Gift Guide for Outdoorsy Women

great gear for women worth throwing under a tree

Good, and I mean actually good, women’s outdoor gear is hard to find.

Companies try to make clothes and packs that both fit women’s frames and are functional, but often fall short. (I’m thinking of the very cute cargo pants I have that you can’t functionally use the pockets on thus defeating the entire point of the cargo pant).

A lot of times, you end up sacrificing function for style, and pockets for form fitting. Other times, I’ve found that gear specifically marketed toward women is harder to size and doesn’t actually fit right or well.

Between a few years guiding, overnight backpacking and sea kayaking, occasional marketing freebies from brands, some stellar partnerships with local brands, and working at an outfitter/outdoor retailer, I’ve been able to test out a LOT of women’s gear.

The Issue of Good Gear:

In the outdoor there are two primary stereotypes marketers seem to categorize women into: the “hot outdoorsy girl in yoga pants with good hair who doesn’t actually belong outside”, and her foil of the overly zippered, hyper competent, too serious outdoors woman. To be clear, if you identify with one of these categories, this isn’t meant as a critique, rather an observation that both ends come with negative connatations. All people have a place outside, regardless of the clothes they feel comfortable in and how feminine or masculine they chose to present.

Still, the people marketing gear to women have these two ideals in mind— the “fake” outdoorsy yoga pants women who are in it for the photo, and the “real” outdoorsy women who want the most functional thing possible in only black and army green with many many zippers to hold her many many knives (and hey, she’ll just buy from the men’s section any way so don’t worry too much about her).

The reality is no person is any one thing. I am both the girl in yoga pants and a ponytail who gets glared at for taking photos at a summit, and the wilderness guide with knives and zippers who is told to lighten up.

The problem of good gear for real people is about a lot more than “there’s no good gear for women”— it’s about the dominant voices in the outdoor industry, who is making gear, who is able to buy gear, and who feels welcome on trail.

A dichotomy: both of these places took a lot of work and some technical knowledge to get to. In both instances, I had a lot of people who knew about the places genuinely surprised I got there. In photos where a man appears, I get a lot of assumptions that he’s the paddler and guide and I’m a lucky girlfriend who gets to go along for the ride, which is not the case. In photos where it’s just me or Emily, I often get varying degrees of “hope you girls don’t get lost”, “you shouldn’t be out there alone”, or “it can’t be that hard if you guys did it”, or “I’m impressed that two girls could do that”.

Recommended Gear:

A good gear list isn’t going to fix any of these problems. But good gear that fits right can increase your confidence in the outdoors and make your life a little bit easier.

Here’s some stuff I’d recommend:

Ripstop Guide Pants from Eddie Bauer

Elastic waistband, water resistant, a little bit of stretch, just a little bit of curve. The Guide Ripstop Cargo Pants from Eddie Bauer are awesome. Probably the favorite pair of pants I own. I am literally wearing them right now.

These are a cute lightweight pair of pants great for hiking and longer backcountry trips. I’ve ran into other hikers also wearing these and stopped to chat about how great they are. They’re technical and practical but also not dorky.

Leggings with Pockets

A lot of women, myself often included, prefer to hike or even backpack in leggings. As I’ve gotten older and started taking on more intense trips I’m moving away from that (see above), but a good pair of leggings with pockets is still a wardrobe staple for any frequent hiker or traveller.

This pair from Athleta have lasted me four years, and I recently purchased this pair from Eddie Bauer as an arguably inferior replacement. I liked the material better on the Athleta, and the Eddie Bauer pair slip down as I hike. Four years is a great run for a pair of hiking pants so I’d recommend the Athleta pair for sure.

The Arc’teryx LT Atom Hoodie

I’ll be honest: I scored my Arc’teryx Atom Hoodie at a thrift store for $17, not a stiff $260. It had one little grease mark on it when I bought it.

Since then, it’s been my mid-outer layer on almost every overnight trip, all season. Would I personally drop almost three hundred dollars on one mid midlayer? Definitely not. That being said, it is a solid piece of gear.

