I was very excited to recently learn that I am not the only one bothered by the ‘Shrink It and Pink It’ paradigm. For those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, it’s the you-know-how-sports-gear-is-always-made-normal-for-men-and-then-they-make-it-smaller-and-turn-it-pink-and-now-its-for-women problem. I first noticed this when I was about 13 and I got really into the San Jose Sharks hockey team, but all of the “women’s” paraphernalia didn’t fit me (I’m very tall) and was all pink and white! That’s not the Shark’s team colors; they’re black and teal, come on!
But shrinking it and pinking it is not only limited to sports paraphernalia, it applies to the gear too. I’ve been an avid skier my whole life, and I’ve always run into this problem when buying my ski gear. I never wanted any of it to be pink, and there is a very limited amount of the stuff that is big enough for me. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate pink. It’s not my favorite, but I do like it. But just because I’m a girl doesn’t mean I want my skis, poles, and helmet all to be pink and shrunken.
Luckily for those of us who are bothered by this, there is an answer. Enter Coalition Snow, a company based in Lake Tahoe that designs skis and snowboards made for women, by women. Their team has first-hand experience with why current women’s ski and snowboard gear, well, sucks. So they’ve taken on the challenge to create gear that plays to the strengths and assets of the female body. They’re creating women’s gear from the ground up, rather than from men down. Not to mention, the designs on their gear are super cool and not just pink!
Image source: Pixabay
“Ski industry folklore would have you believe that women need something soft and short. We disagree with that myth.” -The Coalition Snow Team
Coalition Snow’s products have been featured in popular reviews all over the place, including Skiing Magazine 2016/17 Gear Guide and 2016/17 Blister Winter Buyer’s Guide (for the Abyss Powder Ski), Outside Magazine (for the SOS All Mountain Skis), and BestProducts.com (for the Myth All Mountain Snowboard).
But that’s not all. They’ve also got some great apparel and accessories including hats, pins, and leggings with the same really cool designs from their gear. Their website also has a running blog with news updates and fun articles from the Coalition Snow team, as well as tons of advice and informational videos to help you choose the best gear for you. So whether you’re a veteran of the slopes or just seeing snow for the first time, you will not be disappointed with what the women at Coalition Snow have to offer.
Check out the Coalition Snow website here!
The views and opinions in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect those of Her Campus UCD.
Thumbnail source: Pixabay