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REI garage sales are the best. I got my baller Exped Megamat 10 for $50 because “it leaks”. I am happy to share that after 5 years of use, it doesn’t leak.
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Jan 8, 2021 06:35
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highme posted:REI garage sales are the best. I got my baller Exped Megamat 10 for $50 because “it leaks”. I am happy to share that after 5 years of use, it doesn’t leak. I went to one once. I got there an hour early and was in the second group of 10 allowed in. Everything worthwhile had already been snatched up by the tryhards that camped out. The used section on the website has some good deals though
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Jan 8, 2021 07:37
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This wasn't the garage sale event, this was just the used section of the flagship Seattle store for some of their returned items. In talking to the pack fitter guy, they haven't done a garage sale yet this year because of covid. He said they have so much stuff they are running out of places to store it. He said it's easily double what they usually have. I went to the garage sale event two or three times at different stores. First time was at a suburb store. A little busy but nothing crazy. Pretty picked over. No line. The other two were at the flagship which was bananas. I waited for two hours to get in and got lucky finding the exact $300 msr snowshoes I wanted for $70. They kept refreshing the gear piles with new stuff which was nice. The second time at the flagship they also limited the amount of people shipping at a time and the length which you could shop to 40 minutes. I'm not sure I'll ever go again.
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Jan 8, 2021 08:29
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Where are you? I doubt anyone is interested in highme’s REI shopping tales, but I’m definitely lucky that I could ride a bike to the closest REI in about 10 minutes. I’ve been to a few garage sales at the Portland flagship store and one at the Denver flagship. The Denver sale was a waste of time.
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Jan 8, 2021 08:49
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highme posted:Where are you? I doubt anyone is interested in highme’s REI shopping tales, but I’m definitely lucky that I could ride a bike to the closest REI in about 10 minutes. I’ve been to a few garage sales at the Portland flagship store and one at the Denver flagship. The Denver sale was a waste of time. Seattle so we have the flagship store which is massive and gets a lot of returns, especially from out of towners who come in, outfit themselves head to toe in new gear instead of renting, and return it a few days later after their trip before leaving town. There's a lot of hardly used gear returned for absolutely no reason at all. In the before times, my office is a 5 minute walk to the store. It's a blessing and a curse.
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Jan 8, 2021 09:21
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i tried to go to a seattle flagship garage sale once and got bored after waiting in line for like 30 minutes without moving. i also returned a brand new osprey to that store earlier this year because the frame was incredibly squeaky and driving me insane, someone else got a great deal on a psychosis inducing pack.
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Jan 8, 2021 09:28
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khysanth posted:Get a smaller pack I am 200cm/6'6" so the backpack has to be quite tall. My butt is wide so I like wide backpacks too. With those requirements it becomes a bit challenging to find smaller packs. I also haven't received the correct tent yet. Apparently Brexit and corona situation in UK cause all kinds of problems when shpping abroad. --- I think you can lubricate backpacks. Tape? Foam? Something. -- I need to find new shoes for next season. Currently the problem with my trail runners is that the tongue is too thin. When I have them snugly laced the laces start to hurt my tendons on right foot only and walking becomes hard. Also the tongue drifts to right side. I used a sock as a padding last summer and a cord to tie down the tongue so it doesn't drift. The setup is not ideal and I'd preferrably like a shoe I can just use.... Sadly most trail runners seem to come with very thin tongues. I can't use GTX shoes since the warmth and sweat cooks my feet. They're terrible even in winter. Ihmemies fucked around with this message at 09:50 on Jan 8, 2021 |
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Jan 8, 2021 09:35
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Just gonna say, if you’re ever in Portland make sure you hit up the basement at Next Adventure. The return policy isn’t as good, but when you’re paying 30% of retail because a rep had sample merch they were done with you shouldn’t care.
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Jan 8, 2021 09:38
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Rei garage sales suck where I'm at, it's the Midwest in a urban area so it's like one tent, some shoes, and several racks of returned clothes. Every time they redo the floor layout it's to make the clothes section bigger and play Tetris with the camping gear to cram it into a smaller space.
