This series is a fictional podcast show in which writer Hagiwara (who met three people, Nishioka, Yoshida, and Haruka, on #WednesdayBudouzakaRen) delves into various topics related to milestones.

We've been experiencing alternating cold and warm weather for a while now, but is spring approaching? What about this month?

Nishioka (hereinafter, Nishi): Good evening everyone! This is Nishioka from milestone!

Yoshida (hereinafter Yoshi): Good evening everyone! This is Yoshida from milestone!

Omori (hereinafter Haruka): Good evening everyone!!! This is Haruka from milestone!!!

Hagiwara (hereinafter Hagi): Thank you for your continued support. Can you stop interrupting me with greetings halfway through (laughs)? I can't express it in words. Well then, I look forward to working with you again this month.

Nishi: This time, it's a hat that will be released soon.

Haruka: This is a surprising new product!

Nishi: Thank you! Hats are an item that people have been requesting for a while, and we've actually released them before.

Haruka: When were you talking about?

Nishi: It was when the brand was first launched, so I wonder how many years ago.

Haruka: It was featured in an early column in "Tell Me! Milestone."

Hagi: It was the second installment, "The Same Headband." In the column, it said it was in 2016.

Yoshi: It started out as something you could attach a headlamp to.

Nishi: Some of our core fans have been asking us to do it again, so we've finally made it happen. It will be in the same format as the previous work.

Haruka: Is the brim the same length?

N: It's the same. And we've given it a new name: Denali Hut.

Yoshi: No, it's a Denali bucket hat.

West: Bucket hat?

Yoshi: Are you upset about something? (laughs) Maybe...

Nishi: It's okay (laughs)

Haruka: Up until now, caps didn't have names.

Yoshi: Tomita-san, whose name also appeared in the "2nd" issue, asked me, "You name all your apparel, why don't you name your hats, which you've been making for so many years?"

Haruka: In the end, we only called it by the product number.

Yoshi: I was like, "That's true!"

Nishi: It was a shock.

Yoshi: That's what I wanted to say.

Nishi: Let's re-record it (laughs).

Yoshi: I thought it would be better to give them names after all. It's true that ever since I joined the company, I've been calling the caps by their product numbers without any hesitation, and I was satisfied with giving numbers to the caps I was allowed to design right after joining the company.

Nishi: Every time a new hat was made, the number got bigger. This time it's 025 (the 25th creation), but the product number exchanged between us and the hat maker is different from the product number used between the hat maker and the production factory, and without an easy-to-understand name, the discrepancy can be confusing.

Yoshi: Some price tags may say Denali Hat, but the official name is Denali Bucket Hat.

Nishi: No problem (laughs). So, where were we on the way when we were talking about what name to choose? I think the three of us were in the car.

Yoshi: Shinetsu?

Haruka: The other two went fishing, so I was the only one who went (to the Shinetsu Gogake Trail Running Race 2025)!

Nishi: Maybe Hasetsune?

Haruka: I haven't been! The OMM main event?

Nishi: I haven't been there.

Hagi: Maybe no one remembers? (laughs)

Yoshi: Probably NomaFes (Nomadics Festival).

Hagi: If it was December, that's still pretty recent (laughs).

Haruka: I have notes on my smartphone about Kilimanjaro, McKinley, Eiger, Matterhorn... and the dates they were climbed.

Nishi: Well, that was when it happened. The product planning itself was underway, but the name came later. We thought it would be good to have a name for it after a mountain. The Denali Bucket Hat. What's a bucket again?

Yoshi: A bucket hat is a type of hat that originates from an upside-down bucket. It has a short brim that points downwards, and was apparently worn by Irish fishermen in the early 20th century. Incidentally, it also became popular in hip-hop culture in the 1980s.

Nishi: It's a Kangol hat. I understand that.

Yoshi: What about Jamiroquai?

Hagi: Didn't you wear a fluffier hat? (laughs)

Nishi: We chose standard colors and materials from our caps. Four colors based on MSC-013.

Haruka: Ebony black, all white, blue-blue, and brown-brown.

Nishi: When we released the white cap, it was unexpectedly popular.

Haruka: It's refreshing and perfect for summer. The inside of the brim is also white. It reflects sunlight and doesn't absorb heat, so I think it's practical for hot weather. I think most trail running hats are round, but there aren't many bucket hats, so I think this is a good choice.

Nishi: The size can be adjusted using the strap at the back, and you can pull out a ponytail from there (the opening in the adjuster), so I think it will be popular with people with long hair.

Haruka: The brim has a 360-degree wire, so you can flip the back up or make it look like a ten-gallon hat.

