The North Face's too innovative air vest.

When you see them on the street," Ikeda said, "it's hard to believe that there is more air in them. Then, he slowly pulls out the air.

In our daily lives, there is always a difference in temperature between the city and the mountains, or between the outdoors and the inside of a building. The "Air Chamber Nupsi Vest" is an ideal item for such situations. If you feel that it is getting a little too hot, simply ventilate the vest, and the GORE-TEX INFINIUM will protect you from the cold building winds that sometimes blow. . In this respect, it is also ideal for bikers and bicyclists, who are easily affected by wind.

As for styling in town, Ikeda's items, other than the advanced vest, were the exact opposite: tasteful items.

The same can be said for outdoor wear in the city, but when it has many functions and GORE-TEX INFINIUM, you can't help but feel like a techie. So I ignore that and wear it as if it were a normal "The North Face" down jacket. In town, I wear a large, aged flannel shirt, faded denim, and a simple American cap, not a jet cap or anything like that.

Any other possible outfits?

If your pants are black and you don't want to be functional, I think it would be interesting to play with the silhouette by wearing thicker cotton ripstop cargo pants and voluminous boots. I think you could also wear gray cotton ripstop pants with a gray hoodie and nubuck shoes for a sense of style."

Incidentally, Mr. Ikeda has his own rule when incorporating functional items in town.

. when I wear it, I want to use everything else but that item just as an offshoot. . Therefore, I decided to match today's items with items that are quite tasteful. In addition, since the vest is unexpected, the other items are really basic and commonplace. That way, the advanced nature of the vest will be more effective.

By midday, when the sun was high in the sky and the temperature was rising, it was warm enough that a vest was not needed. In such a case, I would take out the air and put it in my stuff sack, and it would be very compact. After all, there is no down or anything in it. And it is super lightweight. It is a good-luck charm for winter, which you can carry anywhere.

I don't have any trouble letting the air out at all. It's a really well thought-out item, and as expected from The North Face. Since it is not down, I don't have to worry about how to store it. I'm sure I'll be using it in all three seasons except summer.