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 June, 2005
Completely Hard-Core, the Salomon XA Pro Packvest 100, Only $67
This Salomon XA Pro vest means tonight is offically “cool, but unneeded gear night”. So what!
This vest is a pack, hydration bladder, and all-around adventure racing TOY. I may dig for bargains enough to run Hiker Deals, but I definitely want plenty of gear I don’t need. At Moosejaw.com it’s on sale for $67.15, and not nearly as hard to pull off as a 24-inch LCD monitor either.
Just Plain Cool Firestarter - the Swedish FireSteel
This firestarter is just plain cool. By scraping a metal blade across a special alloy rod sparks burning at 5,500°F can be thrown onto dry grass, leaves, or paper to kindle a campground fire. Personally, I’m probably going to use it to start the grill too - but I like that it’s actually harder than tossing a match onto some lighter fluid.
They don’t say what makes it Sweedish, but since the “Swedish” firesteel is just $15.99 it’s going to be fun to play with.
Free Shipping on Any $75+ Order at Sierra Trading Post
Sierra Trading Post is having a free shipping sale on an $75 or more order (expires 6/30/2005).
New Footwear, Running & Sporting Goods Coupons for Eastbay
I found Eastbay in highschool because they always had unpopular sizes and widths of running shoes that none of my local stores had. I’ve continued buying from them because they have great closeout sales on running shoes & are a lot friendlier than the salespeople or the crowds at the local-mall sports store.
- 20% off $99+ purchase
, Enter coupon code: LKS1J278 (expires 6/30/2005)
- $15 off $85, Enter coupon code: LKS1J277 (expires 6/30/2005)
- $10 off $50, Enter coupon code: LKS1J276 (expires 6/30/2005)
- 20% off any one item, Enter coupon code: EM01E64W (expires 6/30/2005)
20-40% off Camping Gear and Clothing at REI, Osprey Crescent 90 Pack on Sale
REI.com is having its annual 4th of July sale now. With 20-40% off boots, clothes, and packs it’s worth checking out the sale items to see if it’s something you’ve been waiting to buy.
The only tent on sale is a half-fly, Sierra Designs Sirius 3. Don’t bother with it unless you’re in a near-tropical climate. The half-fly is meant to save weight, but it sacrifices a lot in rain and wind protection without saving any weight compared to better designed tents from Marmot, REI and even Sierra Designs themselves. The only reason to spring for the tent would be if you do a lot of camping in near-tropical conditions. Because the half fly allows tons of airflow and covers a completely mesh tent-half, heat probably never builds up inside.
An item worth checking out from the sale list is the Osprey Crescent 90 Pack (search for item 699377, no direct links with REI). Billing it as “unisex” may have given it a bad reputation - which is all wrong. Osprey uses separate hipbelts, so the part of the pack that matters is male/female-specific, plus their hipbelts come in wide size ranges and can be switched between pack bodies. This 90 liter pack is a great size for week-long winter trips, month-long summer trips, or trad climbers on a weekend trip with a long hike-in.
84% Discount on Restaurant Gift Certificates
Enter coupon code 51325 to get 60% off already discounted dining gift certificates from Restaurant.com (remember to click “recalcualte total” at checkout to apply the coupon to the purchase). I know this deal isn’t camping related, I appologize that camping gear sales are so thin during summer months, but a lot of readers seem to be college students so this may help save some money during the week - or even on the roadtrip on the way to camp.
For those not familiar with Restaurant.com, they make their money by selling promotional gift certificates at a discount to face value. Restaurants tend to be newer or smaller places that may not be well known. In my area they include a brewery restaurant, several local pizza places, some date-worthy places, and even a Mrs. Fields cookie shop. I can get a $25 gift certificate for $10, only $4 with the coupon above (a total of 84% off), or a 50% off coupon for $3, only $1.20 with coupon.
It stinks that Restaurant.com charges you full price even if you enter the coupon code, unless you click “recalculate total” before hitting the buy button. Still, for that little bit of effort a full meal is only $4 + tip (and remember to tip on the pre-coupon bill amount).
MSR DragonFly Stove only $96 at Altrec.com
MSR got it right with this one. It burns as hot as the classic MSR XGKII stove, but has an newer burner and fuel valve - so it can run really low and simmer those gourmet meals well. The DragonFly stove is a bit bulky because of the wide pot supports, but that also stops tipping and loss of your dinner.
Right now the MSR DragonFly stove is only $95.97 at Altrec.com, marked down from $120, and it’s eligible for free shipping too.
20%-40% Off at Altrec’s 4th of July Sale
Altrec.com has 20%-40% off boots, packs, sleeping bags, tents and all other types of gear - puls, free shipping on all orders over $95. (sale ends June 30, 2005)
Backpacker Magazine: Good Photo Tips for Digital & Film Cameras at Backpacker.com
The Backpacker.com website has a really bad search engine, so I finally broke down and paid for the real Backpacker Magazine
At first I thought the $20/year might have been wasted, but I’m happy to have the magazine now. Searching for specific article titles from the magazine at Backpacker.com not only shows the articles online, but brings up whole sections of the website that aren’t on the website menus. A great example is this digital photography section, with half the photo tips being helpful for film cameras too.
The “Digital 101″ article applies to both digital and film camers. The idea is pretty simple: “practice until you know your camera’s settings”. Personally, I don’t like the idea of speding a lot of time staging a scene to take shots, but I have to admit I’ve missed some good pictures because things didn’t show up how I expected them to. After all those missed shots. After that article I might actually dig out my “camping camera” and figure out the right settings for sunset, shady forest, and sunrise pictures.
I’m giving Backpacker Magazine 5 of 5 stars. If this was a review of the Backpacker.com website then I would only give 3 of 5 stars.
Super Comfortable Cascade Designs Thermarest Camp Chair Only $22.95
Always a huge comfort to have in any camp, these Thermarest Camp chairs are worth buying two-at-a-time so you can at least have one for yourself. After all, unless I’m pulling a trailer or camper I would rather bring more food than a bulky folding chair - and the Thermarest chairs fit the bill, plus they double as a short sleeping pad for summer months.
Prime Camping Weather - Slow Time for Deals Though
Hi all. It’s been great camping weather here and in the Midwest (we’ve been visiting friends near Chicago). Hope to post some campground reviews as soon as I can get caught up with everything else (laundry, groceries, etc.).
Unfortunately the busy season for camping isn’t seeing too many bargains or deals posted. I’ll keep digging for everyone out there and see what I can find in the next few days.
-Mike
Extra 20% Off One Item at REI-Outlet.com
Use coupon code GRMA67 at REI-OUTLET.com for an extra 20% off one item in the special sale section (expires June 24th).
Polarized Sunglasses from The North Face 44% Off at Sierra Trading Post
Polarized lenses offer the sharpest viewing and have the best eye protection made, with glare reduction and 100% UV protection. All of these TNF sunglasses are polarized and have pretty sweet looking frames for being sport glasses (frames aren’t chunky and no big rubber pads showing). A hard case with lens cloth is a bonus if you’re like me and constantly drop or smudge your glasses.
- The North Face Orbit Sunglasses - Polarized
, Only $69.95, regularly $125
- The North Face Viper Sunglasses - Polarized
- The North Face Volt Sunglasses - Polarized