In an industry where many manufacturers still embrace ‘shrink it and pink it’  and call it a day, it denigrates women’s apparel and products as a mere afterthought. Fortunately, these twelve women-founded, women-led companies make products for you, your body shape and all your adventures, be it hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, skiing, climbing, adventure travel, cycling, surfing, running and whatever you feel like doing.

AdventurHER Travel Adventure

Most outdoorswomen today were introduced to the outdoors and mentored by family or friends who were outdoorsy. But what happens when you don’t have that conduit? Founder, owner and guide extraordinaire of AdventurHER Travel Alli Neal set out to be that conduit. That mentor who nudges or (gently) kicks women in the rear to get outdoors “capably, confidently, and comfortably.”

Talk about women-found, women-led companies! To say AdventurHER is woman-led is to be literal about it. Alli leads women outdoors from all skill levels to camp, climb, surf, hike, bike, ski, SUP, you name it, all while ensuring supportive environment to build skills, confidence and, really, just have fun–whether it’s a weekend ice climbing clinic in Winona, MN or climbing and canyoneering in Moab, UT, inn to inn cycling in Ireland or something completely customized for you. | Adventurhertravel.com

Freshly Minted Socks

Suzette Ayotte is a Maine native and transplant to San Francisco. She founded Freshly Minted socks because she happens to be an avid cyclist with a designer’s eye. All Freshly Minted socks, which are made in Italy, have mid-century modern designs and colors for the cycling life. The price point is a very affordable and reasonable $20 and a portion is donated to the National Interscholastic Cycling Association. Jump here to SpinCycle News to read more about NICA to get more kids on bikes. | Thefreshlyminted.com

Title Nine

If you’ve never heard of Title IX, it’s the much-needed legislation that passed in 1972 that opened up (most) sports to women. Missy Parks, the founder, saw that sports apparel manufacturers were in no hurry to accommodate women athletes. In 1989, Missy started Title Nine with the barest of bones office space in her Berkeley, CA garage: A rotary dial phone (with only 1 line) on her living room table.

Her first round of catalog distribution to 13,000 recipients netted a whopping 56 orders—of which only seven came from people she didn’t know. After several years of epic ideas and even more epic fails, Title Nine now has 23 stores in 11 states with a thriving catalog and website platform—and is still being led by Missy Parks. | Titlenine.com

Skirt Sports

Nicole DeBoom launched Skirt Sports the day after she won the 2004 Wisconsin Ironman Triathlon—wearing a prototype skirt she made at home. There are very few women founded, women led companies to begin with. Even fewere reach 15 years in business. Skirt Sports did just that in September 2019.

For active women of literally all shapes and sizes, Skirt Sports offers a vast line of running shorts, skirts, tops, leggings, bras and, for the cyclist, a skirt with a chamois. But the skirt that really hits the sweet spot is the Lotta Breeze Capri skirt with its flattering style and fun prints. | Skirtsports.com

Carve Designs

Carve Designs is an example of how the best ideas spring from lounging in hammocks, swaying in the breeze in San Pancho, Mexico. It was there that surfers Jennifer Hinton and Thayer Sylvester discussed the dismal prevalence of true surfing boardshorts for women—especially those of shapes and sizes that are never featured in catalogs.

Enter women-founded, women-led Carve Designs, which set out to fill the board short gap and then some. Today, Carve Designs, which is still run by Jen and Thayer, keeps true to their mission: Design athletic and casualwear for women of all shapes and sizes who push boundaries. Additionally, Carve Designs remains true to their sustainability initiatives by making a significant portion of their swimwear and activewear in California. | carvedesigns.com

Houdini

Like so many women athletes in modern dark ages, Swedish mountaineer and ski guide Lotta Giornofelice need clothes that didn’t exist: clothes climbing and ski touring that regulated body temperature for for start- and stop activities. So she made them herself, starting with fleece underwear for herself and some friends.

