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 'News' Category
Extra 25% off on Altrec.com Gear Sale
Altrec must be expecting a lot of spring camping gear and clothes because the knocked another 25% off all the gear in their clearance store for this weekend. Until the 20th they’ve got backpacks, boots, jackets ↦ shells, trail running shoes, and even some nice Mountain Hardware gloves at some pretty deep discounts. The big-ticket stuff, like sleeping bags and tents, looks to be sold out already but there are still deals to be had.
Personally I always like fugly trail running shoes (all trail running shoes are pretty ugly, so you may as well make a statment if you’re trying to wear them to work or elsewhere). So I’m trying to decide between the Nike Air Steens II trail shoes, at $31.97, and the Adidas Jasten trail runners,
at $32.97. Either way, at about $32/pair they’ve got to be better than the beat-up, stinky running shoes I’m wearing now. Maybe I can buy both and use the excuse that I was trying to get a $45+ order together – since shipping is free then.
Clearance Sales at REI, Altrec, MooseJaw and Backcountry.com
All these sales and where have I been? …too much time shopping and not enough time writing about it, until now:
- Winter Sale at Altrec.com
: Good discounts and Free shipping on $45+ (expires 2/28/2006). The best stuff looks like a decent selection of North Face and Patagonia jackets (no a lot of sizes though), plenty of skis and snowboards (mixed bag on sizes), and plenty of women’s outdoor clothing and activewear.
- Backcountry.com Sale
: Free shipping on $50+ (expires 2/26/2006)
- MooseJaw Mountaineering: 10% Off (coupon codes required), 20% back in rewards credits, and Free shipping on $99+ (expires 2/20/2006). Use coupon code MOOSE for 10% off non-sale items and SUPERSALE for 10% off sale items.
- REI.com Winter Clearance: has 25-25% off stacks of winter gear. Looks like plenty of Men’s and Women’s clothing and jackets, plus a ton of snow shoes and cross-country ski equipment, limited sizes on sale snowboards and skis.
Big Shopping Comparison Sites Reviewed by Consumer Reports
All the biggest shopping comparison sites (Yahoo Shopping, Froogle, Shopping.com, PriceGrabber, etc.) are reviewed here by Consumer Reports. For the most part I agree with their ratings, although both Froogle (a Google site) and Yahoo Shopping have been upgraded since the review was completed.
One thing worth noting is that these big review sites are often just a waste of time when you’re trying to find a one-off product or looking for the BIGGEST deals. The smaller, human-edited sites do a better job of staying updated with the one-day sales and other limited coupons. My favorites include:
- Ben’s Bargains for electronics, stereo, and camera deals
- Deal Coupon for the latest coupons
- Anandtech Hot Deals forum for electronics and outright free stuff
Internet Shopping Bargain and Deal Sites: Master-List
Pete Freitag, blogger & Cold Fusion programmer has posted a great list of websites listing deals and bargains. I’ve used many of them myself, but beware that most of them focus on electronics and computers (it IS the internet…).
I’ll add a few of my own favorite shopping sites:
- Google’s own Froogle price search has one of the biggest selections of tech and non-tech equipment (and it seems to be biased toward paying advertisers).
- One camping or outdoor gear Deal-a-Day at Steep and Cheap.
- Looking for a new toaster oven or anything else non-techie? General purpose price-search sites like Shopzilla and Shopper.com work OK.
- And, of course Hiker Deals – for camping bargains, but you’re already here.
My favorite bargain-finder sites from Pete’s list are Ben’s Bargains, Anandtech’s Deal forum, and Woot’s one-deal-per-day.
eBay Coupons Again, $5 and $15 Off Any Item
More coupons for eBay. Haven’t tried these, but they probably require using PayPal to bay for purchases:
- $5 off $50 purchase code C22-GIFTGUIDE
- $15 off $100 purchase code C23-GIFTGUIDE
- 10% off, $25 maximum savings code C1-HOLIDAY2005 (only works for 50% of users …? Try to find out.)
- $5 off $50 purchase code C2-HOLIDAY2005 (only works for 50% of users …? Try to find out.)
- $15 off $100 purchase code C3-HOLIDAY2005 (only works for 50% of users …? Try to find out.)
Coupon: eBay 10% Off ANYTHING (…almost anything, $25 maximum savings)
Anyone ever use eBay? If you pay for any eBay purchase with your PayPal account you can use the coupon code C11-GIFTGUIDE to get 10% off (maximum savings $25, expiration unknown).
There’s plenty of new gear on eBay for those of you who (like me) wouldn’t ever buy a pair of used boots. Several camping equipment stores sell their new and overstock gear at reduced prices.
Thanks to RyeBlog for finding this deal.
Coupon: Bargain Meals from Restaurant.com – $25 Gift Certificates for $4
Use coupon code 39109 at Restaurant.com for 60% off all prices there. If you haven’t used Restaurant.com before – they sell $25 gift certificates to nice restaurants for just $10. 60% off the $10 price makes a $25 meal just $4. (coupon code expires 9/30/2005)
Sierra Trading Post 10% off, No Minimum Order
Just click the link and the 10% off discount will be applied at checkout: 10% off Sale at Sierra Trading Post
Tech Toys, Extra 10% off This Weekend
Computer Geeks is one of my favorite places to find bargains on digital cameras and iPod toys. Why? I like that it’s hit-or-miss and that while they don’t always have the “best” models – the prices are way lower than elsewhere.
To get an extra 10% off (items not already marked as “Geek Specials”) enter the coupon code FREEDOM into the red coupon box at checkout (good July 1st-5th, 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).
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).
Los Angeles Traffic Problems, on the Manhattan Beach Bike Path
This weekend I was shocked to see speed limit signs on the beachfront bike path while riding through Manhattan Beach. 8mph! …on a bike path, and most people could run faster than that!
A quick turn uphill onto the stop-and-go surface streets put me home faster than 8mph would, and once home a quick Google turned up some interesting information about the new limits. This April, 2005, a woman was struck by a cyclist while crossing the bike path in Manhattan Beach and subsequently died in the hospital.
I would like to side with IndependentSources.com that $350 bike speeding tickets are unreasonable. Nonetheless, even as a “sport” cyclist who regularly pushes 20+mph on the path, I’ll pass on the path altogether to avoid that type of misery.
The beach path may be a great great place for beach cruiser bikes, joggers (who are also being ticketed for being on the bike path now), and people-watching, but it requires a lot of attention and quick reactions to avoid children, large groups, and unexpected “lane changes” of others. Four years of cycling in LA and neither myself nor any of the racers I know have hit anyone on the bike path, but we’re still aware that it’s risky and even complain about other cyclists who don’t slow down enough. I don’t agree that 8mph is reasonable, but after a fatality on the path I’ll just pass on the path and watch out for myself on the road.