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Re: Article on Women's gear

Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2018 3:52 pm
by longri
To each their own, but capri pants never made any sense to me except that they look good on women. When I want pants I want them for the coverage.

The thing I have a hard time finding are shorts. Of course there are a lot of shorts for sale but I don't want the longer version that's currently in vogue and, as a result, has mostly displaced the shorter styles of past years. There are running shorts but they often lack some of the other features I'm looking for.

I hate making clothes or even modifying existing clothes but I currently have fabric to make a pair of shorts.

Re: Article on Women's gear

Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2018 6:11 am
by John Harper
mrphil wrote: Mon Oct 22, 2018 2:56 pm Bust out the old Vuarnet Cat Eyes
Wow, that's a blast from the past. I have not see those in years, used to rock them in the late 70's, still wear Wayfarers as my daily shades. :D :D

John

Re: Article on Women's gear

Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2018 6:14 am
by John Harper
longri wrote: Mon Oct 22, 2018 3:52 pm The thing I have a hard time finding are shorts. Of course there are a lot of shorts for sale but I don't want the longer version that's currently in vogue and, as a result, has mostly displaced the shorter styles of past years. There are running shorts but they often lack some of the other features I'm looking for.


Agreed. I found some Wrangler Hiker shorts at WM that work well for me. Glad I bought 3 pair at the start of summer as it looks like they may not be in stock anymore. Not too long at the knee so a lot easier to move, climb, etc.

John

Re: Article on Women's gear

Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2018 8:35 am
by Wandering Daisy
"capri pants never made sense to me except they look good on women". Men wearing kilts, that's my dream- I love all those sagas of the Scottish highlanders and their bold deeds.

Find good functional clothing, and likely only we diehards will buy it, and the item is soon dropped due to poor sales. Sad, but that is true for both men's and women's outdoor clothing. We need to get back to sewing. I remember in the 60's and 70's companies actually made patterns with lots of different sizes for outdoor clothing and you could actually buy the high-tech material at REI and sew your own.

Re: Article on Women's gear

Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2018 9:55 am
by longri
Wandering Daisy wrote: Tue Oct 23, 2018 8:35 amWe need to get back to sewing. I remember in the 60's and 70's companies actually made patterns with lots of different sizes for outdoor clothing and you could actually buy the high-tech material at REI and sew your own.

It's easier now. You can find patterns and a wide variety of outdoor fabrics online. Some kits can be purchased (e.g. thru-hiker.com).

But sewing is still a lot of work.

Re: Article on Women's gear

Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2018 11:28 am
by Wandering Daisy
Sewing is becoming a lost skill. To those of us who learned to sew when we were kids, the work involved really is not that much more than the time wasted by looking for a ready-made item, purchasing it on the internet, it does not fit, send it back, pay postage, repeat, repeat! Granted learning to sew takes some time and good sewing machines are not cheap. It is not a realistic option for someone who does not already sew. Depending on where you live, you may be able to find a good seamstress with reasonable prices. Seamstresses also can alter ready-made clothing.

My gripe about sewing outdoor gear now, is that the material price on the internet is pretty outrageous, and even with cheaper fabrics, the "shipping and handling" ends up costing more then the material. Even in real stores fabric prices have skyrocketed, because so few people sew anymore. I really do not like buying material on the internet; I want to see and feel it before I buy.

Even though I wait until an item is on sale before I buy, I have learned the lesson that the higher cost of the better stuff is worth it. Although I choke every time I buy a high-end, seriously designed item, in the long run I never regret it. And when you are talking about a $300 item, an extra $50 to have it slightly altered for a better fit, may also be well worth it.

Regardless of your outdoor gear budget, gear does not make the backpacker. I know plenty of backpacker who do really radical trips, with old or poor gear. In fact a friend of mine outfits himself out of the dumpster and the NOLS Rocky Mountain headquarters. You can outfit yourself from Goodwill too. I see plenty of backpackers out there in Walmart athletic gear. Great gear may give you a slight edge, but not having it should not preclude you from doing what you love to do. I think we put way too much emphasis on gear.

