Snow Peak and Helinox team up for the first time, on folding outdoor furniture
Two of the outdoor world's most design-led premium brands are collaborating for the first time, on a chair and table that lean on co-branding rather than price to hold their position.
Snow Peak and Helinox will launch their first joint collection on August 13, a folding chair and table sold under the name Noga, Snow Peak said in a release on its own site. The Noga Chair is priced at ¥22,000 and the Noga Table at ¥33,000, both tax included, and the collection will be sold through Snow Peak's own online store, according to the release. The name Noga derives from nogake (野掛け), an old term for a casual outdoor outing, the release said, describing the launch as the two brands' first-ever collaboration.
The chair weighs 1.4kg and measures 59cm by 52cm by 70cm high, with a wider seat, cushioned armrests and mesh side pockets sized for a bottle, according to Snow Peak. The table weighs 2.1kg, has an aluminium frame and a heat-resistant aluminium top, and can be reconfigured with two removable plates to work as either a table or a shelf, the release said.
Snow Peak, the listed Niigata outdoor brand known for design-led camping gear, and Helinox, the South Korean maker built on ultralight folding furniture, occupy similar ground at the premium end of a category that has also drawn cheaper mass-market entrants. A first co-branded collection between two design-led rivals is as much a Promotion move as a Product one: it borrows each brand's design credibility to help defend a premium price against cheaper, mass-market folding furniture.