{"id":12110,"date":"2017-05-05T07:00:38","date_gmt":"2017-05-05T14:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=12110"},"modified":"2017-12-21T12:30:15","modified_gmt":"2017-12-21T20:30:15","slug":"women-behind-the-gear-rei-flash-45-pack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/hike\/women-behind-the-gear-rei-flash-45-pack","title":{"rendered":"Women Behind the Gear: REI Flash 45 Pack"},"content":{"rendered":"

Right from the start, industrial designer Ash Price noticed that men tend to design gear, while women design apparel. She wanted to change that. \u201cIt was really important to me to become a voice for women in gear design,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

At REI, she found not one voice, but a chorus. The pack team is primarily women. Jenn Inglin creates the strategy, Ash designs the gear, Lauren Meyer develops that gear and Rebecca Randall-Lally curates for stores. Together, they created the Flash 45 Pack.<\/p>\n

The old version was \u201cunisex\u201d (read: men\u2019s) but the team wasn\u2019t down with that. They agreed that women should get the same awesome pack that\u2019s designed to fit their bodies. \u201cNothing is as heavy as pain to carry,\u201d Rebecca said.<\/p>\n

\"REI<\/p>\n

\u201cWe aspired to create a great pack for backpackers,\u201d Lauren said. \u201cFrom there, we applied different shaping and sizing tailored to men\u2019s and women\u2019s anthropometrics. But the functional features, comfort features, and load carry capacity are the same, no matter the shape of the body using it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ash set out for the Appalachian Trail, where she camped with thru-hikers and questioned them about their gear\u2014what they loved, hated, dreamed of. Rebecca and Jenn mined co-op employees and members for valuable intel. Then they regrouped at the REI Co-op gear loft with partners in strategy, design and merchandising. \u201cThe cooperative design that we do here is absolutely my favorite thing about working at REI,\u201d Ash said.<\/p>\n

Lauren agreed. \u201cAsh, our sourcing team, product strategy, our test lab, our field testers\u2014we all work together to discover and solve the problems that arise along the way. We brainstorm, make mockups and actively seek feedback. We have our roles, but Ash is just as likely to suggest a way to improve a complicated construction as I am to suggest a way to improve a visual feature. It\u2019s all about constructive feedback, listening and working together towards the same goal.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"REI<\/p>\n

Once they had their design sketched out, Ash and Lauren went to Vietnam. \u201cSewing is more complex than many people give it credit for,\u201d Lauren explained. \u201cYou have to piece everything together backwards and inside out. The sewers at our factory in Vietnam are really very skilled, and being present when samples are being made can spark an idea that may not have been discovered in a different context. It\u2019s really efficient to collaborate with the sewers and patternmakers in real-time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe worked really intensively on it for a full week, kept iterating on different details, analyzing the materials,\u201d Ash said. Finally, they mastered the breathable back panel, ergonomic water bottle pocket and contoured hipbelt that makes the pack great, then fine-tuned the fit and suspension for a woman\u2019s frame. Field testers in Seattle then took prototypes out on the trail. \u201cSo many people touched this pack,\u201d Ash said.<\/p>\n

The Flash 45 hit stores this spring\u2014and Ash found her voice, amplified by many others. \u201cI don\u2019t know that we would ever have a women-specific Flash 45 if we didn\u2019t have so many women on the team raising their hands and saying this matters,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s a huge motivator.\u201d<\/p>\nShop: REI Flash 45 Pack<\/path><\/svg><\/a><\/span>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Right from the start, industrial designer Ash Price noticed that men tend to design gear, while women design apparel. She wanted to change that. \u201cIt was really important to me to become a voice for women in gear design,\u201d she said. At REI, she found not one voice, but a chorus. The pack team is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":12198,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[387],"tags":[726,421,293,651,1444],"internal-tag":[],"class_list":["post-12110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hike","tag-force-of-nature","tag-rei-co-op","tag-rei-employee","tag-women","tag-women-behind-the-gear"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/rei.com\/blog\/hike\/women-behind-the-gear-rei-flash-45-pack","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Women Behind the Gear: REI Flash 45 Pack","url":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/hike\/women-behind-the-gear-rei-flash-45-pack","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/hike\/women-behind-the-gear-rei-flash-45-pack"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/04\/Harnois-022717-0097-Comp.jpg?resize=150%2C150","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/04\/Harnois-022717-0097-Comp.jpg?fit=1500%2C1003"},"articleSection":"Hike","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Aer Parris-Hoshour"}],"creator":["Aer Parris-Hoshour"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Uncommon Path \u2013 An REI Co-op Publication","logo":""},"keywords":["force of nature","rei co-op","rei employee","women","women behind the gear"],"dateCreated":"2017-05-05T14:00:38Z","datePublished":"2017-05-05T14:00:38Z","dateModified":"2017-12-21T20:30:15Z"},"rendered":"