Anyone score a killer deal at the REI Garage Sale?

"Got some more socks, too!"

Give a guy some really good socks for Christmas, and he will be a happy camper.

–B.G.–

I got a my best hit a snow peak titanium
Pot unwashed with oatmeal still caked
on. Tag read dents to easily. $3.93

I scored another Exped Synmat UL7 S for 9.83+ tax. Almost brand new, even though it is a 2012 model. No leaks or stains. One word return reason/description: "hole." No holes or leaks present though. I think the owner bought both a medium and a small/short and returned the short in the medium packaging so they could have the medium at a lower price because the stuff sack is for a medium, includes unopened repair kit.

Got my first one a couple months ago at the last garage sale for ~$11 + tax (Seattle flagship did additional 50% off gear in the late afternoon). Again, no holes or leaks (well, tiny one from the valve that I fixed easily).

Also bought this time around: a new X-Lite regular length for 69.83 that was damaged out because the stuff sack was missing. It had never been unrolled. Didn't really want or need it though, but the deal was too good to pass up so passed along the deal at cost in gear swap already.

REI Flash pad Long for 39.83. Not as good a deal as the first one I got last time around (same time/story as my first synmat, ~$12). Still, no leaks or anything.

I've saved a good 450+ dollars on the 5 pads I've kept from the last two garage sales (fifth is the $10 purple Thermarest Women's Prolite).

Come to think of it, including the two BA IACs I picked up at the Seattle flagship continuous garage sale section last year, I've bought 7 sleeping pads for under $100 (excluding tax) combined.

I wandered into REI yesterday for Day 2 of their sale. Everything was reduced to 25% of the price on Day 1. So I found a retired rental tent, an REI Base Camp 4 + print with no stated damage. Final cost, including sales tax, was a whopping $27! I'll give it to my buddy at our NYE party, since he liked the extra room of mine a few years ago when we were slammed by a week of rain on a truck camping trip.

I love the garage sales… one for the deals that one sometimes finds (mine new gortex mitts $7) but why I really go is to read the tags… Saw a bear vault BV500 with "to hard to open" on it I would hope so, brand new looked like it was never used even once…

My all time favorites are "Didn't like logo" on a REI half dome that was clearly well used for several years but still in very good condition and "Too small" on one of those fancy/expensive running baby strollers that had been used for a few years… I'm glad that their baby survived to outgrow the stroller and all… But come on!

In Richmond, the garage sale totally sucked…maybe we got there too late.

Just a bunch of boots and shoes which looked like they had been used on yoyo thru hikes. 3-4 backpacks, some 3-5 person tents, and one rack of men's clothing.

There was an REI Flash 62 for $25 if you wanted it with no lid. Who loses a lid and then returns the backpack? lol

Haven't been to many sales, but at the last one I got a slightly used pair of Merrell Moab lowtops for $12.50. Shoes went down an additional 50% after 2 pm. Also got an unused $150-ish trunk bike rack for $30.

Looks like you got some fancy lady shoes, as well Andy! Seriously though, how many sleeping pads does one need? Do you stack them up like the Princess and the Pea?

The shoes are for my wild Friday/Saturday nights! hahaha. My shoes only fill up the bottom two racks.

At the time of the picture (this past weekend), we had a dozen. Now we have 11. 2x Synmat, 2x Flash, 2x BA IAC, 2x Static V, 1x Lite-Core, 1x Prolite, 1x cut down Lite-Core…

…NEED MOAR!!! just kidding. I'm trying to get rid of the full length Lite-Core 1.5" though. Possibly the Static V's as well.

My fiance always kids that I'm the princess and the pea princess because of how annoyed I get with the slightest crumb/grain of sand in my shoes (not when I hike though), and if there's a fold/wrinkle in the sheets directly under me.

I frequently loan out my BA IAC to friends and my parents want to get into backpacking so I'll be loaning them out to them as well.

The heels make your calves look fantastic.

I paid full price for my Exped UL-7 and it's worth every penny.

