We’ve lugged around men’s gear long enough. We donned their clothes, slept in their bags and hiked in their shoes. Well, no longer. These days companies entire product divisions are dedicated to cutting women’s stuff from a whole new cloth, not just downsized from gear designed for men. And it’s often the little, thoughtful details that equal big comfort for women in the great outdoors.

Prescott shred gal Sonya Johnson said she’s fed up with guys’s gear.

“Most stuff is made for men, by default,” she complained. “You would actually have to start from scratch to make things fit my body.”

Since Johnson is lanky, but still has feminine curves, she said nothing ever really fits her right on the trail.

She added, “Backpacks are never really comfortable – they’re too high, too wide. My feet are more narrow than men’s, so I need to find running shoes made for narrow feet. I’m always cold when I sleep in sleeping bags, even when my boyfriend is just fine. It’s frustrating. I wish I could tell people how to make these things right for women.”


A League of Our Own

Susan Fecko, media gal for Sierra Designs, agreed that savvy outdoor chicks need gear lines of their own.

“We do not have the same bodies or metabolism,” she began. “And there are so many active women these days. Our products reflect that and we test them really well. I use the Luna pack myself and I love it. Luna pack’s shoulder straps curve better around a woman’s contours, and the straps are narrower and closer together. Our womens’ hip belts are canted differently. Another thing: women tend to like to have more pockets and be more organized, so we notice things like that in our designs.”

She added, “Our women’s’ clothes are designed from a completely separate design department, headed up by a woman. We make really innovative clothes, really specific for the female body. The Williwaw Jacket makes a great story.”

Urging me to test it, she listed its feminine virtues, mainly, the higher collar and lower pocket.

She said, “Women need a higher collar because they like the extra warmth. Collars have always been lower because of men’s Adams Apples – a high collar would be irritating. And we moved the pocket down, too, off the chest, so you can actually put something in the pocket and it won’t keep smacking you in the boob.”

The jacket lived up to its hype. It felt right. I never knew I wanted a higher collar, but I loved it once I wore the thing. It was snuggly. The lowered pocket is considerate godsend – for once, I was able to put my keys and lipbalm somewhere handy.

Even socks can be made for girls these days. Thorlo Public Relations Coordinator Megan Davis said, “Since women usually have a smaller heel, our women’s Thorlos have a smaller heel pocket. We have extra elastic around the ankle and instep, and this helps keep the sock from slipping down around the boot. Women’s designs are a priority for the company and we were definitely at the forefront of women’s-specific outdoor socks.”

Then there’s the penultimate invention created just for us – Sani-Fem’s Freshette. To wit, the “pee funnel.” I don’t know a single outdoorsy gal of the distaff side who hasn’t longed to stand like a man and water the bushes. This tool rocks. It does take some getting used to – for one thing, there’s a psychological inhibition to overcome. The first time I tried the little pink device, my body was not sure what I expected of it. After a brief bout of “performance anxiety,” it worked like a charm. No more squatting with my pants around my legs. Ha!

I tested gear in three categories, running, hiking and backpacking, sampling gear advertised for women only. To put products through their paces, I loaded down every pack to the gills and took off into the wilderness.


Running

Ultimate’s Strider is an entirely new concept. It’s a hip belt with real women’s hips in mind. Unlike mainstream fanny packs, the innovative hip belt rides lower and snugger – a much better compromise for the need to carry a few things while hitting the streets for a run.

I was able to squish my windbreaker in the tiny main compartment, a cell phone in the open pocket, and the proprietary waterbottle into its ‘quick-draw’ holster. A house key and lip balm slipped into the small zippered mesh pocket. Fully maxed-out, my next challenge was positioning the thing over my hip. It took a few tries to figure out the right way to sling the belt properly, but once it was on, it jogged along like a part of me. No bumping, no swinging around. Since the holster and loaded main compartment stick out a bit where a woman’s arms swing at walking speeds, I found it wasn’t so great for hiking, but for running it’s a dream come true.

Bite’s Extension running sandals work for chicks who dislike shoving their feet in hot, stinky shoes every time they want to go for a run. The front “X” construction customized the straps to my feminine feet in a snug way, yet allowed for a certain amount of flex. I did need to wear socks to prevent rubbing between the stretchy spandex inner lining and tender skin. A lightweight women’s running sock from Thorlo did the trick. Between the sandals and socks, my feet stayed cool and comfortable on a long sweaty trail run.




Hiking

Teva’s women’s Guide Wraptor aquatic sandals were comfortable for a quick hike to Grand Falls, and provided sure-footed traction when picking my way across wet travertine slabs atop the falls themselves. These heavy-duty sandals were even comfortable for hiking without socks, which is key for crossing streams and wet boulders.

The Diva, Ultimate’s top-of-the-line women’s hydration adventure pack, was a revelation, comfort-wise. The straps were both narrower, and more closely spaced for narrow shoulders. I never realized how irritating typical straps are when they rub against my armpits, until I wore a daypack that actually fit correctly. I liked the low-profile compartment that kept the weight off my shoulders and closer to my center of gravity. The hip belt was also very comfortable, since it was designed for curvier contours.

I liked Clif’s Luna Bars the first time I tried them on the trail. Their single-minded marketing of these bars to women seems successful - for one thing, most flavors are loaded with chocolate, while being 200 calories less than the Clif Bars themselves. Grabbing a Cherry-Covered Chocolate Luna is like eating dessert, without the guilt. Heaven! The extra folic acid, antioxidants, soy protein and added calcium are better suited for a woman’s needs, according to company literature. I just liked their yummy flavors and easy digestibility.



Backpacking


The Tanner Trail is billed as one of the worst descents into the Grand Canyon. It’s a near-vertical mess of scree and debris through the Coconino and Redwall breaks. Figuring this was as good a test trail as any, I wore Teva’s Wraptor 2 Hiking Sandals the whole way. Since I was loaded down with a backpack and full gear, I chose Thorlo’s Women’s Heavyweight Padding Backpacker Socks to wear inside the sandals.

I couldn’t fault the sandals performance on this rugged and loose trail. The sole’s grippy teeth clung to dirt and rock and even the snow patches I encountered. I took the sandals to their design limits when I took the sandals off-trail to scramble up Cardenas Butte - my feet rolled a bit in the sandal while climbing – but, to their credit – the soles were very sticky on the gritty sandstone blocks.

I carried the lot in MountainSmiths’s women’s Chimera backpack. A major gender-designed detail is the contoured waist belt. Since, unlike men, women actually have hips, this belt is designed to cinch the backpacks’ weight evenly around a women’s center of gravity, instead of pressing heavily down on the two protruding points of the pelvis. The shorter torso length was comfortable and prevented the neck aches I get from craning my head around a high-profile pack. Like the Diva pack, these shoulder straps are modified for narrow shoulders, and somehow manage to not bear down right on the breasts.

Sierra Designs Sahara sleeping bag kept me warmer where a woman needs it – by the feet and around the upper torso. Fecko says women sleep colder than men (“no doubt,” exclaimed my boyfriend, when he heard that, since I use his legs as a foot warmer). And I liked that the bag was sized for a 5’4 frame, so I didn’t have to schlep around the extra weight that a tall guy would need, in a longer bag.

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Note: I originally posted this article in Southwest Outdoors at Suite101.com