We love REI around here. Yes, it's pricey, but if you use coupons you can get killer deals, and if you buy full-price and are a member, you get a rebate at the end of the year of about 10%. Not to mention, nothing can beat their return policy! You can return anything, anytime, for any reason. You buy a pair of boots, wear them for five years, and decide they didn't last long enough? You can return it. Buy a tent, use it a season and the poles break (like ours did this year... unfortunately it was from Target)? Return it. You are paying slightly higher prices, but for such an amazing warranty it is worth it in our opinion.
Which brings us to: the REI Garage Sale. I went yesterday with my friend Austin sans husband and child, and we got some pretty amazing stuff for insane prices.
Exhibit A:
REI Siesta 35 Double Sleeping Bag
$66. It had been used ONCE. And whoever bought it decided it wasn't warm enough and returned it. We even went on a spontaneous camping trip with our new-ish Hobitat 4 tent last night. The sleeping bag was very, very warm. Not quite big enough for the three of us, so I ended up sleeping on my own in our single sleeping bag. The tent was huge, so much bigger than we were expecting, but really comfortable compared to our old Coleman tent. We paid about $130 for it a few months ago during a sale. With four of us who will be camping next year, we not needed a new tent out of necessity since our old one broke, but also for more space. It's harder to put up and requires two people, but there are few larger tents that are easy to put up.
Exhibit B:
Sorel Winter Boots
$6. No joke, they were that much. They are used, the bottoms are a little worn out, but still have a ton of life left.
Exhibit C, D, and E:
Five Fingers
All of these were in great condition, mine had been worn once! I paid about $20-25 for each pair. I thought they would be $50, so I originally only bought Tim one pair. But because we had been there so long (Austin and I were there for three hours), they had dropped all of the shoes by 50%. So, they were half-price. Awesome. I'm only bummed that I didn't buy the Dansko clogs I had grabbed earlier. I didn't want to spend $50 on them, but would have gladly paid $25. Oh well. Tim wears his Vibrams pretty much exclusively now for running, which he does every day. I'm going to wear mine for hiking and aerobics and just walking around outside with Theodore. I usually wear Tom's or my Simple shoes for walking and playing outside, but they are getting worn out really fast, so I'll save those for fancier occasions like work and church.
Exhibit F:
Deuter Kid Comfort II
We have been looking for a more comfortable pack for hiking with. Theodore loves being in Casey's backpack when we borrow it because it is a lot more comfortable than our Kelty one, and we wanted something that wouldn't hurt Tim's back. It holds a lot, is lightweight, incredibly adjustable, and we paid about $100 for it. Not bad...
I also bought Tim some warm long underwear for camping and running but I didn't feel the need to put those on here (they were only $4, ps). Austin got some pretty amazing stuff too, like a gorgeous down sleeping bag, more Five Fingers, a wet suit (for surfing in Seattle), and a sleeping pad. She also tried out her new gear with us last night (except the wet suit). She was extremely happy about her purchases as well. I really was looking for a nice warm coat for the winter (they didn't have much in terms of coats), but with the purchases at the garage sale we received a $20 coupon to REI, so I'll use that at the outlet to get a good price on a nice soft shell or down jacket. I was hesitant to go the Garage Sale because the last one was way overcrowded and we didn't find much, but was so happy I went to this one. We used the money from the sales of our bed and couch to fund our purchases. I would say it was a good decision :) Especially now that Tim has a new job... more on that later...
Which brings us to: the REI Garage Sale. I went yesterday with my friend Austin sans husband and child, and we got some pretty amazing stuff for insane prices.
Exhibit A:
REI Siesta 35 Double Sleeping Bag
$66. It had been used ONCE. And whoever bought it decided it wasn't warm enough and returned it. We even went on a spontaneous camping trip with our new-ish Hobitat 4 tent last night. The sleeping bag was very, very warm. Not quite big enough for the three of us, so I ended up sleeping on my own in our single sleeping bag. The tent was huge, so much bigger than we were expecting, but really comfortable compared to our old Coleman tent. We paid about $130 for it a few months ago during a sale. With four of us who will be camping next year, we not needed a new tent out of necessity since our old one broke, but also for more space. It's harder to put up and requires two people, but there are few larger tents that are easy to put up.
Exhibit B:
Sorel Winter Boots
Exhibit C, D, and E:
Five Fingers
All of these were in great condition, mine had been worn once! I paid about $20-25 for each pair. I thought they would be $50, so I originally only bought Tim one pair. But because we had been there so long (Austin and I were there for three hours), they had dropped all of the shoes by 50%. So, they were half-price. Awesome. I'm only bummed that I didn't buy the Dansko clogs I had grabbed earlier. I didn't want to spend $50 on them, but would have gladly paid $25. Oh well. Tim wears his Vibrams pretty much exclusively now for running, which he does every day. I'm going to wear mine for hiking and aerobics and just walking around outside with Theodore. I usually wear Tom's or my Simple shoes for walking and playing outside, but they are getting worn out really fast, so I'll save those for fancier occasions like work and church.
Exhibit F:
Deuter Kid Comfort II
We have been looking for a more comfortable pack for hiking with. Theodore loves being in Casey's backpack when we borrow it because it is a lot more comfortable than our Kelty one, and we wanted something that wouldn't hurt Tim's back. It holds a lot, is lightweight, incredibly adjustable, and we paid about $100 for it. Not bad...
I also bought Tim some warm long underwear for camping and running but I didn't feel the need to put those on here (they were only $4, ps). Austin got some pretty amazing stuff too, like a gorgeous down sleeping bag, more Five Fingers, a wet suit (for surfing in Seattle), and a sleeping pad. She also tried out her new gear with us last night (except the wet suit). She was extremely happy about her purchases as well. I really was looking for a nice warm coat for the winter (they didn't have much in terms of coats), but with the purchases at the garage sale we received a $20 coupon to REI, so I'll use that at the outlet to get a good price on a nice soft shell or down jacket. I was hesitant to go the Garage Sale because the last one was way overcrowded and we didn't find much, but was so happy I went to this one. We used the money from the sales of our bed and couch to fund our purchases. I would say it was a good decision :) Especially now that Tim has a new job... more on that later...
So jealous! We went to the Austin garage sale and it was pretty lame compared to our experiences in Utah. We thought we were just more picky but apparently it really is austin.... bummer.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE REI garage sales!!!
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