REI garage sale

Anyone participated in one of these I guess they are all around the beginning months of the new year. My local Fairbanks one is tomorrow. Anybody get any good deals on some neat gear? I'll post my finds tomorrow, if any haha.

I never venture into REI anymore. There a local outfitter here in Knoxville (River Sports Outfitter) that does annual gear swap, and I ventured into it last year but didn't buy anything. They also host weekly pint night where the proceed goes to a charity that is outdoor related. They also have an indoor rock wall to learn and train, whitewater kayak to rent, a full fledged bike shop with high end bikes, et cetera. This blows REI off the mountain since it's a locally owned and they're really good people with so many events planned through them that is both social and adventure activities.

I haven't done the garage sales from either store but need to. I shop REI and River Sports with an emphasis on RS. The people at both are good and helpful yet the ones at River Sports seem more genuine in that they use the gear more where a lot of the ones at REI talk about it but there is that lingering "Well, that sounds more like you picked it up in a training video than actually used it yourself" kind of feel. Frankly, I'd not mind working at REI as I think it would be a lot of fun and there are a few departments that I *can* bring some skill sets to.
River Sports rental programs are tough to beat no matter where you go as ETSU points out. I guess he and I are pretty lucky to live in one of the best parts of the world for outdoor adventures and Knoxville is only looking to make the outdoor destination of this area grow ten times over. I'm looking forward to seeing where they go from here.

Yes, we are! I been meaning to get around joining the Appalachian Mountain Biking club and Smoky Mountain Hiker club. The Knoxville Urban Wilderness was an incredible project and accomplishment! Sorry if rest of you guys have no idea what we're talking about!

i've gone to a couple of rei garage sales at stores around seattle. to me it seems hit or miss on if you are going to find gear you need or want. patience was used to survive the sales and i have never carried much out.