HikerDeals' Best-of-the-Best Outdoor Gear Deals:
HikerDeals Bargain, Deal, and Sale Archive for April, 2006
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Altrec.com is celebrating their 7th anniversary and is marking down their whole selection of new trail running shoes. The selection includes new-this-season shoes like the Adidas Jansten II, Keen’s new Humboldt, and The North Face’s Terrainius and Ultra 103 models - at discounts from 15-30%. There is also free shipping from Altrec on all these shoes, and on all other orders of $45 and up.
Posted April 30th, 2006 - Trackback Link - No Comments »
Professional climbers aren’t quite the same as backpackers or recreational campers, but I’m still jealous about all the time they get to spend outside and all the cool places they get to visit (and get paid to visit too). Beth Rodden and Tommy Caldwell both hold a lot of climbing records, but they seem to be pretty cool people too - plus they’re married and manage to spend weeks together in the close quarters of tents and climbing porta-ledges. …we can all probably take some lessons on that.
Here’s the interview of the climbing couple from the folks at the Backcountry.com gear shop.
Posted April 27th, 2006 - Trackback Link - No Comments »
Altrec.com has the Salomon Prospect snowboard on clearance for just $279.97. The Prospect is rated as one of the best freestyle/park boards around this year, though all that control means it’s not the greatest all-mountain board. It’s currently in-stock in 153cm, 157m, and 160cm lengths, all are the same 65% off, and includes free shipping from Altrec.
Posted April 27th, 2006 - Trackback Link - No Comments »
A few readers here have dogs, but I usually forget to post pet store coupons until I’m shopping for myself (…actually, more for my dog than for myself). This weekend was stock-up time for dog supplies and I found a coupon for $10 off $55+ (expires 4/30/2006) at PetCO.com.
Posted April 22nd, 2006 - Trackback Link - No Comments »
I just stopped by REI
and saw the most impressive bike headlamp I’ve seen in a long time. CatEye finally perfected their LED lamps and the new LED-powered HL-EL500 Opticube lamp (no direct-links for REI.com, search for product ID# 710-403) is brighter than most of the big, external-battery lamps (like many NiteRider and ViewPoint models). The amazing thing is that the lamp shines out 1,000 candlepower for 30 hours on 4 AA batteries and weighs just 4 ounces - but the thing only costs $60.
Posted April 21st, 2006 - Trackback Link - No Comments »
Technically it’s a softshell, but the Inconceivable jacket from The North Face uses a fully waterproof GoreTex laminate instead of the typical WindStopper membrane. It still uses a tough, stretchy shell fabric and is lightly lined with fleece, but the pile is shaved off the fabric at the seams so they can be taped for waterproofness. That means there’s no need to bring both a hardshell and softshell in the luggage for most trips - one jacket covers rainy and fast-moving situations. The one downfall of the Inconceivable jacket is that the GoreTex membrane won’t breathe as well as WindStopper or other softshell fabrics.
Not only is this top-end Noth Face jacket 25% off, but Backcountry.com also has free shipping on all $50+ orders.
Posted April 19th, 2006 - Trackback Link - No Comments »
Windproof and breathable Gore-Tex Windstopper N2S fabric brings the women’s Mountain Hardware Transition Featherweight jacket in at just 9 ounces of weight - but it’s one of the warmest and most versatile layers you can ever find. The fleece lining and wind-stopping make them warmer than most expedition weight fleece without a lot less bulk and weight. Made form the same materials as a lot of windshirts I much prefer jackets like this because they’re better for wearing alone during running or cross country travel in cold weather and since they’re not pullovers they fit a lot better under heavier warm layers during realy cold conditions.
Remember you can save even more with Altrec.com’s free shipping on all $45+ orders.
Posted April 19th, 2006 - Trackback Link - No Comments »
The Patagonia R4 Windbloc jacket is the heaviest fleece jacket that Patagonia makes - with an R2 fleece outer layer and an R1 inner layer sandwiched around a wind stopper membrane layer. Built with a trim fit and no shoulder seams the R4 Windbloc will be a great “fluffy parka” replacement for winter backpacking and mountaineering when anything fluffy or puffy would just rub, bunch, and get in the way.
