The REI Fourth of July sale is a great time to get a deal on hiking, camping, and backpacking essentials. This year, there are also great competing July Fourth sale deals from Backcountry and Public Lands.
We test camping and hiking gear all year round here at WIRED, and these REI deals are on gear we’ve tested and approved. There’s something here for nearly all our favorite summer activities—tents, stoves, sleeping bags, and plenty of outdoor apparel.
If you’re not sure what you need, be sure to look at our guides to outdoor gear, like the Best Backpacking Tents, Best Sleeping Bags, Best Backpacking Sleeping Pads, Best Rain Jackets, Best Merino Wool Clothes, and Best Binoculars.
WIRED Featured Deals
Do I have to be an REI Member to save?
No, but REI Co-op members earn 10 percent Member Rewards on all their purchases (which you can redeem at the end of the year), and there are some special deal for members, like a coupon for 20 percent off any one full price item. REI membership is a one-time fee of $30.
When Does the REI Fourth of July Sale end?
This year the REI Fourth of July sale runs June 27 through July 7. Both Backcountry and Public Lands are running sales through July 7 as well.
The Best Deals on Hiking Apparel
Be sure to check out our guides to the best rain jackets, the best merino wool, and how to layer your clothes to stay comfy in any weather.
Photograph: Patagonia
This deal is only on one color (Redtail Rust for men’s and Oxide Red for the women’s), and probably won’t last, but this is the lowest price we’ve seen for one of our favorite hiking rain jackets.
This North Face fleece jacket features in our upcoming guide to mid layers. The stretchy, recycled midweight fleece is perfect for cool mornings and evenings in the shoulder seasons. It offers a good range of motion, though the sleeves are elastic, which some people will not like. I like this fleece, though, because it’s not overly technical looking, you can wear it around town or when belaying.
The Rab Cinder Phantom is our favorite rain jacket for cycling. It solves almost all my issues with rain gear—it’s incredibly light (3.3 ounces/114 grams for a medium), stuffs down to about the size of a tennis ball, and is somehow surprisingly waterproof. It will eventually wet out, but it takes quite a downpour.
Photograph: Scott Gilbertson
When the weather gets down well below freezing, and the wind makes your cheeks burn, this is the jacket I turn to. With a base layer at the bottom, a wool sweater over that, then this jacket, I was toasty warm walking in the early morning chill of winter (usually -10 Fahrenheit in January). The shell is lightweight (20D) Pertex ripstop nylon that’s nicely windproof and water-resistant. For some reason, only the women’s jacket is on sale.
If you live in a cold climate, even if it’s not quite Canada, you need this shirt. It’s your classic, ultrawarm wool shirt. Sorry, shirt jacket. Whatever it is, it’s warm, cozy, and comfy. Don’t let the wool scare you, it’s not itchy.
I bought this during the REI Anniversary sale in May and have been very happy with it. It’s too hot for it now, but a cool spring gave me a chance to wear it for a good week. It’s slightly oversized, but very soft, stretchy and comfortable. I mean it’s a merino wool beanie, hard to go wrong with one of those. And it’s Fjällräven so it’s well-made and should last a very long time.
Courtesy of Huckberry
Huckberry’s Proof 72-hour Merino T-shirt will rank very high in our upcoming guide to merino T-shirts. It’s soft, and the classic fit is loose and comfortable. It doesn’t look overly “sporty,” the way many merino T-shirts do (though there is a slim fit version also on sale for $52 ($20 off) if you prefer that style). This shirt is 87 percent merino wool and 13 percent nylon, which gives it a bit of extra stretch.
The best midweight base layer we’ve tested, this Smartwool shirt is perfect for chilly spring and fall mornings. It’s comfortable, though tending to be looser fitting, which is something to keep in mind when layering. The heavy-duty seams (read: sturdier, longer lasting) don’t rub, and sit off the shoulder for more comfort when wearing a pack. At 87 percent merino wool (blended with nylon), these are also very durable while remaining lightweight (10.3 oz for a men’s large).
