This serial is a fictional podcast program where writer Hagiwara (who met the trio—Nishioka, Yoshida, and Haruka—at #WednesdayBudozakaTraining) interviews them to delve into the ins and outs of milestone.

The season where we finally start to feel a chill in the air has arrived. So, what’s on the agenda for this month?

Nishioka (hereafter, N): Thanks to everyone, the MS-i2 headlamp and Cloud Half-Zip we talked about last month are now available at retailers nationwide and have hopefully reached all our milestone users. And this month, we have new releases as well!

Yoshida (hereafter, Y): Well, first of all, we have an item with a new color added...

Omori (hereafter, H): Starting with that?! The golden rule for web content is to lead with the hot topic!

Y: But if I start with the new product, the color addition ends up feeling like an afterthought.

N: I agree with that. The real star of the show is waiting in the wings, so it’s fine to save it for later.

Y: Then, since the "big brother" is making an appearance...

N: Wait, you’re starting with that?

Y: Huh?! Oh? Things are looking a bit cloudy... pun intended.

N: Enough with the puns (laughs). Let’s start with the gloves.

H: I thought the gloves were coming first, but I stopped you because you tried to talk about the Cloud.

Hagiwara (hereafter, Hg): I was told the main topic today was gloves, so let’s go with the gloves, please.

N: Isn’t this exchange going to be a pain to edit? (laughs)

Hg: It’s text, not audio, so it’s fine. I can make it work (laughs).


・New Color for the "2.0"


Y: Alright, let’s start over and talk about the Fast Trail Glove. The Fast Trail Glove 2.0 released last year came in three colors: black, gray, and brown, but the brown will be discontinued once current stock runs out. A new color is appearing in its place.

H: It’s Dark Green.

N: Actually, it’s already featured in this year’s catalog being worn by SAKU-san. The body is a dark green, but the mitten portion is a lighter shade, which I think makes it quite easy to wear.

Y: Green—or khaki, I should say—tends to look a bit military, but because it mixes dark and light tones, the military vibe is toned down, making it an easy color for women to wear as well.

Hg: What’s happening with the other colors?

N: The brown will be discontinued once the small remaining stock is gone, but the gray and black will be making a comeback. We expect them to arrive along with the new color around the beginning of October.

Hg: By the way, for more details on the "2.0," you spoke about it in last year’s Vol. 33 "Harbingers of the End of Summer".



・The Arrival of the "3.0"



H: And furthermore, the Fast Trail Glove 3.0 is also being released.

Hg: There’s a "2.0," and now there’s a "3.0" too?!

H: I think it would be best for Nishioka-san to explain the development story behind this.

N: The Fast Trail Glove started with the 1.0 and has evolved since then. The fabric for the 1.0 was truly excellent, but the honest reason we changed the fabric for the 2.0 was that we wanted to offer more color options. The 1.0 fabric only came in black. When I was doing pace runs at Nagai Park last marathon season wearing the 2.0, whenever I checked my pace on my watch during cold winter days, the gap at my wrist would get freezing cold and turn bright red.

Y: If you’re wearing the Onion Hoody or Cloud Hoody, you can protect your wrists with the watch window. But when you’re doing high-intensity running, you get hot and take them off.

N: Even with arm sleeves, there’s still a gap between the sleeve and the glove, and it gets painfully cold. How do I solve that? The idea came to me while running: even though we changed to a new fabric for the 2.0, the 1.0 fabric had a great fit, so why not just add a watch window to that? Yoshida-san told me, "Is that really necessary? No one is going to use that" (laughs).

Y: I don’t run full marathons, so truthfully, I didn’t think I would use it personally. But people who do road runs—especially in cold seasons where gloves are essential—are training at high intensity, so I really want them to try it out.

H: Of course, you can use it for trail running as well, not just road.

N: Actually, when I introduced the new product to the specialty stores that carry our items, we received solid orders. Even though it seemed like a niche item, I really felt that there was a demand for it. I’m glad we made it.

Y: The initial response was great. This kind of thing happens from time to time in milestone’s history. Thinking back, when Nishioka-san suggested an all-white version of the MSC-013 cap, I said, "Is that a gym cap? You definitely don't need that!" (laughs). And now, it’s a super popular item.

H: It was even out of stock for a while in mid-summer.

Y: I’m hoping this goes the same way.

