15 Ways to get a Bargain on the Best Family Camping Gear

Everyone is looking for the greatest way to buy discounted gear, so we’ve created a collection of our favorite ways to get a great deal on camping and outdoor gear. Getting camping supplies cheap is an amazing feeling!

How to Get a Great Deal on Camping Gear

Getting good camping gear isn’t typically cheap, but getting inexpensive, low-quality gear doesn’t always make for happy campers.

1. Browse Brand Discount Pages

Check your favorite gear brands for coupons and deals!

• Yeti has discounted used gear program.
• Tervis has a sale page and often has 50% off last season’s colors.
• ExPed has a sale page that often has last year’s styles on sale.
• Kelty makes amazing sleeping bags and has a sale page with deep discounts.
• KleenKanteen has a massive array of water bottles and drink cups and an amazing sale page.
• Sierra Designs has a great sale page for their backpacks, jackets, sleeping bags and more!

2. Check Out End of the Season Deals

Checking at the end of the season is the best way to get amazing deals on camping gear. People are done for the season and might not have room to store their gear so they’ll want to unload it quickly.

3. Look for Early Season Deals

The early season is also a good time to look, as people are pulling out their gear for the season and they’re realizing their 4 person tent won’t work for their new family of 5.

4. Garage Sales and Estate Sales

People sell the coolest stuff for the cheapest price at garage sales! Keep an eye out for large multi-family garage sales and estate sales.

Discount Camping Gear Websites

If you’re looking to get deals on NEW Camping Gear, check out these discount camping gear websites:

5. Backcountry  

Backcountry is a great site for discount camping gear.

This is where I have found a lot of great deals on Stoic gear and purchased a good deal of merino wool apparel that is mighty comfortable.

Backcountry carries their own brand and a ton of others you’re likely familiar with (Smartwool, Burley, Camelbak, Marmot) so take a look and find something you’ll enjoy for a long time. It’s one of the better cheap camping gear websites that I personally use and love.

There are always great deals to be found at Backcountry.com for the whole family. Be sure to check their Kid’s Sale page for the BEST DEALS on kid’s camping clothing and gear.

6. Steep and Cheap

Steep and Cheap is Backcountry’s clearance site. Be careful, this one is so good it’s addicting!

Steep and Cheap is my favorite way to get great deals on camping gear. They have end of the season sales and deep discounts on last year’s models running all the time.

They carry all of my favorite outdoor brands like Stoic, Alps, Marmot and North Face. Steep and Cheap is run by Backcountry, but they’re still separate enough it’s worth mentioning.

We even returned several items that weren’t quite the right size. (Pro tip: Buy the 2 sizes that you think will work and return the one that doesn’t fit. That way you get the limited time deal AND the right size.)

It’s been a while since we’ve ordered, but steep and cheap had a great return policy back when we were ordering once a month. Steepandcheap returns are easy!

7. Cabela’s Bargain Cave

Cabela’s is an amazing place to buy all kinds of outdoor gear and they used to have an area of the store called the bargain cave.

The bargain cave was one of our favorite spots to get cheap outdoor gear for the whole family.

Sadly, last time we were at our nearby Cabela’s, we confirmed that Cabela’s bargain cave is gone, but all the deals are online!

Be sure to check out the bargain cave section of Cabela’s website. We’ve gotten a ton of discount outdoor gear there and the discounts can be 10%-60% off! It’s amazing! We’ve purchased a few sweatshirts, jackets and even boots!

USED Camping Gear Websites

There is nothing wrong with getting gear that’s been already broken in.

8. Gear Trade

GearTrade is an amazing website that lets you trade in your gently used gear and buy other people’s used gear for a great price!

They consistantly have great deals on all kinds of camping and hiking gear, so check back often!

If you want to sell your used gear, they send you a shipping label (and a box if you’d like) and you send them back your gear! Gear Trade prices it, lets you approve the price, then you get to sit back and make money!

Once your old gear sells, you can cash it in on deep discounts on other gently used gear! This is an amazing website!

9. CampSaver

Camp Saver has over 25,000 products on their discount site from brands you know and trust. They offer free shipping on orders over $49 and they offer free returns!

I’m really excited to have another discount camping gear website, I love getting good deals on awesome gear. Camp Saver is amazing.

10. Good Will

The Good Will Website is a website the Critterz have only recently discovered. We have, however, stopped into some of the brick and mortar shops over the years and found some decent deals on all kinds of gear.

After a quick search for “camping” on the website we were impressed to see some pretty good camping and outdoor gear for cheap prices. You may not get exactly what you want, or you may have to look for a bit, but it’s definitely a place to explore.

Combo Options:

These options for discounted gear are online and in person. You can find deals online but have to go pick up the items in person.

11. Facebook Marketplace

There are a lot of parents that sell stuff on Facebook Marketplace, especially slightly used outdoor gear that kids have grown out of.

The most memorable purchase we had was an Osprey Poco Plus Child Carrier. I found the Poco Plus up on Facebook Marketplace for only $75. Sure, it wasn’t new or the latest model, but Osprey makes fine packs and this was no exception.

Once you search for something the app will notify you if similar items come up for sale.

12. Buy Nothing Groups

Buy Nothing Groups are literally the cheapest place to buy camping gear. If you click on the link it will take you to a site to find a “Buy Nothing” Facebook group in your area.

I am a member of our local group and I literally saw a Coleman 3 person tent up for free in our area last week.

Some people just want to declutter their stuff without messing around with dragging it to a donation center.

In our area this seems to a good place to go for gently used kid’s clothes and shoes with the occasional piece of free camping or hiking gear thrown in if you’re lucky.

It’s a really cool way to connect with your community and keep things out of the landfill. Check it out for your area or start your own if you don’t have one!

Store Options:

Online shopping is the most convenient, but don’t rule out these in-person options.

13. Outlet Malls – (our closest is Albertville Outlet Mall)

The Critterz are fortunate enough to live near Minneapolis which means the Albertville outlet mall is within an easy drive. We’ve stopped by a few times and got some great gear for a good price.

Our favorites outdoor gear outlets tend to be Columbia, North Face, and Under Armor.

14. REI

The Critterz and many of our friends hold out on buying big-ticket camping items until we get our REI dividend (received through REI membership) and the multiple sales REI has through the year. 

REI also has an amazing outlet with deep discounts called the REI Re/Supply.

We’ve used this for years now and keep a wishlist of gear we’d like to pick up. So when we’re eyeing up a larger purchase like a jet boil or tent at dividend time, one of us uses our 20% off coupon.

Pro tip: Get a membership for every member of your family and then everyone will get the 20% off coupons!

There’s always one piece of gear to be upgraded or replaced. Double check your packing list to see what you could upgrade and hold out for the sales!

15. REI Rentals

Speaking of REI, if you’re not ready to shell out the money for a tent if you’re not sure it’ll hold your whole family, try out REI Rentals! You can rent all kinds of camping gear and save money!

This is a great option if you want to camp for 1 or 2 nights during a vacation but you don’t want to drag all of your outdoor equipment across the country.

Bonus Tip:

If you’re looking for specific gear or brand names because you love it so much (which, the Critterz do in some cases), get on the email lists for sales information: Columbia, Yeti, Marmot, Duluth Trading, Cabela’s, etc.

These sales can save significant percentages of the purchase price. For example, we got 25% off a recent Cabela’s sale for duffle bags that we love to use. I love the pants from Duluth Trading (They have actual pockets!) and the coupons are amazing.

That said, don’t rush into a purchase if you don’t have to, create a wish list for all the gear you need and pounce when you see a deal!

Happy Camping!