Grays On Trays

In the ski world, Jeannie Thoren conducts clinics for women, as a representative of Dynastar. (I met Thoren a few years ago, and wrote a few words about my visit.)

Would women benefit from gender-specific snowboards and bindings? Thoren (who has tried riding a time or two) said yes. I don’t know enough about the design or physics of either bindings or boards to have an informed opinion.

But one thing I do believe is that you’ve got to have something that’s not just simply “pinked up.”

Last winter I received a press kit from ski-doo USA, one of the leading manufacturers of snowmobiles. A description of one of the company’s helmets had this groaner: “Women riders will also be drawn to the pink version of the new” helmet.

Really? I know plenty of women who like pink, but many who don’t. It will take more than “pinking up” to reach women.

But to get back to snowboarding, here’s a question for the ladies: Have you tried women’s snowboards or bindings? Do you see any value in them? If so, how does the gender-specific nature of the gear help you?

Do you like to hunt? Do you find it barbaric? Are you ambivalent? No matter how you feel about hunting, there are some interesting parallels between hunting and snowboarding, and how industry leaders are trying to reach women customers.

Here are some parallels between hunting and snowboarding that come to mind:

• They’re both outdoor activities.
• In their best settings, both offer the enjoyment of the natural surroundings as a fundamental part of the experience.
• The physical differences between men and women (weight distribution, center of gravity, upper body strength, etc.) have an impact on how each sex participates.
• Both are dominated, in participation rates and ethos, by men.

Today’s Wall Street Journal takes a look at what you might call the hunting industry and its attempts to reach beyond the male base. The article is entitled “The Solution to Hunting’s Woes? Setting Sights on Women.”

Horrible pun aside, the article has some things that any snow sports enthusiast–and any industry insider–ought to consider. The missteps of the hunting industry can serve as valuable to those of us in snow sports.

First of all, there’s money to be made. As for hunting:

“A 2003 survey of Texans who had attended a state hunting-and-outdoors training program for women found that 82% lived in cities, 79% had graduated from college and 39% had household incomes above $80,000 a year. They spent a mean of $3,250 a year on outdoor recreational pursuits, said the state wildlife agency, which conducted the survey.”

I don’t have the numbers on snowboard or ski participation handy–perhaps I’ll dig out my industry surveys sometime and update this post–but if you’ve tried either you know they’re not cheap activities. I believe that skiers as a whole have a higher household income than snowboarders, but then again, the snowboard demographic has a definite youth to it, which brings down the average income level.

But adult riders? They’ve got money to spend. Through my time running a bulletin board for adult riders and meeting people on the hill, I know that a good chunk of that market has a professional and upscale profile: doctors, chiropractors, lawyers, engineers, school principals, accountants, CEOs and company owners and so forth.

How have companies tried to pursue new, non-traditional customers? Sometimes not at all: I can’t think of a single snowboarding company that as much as acknowledges the older rider as an attractive, distinct market. Maybe they think it would be the kiss of death to their products.

But both snowboarding and hunting companies have made efforts to reach women. Early on, their efforts are simplistic and ineffective:

“About five years ago, the outdoor-equipment industry began slapping pink paint on weapons, including handguns, and downsizing camouflage. “Initially their attitude was, ‘Pink it and shrink it’ and women will buy,” says Beth Ann Amico, an Oklahoma hunter and dog trainer who notes that pink defeats the purpose of camouflage. “We’re savvier than that.”

If you’ve been around the snow sports industry, you know that snowboard and ski companies have tried the same lame techniques, playing up pastel images and flowers, and slapping the name “women’s boots” on gear that is suited to a man’s body.

But both the hunting and the snow sports industry are evolving.

First, they take the physical differences between the sexes in mind: “Now, arms makers are offering shorter gun stocks and barrels for women and crossbows requiring less upper-body strength.” And on the mountain, some snowboards, skis, and boots take into account the fact that women are not small men.

