This series is a project in which Hagiwara (who runs with him in #WednesdayBudouzakaRen) listens to the stories of two people who have created milestone items (founder Nishioka) and used them (mid-career hire Yoshida) and delves into them.

Nishioka (hereafter Nishi): The other day, I went to a traveling edition of "Tell Me! Milestone" in Tokyo. A lot of people came, and I got to hear a lot of stories that you can only hear there.

Yoshida (hereinafter Yoshi): For example?

Nishi: I can't say that here, but they've taken the trouble to come and spend a lot of money.

Yoshi: Oh, I see, it was a paid event.

Nishi: It's free.

Yoshi: It's free! (laughs)

Nishi: If you've made the effort to come on a Saturday evening, you'll want to try your best to talk. The venue was finetrack's Tokyo Base, and Massan (a fellow runner who always runs the Wednesday Budouzaka with me) was the host. We had a lot of fun with the free talk.

Hagi: Nishioka's business trip to Tokyo was also mentioned on this blog .

All the features you want

Hagi: Well, today we were talking about cloves.

Yoshi: Well, it actually started before I joined the company, but Nishioka told me that there was a really cool outdoor shop in Shikoku and that he wanted me to go and check it out.

Nishi: They're a business partner, and they have a great selection.

Yoshi: A glove manufacturer runs a shop there, and the gloves are really cool. I said "hmm" at the time, but then I found myself wanting some gloves from that manufacturer.

Nishi: Going back even further, when I went around the Chugoku area with Doi on a nationwide road trip project to try out the Trailmaster headlamp, we went to Okayama after holding a running event at Run Plus in Hiroshima, and one of the participants was Tada-san, who works in production management at the glove manufacturer I mentioned at the beginning.

Yoshi: You seem to prefer relatively minimalist clothing (laughs).

Taken from Tada's Instagram

Nishi: I thought he had a nice vibe, and he spoke in Tokushima dialect. My hometown is Awaji Island, so it's close by and I understand the dialect. "Yes, my hometown is Tokushima," he said. "I work for a glove manufacturer called Handson Grip in Kagawa." I knew the manufacturer myself, so I thought, "Well, since I'm here, I'll go with Doi!" and the next day we crossed the Seto Ohashi Bridge and headed to Shikoku.

Yoshi: So that's what happened.

Nishi: I was so excited when we first met that I went to his company and then to his store. The gloves were amazing. I kept using them and when I thought I wanted a different model, I asked Yoshi if he wanted to buy some with me. I didn't say that.

Yoshi: Wow. All I had heard was that there was a connection with them.

Nishi: So it's a connection from the road trip to Okayama. The timing was just right, and that's what has led to where we are now.

Yoshi: It was a matter of fate and timing.

Nishi: Everything. That's what encounters are like. It's guidance. *It means that we met because we were meant to meet, or that it was meant to happen.

Yoshi: Mr. Nishioka and I were working together on apparel, and when we started thinking about what we needed for trail running, we realized we needed gloves. So we decided to ask Handson Grip, who we're currently using and have had great results.

Nishi: I want to create something original that meets all the desired functions that people would like.

Yoshi: If you're specializing in trail running, the body itself doesn't need to be waterproof. It's something you'll use when it's cold, but you'll sweat to some extent, so it's not wool. Your hands feel different when there's wind than when there's no wind, so windproofing is necessary. You want it to be storable when not in use.

Yoshi: And if the time comes, I want to put my finger on it.

Nishi: You often see "smartphone-compatible fabric" on the fingertips, and while it works at first, it can stop working after a few washes. In the end, bare hands are best, so we designed it so that the thumb and index finger can be exposed.

Yoshi: The outer mittens aren't waterproof, but they're made of a highly water-repellent fabric, and I was conscious of durability. I wanted them to be fairly sturdy. The mittens I used in the past had thin fabric that would tear to shreds. They would get caught when I grabbed onto a tree, or get caught in the zipper, and would tear when I pulled.

Hagi: This is the kind of fabric that would be used for rainwear.

Yoshi: The specialist store also asked me if it was waterproof, but it's not. It's highly water-repellent. It'll be fine in light rain.

・It's okay because it's milestone

Yoshi: The fabric for the body is Power Grid by Polartec®. But Nishioka-san told me not to emphasize that so much. No, if you're going to use it, you should mention it (make it stand out). As users, we know that it uses Power Grid, so we can imagine what kind of fabric it must be.