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Jan 8, 2021 13:32
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I went to the Atlanta garage sale once, didn't even wait in line or get there early, and made out with some of the best deals I've ever seen. Stuff like brand new Salomon Quests for ~$100.
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Jan 8, 2021 15:57
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xzzy posted:Rei garage sales suck where I'm at, it's the Midwest in a urban area so it's like one tent, some shoes, and several racks of returned clothes. I worked at REI for a bit in 2019, and from talking to the old heads there this is only going to continue to get worse 
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Jan 8, 2021 19:13
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xzzy posted:Rei garage sales suck where I'm at, it's the Midwest in a urban area so it's like one tent, some shoes, and several racks of returned clothes. I struggle to find anything useful at REI anymore. Their dehydrated meals are overpriced and I hate that 2 people is the default portion size. The gear is sparse and oriented towards car camping mostly, which I can get anywhere. The cycling section is nice, but I may as well go to a cycling store. The roof racks and kayaking is nice, but they don’t have anything that fits my car for sale in store so I might as well order online. The shoes only go up to size 13, so I’m screwed there, and they don’t sell any clothes for tall people or anything other than perfectly average sizes. They feel like they’re going through a North Face-ification. Which, I don’t blame them, that’s where the money is at. Any new gear I’m buying is probably going to be Dyneema, so I’m just buying direct from cottage vendors anyways.
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Jan 8, 2021 19:46
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Yeah REI is a bit hit and miss for me. A lot of their name brand gear is cheap and good. But anything else can usually be found cheaper elsewhere. The only time I get something from them is if I think there is a chance I wont like it and need to return it, hiking shoes for example. I like being able to used them on a trail a few times before making a final determination. But like others have said they probably just make a killing on clothes and focus on those. Which is to bad, because a lot of their gear is great. My wife and I love our Kingdome tent. I just bought a used heavy duty sewing machine, so hopefully ill move to making a lot of my own gear in the months ahead.
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Jan 8, 2021 22:21
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REI has good store-brand gear. Ive had their gloves, their rain jackets, their tents, and their sleeping bags and they are usually a pretty good quality/weight/cost ratio. For example, I think the REI Magma is probably the best deal you can get on a legit cold-weather backpacking sleeping bag
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Jan 8, 2021 22:29
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I think a lot of it has to do with the store location. When I lived in Chicago the store was relatively small and you could tell they focused on the things people did in those markets. Of the stores Ive been to elsewhere (chicago, washington, oregon, colorado etc) they've definitely had more serious gear based the activities in that region. You dont have a lot of people in chicago looking to buy mountaineering boots or alpine ski touring stuff. But I do agree, I think to a certain point they're running into the issue of getting so big that each store has limited space and they try to cover too many sports. This is the classic department store dillemma. Jack of all trades, master of none.They carry enough gear to satisfy the majority of outdoor enthusiasts but for people who need the higher end or more specialty gear, they have to go to a specialty shop. Their REI brand stuff is still great and will always be a contender for gear but I spend less and less at REI on a yearly basis now. Yesterday was the most Ive bought from REI in years. I will always buy boots/shoes from REI if possible due to their return policy.
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Jan 8, 2021 22:57
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I love my merino REI baselayers. On steep sale incredibly often. The one where I am at is in direct competition with a Bass Pro Shops and seems to be catering the occasional hunter who is too snooty to shop at a place that sells delightfully tacky home decor.
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Jan 9, 2021 02:48
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MEC in Canada actually killed itself doing this poo poo and had to sell. Still operating but no longer a co-op, and I'm sure the new owners will gut them. They started out manufacturing all of their items in Canada, but as they progressed they began sending manufacturing overseas. The quality dropped. They refreshed designs on a lot of their staple items. The quality dropped again. Mountain Equipment Co-op somehow became clothing, yoga, cycling, stand up paddle boarding, skiing etc, etc, etc.. co-op. They eventually changed the name to just MEC as a final "gently caress you" to the members who made them a national success. I just don't get it. Their entire brand was about offering cheap, durable, mountaineering gear that lasted forever, sold by staff who actively used their own product.. so they lowered the quality and grew into so many areas they couldn't possibly have staff knowledgeable in all departments??? There's still some really solid items up for grabs there but you definitely need to do your due diligence. Sure, the return policy is still good but that doesn't help me much when something fails in the back country.