Hunting companies are now trotting out new clothing, too:

“Apparel makers such as SHE Safari and Foxy Huntress LLC are marketing camouflage expressly to women. “The Foxy Huntress knows she’s dressed to kill in more ways than one,” says that three-year-old company’s Web site, touting “well-designed pieces cut with a female’s unique form and needs in mind.”

I’m fairly clueless about fashion–perhaps living out the life of a stereotypical male–but I have seen some clothing companies offer technical gear for the mountain that is meant to appeal to female tastes. (Hint: It’s not just pink.)

Hunting enthusiasts are creating women-friendly forums to talk about the sport:

Web sites such as WomenHunters.com offer support and advice. On that site’s bulletin board, contributors with names like Susie Sure Shot, bowfishinlady and sheslayer exchange tips.

“I found this site looking for information on whether or not you can shoot a compound bow while pregnant,” wrote a contributor named Jill.

In the snowsports world, we have:

• Shayboarder, an informative blog written by a young woman. Though it’s not a girls-only zone, Shannon, the site’s author, serves as a role model to women. She also provides insight into women’s gear from time to time.
• Snowboard-women , based out of Southern California, has a distinctly female tone to it.
• For skiers, Windy Cinch operates The Ski Diva, which has a no-boys-allowed forum.
• The award for “most clever name” just might go to PowderRoom.net, a U.K.-based site that has a global reach.
• And of course when it comes to niche markets dealing with snow sports, my favorite site is the one geared towards adult riders, GraysOnTrays, with its blog and discussion board.

One woman hunter discusses a difference between men and women hunters: “When women hunt together, individual success is often cheered as a group accomplishment. … In all-male parties, by contrast, she says one fellow’s kill generally “gets everyone else pouting.” I don’t know what the analog would be for snowboarding.

Unfortunately, some men hunters still find it hard to appreciate the skills of a woman hunter. The WSJ article provides several examples of misconceptions and foolish pride on the part of some men.

Even though I am indifferent to hunting, I am encouraged by this article. Eventually, people in search of a dollar (or someone to enjoy a sport with) will realize the need to reach out beyond what’s comfortable, and reach new markets, whether it’s racial and ethnic minorities (a key for the snow sports industry), women, or in the case of snowboarders, those of us old enough to pay for the lift tickets of the industry’s mainstay.

I’m always eager to highlight niche outlets that spread the joy of snowboarding. Since the teenage male gets most of the media attention, there’s a lot of room for adults.

Another segment of the population that doesn’t get much attention in the world of snowboarding is women, generally. So here’s to PowderRoom.Net, a U.K.-based site that bills itself as being “for girls who know snow.”

It’s got news, a blog, a discussion forum, and other features.

Do companies that neglect market niches leave money on the table? It all depends on the niche, the market, and the company. But I suspect that when it comes to snowboarding, the answer is yes: Snowboarding-related companies aren’t doing enough to talk to the adult market.

I see an analogy with the market for women golfers.

The Golf Blogger reports that the magazine Golf for Women is ceasing publication. He blames it on a lack of advertisers, and in turn, companies missing an opportunity to tap 40 million women baby boomers who could be golfers.

The golf company that takes these women as seriously as they take the men can really position itself. And that doesn’t mean taking a man’s club, making it a little lighter and coloring it powder blue or pink. It means starting from scratch, and putting the same effort into research and development as they do with the men. Then they need to market that equipment—clubs, balls, bags, pull carts, and so on—with the same aggressive stance that they do with the men.

To their credit, some snowsports companies are coming out with gear designed for women, gear that takes into account the fact that women are not small men, but have (for example) calf muscles that are differently shaped than those found on a man.

What alterations would be useful for adult riders? Flows, K2 Cinch bindings, and other bindings help, by reducing or eliminating the need to bend over or stand up, heelside, after having sat down to adjust bindings. Other than that, I’m not sure what other adjustments to gear are necessary. But there are plenty of adjustments that can be made to marketing materials. In brief, offer some grown-up graphics and text.

