REI's biggest sale of the season kicked off on November 13 and runs through November 23, with more than 7,000 discounted products and markdowns reaching 40 percent. That's a wide enough window — and a deep enough catalogue — to knock out holiday shopping or quietly upgrade your own gear shelf before winter trips.
The standouts for travellers start with clothing layers. Mountain Hardwear's Summit Big Grid Hoody gets a strong endorsement as a do-everything midlayer: soft enough for daily wear, capable enough for cold trail runs and hikes, though the fit runs relaxed. For base layers, the advice is to skip budget synthetics and go for REI Co-op's 100-percent merino versions — warmer, better at wicking, naturally odour-resistant for multi-day ski trips, and noticeably cheaper than rival merino during the sale.
Winter sports travellers get plenty to consider. Thule's RoundTrip ski and snowboard bags, praised for surviving trips through British Columbia's Powder Highway and rail journeys around the Alps, are 25 percent off, along with matching boot bags. Smith Squad MAG goggles — with a magnetic-plus-locking lens swap system — are pitched as the safe-bet gift for any skier or snowboarder, since lenses scratch and vanish with alarming regularity. Smartwool ski socks are also 25 percent off, which is arguably the most practical stocking stuffer on the list.
For campers, Sea to Summit sleeping bags and quilts — including the featherweight Spark, the alpine-focused Ember quilt, and the wearable Trek — are 25 percent off. Roark's adventure apparel line is similarly discounted, with the Bless Up Trail Shirt called out as an ultralight, packable shirt that works for desert backpacking and looks fine in town afterwards.
A couple of curveballs round things out. The Nomadix Car Seat Towel is a quick-dry towel with a hood that drapes over your headrest to protect car seats on road trips — tested over three weeks around the Tetons, and it doubles as an actual towel for swims or post-fishing wipe-downs. It's one of the cheapest picks here. At the other end of the budget, the AeroPress Steel — a stainless steel version of the cult coffee maker, now $119 — gets the boldest recommendation of the lot as the single most-used item in the writer's entire gear collection.
Why it matters: if you've got a winter ski trip, a road trip, or a camping season on the calendar, this is one of the better windows of the year to buy. The sale prices make upgrades that normally feel indulgent — merino base layers, proper goggles, a durable travel board bag — much easier to justify, and nearly every pick doubles as a gift for someone outdoorsy on your list. Just note the clock: the sale ends November 23.
Story via Outside Online.
