Looking for Answers about Women's Clothing?

I'm a woman with flipper-shaped feet: very wide at the front with long toes and a narrow heel. I find Salomon hiking boots tend to have a wide toe-box and a reasonable heel. I have room for custom orhtodics in their boots also, but tend to use green SuperFeet inserts (also available at MEC, I believe). I have not had similar luck with their shoes or trail runners, just the backpacking boots. I wear a woman's Quest, and their snow boot that is comparable to it. They are lighter than the original Kootenays (the ones made in Romania by Raichle).

Keens are the best for wide fit. I have a couple of pairs from light to heavier and I LOVE them!

I have also found the Keen boots to be very comfortable on my wide feet and have worn them from the volcanos of Hawaii to the mountains of NW BC. Love them!

Hi there,
I love MEC equipment and clothing, but I have wider fitting feet at the front, narrow heels and wear orthotics! I searched for a long time for a good pair of boots, wearing men's boots is a mistake. I finally got some boots, but they are only available in Vancouver. They are German and hand made, and worth every cent. I have had them since 1994 and they are still perfect, even though my feet have widened. I had them stretched once. I am very didapopinted to find that they are still only available in Vancouver.

MEC carries a very limited selection of wide fit boots due to severely limited space in stores. Essentially the stores are bursting to the seams so that every time a new product or size is introduced another product must be discontinued to make space. Similarly MEC carries a limited stock of Petite, Tall, Narrow, XS and XXL size products due to the lack of space and limited demand for clothing or boots in those sizes. MEC carries 2 women's hiking boots in wide sizing; theZamberlan Trek Lite 2 GORE-TEX Backpacking Boots (product # 5001642) and Vasque Breeze GORE-TEX XCR Day Hiking Boots (Product # 5002859)

I agree re: Keen's, and they are carried at the MEC.

I have very wide feet for a woman and found two pairs of Keen's which would work. The ones I chose (Targhee) were amazing-- hiked all over Yoho and Jasper and had no problems.

Try Keen brand. They are great for wider feet, and fit like a glove!

Not an answer but exactly my POINT too: have 100 % the same exact problem and am backpacking with guys' shoes!! I like wide boots!

I live in Toronto. With that said, the wind here tends to seem a lot worse then the snow. Gloves are essential. I prefer gloves to minutes, and tend to use liners. On really cold days having wind proof gloves can be a huge plus, and has proved to be almost more important than the overall warmth of the glove for me.

Something that covers your ears is also pretty essential. I prefer headbands/ear muffs that cover my ears more than hats. I tend to get very hot when I run, and I like how they accomodate for a ponytail a lot easier. I'm a fan and have owned both the MEC Frigorific Headband and the Nike ACG Lightweight Running Headband and love both. The frigorific is cheap and on the warmer side, and the fleece part on the inside is super soft. The Nike headband works better for fall.

I'm a fan of layering with a good sportsbra or base shirt and then a warmer longsleeve merino shirt. A windbreaker is also a super useful piece of gear, though try and avoid anything that doesn't have pit or back ventilation.

I really like underarmer and the patagonia capaliene 3 (sorry for spelling) for shirts. Often times my Cap 3 shirt is warm enough that I really don't feel the need for a jacket.

For pants I prefer tights to anything baggy. Again the Cap 3 from Patagonia or the MEC Merino wool long johns are favorites of mine.

And Ski socks, try some of the smartwool ski socks, I find it's nice to either have them pulled up under my tights or over if you want some more color.

It depends where you live! Definitely a running jacket or some other lightweight jacket with good breathability and ventilation. I have found jackets with added underarm ventilation and back ventilation to be the most breathable. You produce a lot of heat when running, and if it condenses on the inside of your jacket, you will start to get cold. I ran for 10 years in a North Face trail running jacket- it was great! I rarely noticed condensation in the inside of my jacket. My sister has a MEC Breeze jacket and she really likes it. This year, I bought a new Sugoi Zap jacket. It looks great/very reflective, but I have found the breathability to be somewhat lacking- the difference? No back ventilation. So watch out for that.

Under my jacket, I will wear a long sleeve breathable shirt of medium weight when it is 0-5C. Under 0C, I will then switch to wearing a long sleeved thermal type shirt. Below about -10C (depending on how windy it is), I will then add another short sleeved, thin thermal shirt.

For pants, when it is slightly above 0C, a midweight tight. For 0 to -10C, a heavy weight tight. And when below -10C, another thin pair of tights undernearth or a pair of wind pants over top, when it is really cold.

And a well fitting, wind blocking hat+ gloves+ neck gaiter.

As a final note, you will probably feel a bit cold during the first 5-10 minutes running, if you are dressed properly. Once you start generating more heat, you will be toasty. If you feel warm from the beginning, you will probably be too hot. I love running from -5c to 0C. The perfect running temp- with the right clothing, you are neither too hot or too cold.
Hope that helps and have fun running!

The Dash pants with maybe nylon wind pants over them would be perfect for winter I think. I ran yesterday in 3 degrees with a 90km wind, and found these pants perfect, not too cold, not too warm. They feel awesome! Can't wait to get another pair!

