I throw sissified “women’s” gear off a cliff, where it belongs
The Toast just published this awesome article, “Outfitting for Adventure: The Problem With Women’s Outdoor Gear” by Kate Worteck, in which I am quoted. Kate did a great job of summarizing all the issues with women’s gear, and the comments also are worth a read as they are all expressive of the frustration we all feel about the shortcomings of gear allegedly made just for women. Thanks for writing, this, Kate!
I was going to email you to make sure you saw it; I had a coworker just tell me about it this morning!!
I just sent back Rain Pant #4 that didn’t work (suddenly I don’t fit a Marmot women’s L–they seem to make them smaller now since my old ones still fit just fine) and a women’s ski/SAR pack that just was NOT going to fit. My old ski pack broke in a few ways, and I always somewhat hated it (like the waistbelt that is designed for a 32″ mens waist) so I am on the hunt, and feeling desperately discouraged. All the packs I want are unisex, but those same companies make women’s packs (either not for technical stuff, or not as big as I need for skiing) and wax poetic about how women need a different cut than men… but they won’t make their alpine/climbing packs for women. GRRRRRRRRRR.
I want to start a company that makes the gear I want. How do I do that???
The comments are amazing. It just kills me that all of this are things we’ve been saying for YEARS and, yet, nothing ever changes. There are Geargals articles about every single one of the issues people bring up in the comments: lack of pockets, gendered details like flowers and dragonflies and swirls, color choices, fit, sizing…but the industry charges on blindly like there’s no other option.
Oh, gods, I remember writing an article about the difficulty finding a technical pack that is big enough capacity AND fits women well…I still haven’t really found one. I have to use packs that are smaller capacity, which sucks.
Rain pants are a problem recently. I just discovered that I have to wear a Patagonia XL in a rain pant…I’m a size 8. I just…what?