Snow Peak | Outer Wear And Camping Equipment | About Snow Peak

Thank you for visiting Snow Peak

Our name originates from the famous Japanese mountain, Tanigawa, where my father, Yukio Yamai, the founder of Snow Peak, repeatedly challenged himself, both physically and mentally, all throughout his early life. Mount Tanigawa is known world-wide not only for the natural beauty of its noble peaks, but also for the numbers that have failed while attempting to reach it's glorious summit. Based on his personal experiences, in 1958, my father sought to create innovative mountaineering equipment which utilised the highly skilled metal processing technology in nearby Tsubame Sanjo, our hometown. It is here where the story of Snow Peak truly began.

Many years later, in the 1980s, Snow Peak looked to evolve by shifting its focus from the mountaineering equipment of our past to the camping equipment of our future. Fuelled by the booming national interest in auto-camping sweeping across Japan, we released a series of radically innovative products which focused on quality, functionality, timeless-durability and considered design.

Under the policy that "we are also users", Snow Peak creates truly innovative equipment and hosts annual Snow Peak Way camping events at our headquarters where both users and staff can meet and talk with each other, fostering a close-knit community of like minded outdoor enthusiasts and fans all over the world. Today, with the rapid evolution of technology accelerating the convenience of our daily lives, it has also led us to sacrifice precious human to human interaction. By simply experiencing the lifestyle of Snow Peak through our products and services, it's our intention that you can reconnect with the natural world, and the rest of mankind.

Chairman of Snow Peak and CEO of Snow Peak USA

Tohru Yamai

History of Snow Peak

Snow Peak's journey began in 1958, when our founder Yukio Yamai, an accomplished mountaineer, created his own line of superior climbing gear out of the discontent for the current gear on the market. It is our birthplace and our founder's heritage that we look to whenever we sit down at the drawing board and create our next piece of outdoor gear.

Snow Peak's home in Sanjo City, is in the Chūetsu region of Niigata Prefecture, which is also known locally as the hardware town for its history of fine crafted metal work. A range of mountains that rise up to an altitude of 8,051 ft. between Niigata and Fukushima prefectures with rivers and streams cutting into the valleys, flow out to the East Japan Sea. This rich environment naturally evokes a strong connection to the outdoors. For the people born and raised here, nature is a part of life. It is this place that inspired Yukio Yamai, and to this day continues to inspire all of the products that come from Snow Peak, as is still home to our International Headquarters.

From 1980 to the present, Snow Peak has been run by Yamai's son, Tohru Yamai who brought the company to national recognition as a brand who inspires people around the world to enjoy the outdoors and find harmony with nature. Yamai believes that it is Snow Peak's mission to bring people closer to nature; that by spending time out of doors we find our humanity.

Mission Statement

At Snow Peak, we treasure every individual’s initiative. By joining forces in absolute trust, we work to achieve global leadership, elevating the essential life values inspired by being with nature.

We are always evolving, always innovating, always creating new approaches.

Our philosophy is that we are all users, so we provide customers with rich experiences that inspire us all.

We are committed to having a positive impact on the planet.