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_rookie_
Oct 1, 2008, 3:20 AM
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Greetings.
Relative noob here. Love the mountains. Primary interest in mountaineering.
Done some indoor and some scrambling. Recently found a good group of guys to mentor me a bit, and who have all sorts of trad gear.
Have some gear of my own (shoes, harness, ropes - 9.5 & 10, biners, axe, etc). Also a decent sleeping bag and 3-season tent.
Question is...any advice on tracking down gear on a shoestring budget? We're building our first house (not cheap in Calgary), and have two young daughters...so free income is an oxymoron.
Things I'm needing are not cheap (good shell, mountaineering boots, crampons, etc.) Basically winter outdoor gear.
Looking for shortcuts wherever I can. If you have tips on brands, consignments, whatever...please let me know.
Cheers.
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seatbeltpants
Oct 1, 2008, 3:35 AM
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being in a similar situation as you, my best advice is to borrow whatever you can whenever possible, wait for killer sales, and buy second hand. the first is free (unless you damage it), the second is all good and gets you new gear, and the third is cheap as chips.
in my experience, a bit of patience and persistance keeping an eye on online auctions will lead to some excellent deals. inevitably you won't find the exact size or exact model you're after every time, but if you aren't needing everything immediately this might not be such an issue.
lots of folks seem to get into climbing and buy all the gear they'd ever need and then discover it's not for them, they don't have the time etc. as long as you know something about the gear you're purchasing and can make sure it's not actually damaged, you can pick up a lot of stuff good as new for a fraction of retail.
best of luck!
steve
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imcd
Oct 1, 2008, 3:50 AM
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Registered: Nov 25, 2003
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MEC ha san outdoor gear swap every year, I don't know if it has already happened or not but there is a lot of cheap gear there. also most ski swaps seam to be a good source for shells and packs
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thej
Oct 1, 2008, 4:35 AM
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camping gear is where there is money to be saved.
climbing gear a little harder.
check out the numerous online discounters, more so for clothing and gear, sometime climbing gear.
altrec, moosejaw, sierra trading post...there are good deals to be had.
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granite_grrl
Oct 1, 2008, 1:08 PM
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imcd wrote: MEC ha san outdoor gear swap every year, I don't know if it has already happened or not but there is a lot of cheap gear there. also most ski swaps seam to be a good source for shells and packs
Second hand is probobly the best best, clearance sales are second. Sweet talking your wife into a kick ass birthday/christmas/anniversery (maybe all three combined?) present also works :P.
Boots suck to buy, but if you have pretty average sized feet you can find some for $60-250 pretty easy second hand. Might not be a perfect fit, but even a cheap pair will get you through a season or two (probobly).
As for clothes, you don't need to start with the best of the best. My husband started with a Marmot Precip jacket for his shell, I started with a pair of nylon pants from EMS. Both of us had cheaper gloves but dished out the money pretty quick for new ones once we decided we didn't want frostbite on our first trip to the Daks. Yes, a pair of $80 gloves was completly worth it.
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charley
Oct 1, 2008, 1:09 PM
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You might check renting some stuff. There are clubs/ organazations as well as stores like rei that rent some gear.
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Barrent
Oct 1, 2008, 1:16 PM
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Registered: Apr 30, 2008
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Coming from a realative noob myself with a tight budget try staggering your purchases over the year. Also check out www.spadout.com and www.steepandcheap.com, they're both great sites for cheap gear.
(This post was edited by Barrent on Oct 1, 2008, 2:50 PM)
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jp_sucks
Oct 1, 2008, 1:40 PM
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Assuming that he's building a house in Calgary means that he's living there. If so, hit up the annual MEC Gear Swap mentioned but also go onto their website and look at the online used gear swap. Tons of good deals on there and lots of it is located in Calgary/Canmore area.
There's also an ok (but not great) consignment shop across the street from the MEC in Calgary and a better one in Canmore.
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granite_grrl
Oct 1, 2008, 1:50 PM
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jp_sucks wrote: Assuming that he's building a house in Calgary means that he's living there. If so, hit up the annual MEC Gear Swap mentioned but also go onto their website and look at the online used gear swap. Tons of good deals on there and lots of it is located in Calgary/Canmore area. There's also an ok (but not great) consignment shop across the street from the MEC in Calgary and a better one in Canmore. 
The online gear swap is a little tricky, but it'll be easier to find stuff on there than here in Ontario.
I would also get involved with a club like the ACC or another crew. They can keep their ear to the ground for people selling of their gear (I actually have a couple of watchers out that way myself for a couple bits of ice gear I need).
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shrug7
Oct 1, 2008, 1:59 PM
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I went around the house and Craigslist-ed stuff I didn't need. Found a bunch of crap that I haven't used in over a year. Ended up with about 1500$ over about 6 months. There was a good chunk of gear.
As far as buying. Check spadout and watch Steep and Cheap, every now and then they surprise you. Also find the previous year closeouts.
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dingus
Oct 1, 2008, 2:27 PM
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Registered: Dec 16, 2002
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Welcome to the fold Cheap Bastard. I've been a cheap bastard since I got started in this gig. Now its just a habit.