Today, Houdini creates minimalist styles that are functional for both women and men. But sustainability has—and always will be—the cornerstone of their brand: 100 percent of all the fabrics used in this season are recycled, recyclable, renewable, biodegradable Bluesign certified. | Houdinisportswear.com

Lightheart Gear

Not only is Lightheart Gear woman-founded and women-led, it was started as a sewing project by virtue of the Appalachian Trail. Founder and owner (and retired Air Force nurse, marathon runner, master sewer, AT and PCT hiker) Judy Gross was hiking the AT with a 4.5-pound one-person tent that was heavy and took up the bulk of her pack space. She believed that the current offering of lightweight tents on the market could be better so she approached her first tent design, a one-person shelter, with a problem-solving perspective.

She wanted lightweight. Had to be able to sit upright. Didn’t want to trip over guy-lines in the middle of night. And it couldn’t take up the bulk of the space in her pack. She designed and sewed the first prototype in her basement. Today, in addition to lightweight tents like the Lightheart Gear Firefly, the Lightheart Gear product line includes hiking skirts, rain gear all designed and produced in North Carolina. | Lightheartgear.com

Shredly

This woman-founded, woman-led company was started by Colorado mountain biker  (via a Kickstarter campaign) Ashley Rankin when she saw an opportunity to create a specialized niche of mountain bike shorts for women. And create she did! In a kaleidoscope of wild patterns with total trail functionality. There is no mistaking a Shredly short, especially the pro-unicorn Shredly Tina. In mountain biking apparel, Shredly is distinct. Today, she is still the designer and product tester and makes it all in Colorado. | Shredly.com

MuttRuk

Colorado native and outdoor/dog enthusiast Gretchen Dill founded MuttRuk because she wanted to create a backpack solution for hiking with dogs. After 12 years at a desk job as a Graphic Designer, spending lots of free time outdoors, and seeing a slew of local trails shut down to use by dogs, she felt it was about time to take action in both her career and impact on outdoor spaces.

Inspired by innovative gear, and using her background in design, she took the leap into the world of product design. MuttRuk represents an attitude of adventure as well as respect for our outdoor spaces. A brand that advocates for trail clean up by providing helpful solutions, and an advocate for rescue and training to help both owner and dog grow in confidence and bond together. After a successful Kickstarter campaign in June of this year, MuttRuk is now into production and the MuttRuck Hit the Trail Bundle Pack—which includes 14-liter pack and a rollout water dish for your dog! | Muttruck.com

Astrid Wild

Founder and owner of Maria Paulsson Ronnback designs outdoor clothing for women by women. Inspired by her Nordic roots, Astrid Wild Outdoor Fashion is 100 percent focused on design, the woman’s body, and versatile clothing made for wild adventures, recreation and the city outdoor life. Astrid Wild aims to inspire women to live a happier and healthier life, by spending more time in nature and connecting with like-minded women. | Astridwild.com

Blyss Running

Blyss Running hails from the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Founder and owner Alyson Neel began running in her early forties by virtue of a Couch to 5k program. Running taught her that the athletic wear industry had no clue about what a woman needs and wants from her running apparel.

In 2015 Alyson used her background in fashion merchandising to design a pair of shorts. Then she made a running skirt. Today she designs and makes running wear for women like the Blyss Distance Short with deep pockets, longer lengths and higher waistbands—all while running marathons and designing and proudly making all her products in the US. | Blyssrunning.com

Krimson Klover

The heart and soul of Krimson Klover is adventure, which is what drove founder and creative director Rhonda Swenson to become a flight attendant. An unlikely beginning, yes, but connections she made while traveling soon morphed into designing sweaters and selling them through a small boutique sweater company—which she eventually purchased and became Krimson Klover.

Today, Krimson Klover remains a woman-founded woman-led company whose lineup includes slow-fashion style, like the Scandinavian-inspired Astrid Full-zip sweater for the adventurous woman. | Krimsonklover.com

Lo & Sons

Don’t let the “sons” trip you up. Helen Lo founded Lo & Sons to design and manufacture premium, thoughtfully-designed bags for travel and work. Helen, who has a PhD in social welfare, wanted a travel carry-on that was functional, not fugly, and environmentally-friendly. The first two points were easy to check off the wish list but the environmentally-friendly point wasn’t because it didn’t exist.

