HikerDeals' Best-of-the-Best Outdoor Gear Deals:
- Sierra Trading Post: Extra 15% Off Fishing, hunting & Work Gear
- Moosejaw: 10% off with coupon code MOOSE, extra 10% off sale items with code SUPERSALE
- Sierra Trading Post: Extra 10% Off Boots, Shoes, Gear, and Workout Apparel + January Coupon 10% Off $100+ Orders
HikerDeals Bargain, Deal, and Sale Archive for March, 2005
Didn’t know Altrec gurantees the goods & the prices
Since starting HikerDeals a week ago we’ve spent tons of time surfing gear-shop websites to find the best deals going. Until just now we hadn’t seen that Altrec offers a 115% price matching gurantee. That means they’ll match a lower price and give you back another 15% of the price difference. The icing on the cake may be the 100% gurantee on eveything they sell, except swimsuits, underwares & the like. Check it out: Altrec’s gurantees. This is a sweet deal, considering how friendly their phone people are on top of it all.
Updates Stores List & New Gear Review Sections
We’ve added two new sections to the site. Both are the “In-Depth” sections in the menu to the side. In-Depth: Gear Reviews features our own hard to please opinions. In-Depth: Trip Packing Lists contains lists of things not to forget (plus some things you may NOT want to lug around) on backpacking and camping trips. The packing lists will mention things you’ll need based on where, how long, and what season/weather everyone will be traveling during.
A new section has also been added. Given the number of online stores that you don’t know about, we would like to point you our own list of dependable Gear Stores. We have made at least one purchase from every store on this list and the items arrived as described, plus we haven’t seen any bogus charges showing up on our credit cards.
Something to Chew On
Taj (the one of us with four legs) only seems to chew on three things: gross stuff that ruins the rugs, plastic stuff (clothes hangers, water bottles, & stain-prone pens), and toys like Booda Yummy Rope Bones. They’re on clearance at PetSmart. I’m buying a few & wanted to let anyone else out there know about it.
Save on Yakima car racks, free shipping too
Need a car rack? Snag some Yakima car rack parts from Snow Leopard Mountain Sports, use the coupon spgcj10 for 10% off orders over $100, get the Yakima stuff shipped free, and save on sales tax if you’re not in Colorado.
All types of gear, 10% off coupons
I’m never going to pick out the right items for 99% of the people, so here are 10% off coupons for all types of gear:
- AllMountainSports.com has 10% off orders over $100 with coupon code: spgcj10
.
- Snow Leopard Mountain Sports, use coupon code spgcj10
for 10% off orders over $100. Also, %5 off orders under $100 with coupon code spgcjf5
.
- RockyMountainTrail.com offers free ground shipping and 10% off, just enter the coupon code SPRING
at checkout.
- REI & REI.com always offer 10% back to members
. A lifetime membership membership is only $20 and no coupon code is needed online or in their stores.
Best Sleeping Bags for the, $, Money
Four years working in a non-corporate gear shop scored me a lot of time with sweet (and very $$$) demo products. One of my favorite things to demo was always a new sleeping bag, despite a few nights spent shivering in shoddy products. The model-year for gear is a bit different than for cars. Right now is clearance season on great 2004 gear, and the bags listed below are at least 30% off.
With so many brands finally getting fit and hood-shapes right - durability is key to why I picked bags from Marmot, Mountain Hardware and Sierra Designs. If you can’t get to sleep when the loft is gone after a few months in the closet, then who cares what the warranty says. With that in mind: Down, the Marmot Sawtooth, 15-degree is only $130 and Sierra Designs Cloudripper
, 20-degree only $160. Synthetic, the Sierra Designs Wild Bill
, 20-degree is only $60 and the Mountain Hardware 2nd Dimension
, 15-degree bag is only $122 .
Just to mention my favorite bag: the single lightest-smallest-most convenient sleeping bag I’ve ever used is a Western Mountaineering HighLight, 35-degree. At $220-$230 it is pricey, but it’s worth it if you take most of your trips during summer months. The HighLight weighs only 16 oz., fits into a widemouth Nalgene (not recommended except as a stunt), and it works for everything I’ve encountered between June and September (light snow included). It will even cover April - November so long as you have a tent to block wind and add a pair of wool socks and some long underwear. It’s a tough bag to find and I found out personally that Western Mountaineering can keep you waiting for 4 months if you have to special order it. Here are a few reatilers who stock the bag (in this case, none offering commisions to this site): BackcountryGear.com, BentGate.com, MooseJaw.com, and Travelcountry.com. My only complaint is that the lack of a draft collar makes the bag seem shorter than it really is, because you’ll need to cinch the hood and burrow into the bag more. Only consider the 6′0″ size if you’re under 5′10″, otherwise jump up the the 6′6″ length (by the way, you can custom order a 7′ length from Western Mountaineering, but it may take 2 months to be made and delivered).
Giro Nine.9 Snow Helmets on Sale (finally)
While they’re not hard to find on the slope or in stores - the Giro Nine.9 helmets never seem to go on sale. I’ve found two online retailers clearing out the 2004/2005 colors. Snowshack has Giro’s Nine.9 for $98.99. If you happen to ride in an XS size, hit Altrec.com up for a Giro Nine.9
for a blowout $65.97 & free shipping. While you’re at it don’t forget about listening to the iPod on the slopes and grab a pair of Giro TuneUps II
for $59.
Addition: Now that I’m in the market for this helmet I’m finding better prices everywhere. Amazon.com has the Giro Nine.9, All Sizes for only for only $76.97
Welcome to HikerDeals.com
My favorite gear, the web’s best deals. Welcome to HikerDeals.com. I’m Mike and I’ll be scouring the web for bargains on outdoor, camping and hiking gear for you and your pets (yes, I’m a dog-owner myself). Products from the best manufacturers and the best shops on the web will be featured here - in an uncluttered, spam-free format.
My goal is to feature the best deals on gear, and maybe hype a few products that I really love, so that my readers can spend less time online and more time outside. Yes readers, I do get paid for my time by using referral programs for many of the shops and programs I feature. Basically, most of the gear I link to will earn me about 4% of the purchase price if you buy it. This percentage doesn’t affect the price readers pay - it just helps me to spend less time at work and more time finding deals (and eventually I hope it can help me to get away from a two-week-a-year vacation schedule too).
Hope I can find enough bargains to keep everyone coming back. Drop me a line if you have suggestions or deals to mention.