Gear Testers Wanted for Cocona Fabrics

Cocona Fabrics is currently taking applications for the Cocona Xcelerator Test Team.  Cocona Fabrics, found in such brands as Marmot, Mammut, and GoLite, is looking for 1000 outdoor types to test out their new fabric called Xcelerator.

Apply to become a gear tester at Cocona’s site where you will be asked to describe your experience with the outdoors, list any notable outdoor gear you currently own, describe your favorite piece of outdoor gear, and answer several questions about your familiarity with blogs, twitter, and other Internet platforms.

Gear Testers Wanted for Outside Magazine

Outside Magazine is currently looking for volunteers for their Gear Army to review hiking and running shoes, equipment, and apparel.  Applicants must submit a sample review of a product that they currently own as well as a list of qualifications.  In order to be selected, testers must not be affiliated with any outdoor company.  Visit Outside’s Gear Army for more details.

Steep and Cheap – Amazing Gear Deals, One Deal at a Time

Steap and Cheap is a subsidiary of mega online outdoor retailer backcountry.com and the ultimate place for amazing gear deals.  Steap and Cheap sells outdoor gear, one deal at a time. Deals can last anywhere from a couple of minutes to an hour and feature one product at a huge discount from 50 to 80% of suggested retail price. Checking Steep and Cheap can definitely be addicting and lead to impulsive decision making because you must act fast before the deal sells out.  To fuel the addiction, handy instant alerts can be installed to your browser and notify you of each new deal. Purchases are limited to 3 an item to prevent people from reselling and profiting off these killer deals. Most importantly, Steep and Cheap stands completely behind its gear and has an unconditional, 100% lifetime guarantee for its products.  Also check out Backcountry’s Tramdock (for ski gear) and ChainLove (for bike gear).

GearTrade – Buy and Sell Outdoor Gear

GearTrade is an awesome online marketplace for buying and selling used and new gear.  GearTrade is way better than e-bay for outdoor gear because it is free to post listings and postings are good for a year.  The staff at GearTrade also handles much of the payment process and ensures that the buyer ships the product before receiving your payment.  The site is easy to navigate and you can search by brand name, sport, or percent off of retail price to find ridiculously good deals.

REI – Garage Sales and Coupon Days

If you are lucky enough to have an REI in your hometown, check out their occasional gear swaps and garage sales. Garage sales are for members only and feature items that have been returned to the store. Items are usually in great condition and a tag on the item lets you know why the item was returned. Items are usually discounted 40% or greater. I personally live for the 20% REI coupon often planning out ahead what will be purchased with each one.  REI members receive 20% off coupons through out the year such as the Anniversary Sale in May.  If your’re not a member of REI, it is definitely worth the $20 membership fee.

Craigslist – Used Gear in your Community

The popular online free classifieds site, Craigslist is a great place for finding used ski and camping equipment. Unlike Ebay and GearTrade, Craigslist ads are community based so you can find gear that is local and don’t have to worry about shipping costs or relying on pictures to determine the quality of the equipment. Gear on Craigslist is sold by individuals in face-to-face interactions and is less prone to fraud than other online auction-type sites.