Gear for Girls

Apr 04, 2007  ·  09:00 PM  ·  permalink

Girly burly is a term that is used frequently in my circle of female friends. These ladies ride 100 mile bike races over 10,000 foot mountain passes, lead 5.10 climbing routes, barrel down double black diamonds and up 14ers with the greatest of ease. And they look hot doing it.

Gear has gotten a lot better lately for the fairer sex. When I first started my journey as a gear hound, women’s sports fashion consisted of men’s sports fashion in smaller sizes, and that was just if we were lucky. It was all very masculine and very blah.

Now you can walk into any gear store and find all kinds of gear made specifically for women. Backpacks, sleeping bags, clothes, skis and snowboards that don’t just fit women well but make you look like a girl too. They are high performance and cute all at the same time. Sometimes I feel sorry for the guys.

Some of my favorites lately:

Gregory’s Iris backpack Ultralight, fit specifically for women, and just the right size for a day of skiing or hiking.

Ibex’s Zepher T-neck Base Layer 100% Merino wool, great curvy fit, and great colors.

Champion SmoothSport Bra Keeps everything in place without smooshing you flat.

K2’s Phat Luv Skis Very girly, very burly in deep powder.

And my two picks for girly gear websites: Title Nine and Outdoor Divas.