ARC'TERYX ARCHAEOPTERYX ORIGINATES - FROM THE COAST MOUNTAINS OF CANADA

SHANGHAI, May 13, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- IN 1989, VANCOUVER-BASED CLIMBERS FOUNDED ARC'TERYX, A PROFESSIONAL OUTDOOR SPORTS BRAND IN THE COASTAL MOUNTAINS. Known for its stunning vistas, diverse climates, and challenging natural environments, the Coast Mountains are an adventurer's playground and the inspiration for the Archaeopteryx design team. From the first climbing harness to the extensive range of professional outdoor sports equipment, many innovations and products must be tested in the harsh environment to provide solutions for outdoor sports and evolve in the hands of a design team of athletes. The Coast Mountains are the heart of design and the evolution of the brand. In the 35 years since its founding, Archaeopteryx has remained in close contact with this vast wilderness, facing the challenges of the mountains head-on, and continuing to make progress in the process of finding and solving problems.

The harsh environment of the Coast Mountains

Originating from the high mountains

Straddling the Canadian interior with the Pacific Ocean, the Coast Range is about 1,600 kilometers long, spanning temperate to subarctic zones. From the howling winds on the snowy peaks, to the cold and wet sea breezes that carry the moisture, to the micro-environments that naturally form in the temperate rainforests, the climate elements are intertwined to make the climate in the Coast Mountains change rapidly. A coast mountain range that gives Canada's west coast a coastline of snow-capped mountains, mountains, rainforests, plains and walls. The varied climate, complex terrain and difficult mountains give the Coast Range a sense of mystery and attract many professional outdoor athletes. The abundance of natural conditions continues to inspire the adventurous spirit and creativity of the brand's designers, and provides an excellent testing ground for creative achievements: climbing, hiking, skiing, mountain running and other professional sports come together here, giving birth to breakthroughs and innovations in the harsh environment.

Dan Green, VP of Brand Design, once said: You can't afford to be perfunctory in the face of the Coast Mountains. Towering trees and shade obscure the direction, running water cuts out noise, and the ever-changing weather is tricky enough to tricky for skilled outdoor enthusiasts. The awe and love for the mountains drove the Archaeopteryx design team to explore the wilderness, taking the challenges of the mountains seriously through the development and innovation of technology and craftsmanship, and receiving real and direct feedback from them to ensure that the sports equipment provided reliable safety for the user in extreme situations. Within 100 kilometers of the design center and the ARC'ONE factory, there are three mountains with different topography and climate, and the nearest one is only 15 kilometers away. The craggy rocks and mountains as far as the eye can see in the office allow designers and athletes to travel back and forth between the harsh natural environment and the Arc'teryx headquarters at any time, repeatedly adjusting and testing products and equipment. The Coast Mountains, the most convenient and efficient proving ground for Archaeopteryx.

The diverse natural environment of the Coast Mountains

It starts with a profession

Professional athletes have always been Arc'teryx's closest partners, working with the brand's designers on their evolutionary journey. Based on the actual needs of professional athletes, the brand designer realizes creativity in the design center, and invites professional athletes to serve as equipment test practitioners. Tom Fayle, Director of R&D at Arc'teryx, is not only part of the start-up team, but also a world-class climber, having been involved in the design of Archaeopteryx's first product, the climbing harness, and the first generation of the Alpha SV. Arch'teryx's designers have used their own experiences of mountaineering and ice climbing to adapt the equipment to its professional performance so that it can face extreme weather and life-threatening accidents. From fabrics, craftsmanship to many subtle designs, it enhances athletes' professional performance in an all-round way, and the courage and confidence in the battle between life and death. Over the course of 26 years, the Alpha SV jacket has evolved over the course of 26 years, each of which is rooted in the unique location of Arc'teryx headquarters and the close connection between the athletes: the design team brought new equipment and invited world-famous ice climber Will Gadd to the Coast Mountains near Arc'teryx headquarters to test it repeatedly, and when Will Gadd reported that "the Storm Hood covers his eyes when he looks up from the rock wall", Tom Fayle and his team set out to solve the problem of obscuring the view. This ensures that the athlete can clearly see the situation above when climbing. After many design adjustments, proofing, testing, and repeated field trials, the hood was finally redesigned based on the parallelogram principle, which became a milestone upgrade for Alpha SV. All evolution comes from the trial and development of the brand's design team and athletes repeatedly going back and forth between the design center and the Coast Mountains, and from the dedication and original intention of returning design to professional sports - constantly evolving products, constantly rewriting industry rules, and breaking through self-boundaries.

Tom Fayle (Blue), Director of R&D at Arc'teryx, joins Archaeopteryx athlete Will Gadd (Orange) for a field trial in the Coastal Mountains

There is no end to it

Arc'teryx has devoted its energy to the continuous evolution of the brand: since its inception, Arc'teryx has continued to break through and innovate industry standards: because tighter stitches can ensure the stability and firmness of the product, Arc'teryx has doubled the number of stitches; In order to create a lighter coat, Arc'teryx designers reduced the seam seam from 3mm to 1.6mm from manual cutting to R&D equipment when there was no machine on the market that could provide the ideal width of the seam seam. A fraction of a millimeter to provide a better experience and performance for professional athletes. More than that, the Archaeopteryx design team did not stop evolving, with a reverence for the mountains and nature, so that the road of evolution extended to a broader and unbounded realm - the designers of Arc'teryx began to try to use more environmentally friendly fabrics without affecting the performance of the product, just to minimize the impact on nature. Born from the mountains and drawing inspiration, Archaeopteryx deeply practices the concept of sustainability, turning breakthroughs into harmonious coexistence with nature.

For more than 35 years, Archaeopteryx has been pushing the boundaries of the outdoors from the first climbing safety belt to the industry-changing Alpha SV. May 18 coincides with International Museum Day, and the brand will open a new chapter at the Arc'teryx Museum in Shanghai. Through the world's first flagship store inspired by the Coast Mountains, the brand connects the mountains, jungles and the city, with the intention of evoking the yearning for the natural outdoors and joining more mountain seekers to explore the mountains and themselves.