At 60 years of age, when many people are thinking about downshifting careers into the retirement, Helen gunned the accelerator. She believed it wasn’t enough to just“do no harm” when it comes to environmental impact. Lo & Sons is one of the growing number of brands that are leading the way to reversing decades of damage to the environment. | Loandsons.com

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North St. Micro Pannier

The North St. Mirco Pannier is a heavy duty, waterproof, Made in the USA pannier. As a gift it will win over the heart of the bike commuter (or bike packer) in your life. Clips on each side of the bag accommodate a shoulder strap, providing a convenient method of carrying the bag after it’s snapped off the bike. Our writer Janet stores her locker room necessities, towel and flip flops in one of the bags, a change of clothes in the other. The hook and bungie cord mounting system are simple to attach to the pannier rack, and a bungie cord helps  the bags stay attached to the pannier rack when riding bumpy bike path. Northst.com | $100

Timbuk2 Especial Scope Expandable Backpack

The Timbuk2 Especial Scope Expandable backpack is weather-resistant, reflective and has a waterproof laptop pocket in the back panel and makes a welcome gift for bike commuters. As with just about all Timbuk2 packs, organization is outstanding. Catering to the serious commute, Timbuk2 added a deep pocket to securely hold a 24-ounce GSI Outdoors 720 Flip vacuum bottle full of coffee—a must for any serious bike commuter.  Timbuk2.com | $189

Fenix BC21R Bike Light

Easily the most safety-inspired gifts for bike commuters are bike lights. With its bright, broad beam of 880 lumens, the Fenix BC21R offers five brightness modes of Turbo (880 lumens), High (380 lumens), Medium (200 lumens), Low (100 lumens) and Flash (alternating 380 lumens and 100 lumens). What I love so much about this light is a power-saving feature called Intelligent Output Downshift that automatically shifts the light down to a lower setting. For enhanced safety on urban streets or trails, the Fenix BC21R is equipped with red sidelights that provide 180 degrees of visibility.  fenix.com | $75

Freshly Minted Socks

One of the most affordable and unique gifts for bike commuters are socks. Cyclist love socks with unique designs and Freshly Minted delivers on that. These hip, made-in-Italy cycling socks have mid-century modern designs and colors and they’re made (in Italy) for the cycling life. All socks are $20 and a portion is donated to the National Interscholastic Cycling Association, also known as NICA. Jump here to the SpinCycle News to read more about NICA to get more kids on bikes. Thefreshlyminted.com | $20

Pear Izumi Pursuit Attack Tight

At $65, the Pearl Izumi Pursuit Attack Tight is technical tight is perfect for those with a limited budget–or wants to give a bike commuter a gift with the capacity of multi-purpose use. If you look closely, the Pearl Izumi Pursuit Attack Tight does not come with a chamois. Before you completely dismiss the lack of a chamois, allow me to explain why this is a good thing: I use these for running! But you can also wear them with any padded cycling short and certainly for mountain biking. pearlizumi.com | $65

WileyX WX Valor Sunglasses

One of the best gifts for bike commuters is protective eye gear. According to writer Erica, WX Valor sunglasses are sunglasses that don’t mess around. Made of Shatterproof Selenite Polycarbonate lenses that meet MIL-PRF-32432(GL) ballistic standards, they are durable and tough. They also meet ANSI Z87.1 high velocity and high mass impact standards as well as US Federal OSHA 1910.133(b)(1)(1) standards. What do all the above numbers mean? The WX Valor can withstand the weight of a 1.1-pound projectile dropped from a height of 50”, which ensures your eyes are protected from unexpected impacts. They withstand the impact of a .25” diameter steel ball fired at 150 fps or .15 projectiles fired at 640-660 fps. In simple terms, these sunglasses are practically indestructible.