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Jan 10, 2021 05:37
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Jan 10, 2021 07:10
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Math You posted:Their entire brand was about offering cheap, durable, mountaineering gear that lasted forever Sounds like a great way to not sell a whole lot of stuff 
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Jan 10, 2021 14:51
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REI isn’t immune to the ongoing retail apocalypse and it makes sense to grow the footprint of items in their stores toward the type of things that people still shop in-person for, mainly clothing and other items that need custom fittings. If you can buy the same tent at REI as you can at any number of other retailers, it makes sense to stock more variety on the website and carry less in-store.
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Jan 12, 2021 07:48
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e: NVM just noticed mystery ranch makes a lil tiny trizip with the bottle pockets now, and I love that on all the bigger packs I have w that system so just ordered one of those. DeesGrandpa fucked around with this message at 14:29 on Jan 12, 2021 |
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Jan 12, 2021 14:19
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I wanna hear more about your morning hikes... I need a pre-work routine now that I don’t have to commute. Do you just do a nearby metro park or something?
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Jan 12, 2021 15:50
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OSU_Matthew posted:I wanna hear more about your morning hikes... I need a pre-work routine now that I don’t have to commute. Do you just do a nearby metro park or something? I was doing this 1x/wk but then got lazy. I have the benefit of living in Denver and having a super flexible schedule so I was driving ~1 hour into the mountains and doing a quick 1-2 hour hike before coming home. It was usually trail I was familiar with so I could pick up the pace if I knew I was taking too long.
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Jan 12, 2021 16:58
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OSU_Matthew posted:I wanna hear more about your morning hikes... I need a pre-work routine now that I don’t have to commute. Do you just do a nearby metro park or something? I'm in Denver and it's mostly just hitting places in the foothills like Golden or Morrison. Between 20-40 minutes driving each way, start in the dark, peep the sun, and then finish up and head back home.   I don't generally like the whole hiking for time thing or stravaing my hikes, but treating these like workouts is pretty fun and more dignified than running. Generally I like trails like Mt Galbraith where I can toss another rotation or two of the loop around to add a little more time and mileage as needed.
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Jan 12, 2021 19:02
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Very jealous! Those look at excellent hikes! There are some nice metro parks around me but to get to the nice stuff I’ve got to drive an hourish and that’s just too much of a commitment for a daily hike  I know this was covered a few pages back, but what were some of the hot tent recommendations? I know there was a fairly cheapish one, were there any sub 500$ canvas hot tents?
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Jan 21, 2021 18:16
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Not to gatekeep or anything, but I'd be thrilled to only need an hour to get to a nice hike, as is I won't think twice about driving three hours to get to something. Does make it a long day but I still never regret it. My issue is I want to be at spots for sunrise or sunsets because poo poo looks amazing at the edges of the day. Now all the sudden that day hike is a camping trip.
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Jan 21, 2021 18:30
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xzzy posted:Not to gatekeep or anything, but I'd be thrilled to only need an hour to get to a nice hike, as is I won't think twice about driving three hours to get to something. Does make it a long day but I still never regret it. Switched from living somewhere you have to drive multiple hours to get to hiking to one where you have to drive 20 minutes and honestly it's probably the biggest quality of life improvement from moving. Definitely not at all why I moved, but was surprised how nice it is!
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Jan 21, 2021 19:52
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DeesGrandpa posted:I'm in Denver and it's mostly just hitting places in the foothills like Golden or Morrison. Between 20-40 minutes driving each way, start in the dark, peep the sun, and then finish up and head back home. I just did Galbraith the other day and ate it hard on an icy spot when my dog decided he didn’t want to wait for me. Didn’t detract from the views though. One thing I’ve always heard from people here are continuous complaints about overcrowding on the trails. In my experience if you’re trying to hit one of the easy 14ers it’s going to be packed, but there are so many trails out there that it’s easy to find one where you’ll barely run into anyone, which is wild when you’re under an hour from Denver.