I bought my father, father-in-law, brother-in-law, and husband each one of these shirts last year. Roark Clothing is a small company that makes some of my favorite active apparel, and the Bless Up shirt is the perfect summer shirt. It’s perforated and made from synthetic fibers, so it’s perfect for super-humid beach days when the temperatures are above 90 degrees. —Adrienne So
Photograph: REI
This is another deal that’s only on one color, but REI 650 puffy jacket (9/10, WIRED Recommends) is the best budget 3-season puffy you can buy, more so at this price. At 10.9 ounces it’s reasonably lightweight and has large hand pockets and some very nice internal pockets for stashing a hat or gloves.
Deals on Backpacking Gear
Photograph: Scott Gilbertson
This deal is a combo of our top pick backpacking water filter and our top pick water bladder. As the name suggests, the Sawyer is a squeeze filter, but paired with the Cnoc it turns into a gravity filter when you have the time. When I’m not testing something else, this is the filtration system I use and it’s never let me down. If you don’t want the Cnoc bladder for some reason the Sawyer is also on sale for $35 ($10 off).
Heading into bear country this summer? You’ll very likely need a bear-resistant way to store your food. In my experience, the BV500 from Bear Vault is the most widely approved option (though always check with the rangers in the area). At 700 cubic inches, the BV500 has room for about 3-5 days of food for two (depending on how well you pack). It does weigh almost 3 pounds, and it’s a bummer to carry, but when you need it, you need it—might as well grab one when it’s a little cheaper.
I’m not sure this really qualifies for the “ultralight” moniker, and these pots are unfortunately marred by having a ton of fake influencer reviews out there, but they’re actually quite good. The hard-anodized aluminum is sturdy and provides good heat transfer. The ceramic nonstick coating makes for easy cleanup (especially paired with the GSI scraper below).
Still the most useful piece of backpacking gear I own, GSI’s pot scraper is the unsung hero of backcountry cooking, turning cleanup from a tedious chore to a couple of seconds’ work. Now, if you seriously burn something, this thing will not save you (boil water in the pan to loosen the burnt bits), but for every other situation, scraping down your pot with this tool will get you 99 percent of the way to a clean pot.
This has been my backpack of choice for the last five years. It’s light, durable (it’s made of Dyneema), and carries loads of up to about 35 pounds in comfort. The rear mesh pocket gives you a place to stash wet gear, and water-repellent outer means your gear doesn’t get wet (there may be limits to this, but I’ve never had a problem). My only regret is that I didn’t get the 55 liters (also on sale for $340 ($60 off)), so I could fit a little more gear when backpacking with my kids.
While I love my Junction pack (see above), were I buying today, I would get the Southwest. The only real difference is the outer rear pocket, which is mesh in the Junction and Dyneema in the Southwest. Turns out I never dry wet gear in the mesh, and I have found it snags on things more than I’d like. If you don’t need the mesh, the Southwest is the pack to get. Again, I’d go 55 liters, but if I were only doing solo trips, the 40 liters should be plenty.
Sea to Summit’s ultralight Alto (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is designed to keep weight down on your solo adventures. At just 33 ounces for a semi-freestanding tent, it remains one of the lighter options on the market, and at this price it’s hard to pass up.
Photograph: Scott Gilbertson
Six Moon Design’s Lunar Solo (7/10, WIRED Review) is my favorite single-wall ultralight solo tent. It’s not without its quirks (read the pitching tips), but if you want something more than a tarp, that still weighs just 26 ounces (740 grams), this one is hard to beat.
Sleeping Bag and Sleeping Pad Deals
Looking to upgrade your sleep system? Check out our guides to the Best Sleeping Bags and the Best Backpacking Sleeping Pads.
