I mentioned it in my loooong novel of a post about all my rec gear and apparel, and here we are! Another looooong novel of a post about how to acquire said recreation gear and apparel.
When I first moved to Flagstaff and started venturing out into the great outdoors, the process was super intimidating because — while I did a lot of camping as a kid — both gear AND the gear-buying process have changed SO much in the past two decades, and buying your own stuff instead of just using the cheap Coleman sleeping bag* your parents hand you? A very different experience.
*Did everyone have this same sleeping bag growing up, or was it just me?
But, after a few years of trial and error, I’ve figured out both how to find the right gear for me, and how to save money on acquiring that gear for myself.
AKA: I embarrassed myself so you don’t have to.
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FINDING THE RIGHT GEAR AND APPAREL FOR YOU:
My biggest piece of advice: Shop in-store. I know it’s tempting to buy things online when you’re intimidated because that way, you don’t have to feel like a novice and there’s nobody there to physically judge you, but shopping in-store is A MILLION times better. Shopping in-store ensures you get gear and apparel that fits you, and you can inspect the quality prior to purchasing. It saves on return shipping (both fees and carbon emissions) and also helps educate you about the gear you’re buying. If you think you can get a better deal online (like, pro deals, more on that later), still make it a point to try in-person before making the actual purchase online.
Related: Talk to sales associates. People who work at local outdoors stores are incredibly passionate about being outdoors. They often have really good suggestions because they use all the products they sell. Plus, I have never encountered a sales associate that was gatekeep-y about recreating. They (usually) genuinely want you to have a great outdoors experience because the outdoors is something they genuinely love.
My second-biggest piece of advice: Look into gear rentals. Aside from the obvious rentals — like skates, skis and climbing harnesses — you can rent things like packs and sleeping bags! We have a TON of incredible stores in Flagstaff that allow you to rent gear. And bigger retailers offer rentals, too. You can try before you buy, often for literal dollars. This will help you figure out what you like before you commit to paying $$$ for something you’re not sure about.
Related: Borrow from friends. Ryan and I are super chill about lending out our gear to trusted friends. Just remember to always return gear in the same condition you borrowed it. Clean it well and wrestle it back into its stuff sack so your friends don’t have to clean up your mess.
Become familiar with brands (and retailers). I have some brands that I absolutely love and rely on due to positive experiences, and if I find myself needing something new, being able to narrow down my list of brands makes it MUCH easier to shop, especially if I’m shopping those brands from third-party retailers I trust.
Ignore the marketed product gender and read the specifications instead. There are a LOT of products unnecessarily marketed toward men, specifically, and women, specifically. Instead of looking at gender, look at features. A lot of products marketed toward men support taller and heavier body frames (think: longer sleeping bags or trekking poles that extend more) but they’re perfectly fine for women to use too. The men’s product colors are WAY better anyway, IMO, and half the time, the men’s version is less expensive and better-built.
Figure out how your (ideal) gear fits into your lifestyle. Keep storage and transportation in mind. There’s no point in buying the biggest, heaviest cooler if you can’t lift it. Don’t buy a kayak if you don’t have a place to store it. A lot of the camping and hiking stuff I own is actually designed for backpacking, simply because I live in a two-bedroom rental apartment, and it’s way easier to store backpacking gear.
Read review after review after review. GearLab is my favorite, but a quick Google search is always helpful, and again — posts (like this!) from outdoors influencers that you trust are also helpful. Reviews posted right on a product’s webpage are also almost always helpful, especially if they include photos!
SAVING MONEY ON THE GEAR ONCE YOU FIND IT:
Like I mentioned above: Rent gear before you commit to buying it, and borrow gear from friends if they’re cool with it.
Related: If you’re going on an excursion with friends, pool and share gear. You don’t need a camping stove if a friend has one. This is also a great way to both try before you buy AND get recommendations from people you trust.
Think… “Do I really need that?!” Because the gear world is FULL of superfluous gadgets and gizmos that you really don’t need. Truly. Just because an Instagram influencer is hawking some dumb sponsored product does not mean you need it.
Do you qualify for pro deals? I didn’t know this until I had already spent hundreds on MSRP-priced gear, but there are a TON of outdoor companies that offer pro deals for outdoor professionals and fitness instructors. Check and see if you qualify for any pro deals.
Shop secondhand. Gear trades are the best! We have some awesome stores here in Flagstaff, like Snow Mountain River and Peace Surplus, that sell pre-owned gear for cheap. REI has a “garage sale” section (both in store and online) for used gear, and your local outdoors store may have the same. Ebay, Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist are also great places to check for secondhand gear.
Shop sales. This one is obvious, but buying discontinued colors and outdated models is a great way to save money. Shopping off-season is also key! I keep a wish list of the gear I want in my phone, which makes it easier to strategically shop off-season (ski jackets are always cheaper when 90-degree weather is in the forecast) and not impulsively purchase things at full price.
Related: Keep an eye out for pop-ups and swaps. If you live in an outdoorsy community, keep an eye out for pop-up sales and swap events. We host a few of them for various outdoor hobbies — like skiing and overlanding, just to name two—here in Flagstaff.
Ask your local outdoor retailer about discounts. I found out one of my favorite local retailers offers a discount to Forest Service employees simply because I spontaneously asked at checkout. Sometimes, local retailers offer word-of-mouth discounts to students, locals or volunteers. Never hurts to ask!
Check your credit card affiliate discounts. My CapitalOne Venture card offers cash back (up to 15 percent!) for purchases at Eddie Bauer, L.L.Bean, Lands’ End, Backcountry, The North Face and Moosejaw, just to name a few.
Memberships: Both your local outdoors stores and big retailers (like REI and Backcountry) offer members-only coupons and sales as well as rewards programs, points and dividends. My REI membership paid for itself on the first purchase, and I have several friends who find the REI credit card to be worth it.
Related: Does your niche fitness studio/ gym offer a discount? Both my yoga studio and my climbing gym offer discounts on in-store products to members.
Take advantage of (but don’t abuse) return policies. Some retailers have incredible return policies that make it easy to return gear that you absolutely cannot stand. Just don’t abuse these policies- otherwise we’ll lose them for good.
Shop from reputable retailers. If a deal sounds too good to be true… it probably is. Don’t lose money to online scammers because of fleeting excitement over a seemingly great deal.
Take care of your gear. Not only is this necessary for safety — make sure meds in your first aid kit haven’t expired, make sure your personal inflation device still inflates, etc. — it also lengthens the life of your stuff and saves you from needing to make unnecessary and expensive replacement purchases. Read the guides and manuals for the stuff you buy and use, store and clean it according to manufacturer suggestions. Also, inventory and organize your gear! If you don’t lose a dry bag, you don’t need to buy a replacement.
Relatedly… calculate maintenance and operational costs as part of your overall budget. Sure, one camp stove is cheaper than the other… but how does fuel type/ consumption factor into the overall savings? A rechargeable headlamp might be more expensive than a traditional battery-powered one… but in the long-run, you’ll save on batteries. Look at maintenance instructions BEFORE you buy something, and make sure you can commit to the upkeep of a product before you invest in it.
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That was WAY longer than I intended it to be… but there ya go! That is EVERYTHING I wish I knew three years ago when I started accumulating rec gear. I would have saved literally hundreds of dollars if I knew about things like pro deals, gear swaps and credit card cash-back programs from the get-go.
Was this helpful? What am I missing? Let me know in the comments!