I didn't know there was one this weekend so i showed up an hour late to see what was up.. it was pretty picked through but i did run into a friend i hadn't seen in a few years so that was pretty cool. Did get a pile of Stinger Waffles for on the bike on clearance :)

last garage sale i got a $250 bike helmet for 40. so that may have been my biggest savings. the one before that i got a Neoair to pretty much complete my UL backpacking gear. there isn't much I want to change now.

they did have some sportiva Wildcats in my size but the soles were more worn out than i wanted. tag said "uncomfortable" but they sure used them for a while for being uncomfortable haha.

"Saw a bear vault BV500 with "to hard to open" on it I would hope so, brand new looked like it was never used even once…"

Haha.

Clearly, a bear who thought he was smarter than the average bear had bought it, thinking he could protect his food from the other bears. Turns out, he was just an average bear after all.

I picked up an NRS packraft for $50, not as good as my alpacka but for $50 it is hard to beat. Just had a tiny hole in the floor that was easily patched.

I also got a 20 foot point 65N composite tandem kayak for $500 that was slightly damaged in shipping, I think new it was like $4000. It had some interior fiberglass damage and some dings to the gel coat but they were not too hard to deal with and it is fully functional.

It always amazes me what people return.

Second day wearing my New Balance MT10v2 shoes around the house. No issues yet. Gonna wear them tomorrow running errands and such, then perhaps a few miles of trail on New Year's Day. They weigh 342 grams, compared to my usual Merrell Moab Ventilators at 761 grams. More room in the toebox should translate into better groundfeel and stability.

The Marmot Zeus jacket (size small) weighs 356 grams. The arms are actually long enough for my 6' armspan.

Andy you have a better selection of pads than my local REI, when are you having a garage sale?

I have a Static V that i'd sell ;)

Daniel I agree with the Marmot puffy. I actually got the womens version in Large last year that fits me just fine. they didn't do any styling with the baffles so it doesn't look girlie. had a tiny cut on the sleeve + 2" tenacious tape = fixed.

Hell, when it's cold enough to need a down jacket, you won't catch me being picky. I'll wear it pink with unicorns if it's warm! I had my eye on a blue one in the fall of 2012, but I put it off when Mrs. pitsy got knocked up. Funny how things work out. My New Year's kiss this year was my seven month-old, Radley Moon.

http://www.patagonia.com/us/product/mens-down-sweater-full-zip-hoody?p=84700-0
$15! had some holes/rips that I had to use some tenacious tape on. has been great during this last week of temps in New England. Won't be using it for backpacking, but it's a great, and "fashionable" city jacket.

http://www.rei.com/product/827807/rei-kingdom-6-tent-2012
$60, one of their rental ones. no ground cloth but I can buy a cheap
tarp for like $10. Great for car camping/ base camp!

and for a friend I got
https://www.bigagnes.com/Products/Detail/Bag/lostranger15
$75 used, but in perfect condition, I'll probably wash it for her before I give it to her

the previous few I was not able to go, but the last one I did go to I was able to pick up for a friend:
Kelty Ignite DriDown 20F bag, for $60, used "1 night" in perfect condition with storage bag
NeoAir Original, Long for $50, used, but clean, no holes or scratches.

for myself I grabbed a NeoAir XLite Regular for $50 which had a small hole that Therm-A-Rest repaired for $24 all said and done.

Dan my gf says it accents my figure nicely ;)

(steve should recognize the summit photo)

What's up with the MC Hammer pants? Don't be posting pictures in my threads unless you're wearing tights or less. Show me them sexy legs!

But yeah, nice jacket.

HA. i have some cycling pics if you want to see ;) ow owwww

i've had those REI convertible pants since 96? and still going strong. only pants i've ever hiked in.

I wish I still lived near an REI just for the garage sales. If any of you want to make a kids Christmas/Bday etc I have bought over a dozen of the black diamond orbits and Apollo lanterns for ridiculously cheap. They usually have a good selection of vibram five fingers if you get there early too. I'm hoping to hit the one in Atlanta sometime when I can get up there.