In our recent odyssey through the world of women's gear, we've been noticing a thing or two. Well, just one thing actually - baby blue. It comes in several forms - baby blue waterproof jackets, blue-turquoise rock boots, baby blue approach shoes, baby blue helmets, baby blue daysacs - even some baby blue sky at times:-). So what's the reason for this world invasion of baby blue coloured objects in the women's gear range?
Different Gear for Women ...
Don't get us wrong - we aren't complaining about having different sets of gear for men and women. In fact, it's pretty important. Women's bodies are shaped differently from men's and hence body-hugging base layers, rucksack straps, and any other item where fit is an important factor, need to be proportioned differently if they are to perform well on women. So far so good. The next bit's where we get stuck. After testing gear all summer, we just can't find a correlation between performance and pastel colours:-)
Why does this bother us? Well, when manufacturers explain their latest products to us, they tend to give male gear-testers the run-down on performance features like fabrics, breathability, moisture-repellencey etc. - basically, all the things you need to keep you snug and dry when you're out on the hill. As the female gear tester on the site (Jon isn't too good on the fit of sports bras:-) I normally hear all about pastel shades, graphics, flowers, and any other random squiggles adorning this season's jacket pockets as well.
Never mind gravity - it's the turquoise that counts...
My most amusing 'baby blue' incident took place a few years ago when I was buying a pair of rock boots and struggling hard to find a pair that would fit my under-size feet. When nothing in the shop did the job, the (male) assistant was struck by a flash of inspiration. "I tell you what I'll do," he told me, "I'll order you a pair of Red Chili Spirits. You'll like those - they're a lovely turquoise-blue colour."
I've had many thoughts whilst out climbing, especially when the last piece of gear is starting to look a very long way away, or when I realise that I've just pulled out the last two nuts I attached the rope to, or when things are generally starting to look a bit hold-less and scary and pear-shaped. Those thoughts tend to come in four letter words, without so much as a polite British insertion of stars to replace the vowels. I've wished hard for a nice bomber sling to materialise right next to me, or a good solid number 9 hex placement. But there's one thing that's never occurred to me - 'do my feet look alluring in these pretty blue and turquoise shoes'.
Lowe Alpine Women's Pack Survey
So much for my personal rant. Now let's get a bit more scientific and look at a survey of more than just one person. Lowe Alpine kindly made my job easier by carrying out some research a few years ago to find out what women look for in rucksacks. As expected, they discovered that women do indeed want different gear from men - they want narrower shoulder straps on their packs, for example, to make them more comfortable. But these kinds of requirements are functional ones. What Lowe Alpine definitely didn't discover is that women want pink, flowery, pastel shaded, girly packs.
Mud, glorious mud...
So why does this bother us so much? Two reasons really. One is that we find the whole thing slightly condescending. The outdoors industry is dominated by men, and they design the outdoor clothes that they think women want, whether or not that bears any relation to the reality. That doesn't say much for the breed of man that thinks women associate baby blue with hypothermia-prevention. Until scientists can find a link between the two, we're going to carry on looking at the fabric of our shells, rather than those oh-so-alluring flower-shaped graphics.
The other thing is that some colours are simply more practical than others for use in the great outdoors. We spend most of our weekends exposed to rain, wind, and particularly mud. And how do you make sure that mud sticks around as much as possible? One of the best ways must be to put it on a pale background.
What, like baby blue? Yep, that's the one.
Susan 
