Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General The Mountain by a fair means Womens Outdoor Clothing..Why so dang SMALL????

I was in Reno yesterday and went to REI I go there maybe twice a year to look and maybe buy something. I have been wanting to get a lighter weight rain jacket then the one I have is just to heavy for backpacking trips. So I look at the Marmot precip..as I have the pants in the precip and love them. I find the only XLG womens jacket try it on and it is not big enough it was just to snug fitting and felt very constricting.. and I did not even have a fleece underneath it. So I ended up having to get a mens XLG marmot..it fits me nice and loose just how I like it and there is room for a fleece underneath it. So are these outdoor companies making the sizes smaller now? And any of you ladies ever find that the sizes are running smaller? I am not a skinny person, but I am also not a fat or super large person..I would have thought a womens XLG would have fit me. I don't at all mind having to get a mens jacket if it is going to fit better.
I just think it is odd that the womens sizes are so much smaller than what they say.

OMG don't even get me started. From shoes to pants to tops, it generally is tough to find the right fit/length. Durability is also an issue.

I'm 5'10.5", 200lbs, and a 32" inseam. Most women's pants are a 30" inseam. I have broad shoulders and actual biceps, so sleeves are tight (I have almost gotten stuck in a few Prana shirts). I can't always go to men's pants because I've been blessed with ginormous thighs so to get the pants big enough in that area, the waist is generally WAY too big. Most shoe companies don't even make size 11 boots/shoes and my feet are a bit on the narrow side, so once again the switch to men's boots doesn't work well.

All in all, it's just a big trial and error game. I know Patagucci stuff isn't generally in my radar because they don't believe that female mountaineers might have hips.

<<end rant>>

So small??? I wonder why the heck stuff is always so BIG!!!! It's either made for some tall, skinnily anorexic model.. or for a 5 year old. And while I am small.. I am NOT that small... it's very hard to find things to fit. I don't think they use real women to fit these clothes to. I think they use paperdolls or something...

Just my penny worth

I agree - I'm 5'10 and have a hard time finding pant length and sleeve length to fit. Just tried on the Marmot precip jacket as well this past weekend and it was an XLG,
tho' I weigh 145 it just fit. Go figure.......
I usually end up in the mens dept as well, have done so for years.

Hey, I'm only 5' 4" and I have trouble finding things with enough room in the shoulders and sleeves. I had fits, absolute fits, trying to find a top grade Goretex shell for my Kilimanjaro hike.

For one thing, they don't stock the top grade stuff in the stores, you have to order it. So after reading, researching, comparing, I ordered a jacket, and when it finally arrived, 2 weeks before my flight, it was tiny! So, talking with a very experienced woman at REI, I learned that size varies greatly from one brand to another, and she steered me toward a brand that would more likely fit my body type. I returned the slim, short Arcteryx, and ordered 2 sizes of a Mountain Hard Wear jacket, just to be safe. Turns out the Arcteryx is designed to accommodate a rock-climbing harness, so is short in the torso; I was more concerned with covering my tush in the rain.

The Mountain Hard Wear did the job, with room to layer over the heavy fleece and down jacket. (All those layers, and I was still cold in the 40 mph winds at 19,000 ft. at 2 am., even with down mittens.)

Men are so lucky to have so many choices available right there in the stores to try on. They can even color coordinate their layers. I had to take what would fit, I ended up looking like a fruit salad with some chocolate thrown in! Could we just keep it simple and do blue or black everything? Please? Pale dead english lavender and pepto bismol pink are kinda hard to work with....

You really tall women have my complete sympathy, I cannot even imagine... Well, except I would love to be a big tall amazon!!

I am also a long-legged 5'10" with feet to hold up aforementioned height

Pepto Bismol Pink and lavender should be abolished.

My theory wrt shoes, pants and sleeves not being the correct size has to do with where they are made.....in any event, difficult to find other than on the internet, and then I end up sending half the stuff back 'cause it doesn't fit.

LOL: I don't even look at a top unless it's got some orange in it...

I happen to love the color lavender.
And why is it that you can't find a men's down jacket in plum? The only choices are black, blue, green, and red. How boring!

Rafael...

Yeah, you also carry a 10L water bladder. Although I wouldn't doubt that you'd look good in plum...

Just got back from the gym. Saw a guy in a Moosie orange tank and thought of you...

Damn straight I'd look good in plum, as well as most other colors! I can also rock that orange!

Rafael...

Finally getting back here..I understand about what all you are saying about the clothes size issue....Maybe they are making sizes smaller because a lot of these companies are having their garments made overseas..and a lot of those people are smaller in size than here in the US?? just a thought. I have really noticed the sizes getting smaller since more stuff is made overseas. It's very frustrating..but I guess I will just start buying all mens clothing HA! As long as they fit me I don't care.
Thanks for everyones comments

I like Marmot jackets and fleece. They seem to fit either true-to-size or even a little large. I'm 5' 7", weigh in the mid-120s, depending on the day. I usually wear size small, but their small jackets are a little large on me, so I have Xsmall too.

I've had good luck with Mountain Hardwear pants.

Also, REI brand shirts have a realistic cut.

I think "realistic cut" totaly depends on body type. I am 5'00" and (finally) down to about 125. However... I have DD sized.. um... chest... it makes it a very interesting challenge to find ANYTHING to fit correctly on the upper body.

Also... when it comes to pants... with my very short legs I have always found it difficult to find something that fits right in all the places...

Ladies, I am a guy. That having been said, I can comment. While I have never taken notice of the ladies section while shopping for equipment, I do believe that you ladies are correct in stating that the ladies sizes are vastly non-uniform. I used to shop for my wife and well, I just don't anymore due to this issue.

On another note, at the mall, go to a department store. The men's section is in the basement shared with something else. Now visit the ladies section(s) which take up 80 percent of the floor space. I am not saying it is justice, but since ladies shop more, they get more space.

I'd recommend lodging your comments with the manufacturer's - letting them know that you would buy their products if they fit.

There is a lot of money to be made in equipment, you should not have to pay top dollar for a man's fit - that is not fair.

I, for one, detest malls and Department stores...that being said, your comment may ring true for the above, but no so much at REI or places where mountaineering clothing is sold. Case in point, I was trying to find some winter pants at an outdoor hiking store in the Eastern Sierra which I will keep anonymous for respect to the shopkeeper....however....absolutely NO LADIES PANTS in my size appropriate to the conditions at hand. They had several men's pants, though.

I can feel for many of the comments made here. I try on everything I buy now since sizes on the tag don't mean a thing anymore. I have been watching a particular website that sells outdoor clothes, shoes, supplies...etc...I am really disturbed by another thing. Why when shoes are sold do they suggest that you buy a size up...size down???? Why can't all shoe manufacturers make a shoe an 8...8.5...9...9.5, why do they have to be so different...am I being silly in not knowing that one manufacturers size 8 can't be the same as another manufacuters size 8??? I have never bought shoes on the internet for fear of having to return them because they don't fit, I read the comments from other purchasers who have to return shoes because they were too small or too big even though they were the size they normally wear.

Oh and about looking like a fruit salad...this can be a good thing just think about how easy one can be found on a mountain above the tree line should they need help...fruit salad might be easier to find then gray slate.