BUYING DISCOUNTED BACKPACKING GEAR
Us backpackers are always looking for a good gear deal. Events like the REI Garage Sale are always popular with outdoor enthusiasts of all kinds. But did you know there are quite a few places online to buy discounted gear?
First, let’s take a look at how gear get’s discounted. The REI Garage Sale is usually damaged or returned gear that REI wants to get rid of. This is Gear that is only available at their physical stores. However, new gear is sold by season. Inventory is bought, and sold. If there is too much inventory, that gear goes to outlet stores or sold by Direct Online Sales Only or Affiliate Sales. Here are some great places to shop at.
TheBackpackerStore is a unique website. It’s really a database and not a regular website at all. It links ALL the outdoor online retailers in a single site. The power is in the SEARCH. Research a piece of gear you want, then search for it on the site, and compare prices from REI, MOSSEJAW, CAMPSAVER, OSPERY PACKS, MSR, HYPERLITE, and many many others. The front pages has daily gear deals that change everyday. But the beauty of the site is that all the gear listed starts at a 35% discount. It also has ALL the COUPON CODES to even get more discounts.
The REI Outlet store is really overstock. It’s all the inventory that the retail stores don’t sell in that season. So they push discounts to Affiliate Partners, (like Trust The Trail) This is good gear that might only be a year old, but have a substantial discount.
Gear Trade is a great place to buy and sell used and new gear. They offer a lucrative incentive to sell your gear so someone else can get a good discount on it. The cool thing about Gear Trade is that you are directly buying and selling to the consumer (you).
FACEBOOK GROUPS
Another way to find quality gear at good prices is on Facebook. Facebook Groups have some great places to buy and sell Gear. Here are just a few to take a look at:
Always do your due diligence when buying gear. If your not sure you want to make backpacking a career, maybe renting gear would be a good option for you. Online Companies like Arrive Outdoors might be a good fit for someone who just wants to try backpacking out first.