Some good mentions above. Also
Sierratradingpost.com... (closeouts and over-stocks)
eBay
look for ski and mountaineering shop end of season sales (every season - you just never know)
Watch any company local or otherwise, that rents out gear that you need. As a mountaineer in BC you either ski or you're going to learn.... watch for the end of season RENTAL SALES - some of the best ski deals on the planet are to be had. Don't worry in the least about using ski rental gear - you're gonna trash it all anyway.
Be willing to buy way out of season and well ahead of need (or behind haha).
Just know that the Cheap Bastard Route is fraught with false starts, bad belays and leaky wet bivis. It also can contain a bit of envy as you sit and shiver and admire your partner's warm (AND DRY) top O the Line $400 (oops, Canadian, I mean $125) 10-layer Goretex weighing in at NEGATIVE 3 ounces!
You'll wear mismatched clothing with pride. You'll sport oddly colored "Euro-boots." You shirts will be 4 years old when you open the package. You won't stand for a $25 pair of socks or underwear. Fifty dollar SHORTS??? ARE YOU HIGH?????????
$7 bucks end of summer sale - stock up bro!
DMT
(This post was edited by dingus on Oct 1, 2008, 2:29 PM)
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brownie710
Oct 1, 2008, 7:35 PM
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gearexpress.com
acme climbing.com
discount outdoor gear.com
ebay for non-life dependent gear
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Myxomatosis
Oct 1, 2008, 8:11 PM
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Registered: Jun 12, 2007
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seatbeltpants wrote: too right! my frankenrack of mismatched secondhand gear kicks arse - if it's already scuffed when i buy it there's no need to baby it when i'm climbing, unlike my mates with their brand new, top notch gear that they don't want to get dirty. i picked up some shoes in a clearance sale last month for nz$40 (us$20) and the box had a catalog inside from 2002, and the review i found on rc.com said "best shoes ever, pity they're discontinued"! all good  steve
What pair did you get?... I got a pair of pink 5.10 anaza's for $160nz retail $270... score!!
You could look at joining a apline or climbing club, they usually get good discounts with retailers.
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seatbeltpants
Oct 1, 2008, 8:22 PM
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scored two pairs, actually - a pair of boreal matrixs (matrices?) and some boreal fusions, $40 a pair, marked down from $280 (and that's $280 in inflation non-adjusted 2002 dollars!). my local store had a crate of shoes which had been sitting out the back for years and they finally decided to shift the damn things.
so yea, gear on a budget? think long term and wait for the sale, mate.
steve
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anthonymason
Oct 1, 2008, 8:23 PM
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Registered: Oct 11, 2006
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All of the discount web/ mtn stores are good to hit up.
As far as you're boots go, I would buy from a shop who knows how to properly fit mountaineering boots, rather than finding a pair that kindof fits.
Some boots even from the same manufacture can vary by as much as two sizes, the reason for this is because of the different countries in which they are manufactured in. It is important to have properly fitting boots.
I prefer to come home with all of my toe's after a trip, and a ill-fitting pair of boots can cause circulation problems leading to frostbite, or worse.
Use cheap/sale gear everywhere else but spend the $$ where it is needed.
Anthony
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erikbuzz
Oct 2, 2008, 1:08 AM
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Registered: Oct 28, 2007
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Watch dailyclimber.com also. One item per day. Sometimes there are really good deals.
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sungam
Oct 2, 2008, 1:17 AM
Post #19 of 28
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Registered: Jun 24, 2004
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Also check out steepandcheap.com
Also check out our very own "NEW HOT DEALS THREAD!"
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spicytuna
Oct 5, 2008, 2:51 AM
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Registered: Sep 19, 2008
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Hi,
As mentioned above, the MEC gear swap is a good place to start. The MEC website also has an online gear swap which has its occasional deals as well.
You may want to post some "Want to Buy" ads as well. I'm sure that there are many users on this form (and others) who are always upgrading/changing gear.
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reno
Oct 6, 2008, 2:59 PM
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Registered: Oct 30, 2001
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Keep an eye on the classifieds here, and on other climbing sites (Mountain Project, Summit Post, etc.)
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Jaydog
Oct 10, 2008, 9:32 PM
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seatbeltpants wrote: dingus wrote: You'll wear mismatched clothing with pride. You'll sport oddly colored "Euro-boots." You shirts will be 4 years old when you open the package. too right! my frankenrack of mismatched secondhand gear kicks arse - if it's already scuffed when i buy it there's no need to baby it when i'm climbing, unlike my mates with their brand new, top notch gear that they don't want to get dirty. i picked up some shoes in a clearance sale last month for nz$40 (us$20) and the box had a catalog inside from 2002, and the review i found on rc.com said "best shoes ever, pity they're discontinued"! all good steve
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seatbeltpants
Oct 10, 2008, 10:20 PM
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Registered: Mar 9, 2008
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got to be one of the few times when living in new zealand and being faced with overpriced last generation gear has paid off!
steve
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suilenroc
Oct 10, 2008, 10:50 PM
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Registered: Nov 13, 2006
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Get a job at a gear shop and your mind will be blown by how cheap gear becomes....
I dare not say the words, its called... P#% D&@#
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