Hagi: It's a fabric that has both heat retention and breathability.

Yoshi: It's grid-like so it doesn't stick to your skin and it's good at wicking away sweat.

Nishi: There are often fabric logos or tags on products. We're not an agent for fabric manufacturers, so I thought it would be okay to hide them. I thought it would be good if people who know would understand.

Yoshi: But wouldn't it be better to know about that when buying online? I talked about that quite a bit. It took a while to convince him (laughs).

Nishi: Ultimately, the tag shouldn't be on the outside, but rather on the inside so that people can see that it's being used.

Yoshi: And then Nishioka-san finally agreed.

Nishi: You can tell when you pick it up and touch it, and of course we use good materials, we look at it with our own eyes, test it and choose what we think is good, so we're definitely making good products. We want people to buy it knowing that it's made by milestone and that it's fine. That's been our thinking from the beginning, and I think it will continue to be that way in the future.

Yoshi: At first, I thought it would be a unisex one size, but when I made it and had many people try it on, it was too big. Women in particular said it was too big, so in the end, we decided on two sizes: "XS-S" and "ML." I think the XS-S size will also fit men with small hands.

Nishi: The fabric is quite stretchy, so it's easy to put your fingers out, and to put it bluntly, I can even wear a size XS-S. It only comes in one color, black. What's the name of the color?

Yoshi: Simply "black."

Yoshi: There were some subtle areas that needed to be corrected, like the part that stores the mittens, so we asked them to send us samples multiple times, even though it was quite a stretch.

Nishi: Depending on the length of your wrist, the watch may or may not fit. Retractable mittens are convenient for testing at races.

Yoshi: Definitely in the winter. There was a lot of demand for it, and we received a lot of orders from specialty stores.

Nishi: The response was great.

Yoshi: I think all of these are features that trail runners would want.

Hagi: In winter, there are so many different types of gloves on display in stores that it's hard to know which ones to choose. Surprisingly, there aren't many that are specifically designed for trail running.

Nishi: On the contrary, narrow it down.

Yoshi: I thought that something specialized would be more appealing. That being said, it's also compatible with Fast Trail Gloves, so the name is "Fast Trail Glove."

Hagi: It's the fast part of fast packing.

Yoshi: It means that whether you run or not, it's good to move fast on the trail. I've always thought of names related to music, so I came up with a good name but thought it had nothing to do with music, and then they said, "That's good, it doesn't have to be music." I said, "Really?" and then we decided on it (laughs).

Nishi: I think it's good.

・Bonus calculation

Yoshi: Finally, I checked the final sample and told them, "This is it!" and we discussed the production schedule. As we were discussing how much to purchase, Nishioka suddenly said, "People often lose one of their gloves, so wouldn't it be better if this carabiner was attached?"

Yoshi: I'm also in charge of production management, so if that were to come into play, it would throw off all my profit calculations. I was like, "What?! Now?!" But wouldn't the customer be happy if this was included? Don't you think so?" is my catchphrase. No, of course I would (laughs).

Nishi: Don't say that, me (laughs)

Yoshi: I'll say it right away (laughs).

Hagi: I've heard that (laughs).

Yoshi: So it comes with a carabiner. As a bonus.

Nishi: Ski gloves often have parts that snap together on the left and right sides, right? It gives a sense of security when they're connected. Having plastic parts attached all the time can be a nuisance, so I thought this carabiner could be used for multiple purposes. It can also be used for keys, and it's good to have the shop hang two together. Yoshida-san was understanding, so I did my specialty of "flipping the table." But I think it turned out to be a good idea in the end. Don't you think so? (laughs)

Yoshi/Hagi: I think so (laughs)

Nishi: It can also be attached to a backpack. I just thought of it and moved quickly without telling Yoshi. Once it was shaped, I think I said, "Let's attach this."

Yoshi: At milestone TERADACHO, we sell just this carabiner for 500 yen.

Hagi: There's a tag with the number "81" attached right on the wrist.

Nishi: In my mind, everything has been calculated and it turned out this way, or so I guess.

Yoshi: The only thing that hasn't been calculated is cost accounting.

Nishi: That's a good point (laughs). I just want to make something good, and I think money and numbers can come later.

Yoshi: We do our best to keep costs down, but if you ask us if you'd feel the same way from the customer's point of view, we'd say, "Yes, I would." (laughs)

Continued in Part 2