Is everything really that expensive

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?

Thank you for reading.

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.

Just my two cents.

@Dai
Love Decathlon and have tons of stuff from there, but this is the first time anyone has ever explained their abbreviations to me!

@Dai
Wow. Thank you for posting this.

Watch places like Sierra Trading Post for good deals!

Francis said:
Watch places like Sierra Trading Post for good deals!

Right. I like them.

Fern said:

Francis said:
Watch places like Sierra Trading Post for good deals!

Right. I like them.

Is that Sierra.com?

Fern said:

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.

@Fern
Google gorpcore and be amazed.

@Fern
I’m buying. So is my entire social circle. But we live in Santa Fe. So we’re all always outdoors.

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.

No you’re not wrong. Like you used to be able to get affordable shoes most places now what’s on the shelf is $119-$189 msrp.

Some of it is because of Amazon, brick and mortar stores have little reason to stock inexpensive items.

It is okay being super budget friendly, it just might take more effort.

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.

Yep, I basically only buy pre-owned now or if it’s something I really need I’ll save up or use some sort of payment plan that most online stores use.