The Oboz Bridger Mid

Oboz makes a great shoe. The Bridger mid is my backpacking soulmate (pictured above on my feet). I will continue to buy this shoe, over and over, until I no longer need hiking boots.

I’ve had so so many issues with so so many shoes, and could write a manifesto on while I will never buy or recommend Merrell again, and the Bridger Mids are pretty much the most comfortable, hardiest, best pair of hiking boost on the market. They’re a great gift for any aspiring multi-day trekker, anyone with foot pain, bunions, blister issues, or just looking for a shoe to wear on the trail.

Danner Boots

One complaint about the Oboz shoes that comes up is that they aren’t particularly “cute”. They look like “old man boots” I’ve been told. Personally I don’t care if my feet look clunky, they’re the boot for me.

That being said, Danner makes a great hiking boot too, and their boots are definitely more “Instagrammable”. My buying advice on this would be if you’re planning on doing longer hard hikes and frequent overnights or less travelled trails, get the Oboz. If you’re shopping for more of a casual hiker who wants to look cute, but still needs a functional and quality boot, who mostly sticks to well travelled paths and popular hikes, look at the Danners.

In the winter, I rock an older purple pair of the Mountain 600 and like them. They’re definitely cute and offer great grip, and good for most winter hiking along the North Shore. If I’m planning on venturing off trail via snowshoe I’ll pair them with gaiters. For any more serious winter activites in Northern Minnesota, a pair of Mukluks is your best bet.

Perimeter Pack from Granite Gear

This is probably the single gear find I am most excited about all year! I’ve been looking for a new backpacking bag, something smaller than my Osprey, and now am rocking a 35L Perimeter Pack from Granite Gear (pictured below).

I’ve found it to be hardy, with a logical organizational system, and easy to customize and fit to my body. I have kind of a small back and have had a lot of trouble finding backpacks that are comfortable fully loaded. My Osprey Aura is pretty great, but it’s also a hundred dollars more expensive than the Granite Gear pack, and I honestly prefer the Granite Gear Pack.

If you’re looking for the perfect gift for the hiker/backpacker in your family, the Perimeter 50 is a great beginner level backpacking bag. If your person is looking more for a weekend travel bag, a hiking day pack, or backpacks 1-2 days and packs light, the Perimeter 35 is the one I have and I can’t recommend it enough.

Granite Gear also has alternative waist belts available for plus sizes.

Nemo Tempo Sleeping Bag

The Nemo Tempo is an affordable, warm, comfortable sleeping bag that I have probably spent about a hundred nights in. I have the 20 degree bag which has been plenty warm in the shoulder season in Northern Minnesota.

If you’re looking for a great sleeping bag for a backpacker, this is the one. The 50 degree bag should be fine for most casual summer backpackers.

Abode Outside Apparel

One of my favorite partners to work with this year has been Abode Outside. This lovely small business is run by two very hardworking Minnesotans working to change fast fashion in the outdoor industry.

Their new Fischer Pullover cable knit is my absolute favorite and so cozy. Basically these guys are just delightful and watching them grow from a small startup to now having a presence in outdoor retailers throughout the Midwest (Superior Trading Post, Trailfitters, Midwest Mountaineering) has been really exciting!

One of the things I really like about their gear is it is unisex. For me, this eliminates the process of walking over to the mens section to decide if the mens stuff is better, warmer, has pockets that work, or just more functional.

These guys are a small business you can feel good about supporting this season.

A Fleece Pullover

Nothing says winter hiking season like a fleece pullover. I’ve recently added this one from Duluth Trading Company to my collection, and have had a Patagonia fleece similar to this one in my backpack for a few years now.

A fleece pullover is a great outdoorsy gift because they can be a bit of a fashion statement and will absolutely get used.

An Outdoorsy Book!

I’ve loved Bad Tourist by Suzanne Roberts and Paddling to Winter by Julie Buckles. Or check out Deep Water Passage by Ann Linnea about the first woman to solo circumnavigate Lake Superior by sea kayak.

Does your person love hiking in the Great Lakes Region? I wrote and independently published a whole trail guide on just that topic! Hidden Gems of the Northern Great Lakes could make a great gift for the hiker in your life.

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