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Jan 21, 2021 19:55
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I didn't realize how lucky I was to live in the appalachians until I moved away. Maybe I'll be able to move back one day.
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Jan 21, 2021 21:03
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Last month I was working in poison oak that I got worst on my ankles/lower legs. I'm very allergic. I tried to wash my boots and left them for a month in the truck, wore muck boots for last gig, but had to put them on the other day and I've got a spot breaking out. Any ideas? Last time this happened I ended up chucking the boots.
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Jan 23, 2021 14:06
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Camping gear started showing up at my local Costcos again. Carbon fiber poles are back in stock!
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Jan 23, 2021 17:46
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pumped up for school posted:Last month I was working in poison oak that I got worst on my ankles/lower legs. I'm very allergic. Did you wash them with regular soap or tecnu? The oils that cause the reaction in your skin are incredibly durable (which is why you can even catch a rash from bare twigs of the plant) and aren't cleaned very well with regular soap. Before you toss the boots try washing them with the special poison oak soap, shouldn't be too expensive for a bottle that will last a long time
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Jan 23, 2021 18:08
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Tecnu. I am basically a stock holder at this point. I have a bottle in every bathroom, in the laundry room, my car, and my work truck.
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Jan 23, 2021 18:53
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Tecnu is soap and mineral spirits, if you don't have it you could try those also. It's an extremely "sticky" oil so solvents and scrubbing are the key to removing it.
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Jan 23, 2021 19:00
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I just wore a hole through my second pair of trail runners in 2 years. I love how light and flexy they are but I’m pretty disappointed in the durability, and they can’t be resoled like boots. Is this normal? Is Vibram not the same stuff it used to be?
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Jan 23, 2021 19:12
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Try inov8 trail runners. I think the graphene soles last "forever".
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Jan 23, 2021 21:36
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pumped up for school posted:Tecnu. I am basically a stock holder at this point. I have a bottle in every bathroom, in the laundry room, my car, and my work truck. dang, well never mind then, that sucks that even the good stuff isn't working The Wiggly Wizard posted:Is Vibram not the same stuff it used to be? partially this, and also they use a whole range of different rubbers for different footwear so your lighter-weight trail runner sole is going to be different from a hiking boot even if both are labeled vibram
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Jan 23, 2021 21:49
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Depending on the mileage I put them through 2 years is about normal for my trail runners. Usually either wear down the soles to nothing or have them seperate from the upper at the ball of the foot. I do have a pair of La Sportiva Wildcats that have lasted close to 7 years that probably only have about one year left in them. I save them mostly for my yearly "big" trips that are 5-6 day hikes.
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Jan 23, 2021 21:50
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The Wiggly Wizard posted:I just wore a hole through my second pair of trail runners in 2 years. I love how light and flexy they are but I’m pretty disappointed in the durability, and they can’t be resoled like boots. Is this normal? Is Vibram not the same stuff it used to be? Vibram is just a rubber manufacturer, not a specific rubber, and they make a variety of different compounds with different characteristics for different shoes. Some of them are grippier but wear a lot faster, which is what they'll commonly use on approach shoes and trail runners.
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Jan 23, 2021 22:19
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The Wiggly Wizard posted:I just wore a hole through my second pair of trail runners in 2 years. I love how light and flexy they are but I’m pretty disappointed in the durability, and they can’t be resoled like boots. Is this normal? Is Vibram not the same stuff it used to be? I think a year per pair for trail runners is pretty good. Depends how much you’re hiking / running in them but I’m replacing mine at least that fast. If you are desperate for resolability maybe you could check out some approach shoes? La sportiva TX4 etc. They’ll be more climbing oriented though.
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Jan 24, 2021 03:27
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