Women’s Hunting Apparel

[emilysatis]

Hi all! Just joined and am hoping for some creative input and feedback! I’ve been considering creating a women’s hunting brand, as long as the market isn’t too saturated by then!

My questions for you gals are:

What do you love about your hunting apparel now? What do you hate about it? What would you change about it? What kind of climate do you hunt in normally?

No need to criticize any particular brands or anything, I think the women’s market is getting better and has a lot more choices than it did 5+ years ago but would really love to know what things you’d love to see on your gear.

Thank you so much for having me and hopefully for your input!

 

[IDFireLass]

All hunting clothing makers seem to think women only want looks nothing that is durable. No sizes at all if you have any size to your shoulders or hips.
Never worn women's clothing. Just buy mens and find everything works great for me.
I have First Lite, KUIU outer wear and really like their insulated pants. Have some Sitka clothing, some pants and a Kelvin coat.
Boots for me is another thing, small wide feet.Have Kenetrek boots several pairs and found some Crispi this fall and love them too. Women's boots are usually to narrow and won't hold up for 6 months for me. Also have small hands.
Built totally backwards. LOL

 

[emilysatis]

All hunting clothing makers seem to think women only want looks nothing that is durable. No sizes at all if you have any size to your shoulders or hips.
Never worn women's clothing. Just buy mens and find everything works great for me.
I have First Lite, KUIU outer wear and really like their insulated pants. Have some Sitka clothing, some pants and a Kelvin coat.
Boots for me is another thing, small wide feet.Have Kenetrek boots several pairs and found some Crispi this fall and love them too. Women's boots are usually to narrow and won't hold up for 6 months for me. Also have small hands.
Built totally backwards. LOL

Haha! Totally not built backwards, everyone is different! I have short, wide feet as well and have had great luck with my Irish Setter pull ons in a larger size to accommodate my width and thick socks. I think less females are built how the standard fit is made, not everyone is tall and athletic. I’m petite and curvy. Kids works sometimes, women’s is often too big and forget wearing men’s for me! Glad you’ve had such luck with men’s!

 

[emilysatis]

Thanks everyone for the responses!

 

[270.Rose]

My priority for shopping is getting a good range of movement without enormous saggy bulk in places when I stand up straight. I just bought my first pair of hunting pants and they are Killik brand (excited to have something better than blue jeans!) Tried on just about every brand out there and none worked because they were all too tight through the leg and way big in the waist. (I don't run and do a lot of weights & strength training, so am more hourglass shape than lanky/athletic) The Killik pants were the most adjustable and had the best cut through the thighs and down to the knees to where I felt like they would actually be practical for if I had to crawl or kneel.

 

[emilysatis]

My priority for shopping is getting a good range of movement without enormous saggy bulk in places when I stand up straight. I just bought my first pair of hunting pants and they are Killik brand (excited to have something better than blue jeans!) Tried on just about every brand out there and none worked because they were all too tight through the leg and way big in the waist. (I don't run and do a lot of weights & strength training, so am more hourglass shape than lanky/athletic) The Killik pants were the most adjustable and had the best cut through the thighs and down to the knees to where I felt like they would actually be practical for if I had to crawl or kneel.

Yes! I think a lot of companies forget articulated clothing benefits women as well. I notice a lot of it is bulky and cut very straight, more like winter gear rather than gear you’ll be moving a lot in.

 

[270.Rose]

There are such huge differences in body types for women and then whether you lean towards running/cardio or weights/muscle building changes it even further, but I don't see those differences reflected in the ranges of ladies hunting clothes. I felt like most all of the options I tried would have perfectly suited my tall, slender, athletic sister who runs several days a week, but were totally wrong for a shorter gal who does weights several days a week, even though both of us are what would be considered in good physical shape.

 

[emilysatis]

There are such huge differences in body types for women and then whether you lean towards running/cardio or weights/muscle building changes it even further, but I don't see those differences reflected in the ranges of ladies hunting clothes. I felt like most all of the options I tried would have perfectly suited my tall, slender, athletic sister who runs several days a week, but were totally wrong for a shorter gal who does weights several days a week, even though both of us are what would be considered in good physical shape.

I agree. A lot of brands cater to a taller, more “athletic” build but forget that most women aren’t actually built like that. Things are cut so straight anymore, and I feel like most females are just not cut that straight.