RydeSafe Reflective Decals

Winter is not the best time to commute by bike. It’s more like the season of red targets on the backs of cyclists. An investment of $30 worth of stickers artfully placed (or in my case, plastered) on the bike of bike commuter will transform him or her into a two-wheel freak show. When car lights hit it, the bike illuminates like a Tron bike and can be seen from the space station. What motorist isn’t going to take notice? rydesafe.com

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Chet Malinow x Rustek Wood-Inlay Phone Case

Rustek, maker of handmade wood-inlay phone cases, skateboards and lifestyle accessories collaborated with Chet Malinow to offer a Wood-Inlay Phone Case. The sapele- and maple-wood phone case is aesthetically-pleasing with flowing calligraphy-inspired designs and organic grain patterns. Compatible with all sizes of iPhone, Samsung and Google Pixel phones. Although this is priced at $40, I believe it still fits well within the stocking stuffers under $40. rustek.co | $40

Spurcycle Titanium Key Clip

The Titanium Key Clip from Spurcycle conveniently clips and stashes keys. It also fits very conveniently in a Christmas stocking and allows room for other items, in case you’re feeling generous. Laser cut from a slab of ¼-inch titanium, it is a robust, rugged and light key clip that is made in the USA. Bonus feature includes an integrated bottle opener, because why wouldn’t it? spurcycle.com | $39

Freshly Minted Socks

These hip, made-in-Italy cycling socks have mid-century modern designs and colors and they’re made (in Italy) for the cycling life. All socks are $20 and a portion is donated to the National Interscholastic Cycling Association, also known as NICA. Jump here to the SpinCycle News to read more about NICA to get more kids on bikes. Because each sock is $20 and the theme is stocking stuffers under $40, you can buy two pairs! Thefreshlyminted.com | $20

Spurcycle Multi Pouch

Cyclists will appreciate the new Spurcycle Multi Pouch because it keeps essentials organized regardless of where they’re carried—jersey pocket, backpack or pannier. It’s made of durable Cuben fiber, measures a scant 11.5 cm x 19 cm and weighs in at only fourteen grams. The multi-pouch folds and snaps to best fit essentials and keeps them within easy reach, wherever it is stowed. The pouch can also be snapped two different ways to compress it either horizontally or vertical or snapped back to back with a second pouch for more cargo capacity or simply to separate items. Bonus points that it’s Made in the USA. My favorite item to carry in my Spurcycle pouch? A Spurcycle Titanium Key Clip. spurcycle.com | $29

Trail Butter Mixed Nut Butter

As an all-natural endurance energy food, Trail Butter can be thought of as either a “spreadable bar” or “blended up trail mix”. Either way, it’s healthy, unprocessed nut or seed butter comes in many forms: Single-serve packets, pouches and sixteen-ounce jars. Each flavor has its own unique blend of real-food ingredients and provides a balanced, slow burning energy that is calorie-dense for those long hikes in cool weather. So far my favorite way to eat this is to spread on a Pamela’s Gluten Free Graham Cracker and mix into oatmeal. trailbutter.com | $12 – $20

Chamois Butt’r for Her’ Anti-chafe Cream

This butter you don’t eat, but any cyclist would welcome this stuffed in her Christmas stocking. Like the Original version, the Chamois Butt’r for Her’ is non-greasy, prevents chafing on long rides and rinses easily in the shower or bath. It’s the ingredients that make it a little more inviting than the original flavor. Her’, I have found, doesn’t go on nearly as thick. Its ingredients include aloe vera, green tea leaf extract, tea tree oil, shea butter and lavender oil. chamoisbuttr.com | $18

Hangtime KOALA

Another perfectly-sized gift for the Christmas stocking. The Hangtime Koala is an ingenious clip and silicone harness system to quell the fears of losing your $1,000 Smartphone on the trail, in a lake, or down into the pongy abyss of a pit toilet. The phone harness is made from industrial-grade silicone that stretches enough to fit any phone. It attaches to your body (or backpack straps, jacket pocket, etc) via a strong polycarbonate clip and urethane tether that stretches up for four feet. The more you tug on the tether the harder the clip’s teeth sink into whatever you have it anchored to. Simply attach the Koala to your phone, clip it to your pack’s harness strap or a jacket pocket and go. hangtimegear.com | $25

