Brittany Griffith, a 49-year-old professional athlete, has been climbing in Patagonia clothing for more than 20 years. As a veteran ambassador for the company, she works closely with Patagonia鈥檚 design team on the fit, style, and function of its climbing apparel. 鈥淒o I draw the lines? No,鈥� Griffith says. 鈥淏ut I give them direct feedback every year and test every fit and fabric heavily.鈥�

When it comes to climbing wear鈥攅specially pants鈥擥riffith focuses on two main features: pockets and fit. The latter, she says, is the hardest thing to get right. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why so many women wear yoga tights, because they fit everyone,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e have all just given up on regular pants.鈥�

For shirts and tanks, she likes them simple, easy to layer, and good at hiding dirt.

I asked Griffith for her favorite goods from Patagonia鈥檚 summer 2018 spread. I climbed in these items for a few months and called her back to compare notes.

Women鈥檚 RPS Rock Pants ($89)

Griffith: I like because they have good features. I love how loosely they fit and the zippered thigh pocket. I wear them in warmer weather because they鈥檙e lightweight. If I take them somewhere colder, long underwear fits underneath without bunching. Whenever I鈥檓 hiking, I鈥檒l cinch the ankles tight and push the pants above my knees. I can also cinch the ankles to keep out the air if there鈥檚 updraft on a wall or open them up if it鈥檚 hot. I鈥檝e even tied my shoes to the cinch cords at belays on a multipitch climb to prevent them from dropping to the ground.

Me: The versatility, weight, and fit all worked well for me. Even before testing products for this article, I鈥檇 climbed in RPS pants for years. I can do anything in them from bouldering to summer mountaineering missions in Boston Basin to long traverses in the Tetons. I bring them on every climbing trip. My only gripe: I have to tug up the low-rise waist from time to time.

Hampi Rock Pants ($79)

Griffith: I don鈥檛 like wearing shorts when I鈥檓 climbing, but most pants are too hot in summer. These aren鈥檛, because they鈥檙e made from a combination of three superstar fabrics: hemp (durable and lightweight), polyester (for staying cool and dry), and spandex (for stretch). I climb in them when I鈥檓 in Africa, where it鈥檚 hot as fuck and you can鈥檛 have bare skin because you still need protection from the elements. The Hampi pants are lightweight and simple. I like how I don鈥檛 have to tie, clip, or adjust anything when I pull them on.

Me: Hemp is highly durable, yet these pants don鈥檛 feel like crunchy workwear. They feel more like linen. Polyester is quick-drying and breathable. That combination鈥攁long with spandex鈥攊s what makes these pants so great to climb in.

Fleur Tank Top ($49)

Griffith: I鈥檓 a fan of this tank because it doesn鈥檛 have a fixed bra. Most fixed bras fit me too tightly, and as a smaller-chested woman, all I really need is a light sports bra underneath a shirt for coverage. is simple but not boring. It doesn鈥檛 have a bunch of strappy straps, and I like the bright yellow color鈥攕urprisingly, it seems to go with everything. It鈥檚 the black of bright colors.

Me: Griffith is right. This tank top is simple and classic. It鈥檚 also really, really soft. The extra length and thinner material are perfect for fitting it comfortably underneath a harness. But my favorite Patagonia tank top of all time is actually designed for running: the . I wear it climbing a lot or casually with shorts or jeans. It鈥檚 seamless, moisture-wicking, and superstretchy. I love its good high neckline.

Western Snap Shirt ($79)

Griffith: I wore for the duration of my last trip. It resists wrinkling, hides dirt well, and looks nice. When traveling, I need to be able to clean my clothes with a baby wipe, and I can definitely do that with this. Plus, if you鈥檙e using a shirt to layer, buttons are deal breakers because they take so long to fiddle with. This working shirt comes with snaps.

Me: This layer is comfy and flattering. It has a longer hem and a straight fit, so it doesn鈥檛 flare out at the bottom like a lot of plaid or collared shirts. The hemp blend feels good on my skin. I have the Bear Brown color and don鈥檛 worry about getting it dirty. The first time I took it to the crag, it rode up above my harness as I climbed and was really annoying. Brittany told me to tie it in the front, Daisy Duke style, and that solved the problem.

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Just south of Missoula, Montana, a little house stands against a backdrop of the Bitterroot Mountains. Through the front door, past a 35-degree, 12-by-16-foot climbing wall is a small, well-lit studio where Jessi Lewis makes jewelry.

The studio is chaotic, but that鈥檚 how she likes it. Hundreds of colorful stones, like turquoise, Montana agate, and labradorite, are scattered on one bench, and strips of old metal lie on another. It鈥檚 all spread out so Lewis can see what she has to work with, how it鈥檚 all going to fit together and be transformed into danglers, cuffs, and rings. Her favorite stone is desert jasper, she says, because it looks like tiny paintings of red dirt and blue sky. Most of the time, Lewis sets the stones in reclaimed silver, often etched or hand-pierced with a ridgeline, lupine, or even a pronghorn鈥攖hings that remind her of Montana and the West.

The 36-year-old self-taught metalsmith first started hammering away 15 years ago, but in recent years, Lewis has gained a strong following (36,000 on and 3,600 on ). Her business, , is a one-woman show, so she can restock her online shop just once or twice a month. Most of the time, everything鈥檚 gone in five minutes.

A quick Google search for 鈥渕ountain-inspired jewelry鈥� will turn up more than ten pages of artists who use the natural world as inspiration for their wares. So what鈥檚 so unique about Lewis鈥� work? Well, if you鈥檙e looking for perfect, this isn鈥檛 it. Her stuff has nicks and scratches; it鈥檚 rugged, raw, and flawed. But the way she sees it, that鈥檚 how the mountains should be.

