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Annual sales on ropes / trad gear
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Hi everyone, I'm a beginner outdoors / hopeful multi-pitch trad climber, and I was looking into buying a trad rack. Seems that there's no real reason to go on it piece by piece, so I'm wondering - when is the best time to buy gear? With labor day sales coming up, do REI/other websites offer significant discounts usually? Or should I just bear the cost and go at it? (NYC local btw) Many thanks, Ziv |
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I just purchased my rack this year. Here's what I found... Never buy anything less than 20% discount - that comes up around most US holidays on most everything, somewhere. Occasionally you will find a 25% off somewhere online. You can also watch "active junky" for more discounts or cash back deals. You do not need C4 sizes 5 and 6 (yet) so don't order the FULL rack, better to double up on #1-3 and buy a #4 if you really think you need it (which you may not at first). Read the plethora of articles on "beginner trad rack" to figure out what you need first, knowing where you will climb. Get a mentor to keep you from buying S--- you don't need. Have fun. |
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buy it used one piece at a time here or on ebay. Insist on good pictures of the cam lobes and only buy excellent gear at excellent prices. It will take all winter but it will be a good deal. |
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I'll second EricL's advice above. Assuming you want to buy new, and don't need it immediately, wait for at least 20% off. There are periodic sales all the time (memorial day, Labor Day, Independence Day, plus various annual sales, beginning-of-season sales, end-of-season sales, etc.) that any given item can usually be found on sale multiple times a year, spread across several stores. I've personally ordered gear from REI, backcountry.com, backcountrygear.com, campsaver.com, mountaingear.com, gearexpress.com, patagonia, and sierratradingpost.com. All were good experiences, and they all tend to run sales at different times, on different brands, so if you're patient, you rarely (if ever) have to pay full price. Pay attention to the pro shop at your gym, as well. My gym gives a 15% discount to members off regularly-priced gear, or an extra 5% (for members) on sale-priced gear. |
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i really like this dude's climbing blog....he takes a lot of time to aggregate weekly deals: http://mojagear.com/weeks-best-rock-climbing-gear-deals-offers/?mc_cid=a60eeac88b&mc_eid=1276eff6bf |
faye marshall wrote: That's awesome. Thanks for the link! |
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This might seem obvious and depends a lot on where you live, but also look into what online retailers charge sales tax for your state and which don't. My locale has close to 10% sales tax. So getting something for 20% off at an online retailer with no sales tax is really more like a 30% savings. |
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No matter what else you do, use Active Junky. |
EricL wrote: I actually think #4s are undervalued and should be part of a "standard rack." Maybe not the first thing you buy (or even the 5th), but I'd get one before going crazy in finger sizes or doubles to be perfectly honest. |
Ted Pinson wrote: Completely agree! I purchased a full rack up through #6 at a screaming deal and then found the 5 and 6 useless (and expensive) for me at my level. I sold the 5 and 6 (here in the forums) and went back and bought 1-3 losing about $20 in the process (count myself lucky). I kept the #4 as I expect it to be more reasonable useful (at my level). |
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I've been hunting and slowing putting my trad rack together over the past year. From my experience you're better off buying gear new on sale than trying to get it used unless you're going to buy someones entire rack and they cut you a good enough deal. 25% off and free shipping from backcountry will put you very close to what you'll pay for high condition used gear. Some of the areas you can really save used are biners, ALPINE DRAWS, and accessory type stuff. The people I've bought from here have been easy to deal with and shipped quick FWIW. Get on backcountrys email list, or message one of their gear-heads about sales and you might find some insight to when you can catch those deals. |
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Here's another tip. Cruise ebay looking for whole lots of gear. Sometimes people are dumping weird assortments of gear and are too lazy to break it up into 5 different auctions that make sense. And people tend not to bid on the big lots because they don't need all that stuff. They're just looking for a single cam or something. I bought a couple big lots and ended up with a great overall price for the underlying cams that I really wanted. And now I have enough stoppers, hexes, and weird odds and ends to fiddle with for years. |
Jason Eberhard wrote: While I certainly agree with most of what has been said here, and really appreciate the links that people have put up, I'll suggest buying a used rack from someone here (or ebay or whatever). There is a ton of perfectly good gear out there sitting around in closets. Plenty of people who got excited about trad climbing, went out and bought a full rack, only to realize that it wasn't for them. Buying used helps out other climbers instead of a big company, reduces waste, and builds community. I've met good people and picked up partners buying from within this network. Think of it like adopting a pup versus buying a pure-bred. Give that gear a good home. Cheers, |
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If your an NYC local you probably climb in the gunks. Rock and Snow in New Paltz usually runs sales on everything in-store over holiday weekends. Should be an upcoming sale within a month. They also price match online retailers. They have full lines of every cam and on top of the sales when you buy I think it's 5 cams or more you get another 10% off. You can pick the stuff up, play with it, and support a local shop that does a TON to support the Gunks climbing community. In a way, purchasing from them, even when it's on sale or price matched, is a way to say thanks for everything the owners have done over the past decades to push climbing in the Gunks. |
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Do check with your local shops first and support them, especially if they price match. That said and/or lacking any local shops, Backcountry.com posted a "refresh your rack" sale today; most stuff is 20 or 25% off. |
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25% of Black Diamond Camalot sets right now on Backcountry.com. Also some pretty good Black Diamond rope deals too |
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Wilderness Exchange offers up to 20% off BD Cosmetic 2nds & free shipping over $100. That could be a decent way to build your rack, if you decided to buy new. |
Jason Eberhard wrote: Those are actually the areas that I would recommend against buying used. Dyneema slings have a limited shelf life, even if they are literally sitting on a shelf, and they take a lot of abuse from regular use. Carabiners might be ok, but make sure you inspect them for burrs or grooves. |
StellaBea wrote: +1 These are great |
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Search for the deals online and then call Rock & Snow in New Paltz if they could match the price. Win-win. |
