It's MAY! Which means June, Pride Month, is next. Are you ready to celebrate?
To get you outfitted, this past January I attended North America's largest outdoor retail conference, Outdoor Retailer, to look for gear that represents LGBT Pride. While the outdoor industry still has a ways to go when it comes to marketing to LGBT people, these gear pieces are a great start and a fun way to live out loud, outside! Hear Mikah’s Colorado Public Radio interview during Outdoor Retailer: Are LGBT Folks Represented In The Outdoors?
Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, if you click through and make a purchase, a percentage will go toward this project's work.
1. PRIDE Buff
Every time I post a picture wearing my rainbow Buff, I get 2-3 messages asking where people can buy their own. So here's a link! You can get your own PRIDE Buff (that's the official name Buff gives the rainbow design--awesome!) and wear it on your neck, head, or any of the 12 ways Buff designed it for.
I love it because it protects my neck/face from the sun without having to feel sticky from sunscreen--especially when I'm van camping and don't have a shower post-hike!
It also works to keep sand out of your mouth when you're caught in a dust storm!
2. Stonewall Chaco Sandals
In 2016, Stonewall National Monument was created as the first National Park Service site to recognize the LGBT civil rights movement (more on that below in a LogoTV interview with a Stonewall out-ranger!)
The folks at Chaco created a special series of sandals called STONEWALL, made in Men's and Women's styles, sold exclusively on the Chacos.com website.
3. Tipsy Elves Spectrum of Clothes!
Rainbow ski suit? Rainbow leggings? Rainbow suspenders with gold fanny pack?
Tipsy Elves makes so many rainbow items I can't keep track! Everything from adult rainbow onesies to swim trunks & women's one-piece swimsuits.
4. Outdoors Rainbow Flag
When I started this nonstop journey to all 417 National Park Service sites, I heard from outdoors non-profits asking if I could use the project to showcase a welcoming for LGBT people--who were identified in the NPS Centennial as an underrepresented demographic in the outdoors.
So I began taking pictures with a rainbow flag in front of the most iconic national park locations in every U.S. state and territory. The photo series quickly became my most popular on Instagram, so to add your own pictures to our #RainbowWorld, carry your own flag in your hiking backpack.
This one is foldable, lightweight, and travels easily anywhere from the arctic circle to American Samoa!
5. Public Land "Rainbow" T-shirts, Hoodies, and More
Inspired by the work of friends at Diversify Outdoors, I searched the National Park Service for sites with "Rainbow" in their title and combined them into this below design:
- Rainbow Bridge National Monument
- Rainbow Point in Bryce Canyon NP
- Rainbow Falls in Great Smokey Mountains NP
- Rainbow Lake in North Cascades NP
- Rainbow Park Campground in Dinosaur NM
Order your own t-shirt, hoodie, socks, pillow & more in a variety of colors/styles and join me in showcasing pride across the outdoors! Post a picture wearing your apparel/using your gear and tag @mikahmey on Instagram, and I'll feature you on my Insta Story.
6. Rainbow Tent
We can't all get lucky enough to witness the "Fire Rainbow" captured in Pinnacles National Park April 2018. But, we can take a rainbow with us to every camp fire...
Enter Chillbo Cabbins and their rainbow tent which will allow you to bring the full color spectrum to any outdoor space.
7. Insulated Rainbow Polar Bottle
If you've ever stood on top of a mountain or in line for a Pride Parade, odds are you're thirsty!
Quench it with cool water insulated in this Pride Rainbow design by Polar Bottle.
8. SAXX Rainbow Gradient Underwear
You might be seeing all these ads with Antoni from Queer Eye and his "Vouch for the Pouch," but the folks at SAXX are doing more than just vouching for your pouch--they've created underwear designed with a two special liners that help keep things separate which might not stay separate on a long rafting trip, hike, or backcountry camping getaway.
With mositure-wicking material, you might find yourself becoming one of those people that refuses to wear any underwear other than SAXX.
That's it! Live Out There!
Did I miss your favorite item? Contact me to have it added. And stay tuned to see what 2019 brings via my Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or e-mail newsletter.