Lewis grew up in Missoula. Her family didn鈥檛 have a lot of money, but Lewis says despite that she was a happy kid and spent a lot of time outside. Her mother, Paula, was a painter, social worker, and teacher. The quiet kind of mom, Paula is introspective and sweet. Her father, Bernie, is the opposite. A blacksmith and welder, he is loud and full of fire. He was gone a lot, traveling for his job, while Lewis was growing up. 鈥淢y dad is a rambler. A real wild man and free spirit,鈥� Lewis says. 鈥淓ven to this day, he鈥檒l be in Alaska, then Montana, just all around.鈥�

When Bernie was home, he was in his shop. He fixed things like boats and fences and did high-end finishing work for yachts or private planes. And he moonlighted as a gunsmith, using old-school blacksmithing tools and human-driven methods of forging metal to fashion revolvers that were works of art. Lewis would often find herself in the shop, fascinated with the big machinery, the laser cutters and steam presses. So Bernie would hand her a respirator and a broom, and she鈥檇 sweep and watch him work.

When Lewis got older, she did a bit of her own rambling. She started college at the University of Montana. She took breaks and traveled in Asia. She completed a yoga teacher training in Nepal and lived in New Orleans for a while. Eventually, in 2003, Lewis found herself back in Missoula. When she was 21, she began dating her husband, Kyle Neeley, a nurse and a man who loved the mountains as much as she did (and could climb 5.14鈥�hence the climbing wall near the front door).

That was the same year Lewis started tinkering with metal. She picked up tools at pawn shops and read how-to books. 鈥淲e had this little apartment, and I鈥檇 do it in my kitchen at first, which was disgusting,鈥� Lewis says. 鈥淭here would be metal in our cereal.鈥� But it was not uncommon that she鈥檇 be walking down the street and women would come up to her and ask about the jewelry she was wearing. She鈥檇 sell the bracelet right off her own wrist.

鈥淪he is so passionate about what she does, and it comes through in her work,鈥� Neeley says. 鈥淪he has an infinite amount of ideas. That鈥檚 how you know you are in the right field of work鈥攚hen you don鈥檛 have to look for inspiration, it鈥檚 just there.鈥�

It took ten years of metalsmithing before Lewis was able to commit to jewelry full-time. She had secure jobs working as a yoga teacher and social worker for the state of Montana. 鈥淏ecause I grew up the way I did, there was always a part of me that was worried about money, so it was hard to let go of that security. And I was knocked up at the time,鈥� she says.

Lewis remembers being really sick when she was first pregnant with her child, Indie, in July 2016. She was exhausted,聽working nights, and trying to run a small business on the side.聽鈥淚 was violently ill, but I鈥檇 get up every morning with the dogs and slowly go up this little mountain behind our house. One morning, I puked on the side of the trail and sat down. I was sitting there feeling pulled in all these different directions. I was like, I need to spend my energy in ways that matter to me right now. That was the real beginning of Ruby and Revolver. I was 33.鈥�

Finding old pure silver isn鈥檛 easy, and figuring out how to turn an old shoe buckle into a necklace is even harder. But Lewis does it anyway because it feels like a contradiction to craft a mountain range out of materials that were possibly taken from earth in a less than ethical way.

Lewis reshapes and reworks old buckles, chains, cuffs, and broken jewelry into her own creations. 鈥淭he metal I get, I don鈥檛 have endless options,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know its history before I get it. I can鈥檛 just do anything. I can鈥檛 make any size or any texture. I have to work with constraints. It鈥檚 not a clean slate.鈥�

But as it turns out, her customers like her work鈥檚 imperfections. Currently, Lewis has 4,000 emails in her inbox. People who want her to create commemorative pieces for lost family members, friends, or dogs. Mothers write to say they鈥檙e nervous to take their kid outside and want Lewis鈥� advice. Young women who are trying to learn metalsmithing reach out to her.

鈥淚 struggle with this a lot, and it鈥檚 been coming to a head lately since having Indie because of my limited time,鈥� she says. 鈥淗ow much time can you really spend online? I don鈥檛 want to look back on her childhood and be like, 鈥榃ell, I got through all my emails.鈥� I don鈥檛 really have answers, but lately I鈥檝e had to pull back from it. The world is not going to end. I hope people are gentle with me. I need to be honest with my limitations.鈥�

When she鈥檚 not with Indie or her jewelry, Lewis is in the wild. The Bitterroots, the Sawtooths, and the Frank Church Wilderness inspire her work. So do hikes to the middle of nowhere, trips to the desert to climb, and the woods behind her house. 鈥淭he ruggedness and structure of mountains just draws your eye in,鈥� she says. 鈥淎nd the mountains are where I鈥檓 happiest; it鈥檚 where I draw the most inspiration. There is a lot of beauty in the natural world. My best self is in the outdoors.鈥�

That鈥檚 why Lewis wants to take Ruby and Revolver on the road. She bought a Stealth trailer that she鈥檚 remodeled into a studio. She and Neeley also have a slide-in camper that will go in the back of the truck. 鈥淗ow cool would it be to be in a place where you are really inspired and create right there? And I think out and about is where I am the happiest and where is my husband happiest. I think that rubs off on your kiddo. I want her to be able to hold on to the ability she has now to see the wonder in the world.鈥�

They plan to hit the road in the near future. But for now, Lewis will be in her studio, with the back door wide open, listening to the sound of the creek as she crafts new stories with silver and gold.

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