Photograph: Zenbivy
The Zenbivy Bed 25 (9/10, WIRED Recommends) is hands-down the most comfortable backcountry sleeping experience I’ve ever had. It wouldn’t be my top pick for extreme situations, but so long as your expected temperatures fit in Zenbivy’s range (the comfort rating is 35 degrees Fahrenheit), it doesn’t get more comfortable than this. The Zenbivy isn’t just a sleeping bag. It’s a sheet, hood, and quilt-style bag that can be combined in various ways.
Zenbivy’s Light Bed is a brand-new option that takes the basic clip design of other Zenbivy beds and lightens up the load. I’ve been testing this bag for several months, and it is everything I loved about the original above, but lighter weight. I’ll have a full review very soon, but if you’ve been tempted by the Zenbivy, but wanted to keep your base gear weight down, this is the option you’ve been looking for.
It’s no longer our top pick for side sleepers, but the Questar remains a good option for those who want more room. It uses what Therm-a-Rest calls W.A.R.M. fit, which stands for “with additional room for multiple” positions. Indeed, this bag is very roomy for a mummy design. I was able to draw my legs up when side-sleeping and spread out considerably more than with most of the other sleeping bags I’ve tested.
Photograph: REI
Sea to Summit’s Ether Light XT is only marginally heavier than the Therm-a-Rest above. The extra 4 ounces for the Sea to Summit pad gets you quite a bit more cushion too—this is a 4-inch thick pad, compared to the 3 inches of the Therm-a-rest X-Lite, which makes this a better ultralight option for side sleepers. I also like the baffle design better, and it seems to be a little more durable, making this an excellent alternative ultralight pad. Note that this one is an REI Outlet deal; the XT has been replaced by a newer model.
Hiking and Camping Deals
Don’t forget to check out our guide to the Best Day-Hiking Backpacks and the Best Travel Bags.
This chair is the coziest way to hang out around camp. It is somewhat huge, heavy, and awkward to fold up and carry, but so long as you have room for it in your vehicle, there’s no better way to relax around the fire with your loved ones.
This deal is only available on the almost blinding Firefly Yellow color, but if that works for you, this is the best price we’ve ever seen on the Roadie 32. The Roadie coolers aren’t quite as robust as the Yeti Tundra, but they’re great for camping. You get a basket for organizing your contents and the usual high-quality Yeti rotomolding to keep your food cold for up to five days in our testing. Hurry, though, this deal will not last.
Osprey has been making Talon packs since 2007. This model is the smaller cousin to the 33L version in our guide to the best day-hiking packs. The success of the Talon line is well deserved, the 100-denier high-tenacity nylon (Bluesign-approved) makes for a durable pack while remaining reasonably lightweight (2 pounds, 1 ounce for the S/M size). The dual zippered panel-loading design makes getting to your stuff a snap, and there are plenty of extra pockets inside and outside to help you stash all your gear.
Photograph: Kieran Alger
I have yet to do a trip with a satellite communicator, but I do understand why people use them. If I were to bring one along, this is the one I’d get. It’s tiny, light (3.5 ounces), and easily stashable. It utilizes the super-fast Iridium satellite network, so you can send a rapid SOS from pretty much anywhere. There are extra features like waypoints and interval tracking, and it plays nice with compatible Garmin watches.
Oru’s foldable kayaks are genius—all the boat, none of the size. The Lake is light, reasonably fast, and the cheapest way to get into the world of folding kayaks. As with all Oru’s offerings, the Lake folds origami-style into a roughly 30-inch square that’s just 15 inches deep—small enough to fit in a car trunk or hall closet.
Our favorite way to avoid the green propane bottles is this gas growler. This model gets you a 1.2-pound propane tank with a nice padded/insulated sleeve and a handy strap for carrying, and it makes your camp setup look much nicer than a bare tank. It also saves your shins during those inevitable run-ins with cold hard steel that come from lugging around a big propane tank. This size is the equivalent of five green propane bottles.
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