More and more women are taking to the outdoors, but outdoor activities can require a lot more stuff than other hobbies or sports. That's where
Bold Betties Outfitters comes in, by offering women a chance to rent gear they'd otherwise have to purchase.
Nikki Kourbourlis recently launched the service after creating
Bold Betties, a Denver-based Meetup group for women interested in the outdoors, earlier this year. "We stared the Meetup group about four months ago, doing fun Colorado trips." The trips include white-water rafting, mountain biking and camping.
"Once you realize that you want to participate in a variety of outdoor activities you quickly see how much it costs to gear up for all that stuff," Kourbourlis explains. She says that the traditional outdoor enthusiast might have gear for a couple of winter sports and summer sports but not all sports.
She's also seeing a new class of adventurer. "The new outdoor consumer is a little more casual. Variety is what they're looking for as opposed to wanting to invest in a couple activities," Kourbourlis says. One of the most important focuses for her is on apparel. Whereas men might be able to borrow gear from another guy at this point women aren't as likely to have as much gear at their disposal for as many sports.
Kourbourlis is trying to get more women involved in the outdoors and thinks Bold Betties Outfitters will help. "I think there will be a lot of conversion of a lot of people who aren't very involved in the outdoors getting more involved," she says. She anticipates that some of the people who rent gear from the site may choose to buy it or something like it once they get more involved in the outdoors.
Though the site is still in beta, Kourbourlis plans to continue to add more gear and content to it in the coming weeks and months. The content will include trip tips and packing lists for lifetrip adventures, among other tools and information.
Contact Confluence Denver Innovation & Jobs News Editor Chris Meehan with tips and leads for future stories at chris@confluence-denver.com.
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