cheap winter gear --- ZZ from |Wanderung| Newsletter

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1 - Cheap Winter Gear
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by Steve v.

I was going to write this as a Christmas gift guide, but in reality it is just
about cheap gear. I know for a fact that there are people in Wanderung that
simply can not afford the gear for winter trips and that pains me. Sure, some
corners you don’t want to cut (like sleeping bags, or maybe boots), but with
some gear it is simply not necessary to pay big bucks to get yourself in the
game.  Here is a starter list of discoveries that I've made recently and was
really surprised.

Down -- I'd never had down until a few years back and now swear by it. Though
you’d never want to rely on it alone, as a layer it can be great.  The problems
is price: for the good, lightweight stuff, you are talking hundreds. Poor
quality will fill your bag; you need packability. Recently the price of "decent"
down has dropped it seems so there is zero excuse not to have one in your summer
or winter bag at all times as it might save you if you get stuck overnight.
Costco USA recently had a down vest by Hawke and Co that was "ultralite" (read:
high quality down, extremely packable) for $25!! I heard they had jackets also
and those that have touched them agree, these are decent garments for the price.

Wool -- We all know Merino is awesome at regulating temperature and keeping you
feeling dry, but the premium stuff (though I think Icebreaker is worth it), is
pricey. Once again Costco (Canada this time), seems to have a cheap out.  They
have partial Merino shirts for as low as $20 (they also have women's socks,
cheap!). But while we are on it, let's not forget wool is a miracle material and
can save your bacon even in its earlier incarnations. If you can handle the itch
of old style wool, the world is your oyster. Hit a second-hand store and peruse
the sweaters, or go to Army and Navy for socks. Function over fashion I say and
the age of fleece is over IMO (why did we get away from wool in the first
place?!)

Traction -- Due North "everyday traction aids" sell at Costco for $13 and will
probably cover you if the biggest challenge you have is a hard layer of ice.
For a bit more "spike", microspikes are supposedly really good but the trick is
finding them cheap (less than $65).  Rumour has it that if you check out some of
the smaller stores around the MEC area of Broadway you will usually find a
significant reduction. YakTrax, same deal - unless you are in deep snow country,
sometimes these are enough and can be kept in your bag just in case.

Lighting -- A light is one of the 10 essentials after all! MEC's turbo turtle
light for $6 will hold you for a while. For $3.75 you can also buy a headlamp
strap that will hold 2 of those exact lights. I still think hands free is the
best way to go but keep your eyes open, cheap headlamps can be found almost
anywhere under $20, or if you are really thrifty, consider trying Deal Extreme
online (but read the reviews).

Gear sales --  I used to fund Wanderung by re-selling MEC gearswap snowshoes.
By far, the best deals can be found at gear swaps or online (MEC Gear swap
http://www.mec.ca/AST/ContentPrimary/Community/GearSwap.jsp or craigslist.org).
For the sample sales, Wanderung always tries to stay on top of these and
announce them in the newsletter.

A tip that Heidi put on Facebook is for petite women only: look for large kids
sizes at MEC and you might be surprised something fits you at a fraction of the
price!

One last tip: hunt for gear off-season, you’d be surprised how people cannot
plan ahead and how much better your bargaining power on Craigslist can be
looking for snowshoes in July.