Sunday, May 16, 2010

Gear Buying Tips

Once you've decided the items you want to purchase, which will likely be an ongoing process, it's time to look for the best deal.  There are a number of options, both at brick-and-mortar retail outlets and online retailers.

Some words I learned to live by:

-know your personal wants and needs

-do a lot of research, especially gear reviews that can be found all over the internet

-consult with experienced friends and colleagues

-talk to the sales staff at your local outdoor store

-read blogs like this one where people share their own experiences

-buy at the end of the season to get last year's models or overstock at big discounts

So, here are some retailers that I've either purchased from or found to have merit:

Stores

REI - the most popular outdoor store in the US, and in my opinion the best.  They have just about everything you'll need, the biggest selection, and knowledgeable friendly staff.  The one thing they don't always have are the best prices, though you can find occasional sales that will save you a bundle.  Additionally, members ($20 to join for a lifetime membership) receive an annual dividend worth up to 10% of their purchases for items that weren't on sale.  Finally and maybe best of all, if you don't like an item after purchasing AND using it, you can return it - no questions asked.

We happen to have a number of REI stores in the SF Bay Area, and the closest one to me (Saratoga) is quite large.  The store in Berkeley is also very good, and in fact had good backpacking inventory even in winter when many of the other REI stores have converted mainly to winter sports.  I look forward to visiting the flagship store in Seattle some day.

Your Local Outdoor Store - Most metro areas also have one or more independent outdoor sports stores.  Though they may not focus on backpacking, they might do a good job for camping and have enough sundry items of interest that make visiting the store worthwhile.  We have a legendary store in San Jose called Mel Cotton's that has been around forever and has hardly changed over the years.  It is crammed full of items that backpackers and sportsmen and sportswomen would find useful.

Army/Navy Surplus - Again, good for sundry items, though you're not likely to find anything super lightweight.

Online Shopping

Googling any item you're interested in buying will bring up a host of sites offering the item, often with easy price comparisons of the various online retailers.  Of course REI has an online store http://www.rei.com/, but some others I've found that are good alternatives are:

Back Country Edge - http://www.backcountryedge.com/  Of all the online retailers, this one attracted me the most because their prices are very competitive, I liked their story in the About Us section, and they offer 12% off your first order when you join their Inside Edge program.  Between the 12%, free shipping and the good price they had on my Kelty Redcloud 5600 Backpack that retails for $199, I got it delivered for $131.08.  Hard to beat that.


Camping Gear Depot - http://www.campinggeardepot.com/  This site seems to consistently have some of the best prices I've seen. 


Campmor - http://www.campmor.com/  Some very good deals on sundry gear and clothes, no backpacks though.  




Altrec - http://www.altrec.com/  They come up high in the search results and their range of selection is good, but I've always been able to find a better deal on one of the other sites. 


Steep and Cheap - http://www.steepandcheap.com/  Very unique web site where they sell manufacturer's overstock, one item at a time.  Like a QVC for your PC.  Add their widget to your desktop and the sale item will pop up, usually a new one every few minutes til the item sells out.  Advice - get your account set up in advance and then be prepared to move on a product immediately if something comes up that you like as they go quickly.


More on REI - Besides having great stores and web site, REI has some ways to save money well below their normal retail prices.  Several times a year, they have Super Clearance sales where many popular items are marked way down, such as the Half Dome tent I got at $119 instead of the normal $179.  You can often see what items will be on sale online because the price will change to something ending in $XX.83 or $XX.93.

Several times a year they will also give you an online coupon worth 10%-20% off a single item, which can be saved for use on high ticket purchases.  Last year we used it to buy a Yakima Skybox (roof carrier) to help us move across the country, saving us about $60.00.

REI Outlet (http://www.reioutlet.com/) has some significant discounts on overstock and discontinued products and usually has something of interest in every category.

Finally, once a month each store will have a used gear sale in a back room for members only, typically on the first Saturday of every month.  It starts when the store opens at 10 AM, and it is advised to get there before 8:30 and line up, as they only let 35 people in at a time.  When it first opens, it's a mad scramble, but you can get things for pennies on the dollar, such as the Keen Targhee boots I got for $9.99, normally $125, and used just once.