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Trail Notes
24 June 2025
Published: 24 June, 2025
Founder and CEO of Montbell, Isamu Tatsuno, has an office on the top floor of the Montbell building in Osaka. We could feel the nerves from the Montbell International Team as we rode the lift to the 12th floor to meet him, which was wearing off on us too. We never imagined meeting Mr Tatsuno was on the agenda, not many people get to when they visit the Montbell Headquarters. We gathered around a beautiful long wooden table and were asked to sit and wait until Mr Tatsuno was ready to see us. We were served green tea in intricately carved wooden cups that we were too scared to handle and we took in the quirky art and decor covering the walls and sideboards, alongside the uneasiness of everybody sitting around the table. To our surprise, Mr Tatsuno appeared with a warmth and charisma that immediately dissipated the anxious tension. He was fun, playful and had as many questions for us as we did for him.
Born in 1947, right after Japan was defeated in World War II and with eight siblings to fight with for food, Tatsuno was a feeble little boy. This meant that when his teacher took students on hikes up the local mountains, he wasn’t allowed to join them. This was the driving force behind wanting to become a man of the outdoors.Fast forward some years, by his early 20’s, Tatsuno had grown strong and had plenty of experience hiking, camping and climbing. He had seen plenty of mountains in his home country, had travelled the world in search of adventure and was the first Japanese climber to scale the north face of the Eiger Mountain of the Swiss Alps. Alongside his hobby of climbing and to help fund his trips, he worked in the textile department of a trading company based in Osaka. The expertise he gained in the types of materials available along with his existing knowledge of the ideal equipment for mountaineers became the basis for his future business. At a time when fabrics were heavy and bulky, Tatsuno was certain that fabric innovations could vastly improve outdoor gear. In 1975, at the age of 28, Tatsuno founded Montbell - A new outdoors brand to provide all that he felt was missing in the industry.
Montbell and their innovative and lightweight products were welcomed warmly in Japan and the growth and success of the brand was organic - but it wasn’t always easy! Ten years into the business, Tatsuno was having cash flow issues as Japan headed into the summer season and fewer people were buying his sleeping bags and puffer jackets for outdoor adventures. That’s when he looked at the world map and figured that New Zealand would be at the height of their winter season. He booked a flight, packed some samples and flew to Aotearoa on a sales trip. He travelled around several outdoors stores trying to sell his products only to find that at that time, you needed a special license to import products and would need to pay 100% duties. “The people of New Zealand are really kind at saying no.” Tatsumo told us.
If you’ve ever visited Japan then you will know how big Montbell is there now. There’s a store in most towns and they’re HUGE. But it isn’t comparable to other big box stores that we know and are familiar with. Montbell is still independently owned and is just as focused on looking after Japan as it is being the one-stop-shop for the best quality gear at approachable prices. They provide equipment and shelter for natural disasters, uniforms for emergency services and during the covid pandemic they diverted their manufacturing, producing 60,000 pieces of protective clothing from tyvek meant for sleeping bag covers and 42,000 face shields from lenses meant for ski goggles. Montbell funds many trails throughout Japan to encourage participation in outdoor activities as a way to help revitalise local communities through ecotourism. In parts of rural Japan, where populations are decreasing as young people forgo having children and move into cities, Montbell is working with the government to open stores to encourage visitors and create jobs for locals. The average life expectancy is on the rise in Japan and Tatsuno hopes that everyone can enjoy a long, fulfilling, healthy life up until the very last by staying active through outdoor activities.
Before leaving the twelfth floor, Mr Tatsuno walked us through some relics in his office - a piece of art made from a beaver dam that one of his ‘mad’ friends brought him back from Canada and a workbench dedicated to making flutes out of water pipe which he played for us before asking if we would like to stock it 🤣. Montbell celebrates its 50th birthday this year and Mr Tatsuno celebrates his 78th, but he has no plans on retiring any time soon because he’s young at heart, with much more that he wants to achieve for his global community and he’s still having heaps of fun on the journey.