Yoshi: I think the hat type can be used for a variety of activities. It's fully meshed, so it can also be used for trail running. I wonder why they haven't released it until now.

Haruka: There were a lot of requests.

Yoshi: Up until now, when I participated in a trail running race, if I had the choice between a hat or a cap, I thought I would wear the cap. But even if it's not a race, there are many different styles to choose from when playing in the mountains, and I wanted to respond to that desire, so I finally completed this product.

Hagi: The hat blocks the sun from around your neck, and because it's made of mesh, it doesn't seem like it will get too stuffy.

Nishi: The price is 7,200 yen plus tax, which comes to 7,920 yen.

Hagi: Did you pay attention to the name "Denali" and the shape of the hat?

Yoshi: I'm not conscious of it (laughs).

Hagi: It's not a pointed triangular mountain, but rather a bulging, independent peak, so I think the shape is not too far off.

Yoshi: If I say I'm conscious of it now, it'll be difficult from now on (laughs). From now on, I'd like to name all my hat-related items after mountains.

Nishi: Like Ikoma Hat (laughs).

Haruka: Like a Kongou hat.

Hagi: Only nearby mountains (laughs)

Yoshi: There's a lot of material.

Nishi: There are mountains.

Yoshi: That's a good point!

Nishi: After all, the sound is important. It's easy to pronounce. In that sense, including this time, I think it would be easier for people to pronounce it if the words that describe the shape of the hat weren't in the product name.

I think I'll go for the "Denali Hat" instead of the "Denali Bucket Hat" after all!

Yoshi, Haruka, Hagi: There it is! Shu-chan flips the table! lol

Haruka: Denali is a mountain in Alaska that was renamed from Mount McKinley to Denali in 2015. It is the highest peak in North America.

Hagi: Apparently McKinley was named after an American president, but then it was changed back to the name used by the Alaskan natives. It means "great one."

I've seen Yoshi wearing it for a while now, how does it feel?

Yoshi: In my case, when I run wearing the MSC-013, it falls off. My head is bulging, so it's too shallow for me. But this hat is fine. It doesn't fall off. So, even people like me who can only wear the MSC-022 or 023 due to the shape of their head can wear it with confidence.

Hagi: It's also good to wear it deep and tight like Yoshi.

Yoshi: If you wear it this deep, it won't slip off, so you can even wear it at races. The back strap is made of elastic, so it fits well.

Hagi: How about Haruka-chan size? We previously talked about how MSC-013 was too big, so MSC-024 was made for people with smaller heads (in the 31st episode, "Is it necessary or not?").

Haruka: If you tighten it firmly, it works. It doesn't feel like it's going to fly off when you run. The key is that the adjuster part at the back is made of rubber.

Nishi: Well, I guess that's all for today.

Haruka: Oh wait! Let me tell you about our restock. The new 2025 colors for the Onion Hoodie , Ash Gray and Royal Navy, are back. They sold out immediately after release, so we had to quickly increase production. They should be back in stores in early March.

Nishi: So it's a re-harvest of onions.

Haruka: There was very little left on the shelves and they sold out in no time, so it's been a while since I've seen them.

Nishi: That's all for today. See you next month. Goodbye.

Yoshi: Goodbye.

Haruka/Hagi: Goodbye.


This time, instead of a cap, we learned about a hat that you might have thought existed, but didn't. It seems like it would be useful in a wide range of situations, not just for activities like mountain climbing, hiking, fishing, and trail running.

Speaking of the mountain named "Denali," it's the one where adventurer Naomi Uemura disappeared. He was 43 years old at the time. In his book "43-Year-Old Peak Theory" (Shincho Shinsho), explorer and non-fiction writer Yusuke Kakuhata discusses why so many adventurers lose their lives at 43. He says it's because at this age, a gap begins to appear between declining physical strength and increasing experience. At the same time, he believes it's because this is the age when people start to feel anxious about the rest of their lives.

Uemura's dream of crossing Antarctica by dog ​​sled was once shattered, so he headed alone to Denali (then Mount McKinley) in the winter to search for a clue, but after reaching the summit he went missing and remains there to this day.

Even if we're not adventurers, ordinary people like us start to experience a decline in physical strength from our 40s, but this is also the age where the majority of runners and trail running enthusiasts are. Even after the age of 43, or even in our 50s, non-athlete amateur runners should still be able to improve, and should continue to resist age. While being careful not to overdo it and avoid the dangers of the mountains, we should continue to enjoy trail running and deepening our connection with nature for as long as possible, accumulating experience.

See you later.


Text and composition: Ken Hagiwara