Meet the Fit Testers: Vero

Over the last month, I’ve had the honor and pleasure of working with 12 fit testers, across a range of ages, sizes, personalities, and ethnicities, coming together (as socially distanced and responsible as possible!) to assess the fit of the Ponderosa Pants on a variety of bodies. What I’ve found goes far beyond just developing the pants, but how incredible our community is. Now, I want to take some time to introduce a couple of them to you, so when you try on your first pair of Alpine Parrot hiking pants you can appreciate some of the incredible women that are helping to make it all happen.

But first! Please allow me to introduce Sarah Sherman, who has been a key contributor of Alpine Parrot's marketing efforts! She's often the person behind the scenes, putting together newsletters, writing content for the blog, and working closely with me as we prepare the Ponderosa Pants for the public. Meanie that I am, I have given her the assignment of interviewing some of the fit testers, so that we can hear from the very humans that are helping to make Alpine Parrot a soaring success. Over the next few weeks, we'll get to hear from some of the fit testers, and I'm so excited that Sarah is the one to share their stories.

Take it away, Sarah!

Thank you, Raquel! I am so excited to be a part of the Alpine Parrot team. For the past six years, I’ve worked in the ski industry—one that is typically very white and very male. While I look forward to working to make that space more inclusive, it’s been a breath of fresh air getting to work with Raquel on something I wholeheartedly believe in. But, enough about me. Let’s talk fit testers! As mentioned before, we want to introduce you to some of the other women who are helping to make this all happen. 

This week we are excited to introduce you to Vero. Vero is a community leader for Latino Outdoors in the Bay Area, is a mother, has a background in retail, and is a person who brings warmth to any conversation. Not only that, but she loves to hike, camp, and makes a point to pick up trash whenever she ventures outside—something we LOVE and a great reminder to do more of that every day. Vero shared with us one of her first big experiences in the outdoors, hiking and exploring in Yosemite. At the time, she didn’t have hiking pants, so did what many people do and went to explore the valley in her sweatpants… In AUGUST! She quickly noticed that not only did they collect heat, but they absorbed and retained water when exploring rivers, and stayed wet for a long time. Since then, she has been able to find more technical pants that are better suited for her adventures, but she has yet to find her “golden pair” of pants that meet her needs. Vero loves to collect unique rocks while hiking, therefore prioritizing pants with pockets large enough for her findings and phone. 

When we were able to meet with Vero and have her try on a pair of pants, she was most excited about the size of the pockets and number available, paired with the comfort of the pants, and the fit of the waist. While the pants are still in their prototyping stage, these are all aspects of the pant that are SO important to us, and it seems important to you, too! It was special getting to see someone else physically wear the pants, the excitement shared over their successes, and the importance of understanding where tweaks and changes need to be made. 

We look forward to sharing more of the stories of Alpine Parrot’s amazing team of fit testers over the next few weeks. Coming from all walks of life, each of these women is special, beautiful, and unique in their own way. We can’t wait to introduce them to you, and we’re certain that you’ll love them just as much as we do. Not only do we want to provide pants that truly fit and function for women of plus size, but we want to foster and create an inclusive and diverse community to get outside and enjoy the outdoors together.

Follow Vero on Instagram, here!