962, the store is said to have contributed greatly to the growth of Patagonia. Inside the store, there is a showroom-like space that gives off a sense of history.

The sales floor was large and divided into sections for gear, camping equipment, backpacks, and clothing.

As for the lighting fixtures I was looking for, they looked like this.

From left to right they were Petzl, Black Diamond, and Princetontec.

I was also happy to see headlamps and lanterns made by the Japanese brand SNOWPEAK lined up in a foreign country, and felt that one day our company would like to follow in their footsteps.

The detailed displays in the fitting room are simply amazing.

Personally, I wanted a YETI soft cooler lol. It's an item that hasn't been released in Japan yet.

to be continued