These Outdoor Gear Rental Companies Will Change the Way You Experience the Outdoors

Let’s face it: enjoying the outdoors can be expensive. New gear hits the market every year and the cost to own, maintain, and store all the equipment necessary for a camping or backpacking trip can add up to thousands of dollars. Thankfully, gear rental companies popping up around the West aim to change that. Their goal is to provide a sustainable and cost-effective way to get you outside without having to deal with the hassle and exorbitant cost of gear ownership. Grab specific items for the conditions of your trip, test out the big brands, and pay for it all at only a fraction of the retail cost. If you only go camping a couple of times a year or have limited storage space in your home, this experience-first model could change the way you travel.

Here’s a breakdown of some of the online gear rental companies offering these services:

Coozie Outdoors

Launched in April 2019, Coozie Outdoors wants to be your hassle-free camping gear concierge. With more than 100 products from 40 brands, Coozie will recommend products based on data like travel dates, location, and activity type. A free return label and delivery available to the entire continental U.S. makes renting easy. Choose items à la carte or select a camping or backpacking set. Pricing is based on the amount of gear you rent and the duration of the rental.

LowerGear Outdoors

Tempe, AZ is the home of LowerGear Outdoors, a gear company that started with online rentals and now has a storefront and hosts kayak fishing tournaments. Pick from a large assortment of individual camping and backpacking items on their website and pay based on a fixed rental term ranging from 3 days to one month. LowerGear ships nationwide.

Outdoors Geek

This small outdoors store in Denver, CO will ship nationwide. Outdoors Geek offers a variety of camping or backpacking packages based on the number of adventurers, level of desired coziness, or location. You can also choose individual items and add-ons for your order and pay based on the number of days of your trip.

XscapePod

For Portland, Oregon residents, the newly launched XscapePod will deliver boxes tailor-made for your trip to your door. They’ll also ship nationally for a $50 round-trip rate. An $80 pod for two will get you everything from a tent and sleeping bags to a camp stove and roasting skewers, and they’ll even give you tips for campsites if you provide a list of criteria.