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It’s Labor Day weekend and sure enough, all of the great outdoors companies are having pretty substantial sales with items up to 40% off. If you’ve been wanting to upgrade some of your gear or if you’ve been mooching off of a friend for too long (*cough* thanks Jason *cough*), now is your chance. Fall camping and backpacking is just ahead, so what are you waiting for?

  • First of all, freeze dried meals are excellent necessities when going on backpacking adventures. Sure, you can phone it in with some PB&J sandwiches or DIY some overnight oats, but nothing beats a hot bag of Fettuccini Alfredo with Chicken after a long day of hiking. I explored the utility of backpacking meals in a post a while ago, and you can score some great deals now.
Delicious meals along the trail are a must!
  • After borrowing Jason’s tent for 2 backpacking trips and writing a review about how awesome it was, I finally found that Eureka! Solitaire AL 1 person tent on sale! 25% off this bad boy puts it under the $100 mark. Skip the branded footprint and buy something along the lines of this one I just picked up.
The surprisingly roomy Eureka Solitaire AL 1 Person Tent!
  • Remember my electrifying article on staying powered up for your outdoor adventures? Maybe it’s time to trade in those disposable AAA or AA batteries for some reliable and reusable Panasonic Eneloop NiMH rechargeable batteries. Or score a larger or smaller power bank for keeping your phone charged up. I usually carry a 10,000 mAh battery with me most days, but I’m considering picking up a larger one for our fall 4 day trip.
  • Backpacks are essential if you’re going on a backpacking trip. Unfortunately it looks like I’m starting a little backpack collection of my own. After using and favorably reviewing the Mountainsmith 60L Lookout backpack last year, I needed something smaller for my summer jaunt along the AT. For that, I purchased the REI Co-Op Traverse 32 Pack. Unfortunately that one does not look like it’s on sale, but I will be writing a review on it soon. The Mountainsmith Lookout 40L is on sale though and seems to have the same features as the 60L version that I bought.
Sadly I cannot find the Lookout 60 right now, but the Lookout 40 would be a great option for a shorter trek!
  • Everybody poops! Especially when hiking. I just discovered that the incredibly awesome poop shovel The Deuce is on sale now! Go now and thank me later.
  • Keep your stuff organized and dry! I bought some cheap dry bags off Amazon and haven’t really put them to the test, but they have served useful for separating out my dirty and clean clothes. Maybe I need to do a true test of them at some point. At the same time, for most backpacking purposes, if you have a rain cover for your bag and a larger dry bag (or contractor trash bag) on the inside, you don’t really need something expensive to keep clothes organized and easily accessible. These ones on REI only cinch with a draw cord, but also look reasonable and inexpensive.

Did I leave anything off? Are you planning on picking anything up this weekend? Let us know in the comments below.