30% off makes the R4 jacket a great deal too and save even more with Altrec.com’s free shipping on all $45+ orders.
Posted April 19th, 2006 - Trackback Link - No Comments »
The men’s Denali Thermal jacket from The North Face is on sale at Steep and Cheap today. The thermal model uses a high-loft Polartec fleece that’s extra compressible (similar to the very packable R2 fleece in Patagonia’s jackets). At 52% off I don’t expect it to last very long, though they have S-XL in two colors now and some spare S’s in a third colo too.
Posted April 19th, 2006 - Trackback Link - No Comments »
A great new coupon at the online sporting goods store Eastbay.com gets you 20% off any order of $100 and up. Just enter coupon code LKS16AP2 at checkout (expires 5/1/2006) for the discount on running & casual shoes and workout gear. Nothing specific is on sale but it’s still a good deal on training gear to get ready for the next long trip or fastpacking gear if you go ultra-light.
Posted April 18th, 2006 - Trackback Link - No Comments »
On sale at Sierra Trading Post are these classically-made backpacking boots from Alico, they’re available in both normal and wide widths too. The leather uppers are one-piece, full-grain leather and are not only beautiful, but are a lot thicker than the split leather and suede used in most “modern” hiking boots. This makes the boot a lot more supportive and allows the leather to have a “memory” of your foot’s shape. The liners of these Alico’s are also full leather - instead of a wicking, synthetic fabric. My mountaineering boots have a full leather liner, which cost me a lot of extra time and money to find, and it’s a lot less likely to pull and bunch on socks and cause rubbing than my synthetic-lined boots. The norwegian welt soles are incredibly supportive and great on rough trails. With a norwegian welt sole the boot and sole are hand-stitched together, instead of being bonded, so the result is a bit heavier (though still only 4-pounds a pair), but much more supportive and durable than bonded soles and can even be resoled once the lugs start to wear thin. With such heavy-duty construction, these boots will require longer than average break-in time, but will be incredibly comfortable once the leather uppers start to mold to your foot, plus they’ll outlast just about any other boot out there.
About resoling:
Good resolers are hard to find now, but I’ve hear good things about Rocky Mountain Resole for boots. I also had a good experience having climbing shoes resoled at Rock & Resole in Boulder, CO, but don’t know if they resole boots too.
A note on caring for traditional, all-leather boots:
Keep in mind though, boots made with full-grain leather and leather lining need a bit of care if they’re going to last for years. About once a year a quick soap (real soap, not liquid or deodorant soap) and water bath on the outside and inside will get rid of sap, salts, and anything else that can dry or crack the leather. Once they dry (no heating here) a coat of non-oil-based leather waterproofer needs to be applied thick enough to soak into the creases and seams of this thick leather. Traditionally boots like this were treaded with oil-based (including petroleum and/or animal-fat compounds) waterproofers because nothing else was available. Using wax (beeswax is one I’ve used myself) is OK, but the oil-based waterproofers can make the leather too soft and the threads stitching the boots together will cut into the softer leather - leading to weaker seams and the potential of seam blowouts. Since Nikwax and similar “new” treatments waterproof better anyway, there’s not a lot of reason to deal with those messy, stinky oils anyway.
Posted April 7th, 2006 - Trackback Link - No Comments »
Ben & Jerry’s Free Cone Day 2006 is in just 1 day. Stop by a Ben & Jerry’s shop on April 25th for a free scoop of ice cream, frozen yogurt, or sorbet.
Primus stoves are favorites of mine, I recently reviewed the burn (almost) anything Primus Varifuel model, and now the Primus Micron Stove with a piezo ignitor is on sale (one-day only, like all Steep and cheap deals) at Steep and Cheap. The $27.83 price is great, but the 3.3 ounce weight is even better. With laws against packing used liquid fuel bottles in airline luggage and butane cartridges cheap & available just about anywhere - you can’t beat cartridge stoves like this for convenience and weight on short trips.
Free ground shipping at Sierra Trading Post