Comfort Is Freedom: How Extended Fit Backpacks Help Us Go Further

For many plus size people, comfort in the outdoors has never just been about having the right gear, it’s about feeling like they belong there. It’s about stepping onto a path, zipping up a jacket, or shouldering a backpack and knowing that this space was meant for bodies like theirs too.

We’ve asked Steph Wetherell, a keen long distance hiker and co-founder of plus size community organisation Every Body Outdoors to share her experiences of the barriers she faces accessing the outdoors, and how access to kit that is designed for your body can be transformative.

There is very little outdoors clothing and kit available above a UK size 18/2XL. This means for many in the plus size community, well-fitting kit hasn’t been easy to find. We’ve tugged at too-short hip belts, battled to zip up jackets, struggled with uncomfortable shoulder straps, and learned to ignore the inevitable discomfort off ill-fitting kit. The outdoors is supposed to be freeing, but it’s hard to feel free when your gear is telling you that you don’t quite fit.

I took Osprey’s Extended Fit Ariel 65 litre pack on a six week trip to New Zealand and it was transformational. I thought the discomfort and rubbing I felt was normal, but the extended fit pack sat completely differently on my body, moving around less and distributing the weight properly.

This issue goes beyond backpacks too – at our events people try on waterproof jackets that are large enough for plus size bodies, wear trousers with a high enough rise to fit over bellies, find a personal flotation devices that sit where they’re supposed to, step into climbing harnesses that help larger bodies feel safe. We see the transformative impact this clothing and kit can have when gear starts working with peoples’ bodies instead of against it. People begin to relax, embrace their surroundings, laugh and share in the ups and downs of outdoor adventures, and gain confidence to try new things.

“I'd sort of just accepted that I'd always have to make do with outdoor kit that didn’t fit properly. It’s great to now feel there is a united front to change this and that we are deserving of properly fitting, comfortable kit too.” - Clare

Adventure looks different for everyone. For some, it’s a summit; for others it’s a slow wander by the river, but we need the clothing and kit to enable us to do these things, regardless of our shape and size. Inclusive outdoors clothing and kit isn’t about changing our bodies to fit the outdoors but changing the outdoors to welcome more bodies.

Because when every body feels comfortable out there, the outdoors becomes what it was always meant to be: for everyone.