Re: Article on Women's gear

Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2018 12:06 pm
by markskor
Interesting thread -
"I hope more outdoor companies explore the outer reaches of the color spectrum when making gear for women, and more women can take to the mountains with equipment that matches their individual preferences and abilities." - last sentence of the article.
Just an observation from Tuolumne. First of all, I know nothing about any of the choices available for today's women in active wear. Colors, craftsmanship, style, utility, cost... Looks like a lot of purples. (BTW, I can use a sewing machine, but not well; hard to make gear fit right.) I know there are tons of glossy female gear ads on TV, internet, mags. Looks like a lot of options but cost, utility, color...as mentioned, clueless.

However, here's what I saw all last summer...what the real hikers/climbers/backpackers were wearing. (Not talking about those who drive up from the Valley for the day, smelling like deodorant) - only discussing those who actively get dirty - Women dirtbags? The ones with great abilities, gusto...trail hardened. Daily, summer climbers, all manner of exceptional backpackers, boulderers...(some I wish would bathe before entering the store - yes girl, you reek!)...world class athletes just afterwards...loud and proud. They all came through my register...I took great pride in giving everybody a hard time.

Anyway, a big shout out to the person who invented black yoga pants...this seemed to be what was most popular...OK by me too. :thumbsup:

Re: Article on Women's gear

Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2018 2:49 pm
by Wandering Daisy
For some time now, variations of the "black yoga pant" have been use by rock climbers and alpine climbers. But the climbing pants materials are tougher than your regular yoga pant. Not quite yoga pant fit, but I had some "Schoeller Dryskin" stretchy technical climbing pants (with pockets), and honestly, I could poke a stick through them and pull it out and the hole would "heal". Great for bushwhacking too. Pretty amazing material. Lots of similar fabric with different trade names. My only gripe with skin tight pants, is that the mosquitoes can bite through some of them. European manufacturers, such as Mammut, make some pretty good women's clothing for climbing. Must say, however, that these are VERY expensive. If I am going to be in wet rainy conditions I really look at what those crazy Scottish/English climbers wear. Those guys know rain!

PCT hiking is not your typical backpacking. Remember that they are 100% on trails and their hiking style is hike all daylight hours, hop into the tent/sleeping bag when dark and cold/ wake up and repeat, repeat. Their clothing lists are interesting and absolutely suited for what they do. Most who have a blog will list their gear and then at the end of the route, they evaluate it, including what they kept and what the "sent home". But beware of simply copying their gear. Every backpacking environment has its own quirky conditions.

I think before anyone complains about what is NOT out there in clothing, they need to look far and wide; exercise clothing, hunting and fishing clothing, bicycle clothing (used to climb with a fellow who swore by bicycle tops), technical climbing clothing, trail running, military, cross country ski clothing, etc. I think there is more available than most of us realize. And European outdoor stores are quite different too. All over the world. A friend brought me some amazing wool underwear from New Zealand. Think outside the box!

Mark, some day I will stop in and see you up there. When I was up a few weeks ago, they had just closed up the store.

Re: Article on Women's gear

Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2018 4:03 pm
by freestone
markskor wrote: Tue Oct 23, 2018 12:06 pm Interesting thread -


Anyway, a big shout out to the person who invented black yoga pants...this seemed to be what was most popular...OK by me too. :thumbsup:
I have also observed the same women rocking it in the Sierra and I agree on the yoga pants, because I now wear them backpacking too. Light, durable and best of all, no belt loops- no belt needed.

https://https://www.prana.com/super-moj ... olors=coal

Re: Article on Women's gear

Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2018 5:02 pm
by longri
The yoga pants on women -- something we can all heartily agree is a great thing!


Lycra/spandex tights were used extensively by climbers of both genders in the not too distant past. Actually, it was mostly men since women were a lot fewer in the climbing world until pretty recently. The lycra tights were often outrageously colored.

I started out climbing (in the 90s) wearing tights as well, although mine were a more modest black with white accents. They were great in that they allowed for complete freedom of movement, no belt loops under the harness, and they struck a pretty good balance as far as warmth/coolness. Probably the same reasons they've become so popular recently, except now primarily in black.

Unfortunately I discovered that the unfinished ends of the trigger wires on Camalots would get caught in the stretchy woven fabric. It would sometimes happen in the middle of making a high step or an awkward move. Black Diamond fixed the problem after a few years but by then I'd moved on to other pants for climbing.