Hello, good people of this forum. I am just posting to express sticker shock.
I rarely shop at physical retail stores nowadays. The exception would be bookstores. I ran a half marathon today. The bib pickup was at a local branch of an outdoor gear chain store. They offer a 20 percent discount coupon. So my friend and I looked around. I have nothing against the brands we were checking out, and, just the opposite: we were curious, because we were interested in maybe buying. This outlet is reputable, huge, well-stocked, with good service, so it’s no criticism of them either. I would not regard myself as poor, nor as rich. Others might even suppose I’m well-to-do (they overestimate).
Anyway, every single item, in particular clothing, especially names you would know, such as North Face, was probably 2x what I would contemplate paying, even taking into account the 20 percent off deal. We did not buy anything.
This was a good experience for me. My wife wants me to be more disciplined and not buy stuff. When I see reviews online of budget gear, I typically think to myself, budget? that is my high end. I wonder, who is the prospective purchaser?
Decathlon is great for budget-oriented people. I don’t regret any purchases from them.
They have like 20-30 different types of baselayers, ranging from polyester to merino and in between. You’ll definitely find some that suit your needs.
Great midlayers with well thought out designs such as ventilation and abrasion resistance.
They also have a few great hardshells and rain jackets. Their nomenclature is:
MH for mountain hiking
FH for fast hiking
SH for snow hiking
MT for mountain trekking
BL for baselayer
Look up the MT500 jacket for example. Very decent, comparable to my Arc’teryx Beta AR in looks and feel, but with PU membrane instead of Goretex for a much cheaper price. I’m almost sure they loosely design their clothes on popular pieces and then test them in the French Alps.
Francis said:
Watch places like Sierra Trading Post for good deals!
Right. I like them.
Focus on the product you want, then search the web for it. There are so many deal sites. Sierra, steep and cheap, campmor, mountain steals, EMS, etc. Also buy off season and take advantage of big sales.
I shop a lot of thrift and sales. I’ve got a pretty decent wardrobe that’s basically all Patagonia, Cotopaxi, Kuhl, and Fjallraven. It’s expensive, but only the first time. I have Kuhl button-downs that are 10 years old and look brand new. I use warranty and repair services when needed and return old gear for credit back.
I like to wander around REI and see what they have. I never buy anything, but it’s always fun to look. I’m an online sale sniper - I almost never buy any piece of clothing or gear unless I find a sale.
@Holland
What I don’t understand is: who is buying? You aren’t. I’m not. Who are the very rich folks buying hiking gear? I look at some stuff, and I think, this is not hiking gear; it’s leisure wear with a rugged look.
Corey said: @Fern
I’m buying. So is my entire social circle. But we live in Santa Fe. So we’re all always outdoors.
Great! I hope you get good deals, for your sake. What I looked at was stuff I would have guessed to be half what the price tag said, and even at half it would have been too much for me.
For REI I wait until their November and December sales. I bought two Fjallraven jackets on sale from 375 to 250 and from 500 to 350. Pants that were normally 150 were 80. They don’t have a lot of sales but I’ll usually have 1 or 2 expensive things a year I want that I’ll hold off on buying until then.
Unfortunately I tend to find that the budget stuff can be a false economy - if you put it against the life of the more expensive stuff. For example, my last good pair of hiking boots lasted over 20 years - they were expensive but considering price to product life it was a no brainer.
Might as well have a look on Ali Express, plenty of good gear cheaper than US prices. Aldi have seasonal sales. Their thermals are excellent. Decathlon has some really good value down and microfleece options.