I鈥檒l confess: watching adventure porn聽is my guilty pleasure. I love to see people doing rad stuff in beautiful places, but those photos and videos overwhelmingly feature male heroes. That鈥檚 why the new video series 聽from Scott, the outdoor clothing and hard-goods brand, feels so refreshing.
Other brands and filmmakers have occasionally featured kickass female athletes, but these productions are less common than you鈥檇 think. Red Bull has profiled its surfer Paige Alms and triathletes Natascha Badmann and Daniela Ryf, but they鈥檙e a small minority in a vast male-dominated video catalog. The North Face has highlighted athletes like climbers Margo Hayes and Emily Harrison, and Black Diamond launched a video campaign focused on聽climber聽Babsi Zangerl. Scott鈥檚 four-part series makes another meaningful contribution.
The She鈥檚 Out There videos look聽like the guy-centric stuff I typically devour, but with female protagonists. The first installment follows mountain bikers Karen Eller, Lorraine Blancher, and Monet Adams as they ride in Spain; the second shadows members of the Mitchelton-Scott pro women鈥檚 road-cycling team; the third profiles trail runner Ruth Croft, who won the UTMB鈥檚 聽this year. The fourth video, which will be released on October 26, highlights ski tourers Sabine Schipflinger and Laura 脺berbacher.
All are aspirational, in the best way.
Take episode 1. Its aerial videography showcases the rocky, mountain-ringed singletrack of Spain鈥檚 Sierra Nevada, which is definitely on my go-list now. The women positively hammer it, pulling manuals through puddles and hucking off ledges. Yeah, I like to imagine myself on those bikes, in that place.
That鈥檚 precisely Scott鈥檚 point: the company makes great women鈥檚 gear, for real, undiluted adventures. Spanning running, cycling, winter, and moto sports, Scott鈥檚 apparel collection is growing, and it now includes more than 400 women鈥檚 pieces. The company is also expanding its women鈥檚 footwear and hard goods.
That鈥檚 a big commitment to women鈥檚 products, and what I鈥檝e tested so far has passed muster. I鈥檝e been liking the ($70) for mountain biking, which are much more comfortable than most pads I鈥檝e worn. Scott聽uses a material that hardens on impact, so the pads are flexible enough to let me pedal and sufficiently protective when I crash. I wouldn鈥檛 say they鈥檙e cooler or more ventilated than other enduro-style guards, but they stay put without pinching, and that鈥檚 a huge plus.
I鈥檓 glad to see Scott flying the women鈥檚 radness flag聽because I want to see examples of women notching gnarly聽descents and stamina-stretching runs.
I鈥檝e also liked . The high-backed waistband keeps the shorts from sagging when I鈥檓 bent forward or moving around on the saddle, and it鈥檚 adjustable (with Velcro tabs) to eliminate gaps. That adjustability also lets me decide where I want the shorts to sit, from high waist to low hip聽or somewhere in between. The fit is fairly body-hugging聽but stretchy. At $100, this is a killer deal, since you get an overshort and a high-performance chamois that kept me comfortable on three-hour rides.
My ultrarunner friend tested the women鈥檚 聽shoe聽($155) and loved its sticky traction. The outsole鈥檚 particular rubber compound excels on wet terrain, and the lug pattern wraps around rough surfaces for a solid grip. She also liked the shoe鈥檚 thin tongue, which stayed in place over long runs,聽and its moderate cushioning. Hardly a mattress-thick platform, the sole聽delivers enough shielding to keep feet from feeling pummeled on runs extending beyond 35 miles. The Supertrac fits narrow feet best, and its arch support is minimal, so runners who pronate or who have high arches will want an aftermarket insole.
There鈥檚 nothing dumbed-down about this gear, or the pursuits that Scott captures in each episode of She鈥檚 Out There. Admittedly, those big-league images won鈥檛 appeal to everyone. 鈥淲e鈥檝e learned that women don鈥檛 respond to aspirational imagery like men do,鈥 says pro angler Hilary Hutcheson, who collaborated on Orvis鈥檚 campaign to boost women鈥檚 participation in fishing. The same image that inspires many male viewers can end up intimidating female audiences, who tell themselves, I could never do that.聽So Orvis, like other gear manufacturers, has been broadening its image library to include women not just landing trophies聽but also high-fiving and communing with nature. So has REI with its Force of Nature campaign, showing women hanging out outdoors聽not necessarily doing challenging things.
I like those chummy messages, but I鈥檓 glad to see Scott flying the women鈥檚 radness flag聽because I want to see examples of women notching gnarly聽descents and stamina-stretching runs. Plus, these athletes were beginners once. 鈥淵ou can start off and just set yourself small goals,鈥 says ultrarunner聽Ruth Croft in her video. 鈥淎nd once you achieve them, you start thinking of the bigger picture and you can reach towards bigger goals, and along the way, you learn a lot about yourself that you probably would never have known or discovered had you not started running.鈥
The video pairs this commentary with shots of Croft goat-footing it along a breathtaking mountain ridge that floats above a cloud-covered valley. Later聽you see her straining to haul her muddy, muscled legs up the umpteenth mile of a rocky climb. (UTMB鈥檚聽OCC gains 11,500 feet over 33 miles.)聽She has my respect.
Respect for that woman on the screen has a nifty way of bridging into respect for the woman watching. So if you鈥檒l excuse me, I鈥檓 going to pull on my knee pads and go for a ride.