Womens outdoor clothing has come a long way in recent years. Where as once it was difficult to find garments that fitted correctly and companies simply took the attitude of taking the men’s design, making it smaller and colouring it pink and magically calling it designed for women, now they have become a lot more savvy about design, realising the economic potential and involving women in the initial process of design.

Just like the men’s products those specially designed for women use the same technical outlook in the design and manufacture. Women today are just as active as men and in the past we might have used the phrase that ‘ladies glow’ we are really talking about sweating. This is one of the main considerations in designing clothing for active pursuits, to avoid the body overheating and to control the core temperature of the body. One of the differences is the areas we sweat from, men tend to sweat more from the head and underarm, whereas women sweat from the core (chest and back) so this can be taken into consideration in the design process, whatever the product may be, from t-shirts to sleeping bags.

Body mapping is a term becoming more common as companies describe particular features being added to jackets and tops to explain vents and additional zips on products to aid ventilation and wicking, so can be worth looking for on descriptions of products.

Companies have also become more aware of garments being more tailored to a woman’s shape, with more room in the hips and waist and less bulk in the shoulders compared to similar products for men. In addition major brands are looking at redesigning items such as backpacks to give a more comfortable fit for the female shape.

In today’s market there is womens outdoor clothing equal to anything available for the men, with female versions of everything from boots to bags, no more ‘shrink and pink’.

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