North St. Fuel Pouch

As gravel riding and self supported endurance races are gaining in popularity, so are the needs for bike packing necessities. North St. of Portland, OR is meeting the demand with its North St. Fuel Pouch. When jersey pockets don’t offer enough room, or an item that can’t be trusted to jersey pockets because it would be easily tossed out of a pocket or fall out during a crash (read: keys or a cell phone), the North St. Fuel Pouch provides a great option to store those valuables. Riding with the pouch on your top tube makes it convenient when you need something quickly like gels or your phone to snap a picture.  northstbags.com | from $39.99

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Skirt Sports Lotta Breeze Capri Skirt

Nicole DeBoom launched Skirt Sports the day after she won the 2004 Wisconsin Ironman Triathlon—wearing a prototype skirt she made at home. There are very few women founded, women led, women run brands that reach 15 years in business but Skirt Sports did just that in September 2019. For active women of literally all shapes and sizes, Skirt Sports offers a vast line of running shorts, skirts, tops, leggings, bras and, for the cyclist, a skirt with a chamois. But the skirt that really hits the sweet spot is the Lotta Breeze Capri skirt with its flattering style and fun prints. Skirtsports.com

Lightheart Gear Firefly Tent

Not only is Lightheart Gear woman-founded and women-led, but it was started as a sewing project by virtue of the Appalachian Trail. Founder and owner (and retired Air Force nurse, marathon runner, master sewer, AT and PCT hiker) Judy Gross was hiking the AT with a 4.5-pound one-person tent that was heavy and took up the bulk of her pack space. She believed that the current offering of lightweight tents on the market could be better so she approached her first tent design, a one-person shelter, with a problem-solving perspective.

She wanted lightweight. She had to be able to sit upright. She didn’t want to trip over guy-lines in the middle of night. And it couldn’t take up the bulk of the space in her pack. She designed and sewed the first prototype in her basement. Today, in addition to lightweight tents like the Lightheart Gear Firefly, the Lightheart Gear product line includes hiking skirts, rain gear all designed and produced in North Carolina. Lightheartgear.com

AdventurHER Travel Adventure Trip Package

Most outdoorswomen today were introduced to the outdoors and mentored by family or friends who were outdoorsy. But what happens when you don’t have that conduit? Founder, owner and guide extraordinaire of AdventurHER Travel Alli Neal set out to be that conduit. That mentor. The bridge, to nudge or (gently) kick in the rear to get women outdoors “capably, confidently, and comfortably.” To say AdventurHER is woman-led is to be literal about it. Alli leads women outdoors from all skill levels to camp, climb, surf, hike, bike, ski, SUP, you name it, all while ensuring supportive environment to build skills, confidence and, really, just have fun–whether it’s a weekend ice climbing clinic in Winona, MN or climbing and canyoneering in Moab, UT, inn to inn cycling in Ireland or something completely customized for you.  Adventurhertravel.com

Shredly Tina MTB Short

This woman-founded, woman-led company was started by Colorado mountain biker  (via a Kickstarter campaign) Ashley Rankin when she saw an opportunity to create a specialized niche of mountain bike shorts for women. And create she did! In a kaleidoscope of wild patterns with total trail functionality. There is no mistaking a Shredly short, especially the pro-unicorn Shredly Tina. In mountain biking apparel, Shredly is as distinct . Today, she is still the designer and product tester and makes it all in Colorado. Shredly.com

MuttRuk Hit the Trail Bundle Pack

Colorado native and outdoor/dog enthusiast Gretchen Dill founded MuttRuk because she wanted to create a backpack solution for hiking with dogs. After 12 years at a desk job as a Graphic Designer, spending lots of free time outdoors, and seeing a slew of local trails shut down to use by dogs, she felt it was about time to take action in both her career and impact on outdoor spaces.

