REI's annual winter sale has kicked off, and for anyone with a hiking trip on next year's calendar, it's one of the best windows of the year to kit out without paying full price. The sale covers shelters, footwear and insulation, and testers who spent twelve months walking through rain, snow and desert heat have picked out the ten deals that actually held up on trail.
The standout bargain is the Kelty Wireless 2, a genuine two-person backpacking tent for just over $100. It's not perfect — fiberglass poles and a 6 lb 14 oz trail weight mean it's heavier than pricier rivals — but dual doors and vestibules make it a comfortable, functional shelter for couples or solo campers on a budget. Kelty also appears twice on the sleeping side: the Cosmic 20 down bag sits just over $100 (550-fill down keeps the price low, at the cost of 2 lb 7 oz in a men's medium), while the discount-flavored synthetic Magma line adds enough insulation for three-season use and, unlike down, goes straight into the washing machine after a muddy trip.
Sleeping pads get serious attention. The NEMO Tensor All-Season survived months of testing without a single puncture, disproving the idea that ultralight pads are fragile, and its gridded baffles kept side-sleepers comfortable. Therm-a-Rest's Ultra 6.5R weighs exactly one pound in a medium — among the lightest three-season pads testers had used — with one comparing the feel to a waterbed. Sea to Summit's Ether Light XR goes the other way, piling on 3.9 inches of thickness, an inch more than competitors, and winning praise as the comfiest pad in its weight class.
Footwear rounds out the list. The Keen Targhee IV keeps the classic leather boot look but adds a PU midsole and a toothy TPU outsole, shrugging off scratches over months of wear — an easy upgrade for anyone still clinging to worn-out boots. The La Sportiva Akyra II splits the difference between trail runner and boot, with a firm-but-forgiving EVA midsole and grip one tester described as froglike on steep rock. For women, the Scarpa Aequilibrium was the favorite boot of 2026: a synthetic upper with a socklike cuff, Vibram outsole and alpine-ready build that somehow feels light straight out of the box — and it can be resoled when the tread finally gives up.
Why care? Because gear is the biggest cost barrier to a hiking holiday, and a sale like this lets you assemble a credible setup — tent, bag, pad, boots — for a fraction of the usual outlay. The deals skew toward three-season backpacking, so they suit anyone planning shoulder-season trips, whether that's a national park road trip or a first overnight hike. If you're buying for a hiker this holiday season, the tested picks above are a safer bet than guessing at specs on a shelf.
Backpacker
