At Outdoor Retailer a couple weeks ago, the Women’s Adventure staff ran between appointments with gear companies for several days straight to discover the up-and-coming products most relevant to you and your outdoor activities. We editors leave full of facts of soon-to-be-released gear and with copious story ideas. What we gain at Outdoor Retailer helps us bring you stronger gear reviews of the best stuff on the market but also equips us to offer content that will truly inspire, educate, and enable you to play outside more and have more fun.

Jen Pharr Davis' influence showed up not just in the shoes but all over Salomon's OR booth.

Sometimes, the ratio of guys’ gear to girls’ gear exhibited disheartens us. But, this time, we were encouraged by the thought many companies put into their women’s lines and by the thoroughness of women’s specific product design. It’s exciting to see the impact we women have had on the outdoor industry recently and to see companies inspired by our activity in the outdoors.

Here’s a list of few new products we loved that were designed because of or by women:

1. Merrell’s “Heels and Wheels” dress shoes are made especially for pedaling. The Evera MJ’s chunky heel fits perfectly over a bike pedal and the sole stays stiff with your cadence thanks to a reinforced arch.
2. The North Face Enduro Pack: A women-specific day pack with straps that won’t ride up on your boobies. BOA technology tightens down the pack with every sip taken from the bladder.
3. Cascade Designs Women’s NeoAir Pad XLITE boasts two layers of reflective fabric inside for added warmth. The sleeping pad fits a woman up to 5’5″ tall and weighs only 11 oz. Bonus: It comes in a pretty yellow color.
4. GORE Running Wearrecognizes that every female runner has unique performance goals and workout routines, so the lines include cuts flattering for bodies of every shape and size. GORE’s mission to include sport-specific design extends to the company’s Bike Wear collection too.
   

   Skirt Sports Adventure Girl trail running skort

5. Skirt Sports offers a tear- and snag-resistant trail running skirt that can take a beating some of their previous skirts couldn’t handle.
6. Salomon’s “run your hike” philosophy and the company’s new shoe, the Synapse, was inspired by and designed because of Jennifer Pharr Davis’ record-breaking Appalachian Trail thru hike.
7. Luminox offers a new women’s watch collection with the same tried and true military technology on a line for smaller wrists.
8. Hobie launched a line of women-specific stand-up paddleboards.
9. Moving Comfort presents a new running dress and a Jubralee Bra that controls up and down, side to side motion.
10. Athleta continues to design beautiful support tops that come in regular and longer lengths to fit any torso. Most styles have molded encapsulation around chest offering up great compression and support.