Finally, gear made just for women — and we test the best

After years of half-hearted attempts, the outdoor industry has finally figured out what women want — namely, gear designed specifically for them.

For far too long, women had to settle for hiking boots that were simply downsized men's shoes. Packs that were merely smaller men's packs. And sleeping bags that weren't even downsized.

Today, though, women will find gear in just about every outdoor product category designed specifically, and solely, for them. Designers are now configuring products to the physiology of women. Sleeping bags are being insulated to address how a woman's body regulates temperature. Packs are designed to fit female torsos. And boots are being designed based on data from the specific measurements of hundreds of thousands of women's feet.

That means you can give your outdoors-oriented Mom a Mother's Day gift designed just for her. Here are a few suggestions we tested with a group of Northwest outdoorswomen:

Hiking boots

Blue Ridge GTX: Seattle-based Montrail has long been a leader in the move to better serve female hikers and climbers. More than a decade ago, they introduced boots built on lasts — the forms around which boots are shaped — that were created by data gathered from measuring women's feet. Many boot companies now do this, but Montrail took service to women a step further by not only sizing boots to fit women, but designing boots specifically for women.

Boots such as the new Blue Ridge GTX are women's-only designs. There are no counterparts for men. These boots were designed from the ground up specifically and solely with women's feet in mind. That means not only is the fit tailored to women, but so is the density of the midsole to accommodate the stride and footfall pressure typical of a female step. The Nubuck leather uppers are made to comfortably support the ankle without rising too high on the leg, which would hamper flexibility.

All our testers loved the Blue Ridge GTX for extended day hikes as well as multiday trips with a full backpack load (some upwards of 40 pounds). The only downside: The boots are a tad heavy at 2 pounds, 7 ounces per pair.

Retail price, $140. More information: www.montrail.com.

Sleeping bag

Sub Kilo 15: Perhaps the most striking revelation about gender-specific physiology came in the details about sleep patterns. Researchers found that not only do women tend to sleep in different positions than men, but the difference in body shapes makes a traditional "unisex" bag less efficient for women. The problem is that women, sleeping in bags designed to be genderless, are heating up excess space as they sleep — wasting precious energy. Generally, these unisex bags are longer than necessary for most women, and they tend to be cut wide in the shoulders and narrower at the hips, creating excess space for women in the upper torso and lower leg areas, and constricting them at the hips.

REI addresses this by creating a women-specific line within their Sub Kilo down sleeping bags series. Though this bag shares a name with a male counterpoint, the Sub Kilo women's was designed from scratch for women. REI added extra insulation to key areas to address female body shapes and general heating/cooling patterns. The regular-length bag is also shorter than the men's — fitting women up to 5 feet, 6 inches tall, as opposed to the 6-foot fit of the male version. That means less weight on the back while hiking, and less dead airspace to heat up while sleeping. The 750-fill down provides great insulation while keeping weight and bulk to a minimum.

Our testers found just one small problem with the bag: The zipper occasionally caught on the bag's liner. All in all, a hard bag to beat.

Retail price, $229. More information: www.rei.com.

Sunglasses

Zooni: Sunglasses specific to women? Yes, and not just in terms of style and fashion in frames. Zeal Optics used female athletes in a variety of outdoor activities to help them figure out just what women need and want in terms of eyewear. They also looked at the physical traits of women to help ensure they created a comfortable fit. The end result: seven models of performance eyewear specific to women.

The Zooni was a favorite of our test team. They said the frames fit well on their faces (narrow to medium-width faces), and the wrap-around polarized lenses proved to be distortion-free edge to edge. That made a huge impression, as the women complained that all too often, gender-neutral lenses were only sharp when looking straight ahead. But because the Zoonis were designed for the female head (i.e. with eyes typically a bit more closely set and cheekbones a bit higher), the lenses were better matched to their eyes' position and focal points. The Zoonis feature small rubber pads on the ends of the temple bars to keep the glasses from sliding forward when looking down, and the nose pads are adjustable, allowing women to achieve a near-custom fit.

Retail price, $99. More information: www.zealoptics.com.

Jacket

Sierra Falls softshell: Softshell jackets are all the rage these days, and Portland-based Columbia Sportswear — long a leader in outerwear for outdoor enthusiasts — offers its own proprietary softshell materials in a number of jackets. One of the best for women is the Sierra Falls jacket.

This piece is tailored for active use in the field, perfectly fitting all three of our testers who, despite wearing the same size, feature slightly different body styles — from long and lean to well-muscled and rounded. The 4-way stretch fabric and articulated construction mean the jacket moves with you as you hike, climb, ski or bike.

Our test team noted that the waist-length jacket never rode up, even when stretching overhead for a handhold while scrambling. That, coupled with the windproof and water-shedding nature of the fabric, made the Sierra Falls a favorite weather-beating outer layer for all but the foulest weather conditions.

Retail price, $80. More information: www.columbia.com.

Altimeter watch

Alterra: OK, technically, it's not designed specifically for women. But the Highgear line of altimeter watches offers most women something that no other brand does — a comfortable fit. The Alterra (as well as other models in the Highgear Altimeter line) is smaller and lighter than all the competitors, and for many women, that means having a watch that actually fits on their wrist.

But unlikely many smaller watches, the Alterra can be read quite easily. Highgear compensates for the smaller face of their watches with oversized numerals in the display, so it can easily be read while striding up a mountain trail. The Alterra boasts an amazingly accurate altimeter (with 3-foot or 1-meter increments) as well as features such as rate of descent, average ascent/descent, altitude log book and number of hills traveled.

Of course, the watch is also a timepiece with alarms and chronograph. The watch, with sturdy rubber wristband, weighs a mere 2 ounces.

Retail price, $170. More information: www.highgear.com.

Backpack

Venus pack by REI: REI is a leader in innovations for women, as evidenced by its introduction of the Venus pack. This multi-season weekend pack offers a suspension system (shoulder straps and hipbelt) designed specifically for women's torsos. Testers noted that the shoulder straps fit comfortably around the neck without being so widely spread that they slipped off narrower shoulders. The straps also contoured comfortably around the chest — even full-figured testers found the straps comfortable and secure. The hipbelt can adjust to cant around the most angular hips while still providing full load transfer and comfortable carrying.

The pack itself is narrower than typical unisex packs, making it more effectively fit the female profile, and eliminating problems such as blocked arm swing — having the pack get in the way of natural arm motion when striding along a trail. The 4,100-cubic-inch pack swallows all the gear necessary for a two- or three-night trek with room to spare. Extra features such as the dual-access pack (through the top, and via a zippered front panel) are nice touches, but they add weight, pushing the regular-sized pack to a full 5 pounds. But as that was the only knock on this other-wise exceptional pack, it earned top reviews from all our testers.

Retail price, $195. More information: www.rei.com.

For the purpose of review, gear manufacturers lend products to the Times' freelance reviewer, who returns products after a typical use of 4-6 weeks. There is no payment from manufacturers and they have no control over the content of reviews. Dan A. Nelson of Puyallup is a regular contributor to Backpacker magazine, and an author of outdoor guides with The Mountaineers Books. Contact him with gear-related questions at gearguy@adventuresnw.net