The skier-snowboarder feud? It’s in large measure old hat, kept alive by the media template that “confrontation makes news.”

While it’s true that snowboarding and skiing have some fundamental differences, they have some similarities as well, which means that a snowboarder can gain insight from a skier and vice-versa.

The Ski Diva is a blog published by Wendy Clinch. As the name suggests, the Ski Diva is written by a woman skier, for women skiers. (There’s also a discussion forum associated with it, but it’s a “no boys allowed” club.) Yet the Ski Diva blog also has some things to say that men snowboarders, and indeed all snowboarders can profit from. Here are some of my favorite entries:

Skiing steep, which points to two resources that give you a better understanding of your favorite mountain;

O Say Can You See, or what to do when you can’t see well on the slopes;

Have you ever shared a pass?, about theft of service and child care, and a few resorts’ family-friendly ticketing practices;

Ski diva goes legit, about Wendy’s entry to an association of snowsports journalists (you go, girl!);

Getting back into skiing … after the kids arrive;

The Zen of Skiing, or reflections on skiing (or snowboarding) as a metaphor for life;

Skinny on Reviews, or how to read reviews about skis (or snowboards);

Core of your being, about core strength training, an overlooked part of snow sliding;

A conversation about fear, and its place on the mountain; and

Things I don’t get about skiing, a list of habits that imperil human health and well-being.

The Wall Street Journal picks up on the theme of a post from late last season, on the value of sex-specific sporting goods.

In “A Tennis Racket of Their Own,” Carmen Fleetwood says that “Sporting-goods makers target women with gear designed specifically for female physiques.”

Tennis rackets, for example, may now accommodate for the fact that on average, a woman will have less upper-body strength (not good) but more flexible joints (presumably good). The difference? The weight is distributed more equally throughout the racket, leaving less (proportionately) at the head. By taking some of the weight off the point furthest away from the player’s hand, the racket becomes easier to use by someone with less strength. Or at least that’s the theory.

Why do these design differences matter?

Comfort. Performance. Less risk of injury. Heavier rackets for women may increase the number of injuries to the shoulder’s rotator cuff.

The WSJ says that there may be a bright future for products of these sorts, especially with an aging cohort of baby boomers.

Sounds like a winner to me. As a society and economy we are advancing in our knowledge of medicine and engineering. Why not take advantage of that knowledge? I’ve been a big fan of Flow bindings, for example, since they seem to require less stretching and bending than many strap bindings–good things for an older body.

Does gender-specific equipment help?

The other day I talked with Jeannie Thoren, a leading expert on the topic of women-specific ski equipment. Thoren, a former ski racer, is a passionate advocate of women-specific skis and boots. SkiPress World calls her the pioneer of women’s-specific ski gear. She spends much of the year traveling the country for Dynastar, giving clinics on how anatomy should drive ski design.

You can read her ideas at her web site, or do a Google search to find second-person accounts of her work. The essential point of her message is that women, having a lower (and further back in the body) center of gravity than men, are ill-served by most ski equipment, which is designed with men’s bodies in mind. It’s not that a woman can’t become good or even great skier on men’s skis–but she will be working with a handicap if she uses ski equipment that is designed for the physics of a man’s body.

I asked Thoren if the same problem exists with snowboards. Her answer: yes. (She does know how to snowboard, but works with, and rides, skis.) She said that there is still a need for women-specific equipment in snowboarding. I’d like to see that idea developed some more. Some boards are being sold as women’s board, but if I remember our conversation correctly, Thoren thinks that there’s still much work to be done in getting some truly women-friendly boards out there.

As someone who learned how to ski only after the shaped-ski revolution (borrowing from snowboards) took place, I would have to agree that having the proper equipment can make a significant difference.