Inspired by innovative gear, and using her background in design, she took the leap into the world of product design. MuttRuk represents an attitude of adventure as well as respect for our outdoor spaces. A brand that advocates for trail clean up by providing helpful solutions, and an advocate for rescue and training to help both owner and dog grow in confidence and bond together.

After a successful Kickstarter campaign in June of this year, MuttRuk is now into production and the MuttRuck Hit the Trail Bundle Pack—which includes 14-liter pack and a rollout water dish for your dog! Muttruck.com

Astrid Wild Minna Wool Fleece Jacket

Founder and owner of Maria Paulsson Ronnback designs outdoor clothing for women by women. Inspired by her Nordic roots, Astrid Wild Outdoor Fashion is 100 percent focused on design and the woman’s body, and versatile clothing made for wild adventures, recreation and the city outdoor life.

Astrid Wild aims to inspire women to live a happier and healthier life, by spending more time in nature and connecting with like-minded women. The Minna Wool Fleece jacket is just one of their flattering and functional pieces that are sourced and produced in Europe. Astridwild.com

Freshly Minted Socks

Co-founded and owned by Suzette Ayotte, a Maine native and transplanted to San Francisco. But that has nothing to do with socks. Suzette is an avid cyclist with a designer’s eye. Freshly Minted socks have mid-century modern designs and colors and they’re made (in Italy) for the cycling life.

All socks are $20 and a portion is donated to the National Interscholastic Cycling Association, also known as NICA. Jump here to our SpinCycle News to read more about NICA to get more kids on bikes. Thefreshlyminted.com

Blyss Running Distance Shorts

Blyss Running hails from the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Founder and owner Alyson Neel began running in her early forties by virtue of a Couch to 5k program. Running taught her that the athletic wear industry had no clue about what a woman needs and wants from her running apparel.

In 2015 Alyson used her background in fashion merchandising to design a pair of shorts. Then she made a running skirt. Today she designs and makes running wear for women like the Blyss Distance Short with deep pockets, longer lengths and higher waistbands—all while running marathons and designing and proudly making all her products in the US. Blyssrunning.com

Krimson Klover Astrid Full-zip Sweater

The heart and soul of Krimson Klover is adventure, which is what drove founder and creative director Rhonda Swenson to become a flight attendant. An unlikely beginning, yes, but connections she made while traveling soon morphed into designing sweaters and selling them through a small boutique sweater company—which she eventually purchased and became Krimson Klover. Today, Krimson Klover remains a woman-founded woman-led company whose lineup includes slow-fashion style, like the Scandinavian-inspired Astrid Full-zip sweater for the adventurous woman.

The post Holiday Gift Guide from 9 Women-founded and Women-led Companies appeared first on gritandgearonline.com.

MINT Cycling Socks for $10

MINT Socks are going game on for Black Friday. These hip, made-in-Italy cycling socks regularly retail for $20 but on Black Friday only, you can order any sock model for $10. MINT will also roll Black Friday through Cyber Monday with incentives offered each day. On Saturday, all MINT Socks roll to 30 percent off through Cyber Monday, plus day-to-day bonus models at 50 percent off. Simply said: all MINTS will be $14 with one special model slated for $10 on Saturday, Sunday, and again on Monday. thefreshlyminted.com/

Patagonia Action Works Donation Match

If spending money on tangible items sicken you, Patagonia has a Black Friday deal you’ll appreciate. It is matching all donations made through Patagonia Action Works starting November 29 (Black Friday) through December 31, 2019. Donors can choose to send a digital eCard, print a card from home, or pick up a physical card in any Patagonia store in the US or Europe. No purchase of Patagonia product is required for donations to be eligible for matching. The perfect gift for the climate change deniers in your life! patagonia.com

Save $300-400 on Roofnest

Starting on Black Friday and running through Cyber Monday, Roofnest is offering $300 off all tent styles, and $400 offthe Sandpiper and Eagle. No coupon necessary. They’re also taking $50 off their signature Roofnest down blankets. As always, they’re offering free shipping to the lower 48 states. roofnest.com

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