Rock Bottom on Kilimanjaro: How Shitty Leggings Built a Brand
Arwen and Kara had me from the jump on this one. Two women in Vermont, building a plus-size outdoor apparel brand from scratch, with zero apparel experience and a whole lot of personal frustration fueling the whole thing. That's exactly the kind of story I want to be telling on this podcast.
We went from talking about Kara's Kilimanjaro trip — where 19 plus-size adventurers climbed one of the seven summits in leggings that barely made it back down the mountain — to unpacking something a lot bigger: why the outdoor industry keeps failing plus-size bodies, and what it looks like to just decide you're going to fix it yourself.
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When the Gear Fails You, You Build Better
The origin story of Thicket is one of those that makes complete sense once you hear it. Kara saw a Facebook post about a group of plus-size adventurers climbing Kilimanjaro and signed up within hours — before she even knew where it was on a map. Classic say-yes-and-figure-it-out energy.
But what stayed with her wasn't the summit. It was the fact that she and 18 other women had to do something that hard in gear that wasn't built for them. Leggings that pilled, chafed, and fell apart. Not because they weren't trying hard enough to find something better, but because something better didn't exist.
That's where Thicket was born.
The Box-Checking Problem
One of the things that fired me up most in this conversation was talking about what it actually looks like when a brand "extends" their sizing versus actually designing for plus-size bodies.
There's a big difference.
Slapping a few extra inches on a straight-size pattern and calling it inclusive isn't the same as starting from the body and building out. And Arwen said it perfectly — a lot of it feels performative. Like the goal is to check the box, not to actually serve the customer. And when it doesn't sell, they pull it and say the demand isn't there. But the demand was always there. The product just wasn't.
Thicket spent four years figuring out how to actually do it right. Four years of fit testing, pattern development, fabric sourcing, and designing two distinct fits: the Booty Fit and the Belly Fit, because one silhouette was never going to work for every plus-size body (or any body really). That's the work. And it shows.
The Part That Hit Different
We also got into body grief, body changes, and the weird in-between space of feeling like the outdoors might not be for you anymore, even when it always has been.
Arwen grew up a self-described feral dirt child in the Sierra Nevada. Barefoot, Swiss Army knife, running wild. And somewhere along the way, between the price tags and the size ranges and the imagery of who outdoor brands were marketing to, she started to feel like that identity wasn't hers to claim anymore.
I think a lot of people listening are going to feel that. Whether it's your size, your age, your budget, or just life shifting your body into a place you didn't expec, there's a version of this story that belongs to a lot of us. And what I love about what Thicket is doing is that it's a direct answer to that feeling. You belong out there. Here's the gear to prove it.
What's Coming from Thicket
Joey Pant — lighter, one-fabric, built for the day hike to brunch pipeline
Wide-calf fit option — coming for everyone whose calves have been left out of the conversation
Shorts — hiking and mountain biking focused, and I am already excited
Two new colors dropping in July: Off Grid (black) and a sage green
A purpley magenta that sounds like the perfect Halloween drop
Connect with Thicket Adventures
Website: thicketadventure.com
Instagram, Facebook, TikTok: @thicketadventure
Newsletter signup on their website
Pop-up at REI Vermont — June 13th with Myrna Valerio (the Myrnavator)
Outdoor Retailer: August
Follow the podcast: @tarin.it.up.podcast
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