Comments on: Gear: Cheap vs Affordable vs High End

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 07 Oct 2015 18:16:20 +0000

Great site, thanks. I’m a life-long outdoor sports freak who, before becoming a ‘professional’ years ago was a part-time climbing bum. One defining element of my approach to outfitting myself (And to keeping my marriage intact!) has been to NEVER PAY RETAIL for anything. Ever. There’s always a source of cheap but excellent gear out there. Whether it’s a barely used $3000 bike selling for $300 that some orthodontist thought he would try triathlons on, or the $500 Patagucci Ski Patrol Jacket (I’m a pro patroller) selling on ebay for $125, or the closet full of Pendlton wool shirts I’ve gotten at Salavation Army for $1.25 each, you just can’t go wrong shopping for deals. They’re everywhere. If you have to have this year’s newest model whatever, then you suck…no really, maybe there’s a pro-deal available (Or your pro buddy can get you a deal). Never pay for a ski tuning, the scrapers usually will work for beer. I will not mention Lost and Found, because that would be immoral to cob someone’s lost gear…unless they’ve left it there for a month or so. So anyway, look around, lots of good deals out there and you can feel good laughing at the fool who spent $2000 buying exactly the same gear you bought for $200.

By: BenB

BenB — Wed, 04 Feb 2015 18:40:49 +0000

I also LOVE REI garage sales for finding barely used luxury items at great discounts. A great place to find stuff people returned because it didn’t match with their other luxury items. lol.

By: Paul Mags

Paul Mags — Fri, 09 Jan 2015 04:59:18 +0000

In reply to Another Kevin. Same here! Surplus to "fast fashion" to an expensive down quilt. All have their place in my pack!

By: Bill

Bill — Sun, 28 Dec 2014 18:31:11 +0000

In reply to Paul Mags. Sierra Trading Post and Campmor have been very good sources for highly discounted clothing and gear. What Patagonia I have probably came from one or the other. The only real problem is that closeouts are just that and your size and style may not be available.

By: Another Kevin

Another Kevin — Mon, 22 Dec 2014 04:09:03 +0000

This appears to be why my backpack contains a spectrum, from dumpster dives and Salvation Army finds to high-end cottage-industry gear.

By: samh

samh — Sat, 20 Dec 2014 16:24:29 +0000

In a similar vein to the above commenter regarding buying used another avenue is to buy technology that has become tried and true. Companies like Patagonia R&D new technologies and spend those dollars setting up quality factories (whether they be in America, Vietnam, China, or wherever). Those dollars (and the host countries low wages) subsidize future companies (e.g. Uniqlo) to come in and efficiently produce similar garments at a lower price.

By: korpijaakko

korpijaakko — Sat, 20 Dec 2014 12:27:46 +0000

Excellent post. And very true with the examples used. It would be interesting to know if the more affordable mainstream models would be there without the expensive high-end models and companies leading the way, doing R&D and creating the market and demand. Don’t know. Maybe, maybe not. But now we have the option of more affordable gear.

On the other hand, sometimes I’m happy to pay for example “100% more” to get “20% better” if that 20% is in important places. For example there are now very affordable merino wool baselayers but often the trade-off is: thinner material, shoretn sleeves and hem, baggier cut, maybe no zipper in the neck. It’s still pretty functional baselayer but doesn’t have what I want/need so I go and pay more. Special needs means special gear means low demand and usually high prices.

By: Paul Mags

Paul Mags — Sat, 20 Dec 2014 03:42:18 +0000

In reply to Jack. Sierra Trading Post, among others, is often good for that in terms of buying the previous year's model.

By: Jack

Jack — Sat, 20 Dec 2014 03:38:12 +0000

I think the best method if one is looking to buy high quality, “high end clothing is just to rarely (preferebably never) buy new. Buying used almost has no negatives and you get the same value at a much lower price. You may not get the hot new jacket out this fall but you’ll get usually under half the retail price if you trail the market by over at least a year.