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Good outdoor clothing and gear is expensive there is no getting around it. I honestly believe you get exactly what you pay for. If you go cheap you get cheap! Over the years I have noticed a trend in my adventurous ways. I seem to always be in love with the sports that require the most expensive getup. Isn’t the convenient!

Of course I always want to buy the best gear on the market, but this doesn’t have to be done by breaking the bank or eating Top Ramon Noodles 7 days a week to cover the bills.

It does take a little savvy shopping! I am not suggesting impulse shopping by any means, but I am suggesting keeping an eye out for items you need or know you will need for the next season.

Right now is the perfect time to buy. All the shops and specialty stores are flipping their merchandise. It’s the time for season end sales as stores are getting ready for the fall and winter apparel to arrive. Every year just like clock work your local retailers and chain stores have big annual and semi annual sales. Let’s say you have been eyeing the top of the line wicking top with matching bottom, but have not been ready to ante up for full price? A good suggestion is just ask the sales associate if this item will be on sale anytime soon. In most cases they will gladly tell you what sales are coming up and if they expect it to be marked down. This just might make it worth the wait.

Online retailers are also having big sales now as well. My email box has been flooded with ads and coupon codes offering 15-50%, free shipping, and buy one get one frees for the past week. I have taken the time to check most of these offers out and there are some amazing deals if you can find what you are looking for.

Discount stores are great too. Just last week I saw several pairs of my favorite heavy hiking pant on sale for $16.00 when originally at the big specialty store they retail for $79. That is a huge discount. I love this particular pair of pants so much so that I have and am willing to pay full price, but a discount is always welcome.

Some good tips for finding exactly what yo are looking for at a discount store is making multiple visits. Go once, twice, even three times. Also know the isle and racks that have what you are looking for. For instance I love Patagonia and Prana. Those are my favorite brands when it comes to climbing attire for women. Instead of milling around the store searching through all the racks I go straight the active wear rack and flip through my size section fast. If there isn’t anything no big deal. No time lost. Keep in mind shipments get to the stores weekly on Tuesdays so the closer to the delivery day you make it the more likely to have a greater selection.

You just have to be willing to shop around to get the best price.

By Girl vs. Wild
Jacquelyn Farris

Backpacking is one of the oldest American wilderness adventure traditions. Fo decades families, wonder lust young adults, and middle aged thrill seekers have been filling up their packs and hitting the trail in search of a little time in the great outdoors. It brings me great joy to see fellow backpackers on the trail experiencing all the things that make being outdoors amazing.

At the same time I see many people doing it all wrong. Good intentions, but oh so misinformed on how to pack!

I can not even begin to count all the people I have passed on the trail they don’t appear to be on a joyful backpacking trip, but instead resemble a person on a death march.

Without a doubt in most cases it boils down to bad footwear for the occasion and improper packing.

Shoes are the number one deal breaker. You can not expect your favorite pair of running or aerobic shoes to suffice as a trail hiker. It just doesn’t add up. Bottom line if you’re not wearing proper footwear you will be singing the trail hiking blues. Everyones’ feet are different so this is not something you should do through mail order. Take advice and suggestions from your local outfitter. That is what the are there for, they are the advice guys. Be sure to try several different styles on before deciding which is best for your feet. An important trick is to do this with the socks you indeed to hike in. This will play a role in picking the fit for you.

After you have found the perfect shoes next is mastering the art of packing. First rule of thumb pack what you need. Not what you want! The most entertaining item to see come out of someone’s pack is a gigantic pillow or blanket. I swear I have seen this. People have actually tried to pack their bed. No joke!

Packing light is essential to whether or not someone is going to have a good time. Don’t forget you actually have to carrying everything you put into your pack. I personally like to make a list a day prior to packing of the essentials I will be packing. This list works as the master to my packing. Everything from the bottom of my toes to the top of my noise, and all items in between. After the list is made I go over it one last time before packing to see if there is anything that needs to be trimmed. Over time you will get quick at this and be able to pack in a flash, but the first couple of times give yourself time because a rushed pack is usually a bad pack and you will feel it on the trail!

For more on backpacking head to newsok.tv to watch the latest Girl vs. Wild video on backpacking.

Who knows I might even see you on the trail!

Girl vs. Wild,

Jacquelyn Farris

You only get good grades if you do your homework, correct? Yes correct, and the same goes with selecting and buying your adventure gear. It’s like picking a new car or even a spouse. It’s a big deal. This is the gear that you are trusting to save you in tight situations, right? You can’t go to the local five and dime and get a “super deal of a tent” and honestly believe it will stand up like a tent that is sold and trusted by the guys at your local gear store. Sure the gear at local shops might cost a bit more, but you are honestly paying for quality. Every bit of quality should be counted when headed out into the wild. You can’t control the way the wild will act, but you can control how you and your gear will hold up in any senario.

Buying gear can feel taxing at times when the total seems to be adding with each “necessity” added, but you can take relief in knowing that if you get the best you can afford in the beginning you are much less likely to have to replace it anytime soon.

Shopping around and doing your research is the only way to give yourself good peace of mind.

Right now is the perfect time to grab the great deals on apparel weather it’s online or in stores. This is the time when stores are flipping their retail floors over to spring and summer. If you thought all winter how you really would like to have a quality winter jacket you can now find it, but not feel like you will go to the poor house after paying for it. Just tuck it away in the closest for next year. It will be there waiting for you.

Honestly all retail stores have sales you just have to be a bit more patient for the best deals. Online is ideal if you aren’t set on a certain color. Most items found online are last season’s styles. For instance, for 2008 a pair of climbing pants might come in grey and green, and last years colors were blue and brown. Same pants just last season colors making them half off.

I myself have a gear acquiring method I use when outfitting myself with the latest and greatest. I work both ends of the shopping spectrum online and in store. When it comes to an item that needs to be tried on, for instance apparel, shoes, and so on. I suggest going to a local store. Ask the important questions of the products and their recommended wear. If your feeling indecisive as to which product is honestly the best choice ask the sales associate which they use, wear, or have tested. You will find it’s not always the most expensive. I have never gone wrong with this method. The gurus at Backwoods on North May have helped me in countless buying decisions. The guys and gals know their stuff inside and out.

Now when it comes to replacing an item that I have used and loved in the past, or buying from a brand I know fits spot on I go direct to an online store. If I search hard enough I can land a great deal, and most of the time get free shipping. But bottom line, if it’s something I am not for certain on I go straight to a local store and save the headache of return shipping nightmares.

In the end shop around, get good advice, and buy the gear your most comfortable with because your the one using it.

Girl vs. Wild,

Jacquelyn Farris