18 REI Deals: Tents, Backpacks, Sleeping Bags, and Outdoor Gear

The snow is melting, or it would be, if there had been any this year. Whatever the case, it’s March, which means outdoor retailers are slashing prices to clear out last year’s gear. The thing about last year’s gear is … it’s still great gear, and now it’s cheap. Here are our favorite deals from REI’s annual Member Sale, which goes through March 11. We’ve gone through the REI site and picked out the best deals from all the gear we tested last year.

If you’re not an REI member, fear not. The deals are open to anyone; members just get some extra discounts. If you’re not a member and you want to become one right now, you can make a $50 purchase, add a membership to your cart for $30, and get a $30 gift card.

If you’d like some more buying advice, have a look at our guides to the best tents, best sleeping pads, best camp stoves, and best hiking gear.

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REI Deals on Tents

The superlight Copper Spur HV UL tent is our favorite bikepacking tent. It weights just 3 pounds, 11 ounces, features twin vestibules and doors, DAC Featherlite NSL poles, and external webbing for hanging out wet clothes. There are also some nice bike-specific extras, like hidden helmet storage. The poles fold short and fit between drop handlebars. Our one gripe is that you’ll need to carry hiking poles if you want to create two awnings from the vestibules, which seems like an odd requirement for a tent aimed at bike riders. It you’re worried about space, grab one of the Big Agnes hammock-style Gear Lofts ($20), which create a huge stash space without cluttering up the tent floor.

The Big Agnes Copper Spur series is the king of ultralight tents. I’ve used both the two-person and four-person models over the years, and Big Agnes has continually refined the design to the point that I have nothing left to complain about. This is a high-quality, well-designed tent that’s very livable, with steep sidewalls to maximize interior space. Mesh pockets help with gear storage and give you a place to stick your headlamp for dispersed light. The ingenious “awning” design makes getting in and out a snap. I recommend sizing up; this three-person tent is a good choice for backpackers who don’t want to be too close to their partners.

We haven’t tested Big Agnes Tiger Wall line, but it’s generally very similar to the Copper Spur line. The difference is the Tiger Wall tents are lighter, using lighter fabrics (a 15-denier floor versus the 35 in the Copper Spur). That does make them less robust, but what you lose in durability you make up for in weight savings. The Tiger Wall UL 2 is 8 ounces lighter than the Copper Spur UL 2. If you’re an ounce counter, this is the tent for you.

Deals on Backpacks, Daypacks, and More

REI’s Flash backpacks are perfect for a bag you can keep by the door and grab on a spontaneous trip to the trails. It’s just big enough to carry a rain jacket, lightweight insulation layer, lunch, sunscreen, and water. This is last year’s version, but it’s still a great pack. The Flash 18 is another great pack, but we like the external water bottle pouch on the 22L version.

Mystery Ranch was once a little-known pack company with a cult following. That’s probably going to change now that Yeti has acquired it, but at least I’ll be able to assume everyone has heard of Mystery Ranch and skip intros like this. I have been testing the newer version of the Gallagator, which has wider chest straps, which I like better, but at this price I can live without the wide straps. You still get the three-zip system that made Mystery Ranch a legend. The 13L version is also on sale for $50 ($20 off).

I have not tested the Glacier, but if I were in the market for a gear-hauling monster, this pack would be high on my list. The Mystery Ranch packs I have tested all have one of the best suspension systems for making absurdly heavy loads comfortable. I know everyone obsesses about ultralight packing, but with three kids tagging along … “ultralight” is not a word I use. Mystery Ranch packs are well-made, durable, and if anything over-engineered (that’s a good thing).

If you want to dip a toe into the ultralight waters, Granite Gear’s packs are a good way to do that without overspending (which is easy to do in the ultralight backpacking world). With a 50-liter capacity (3,051 cubic inches) and weighing only 3 pounds, 1.6 ounces, the perimeter has a good weight-to-strength ration. I found the suspension system allowed for a number of different carries, letting my shift the load depending on terrain. The spring-steel rods on the sides give the pack a 40-pound load rating, but in my testing…