REI Warehouse Sale Tips:
Call me Type A, but when you're thrown into a tiny room with 39 other people and you're given 20 high intensity minutes, it saves to be organized.
Here in Durham, NC the way they did it for the over 500 people waiting outside to pounce on deals was divide us into groups of 40 and given a letter. Each letter was drawn from a hat by a cute kid and given a time slot. 10am, 10:30, 11 and so on so you could leave and come back if you wish. The cool thing was they opened the doors at 10 and had clothes and shoes on the floor open for everyone to go nuts on. So the back warehouse was only gear, mostly sleeping bags and sleeping pads. There were some GoPros, watches, sunglasses, a few car camp tents, footprints, I saw a solar system, even a camp towel, no thanks. I was the 4th group (hallelujah) but no backpacks.
Tip 1: Since you likely wont be the first group, unless you have some serious karma built up, talk with REI employees. This helped me tremendously. I straight up asked an REI guy what he thought about my list below and he told me some crucial things. Like the Backcountry bed seems cool but waaay too heavy and bulky. He also told me there were tons of Therm-a-rest pads in the back... which means they were returned the most. He said it was their #1 returned pad.
Tip 2: Go in with a priority list. If item A isn't there, then go for your backup.
Tip 3: Don't panic. One of my favorite Jim Gaffigan lines, "Two Big Mac’s for two bucks. I drive by and like, well, I don’t wanna lose money on this. I’ll get 80 of them." Even though the savings are great, don't spend money on something you literally can't return if you don't like it.
Tip 4: If something is missing from the item you picked up (like a compression bag) go ask someone working the room if they've seen it. Things get scattered and thrown about as people tornado through bins.
Tip 5: Test it out before you buy it. I couldn't decide between 2 sleeping pads so I just grabbed both kinds once my time was up and found a corner in the store and inflated them both. There was 0 space in the actual back room to do this. Once I decided the Exped UL chambers were too broken I just gave it the employee working the warehouse door.
At the end of the day I got...
Totaling $470.34 (orig. total would be $806)
I'd call that a #win.
Sleeping Bag | Description | Fill | Weight | Price | REI rating |
Nemo Nocturne 30 | Good for side sleepers with spoon shape; water proof foot bo; blanket fold | 700 Duck down | 2 lbs | $329-$349 | 4.5/5 - 23 reviews |
REI Igneo 19 | Mummy, hood, water-res coat, vertical baffles, wmns zip lright, uni on lft | 700 duck down | 1lb 15 oz | $299-$319 | 4.8/5 - 13 reviews |
Sierra Designs Zissou 23 (40) | Dri down, roomy footbox, but better for warmer nights | 700 dri duck down | 2lbs | $239-259 | 3.75/5 - 33 reviews |
Sierra Designs Zissou 12 | DriDown, full length zipper, nonrestrictive hood, zippers on opp side = partner | 700 duck down | 2 lbs 7 oz | $299-$319 | 4.8/5 - 19 reviews |
Kelty Ignite Down 16 | DriDown, good value, warm, pretty room | 600 duck down | 2lbs 7 oz | $219-239 | 4.6/5 - 26 reviews |
Sierra Designs Backcountry Bed 17 | Integrated comforter, no zippers, can untuck feet, DriDown, pad not included | 600 duck down | 3lbs 1 oz | $299-$319 | 4.8/5 - 6 reviews |
Sea to Summit Spark 47 | Super light, short zipper, DriDown, compressed | 850 goose down | 12.3 oz | $299-$319 | |
REI Radiant 19 | Water repellent down and coating, relaxed, full zipper | 600 duck down | 2 lbs 8 oz | $199-219 | 4.8/5 - 9 reviews |
REI Flash 29 | Water repel fabric, left zip, not good for side sleepers, lightweight, compact | 700 duck down | 1 lbs 1 oz | $259-$269 | 4.7/5 - 11 reviews |
REI Igneo 19 | Waterproof fabric hood, sides, footbox, compressable, maybe look for long | 700 duck down | 1 lbs 3 oz | $299-$319 | |
REI Serrana 25 Women's | Roomy, water repel duck down, good for multi positions, | 600 duck down | 3 lbs 2 oz | $219-229 | |
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Sleeping Pads | | R-Value | | | |
Therm-a-rest Lite Sol | Foam, best of foam pads not good for side sleepers though | 2.6/9.5 | 14 oz | $34-$44 | 4.2/5 - 66 reviews |
Big Agnes Insulated Q-Core | Good for side sleepers, and rocky ground, might leak | 5/9.5 | 1 lb 2 oz | $119-199 | 4.4/5 - 89 reviews |
Expend SynMat 7 Air Pad | Built in pump, good for side sleepers, comes in medium wide | 4.9/5 | 1lb 13 oz | $129-149 | 4.6/5 - 85 reviews |
Therm-a-rest Neo Air XTherm | The best but priciest | | | $249 | |
Any Therm-a-rest Neo Air | | | | | |
Nemo Astro Insulated Lite | Pillow bump at top of pad, might be noisy, seems like its returend a lot | | 1lbs 3 oz | $129-$149 | |
Exped SynMat UL | Can be blownup by mouth, seems more durable than nemo, | | 16oz | $155-$175 | 4.1/5 - 97 reviews |
Therma-a-rest Neo Air Camper | Ok for side sleepers, compact, ~20 breathes, quiet, not self inflating | 2.2/9.5 | 1lbs 8 oz | $99-$149 | 4.9/5 - 11 reviews |
Other things to look for at the garage sale: |
1. Sleepingbag |
2. Sleping pad |
3. Waterproof bags |
4. Compression bags |
5. Backpack rainjackets |
6. GSI Outdoors pinnacle (cook set) |
7. Snowpeak giga |
8. Knife/camp tool/swiss army |
9. Solar |
10. Rain gear backpack rain cover |
11. Pocket towel |
12. Water filter |
13. Mosquito head net/Permethrin
14. Footprint |