Get to Know: Snow Peak Ambassador Eric L.

While my family didn’t really camp during my childhood, I’ve had a deep love for the outdoors for as long as I can remember. Over the years, we would take the occasional cabin trip, but my passion for camping truly took off around the time of the pandemic. Our early setups were minimal, but the vibes were always high, and the love for camping grew with every trip. 

I first discovered Snow Peak in 2019 when, funny enough, I was browsing online for a lightweight, non-plastic water bottle to take on my first solo trip to Japan. That search ultimately led me to the Titanium Kanpai Bottle 350, my first-ever Snow Peak piece. Seven years & countless trips later, I still love it just as much as the day it arrived at my doorstep. 

Apart from my trusty Kanpai Bottle, my favorite Snow Peak product has to be the IGT System. We’ve acquired quite a bit of IGT components throughout the years, and I love how every setup can be completely customized to fit the group’s needs. Not to mention, as someone who appreciates the journey as much as the destination, assembling the IGT scratches a creative itch in all the right ways. 

Quite a bit of our home draws inspiration from the mid-century modern era, which has a core philosophy centered around form following function, an emphasis on indoor-outdoor living, and the juxtaposition of natural materials (i.e. wood) paired with experimental materials (i.e. fiberglass and tubular steel). I’m also deeply inspired by Japanese design, especially the Akari light sculptures by Isamu Noguchi, which we are fortunate to own quite a bit of. I feel like these design philosophies mesh seamlessly with the Snow Peak ethos, as well as the overall design language of the products.

We absolutely love modular furniture in our home, so I’d say that having a modular camp setup is essential for curating the experience. Modular pieces allow you to adapt and create a functional layout anywhere, whether it be a living space with limited square footage or a campsite with unexpected obstacles or barriers. We also love soft, warm lighting in our home, so rest assured we need the lighting to be on par when at camp! 

 As far as rituals go, we are avid coffee drinkers, and good coffee is a top priority for our camping trips. While we’re not quite at the point yet where we bring our espresso machine to camp (though we’d surely love to one day!), we pack a full pour-over setup complete with our favorite coffees, Snow Peak Field Barista Set with the kettle, grinder, brewer, and of course our scale for consistency. Very few things beat a perfect cup of camp coffee. 

We’ve been very blessed to have friends and family who love getting out as much as we do, so we always try to do at least a few group camping trips every year. It’s a wonderful feeling seeing your vision for a trip come to life, and it is even more fulfilling to provide such a unique, grounding experience for the kids. As far as non-negotiables for camping with kids are concerned (apart from extra water, first aid kit, and the usual suspects), we always try to pack at least 1-2 extra outfits (you never know what they might get themselves into), and extra packs of instant ramen! Kids can be unpredictable at times with what they want to eat – especially at camp – and instant ramen has never failed us.