N: The 2.0 fabric is thick and tough, giving it different strengths than the 3.0. I think that by creating items for different purposes, the Fast Trail Glove lineup has gained more breadth.

H: There were many voices saying the 1.0 fabric was also great because it was soft and stretchy, right?

N: To be frank, there are other manufacturers making gloves using the 2.0 fabric. I don't think I've seen anyone else use the 1.0 or 3.0 fabric.

Hg: It definitely has that form-fitting feel, which makes it easy to grasp things. I heard the development story of the Fast Trail Glove in Vol. 10 "If You Want to Move 'Fast' in the Mountains", and you also talked about how you improved the durability by revisiting the stitching in the Vol. 21.

H: The key feature of the Fast Trail Glove is the built-in mitten, but we really struggled with ensuring the mitten wasn't hard to stow, and making sure the stowed section wouldn't interfere with the watch window.

N: It was difficult to get the watch to peek through at a clear viewing angle, so we adjusted it many times.

Hg: You look at your watch way more frequently in road running than on trails, and your pace is much faster. Whether or not you can do that quickly and without stress is a pretty important point during a marathon.

H: It’s the same for both the 2.0 and the 3.0, but you can expose your thumb and index finger, which is convenient when you need to turn a dial or touch your watch.

N: I think these will become a winter essential. By the way, both are priced the same.



・The Cloud Brothers: A New Color for the Elder Brother



N: The Cloud Hoody has become a winter staple, hasn’t it? So many people wear it. Many manufacturers use Polartec Alpha Direct, but after repeatedly making samples, testing, and creating our own original mapping, it has now become a standard. I want to value making staples that we can keep running with for a long time, so I’m grateful. What’s the new color again?

H: It is Parrot Green.

N: Like a parrot. It’s a green that’s different from Peacock Green. It has a slightly gentler tone. Peacock isn’t coming out this year, right?

Y: The peacock is taking a break this year.

N: Green is my favorite color, so I hope to continue releasing various shades in the future. Why did we choose Parrot, again?

H: The Cloud Hoody color naming convention is based on a bird series.

Y: Personally, the Half-Zip that came out last month was something I originally wanted to do.

Y: But ultimately, I think it was the right order: having this more versatile, "older brother" version first allowed us to create the more specialized item as our next goal. If someone wants to try wearing an item with Alpha Direct, this is definitely the right place to start.

N: How many colors are we releasing it in this year?

Y: Five colors: Crow Black, Swallow Blue, Cardinal Red, Sparrow Brown, and Parrot Green.

N: Please check it out at your local retailer.

N: Also, a word on the Utility Bag. It’s a very convenient bag for stuffing your pack into after a race or carrying your change of clothes when going to the bath.

N: The Soil Beige, which was on hiatus, is making a comeback after a long time. It features a built-in 10cm x 10cm storage pocket, making it extremely easy to carry. Because the bottom is large, it’s a great item that can easily hold 20L.

N: It comes in three colors, including the standard Carbon Black and Moss Green. Ice Blue is sold out, and Romane Grape is available only while supplies last.

H: One announcement: from September 25th to the 30th, we will be closed for online shipments and our store for inventory taking as we become milestone81 Inc. Thank you for your understanding.

 

N: I think we’ll have more interesting things to talk about on the 25th of next month, so let’s wrap it up here. Goodbye.

Y: Goodbye.

H, Hg: Goodbye.

This month, we learned about autumn preparations, including new glove releases and color additions. The sturdiness and color palette of the "2.0" fabric, as well as the suppleness and watch window of the "3.0," are both incredibly appealing.

I lost my 1.0, but I’ve been using the 2.0 comfortably. However, for the serious marathon training starting now, I want to protect my wrists from the cold with the 3.0.

I immediately used the Cloud Half-Zip from Vol. 44 in the Shinetsu Five Mountains Trail Running Race. Previously, I used rain gear as insulation after the sun went down. By confirming that it keeps my body protected from the cold even while waiting at aid stations or when I could no longer run, I gained a new option. It will surely be a great help in the coming season.

Once you finish a race that you’ve spent an entire year preparing for, you momentarily lose your goal. What to do next year? What to challenge next? The fun of racing lies in the discoveries and learning. Sometimes, you see a path different from the one you had envisioned before you started running. As you continue to walk and run, you will surely find your answer.

For now, I think I’ll explore some routes while practicing map reading. Wandering through the autumn mountains. See you next month.


Text/Composition: Ken Hagiwara