The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences in the dissatisfaction with and design preferences for mountain gear among the segments divided by specialization activity-pursued for recreational mountaineering. Data were collected by questionnaire survey from 900 subjects with the experiences of mountaineering and purchasing mountain gear in the past year, and 891 were used for the data analysis. The results of the study were as follows: Three factors were formulated based on mountaineering specialization activity-pursued: expertise-pursued mountaineering, mountaineering with psychological attachment and activity-oriented mountaineering. Four segments were identified based on the specialization activity-pursued: the emotionally-committed, the continuously-participated, the expertise-pursued, and the passively-participated. Significant differences were found in dissatisfaction with and design preference for mountain gear among the segments. The expertise-pursued tended to be more dissatisfied with color and fabric than the others, and preferred various mountain gear design of shape, color combination and construction line. On the other hand, the passively-participated tended to prefer simple and comfortable style with solid color and simple color combination.