Appreciation post: that old guy at REI who talked me out of a $400 tent

I was at the REI in Denver last fall getting ready to drop way too much cash on a fancy four-season tent I definitely didn't need for my annual car camping trip. This older dude, probably in his 70s, with a beat-up Patagonia jacket and scratched glasses, just came up and asked what I was planning to do with it. When I told him mostly weekends in Colorado spring through fall, he laughed and said I'd cook myself in that thing and pointed me to a basic half-dome model that cost $180 less. He spent like 20 minutes explaining why mesh and airflow matter way more than some waterproof rating for what I do, and showed me his own tent that had like 30 repair patches on the rainfly. I walked out with a solid setup that's lasted three seasons so far and still feel grateful that someone with real experience stepped in instead of just letting me overspend. Has anyone else had a stranger at a store totally change what you were gonna buy just by being honest?

2 comments

2 Comments

grace5081mo ago

There is something about that generation of outdoorsmen that makes them allergic to letting someone waste money on gear. They treat shopping like a conservation issue, like every unnecessary purchase is one more piece of plastic headed to a landfill. Same thing happened to me at a local climbing shop in Boulder, old guy in a tattered Mountain Hardwear jacket told me the $300 climbing shoes I had picked out would make my feet bleed and hurt my technique, then handed me a pair of beat up demo shoes for $50. He said he would rather see me spend that money on gas to get to the crags than on gear that looks good in the parking lot. Those interactions stick with you more than any product review online ever could.

jamie_white1mo ago

That guy at the Boulder climbing shop wasn't from that generation of outdoorsmen. He was probably in his 40s or 50s if he was wearing a Mountain Hardwear jacket from the 2010s. Those older demo shoes he gave you were likely from the shop's rental program, not his own bag. But you're right about the sentiment sticking with you. Honest advice from someone who just wants to help you have a better time outside beats any sales pitch.