 

[Panda Bear]

Hi all! Just joined and am hoping for some creative input and feedback! I’ve been considering creating a women’s hunting brand, as long as the market isn’t too saturated by then!

My questions for you gals are:

What do you love about your hunting apparel now? What do you hate about it? What would you change about it? What kind of climate do you hunt in normally?

No need to criticize any particular brands or anything, I think the women’s market is getting better and has a lot more choices than it did 5+ years ago but would really love to know what things you’d love to see on your gear.

Thank you so much for having me and hopefully for your input!

April keeps bugging me to reply to your thread but I am not sure what you can bring into your country from Canada and Europe. We have some companies up here that specialize in women's hunting clothing, but except for the basic stuff, a lot of it incorporates fur into the product. We never got hit as hard as you guys did with the no fur movement, but we did experience some of it.

Actually my husband thought the women in the "we rather be naked than wear fur" ads, were not all bad

Anyway, suddenly they realize that the fake fur is worse for the planet than real fur and therefore more and more real fur is being used in the clothing industry. Also many places in Europe still use fur in their products and you might look up Blaser, since there is another thread on the forum about Blaser rifles for women, they also sell clothing for women.

Anyway, this might be an "old"--"new" mousetrap for you in the U.S. Hunting clothes for women with real fur. And not just for looks but for warmth . Good luck

 

[Justwanttohunt]

Hi all! Just joined and am hoping for some creative input and feedback! I’ve been considering creating a women’s hunting brand, as long as the market isn’t too saturated by then!

My questions for you gals are:

What do you love about your hunting apparel now? What do you hate about it? What would you change about it? What kind of climate do you hunt in normally?

No need to criticize any particular brands or anything, I think the women’s market is getting better and has a lot more choices than it did 5+ years ago but would really love to know what things you’d love to see on your gear.

Thank you so much for having me and hopefully for your input!

There are some really great womens lines out there now, I'm always looking for more solid colors when hunting. And lighter colors, hunting in cheat grass is challenging enough lol. Good luck with this. I know it's not cheap, I work for a womens line and I know how expensive and hard this industry is. I wish the best and would love to see what you come up with!!!!

 

[Rodmor80]

My wife complains that everything is too big. She is 5'0" and like 100 lbs. Can fit youth cloths but not a lot of quality in youth clothing as well as patterns. Love in southern California so mossy oak and those sorts just don't match down here. Plus with thin small hands and long fingers gloves are a pain too.

 

[ammo]

Hey y'all -

Any ladies have luck with good scent-control clothing? I have a mix of some gear from Scentlok and Scentblocker (not super impressed on either) and I'm looking for some lighter weight scent control gear for early archery season. I'm thinking Sitka for a base layer but wanted to see if other folks have opinions https://www.sitkagear.com/products/womens-core-lightweight-crew-ls/optifade-subalpine

 

[mrfrie]

Hi Everyone, I need help finding a great set of WARM Long underwear for my wife. I usually get heavyweight or expedition weight for longer periods of low activity or sitting, and a decent Merino or synthetic light/midweight for more activity. I cannot seem to find anything that is heavy weight in women's anywhere. The last pair I bought her were expensive Patagonia (she loves their leggings) and on a backpacking trip last week she was cold as the sun was setting. In July. Granted we were at 11,800', but still. I digress...She needs a very warm set of long underwear, particularly bottoms, and any guidance you all can provide would be amazing. Thank you.

 

[Hunting Wife]

Hi Everyone, I need help finding a great set of WARM Long underwear for my wife. I usually get heavyweight or expedition weight for longer periods of low activity or sitting, and a decent Merino or synthetic light/midweight for more activity. I cannot seem to find anything that is heavy weight in women's anywhere. The last pair I bought her were expensive Patagonia (she loves their leggings) and on a backpacking trip last week she was cold as the sun was setting. In July. Granted we were at 11,800', but still. I digress...She needs a very warm set of long underwear, particularly bottoms, and any guidance you all can provide would be amazing. Thank you.

I don’t know if they still carry it, but Cabela’s used to have an ECWCS line that was pretty good. I always wear that on my coldest days. But I still layer it over some First Lite or something if I’m just sitting.

 

[mrfrie]

I don’t know if they still carry it, but Cabela’s used to have an ECWCS line that was pretty good. I always wear that on my coldest days. But I still layer it over some First Lite or something if I’m just sitting.

Thank you, I'll check into it, any other suggestions?