With more and more people taking to the outdoors, outdoor gear is getting more technical by the day, making it an exciting time to be a hiker, runner or climber. So long as you’re slim, not too tall or short, and don’t have any pronounced curvy areas or unusual dimensions that is. Those make it difficult to find clothing and gear like hiking pants, base layers and waterproof jackets that fit properly, so if you fall into any of those categories, you’re basically screwed.
Last year, I spoke to Raquel Vélez who created a whole clothing company called Alpine Parrot for plus sized hikers like herself and it was totally eye opening to discover how difficult it is for nearly two-thirds of women to find clothes like ski pants that will actually stay up. Whether intended for men or women, outdoor gear, like a lot of fashion clothing, tends to be designed with a specific body type in mind, and very few of us have that actual body type.