I hiked the Fundy trail last year and you will want boots.

The trail is wet and slippery and the terrain can be very steep. With a back pack you'll want to have the foot protection and the ankle support. Plus it's rarely hot on the trail.

boots would be better especially in unknown weather conditions, plus the support a boot gives you especially if you are hiking with a pack.
You can find excellant lite weight water proof boots for a reasonable price.

I use scarpa boots and love them to death

RS

You will be hiking for several days on a steep, wet and sometimes slippery terrain, and most likely with a medium/heavy backback to carry all your gear.

This means that you will require
-a backpacking boot with strong ankle support,
-rugged soles that provide good traction on accidented or slippery terrain + shock absorption
-a gore-tex membrane or some kind of waterproof-breathable material to stay comfortable during the whole trip.
-Also, the lighter the better!
Gaitors might be worth it if you think it will be muddy or very rainy.

Check a few suggestions in the links.

Depends on what your actually mean by gardening ... Trees, bushes, landscaping? If you're talking about working in a vegetable garden, stay out unless absolutely necessary! Working around the plants in damp or rainy conditions tends to spread fungus diseases, like "bean rust".

If you want something that can stand up to mud and machines, but is still breathable and waterproof, try the oilskin duster coats. They're heavy but they're the best thing around for real work outside in a rainforest... we've got a large family with plenty of boys who actually work outside - we've tested raingear in pretty harsh conditions for a while and this is one of the things that actually lasts.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oilskin
Oilskins have to be re-oiled (reproofed) occasionally.

We've been getting coats and reproofing wax which are both available in Marks Workwear House in the Lower Mainland) http://www.australianoutback.com/home/

I ended up trying on every pair of ski socks at MEC, and found the Rohner Downhill Jet socks. They are perfect - don't stay up well without a ski/snowboard boot but are great when skiing. The smartwools were the next closest, but still too tight on my calves.

I too have this problem! Now I only buy the Smart Wool socks made in Canada. They come in different thicknesses too. They are very durable. A bit costly but definitely worth every cent!

I did the WCT in July-- besides the usual stuff, polar fleece toque and pair of gloves (for warmth and for cable cars). Something to "swim" in at Tsusiat Falls (I used a black running bra and quick dry shorts) Have fun!

Hello

The list is long. There are many lists available online to help you compile what you think you will need. Just google "west coast trail clothing".

Now, for what we sell, let me try and offer some suggestions.

A great raincoat for the West Coast Trail is the "Hydrofoil", or if bushwhacking, the more robust "Monsoon".

Rainpants? The "Hydrofoil" again, or more robust "Typhoon".

Depending on the weather, for hiking and sleeping warmth, and you will want synthetic (NOT COTTON ANYTHING) baselayers. Our midweight and lightweight baselayers are your best value. If you get cold easily, stick with the midweight.

Also check out our MEC merino wool "hipster" brief underwear, or the Patagonia "active hipster". They are amazing for long treks.

You will also want a midlayer. A fleece top and pant. The "Trek" or the "Watchtower" Fleece jkt and pant would suffice.

You will want a good pair of hiking boots, preferably with a goretex (or other waterproof layer) lining. The Vasque "Breeze" and/or Scarpa "Kailash" are good examples.

You will want at least 3-5 pairs of socks. The Wigwam "Trail Mix Fusion", the Smartwool "Medium" or "Heavyweight" socks are good examples.

Your outer shirt and pant should be "quick dry". Your zip-off pants are a fine example. Some people find the zip-off pants rub at the zip-off point. Hike some stairs and see whether yours do.
We sell a non-zip-off pant called the R2K.

Long sleeve shirts are important. Tops include the Cloudveil "classic cool shirt" , Patagonia "La Reina", and MEC "Magnolia" are good examples.

You will have to do some more research on your budget and how much you already own etc, but if you have any other specific questions about gear, please don't hesitate to contact us.

Hope this helps.

Thank you for the feedback on the organic cotton pants. For fit try the MEC Luce Pants they are regular fit yoga pants.

Yes!

MEC clothes have been shrinking. I still wear all my mangey old favourites from 5-8 years ago because they cannot be replaced. The old items all still fit, but new items marked the same size in the store are designed to be taller, significantly skinnier, and have no boob space at all.

I would *love* to be able to replace my old items wih swanky new items, but the change in fit to favour a lankier, fitter, less curvaceous, definition of XL just isn't working out for me.

Don't know where you live, but there are lots of running stores that carry Shebeest. In Toronto we have Sporting Life and others. If you Google running stores/boutiques you might get lucky

I used to work at MEC and the standard answer is that clothing cannot come with temperature ratings because everyone's output temperature varies so greatly.
They can do it for sleeping bags because most people's resting temp is similar. I, personally, take a lot of cardio output to warm up, but many of my friends start steaming moments into a hike.

Wow, i've only read about people as small as you. I'd love to help you but i'm more experienced at not-finding larger sizes.