Helinox
Year Founded: 2009
Niche: Lightweight camping furniture and equipment
Instagram: @helinox
When it launched in 2009, Helinox flipped the outdoor furniture market on its head, taking a design-first approach that brought comfort outdoors, so you could be at home anywhere, from your local camp spot to a multi-week trip throughout Europe. Helinox is best known for its lightweight, portable camp furniture that blurs the line between outdoor equipment and interior decoration, with many of its designs happy in either setting. To achieve maximum strength with minimum weight, Helinox uses DAC’s proprietary aluminum alloy on chair frames, table legs, and cot structures and Cordura-reinforced panels, where appropriate. What started with the Helinox Chair One has expanded to tents, camping cots, chairs, stools, benches, and other gear, like bags and beach towels. Enabling outdoor experiences for years to come, Helinox offers a five-year warranty for all furniture and equipment.
Photo courtesy Milet Korea
Millet Korea
Year Founded: 1921
Niche: Means-tested outdoor clothing for all environments
Instagram: @millet_korea
Founded in 1921, Millet has been involved in dozens of historical feats in the last century, from oxygen-less summits of Mt Everest to the first successful climb of Annapurna. In 1978, Millet was the first brand in the world to launch a commercial GORE-TEX Down Jacket and Mountaineering Suit. Today, the company has a wide offering that includes footwear using BOA fastening, GORE-TEX shell jackets, shirting, and base-layers forming an outdoor-ready uniform for a range of activities, including fast hiking to mountaineering. While each piece is built with a specific purpose in mind, more often than not, you will see Millet Korea outside of its intended context, a testament to its ability to stand up against inclement weather regardless of the setting.
Photo courtesy Somewhere Outside
Somewhere Outside
Year Founded: 2023
Niche: Playful wear for the outdoors
Instagram: @somewhereoutside.world
Since the brand’s inception in 2023, Somewhere Outside Hiking Company has maintained its “practical hiking gear for everyone, everywhere” methodology, creating a range of clothing styles that are practical enough for outdoor use while imbuing a sense of modernity and playfulness in a field dominated by key players. As an indicator of its growing reputation domestically and overseas, the brand collaborated with Millet in 2024, one of the most formative outdoor brands. Somewhere Outside’s latest offering is built with archetypal Spring/Summer conditions in mind. For example, jackets feature open ventilation systems on the back to increase airflow, lightweight and breathable materials are commonplace, and every consideration has been made regarding ergonomic cuts, aiding free movement in the outdoors and around town.
For more, read our Somewhere Outside brand profile here.
Photo courtesy NEPA
NEPA
Year Founded: 2005
Niche: Consciously crafted clothes for the outdoors
Instagram: @nepaofficial
Guided by the mantra ‘Joys of Nature’, NEPA, established in 2005, equips wearers with the tools to experience the feeling without second-guessing the capabilities of their clothes. Channelling utilitarian sensibilities, NEPA’s products balance a minimal aesthetic with the kind of functionality needed for the outdoors and beyond—think roomy rain shell jackets constructed from a three-layer fabric, striped Summer button-downs made of lightweight and breathable seersucker, and rain-ready GORE-TEX trainers. Chasing sustainability wherever possible, NEPA pledges to approach design and manufacturing from a more conscious and mindful perspective by using recycled fabrics where possible, showcasing its desire to protect the environment in which it seeks to enable us to enjoy.
Photo courtesy Eider
Eider
Year Founded: 2009
Niche: Functional essentials for everyday life
Instagram: @eider.official
Part of a larger French company, Eider has been making inroads into Korea’s outdoor sports market since 2009 with its comprehensive offering covering activities like high-intensity trekking, hiking, and daily wear. Eider’s range of legwear, lightweight outerwear, footwear, and bags seeks to enable experiences in these areas, ensuring the appropriate protection. Like BLACKYACK, Eider has a ‘Guide’ section on its website, with the last two posts detailing how to find the proper hiking boots and waterproof jacket, acknowledging that all good experiences in the outdoors start with some guidance.
Photo courtesy Treksta
Treksta
Year Founded: 1988
Niche: Technical hiking footwear
Instagram: @treksta_hq
Treksta is one of the largest and most trusted outdoor footwear manufacturers and retailers in Asia. The offering revolves around hiking and lifestyle options, ensuring you’re covered no matter what the day of adventuring has in store. The lifestyle options are particularly interesting, marrying outdoor technologies like Vibram outsoles and BOA fastenings with more classic styles. Less known, the company makes some very cool clothes. The design is generally minimal, with toned-down colours in versatile silhouettes. For example, water-repellent windbreakers and down vests that look typical but perform perfectly in harsh conditions.
Photo courtesy The Red Face
The Red Face
Year Founded: 1966
Niche: Proprietary materials for optimum performance
Instagram: @outdoorclassic_theredface
Established in 1966, The Red Face has ridden the ebbs and flows of the outdoor industry for six decades. The Red Face separates itself from other domestic labels by utilizing a number of in-house, proprietary fabrics, such as Contra-Tex and Ex-Warm&Dry. Doing this allows the label to stress test the heck out of everything that goes into its clothes, ensuring they can withstand persistent rain, wind, cold, movement, and heat. The product line is robust and quite colorful, with two-tone patterns applied heavily. It’s a bit expected, but never hideous, which probably explains how the company has built something that can last as long as it has.
Photo courtesy Goyowear
GOYOWEAR
Year Founded: 2020
Niche: Minimalist outdoor apparel inspired from nature
Instagram: @goyowear.official
With a name that invokes the “stillness of nature” (Goyo means quiet and calmness in Korean) and a logo that represents the low lying mountains of Korea, Goyowear draws heavy inspirations from the outdoors. Director Kyungil Lee’s vision for the brand is one that is as accessible as it is innovative which has kept the prices reasonable and the pieces functionally designed. Goyowear’s releases tend to focus on “light outdoor wear.” Read: it is not for ultralight focused alpinests, but rather anyone trying to look chic on a day hike.
Photo courtesy Welter Experiment
Welter Experiment
Year Founded: 2021
Niche: Innovative clothing for both urban and natural settings
Instagram: @welter_experiment
Born in Seoul in 2021 under the umbrella of UrbanCity Co., Welter Experiment is a brand that looks for the balance between concrete and forest. With pieces that embrace natural silhouettes and utilitarian techy fabrics, Welter Experiment aims to enhance freedom of movement and usability across a range of settings. With the slogan “Tapping into the Field” in mind, it tries to bring like minded fashion forward thinking hikers together for their hiking clubs and community event to create meaningful connections.
