What do Women (Snowboarders) Want?

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.