Open Thread: What do you wish was different?
We’ve had a few people get in touch recently about advocacy and whether as a group we’d be able to help change things in the adventure industry. We’re still pretty small (share to help our voice get bigger) but we’re all about finding solutions and being the change we want to see - regardless of if we’re 1 person or 10,000.
So what do you wish was different? What changes would you love to see? The more specific the better.
We’ll start:
pockets you can fit something useful in
equal selection of men’s and women’s hiking shoes
But don’t feel you have to restrict yourself to gear.
Appreciate I may be in the minority, but I find it hard to get decent small sized technical shoes. Hiking, biking, winter mountain boots etc usually start at size 4 & I’m size 3. Kids shoes just aren’t the same quality or designed to last
Agree with lack of range in gear, and that which is available is either pink or purple or both. Recently bought a pair of shoes to wear in the water and whilst on paddleboard - there was no choice; I had to have the ones with pink on, or none at all. Also, there isn't enough diversity in sizes; friends still have to go to men's ranges for outdoor wear and snowboarding gear if they're size 16+. I'd like to see more women in the media/ magazines/ shows that are more representative of the female population i.e. not just skinny/ sexy/ young women. Often women need to see themselves to feel empowered to start adventure activities. I'd also like to see specific women only sessions/ events to boost confidence and encourage a greater range of women to get involved. Women learn differently to men and need different types of encouragement i.e. a chance to ask questions before diving straight in, a chance to know how to prepare, and often women feel less likely to speak up in front of those different to themselves. I know this doesn't apply to everyone. And confidence is a big issue for many women including those that are often confident in other parts of their life but not others of which they have little or no experience. Sorry, rather rambled on.......