SEATTLE — Would you buy a tent for $999? Spend $249 on a folding camping chair? Lorde, the singer, spent $185 on one of Snow Peak’s water bottles — and now it’s her Instagram profile photo.
It’s all made by cult camping gear company Snow Peak, which just opened its third U.S. store in Seattle’s Fremont neighborhood.
It was started by Yukio Yamai, a Japanese mountaineer, in 1958. Today, his son Tohru Yamai leads the company. Die‑hard fans, called “Snow Peakers,” covet and collect this gear…