The Weber State University Outdoor Program will host its 10th annual Gear Swap on Friday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Bell Tower Plaza. The Gear Swap, showcasing local vendors such as Gear:30 and Recreation Outlet, will offer new and used gear in addition to the WSU Outdoor Program’s rental gear from seasons past for dramatically discounted prices.
The swap will feature more than 15 vendors selling everything from “kayaks, canoes and tents to anything else you can imagine,” said Daniel Turner, coordinator for the WSU Outdoor Program. Turner said the event is held to benefit the student body, and that it brings vendors from the local area together in one spot to compete for students’ business, selling summer and winter gear and everything in between.
The event is open to the general public and affords students and community members alike the opportunity to sell their used gear for free as long as they are not associated with a business. This is designed to give them a more targeted audience than a normal garage sale.
“It’s a great event that is very well received by the local outdoor community,” Turner said. According to Turner, WSU “generally sees about 1,000-3,000 people show up” for the sale.
Students familiar with the swap, such as WSU sophomore Grant Bellow, said the event is a good place to “sell some stuff and trade up some gear.” He said the gear sale and swap gives students the opportunity to see all that is going on as far as the outdoors in Ogden.
Bellow was at the event last year, and he said it featured discounted prices and deals on used gear from WSU Campus Recreation and the other vendors.
“There’s a huge variety of gear,” Bellow said, “everything from super-nice Solomon and Black Diamond stuff to super-cheap generic-brand gear.”
There are a lot of gear swaps in the fall, but, according to Gear:30’s director of marketing and media, Brandon Long, this one has “by far the best vendor participation.”
Long said Gear:30, a local retail store, is excited about the swap, as it is its first year being involved with the event. He said it offers the store the chance to reach out to the WSU student body and make its presence known in the community. Gear:30 will offer discounts of “up to 40 percent off quality ski and backcountry gear, in addition to some summer equipment,” Long said.
Long said the aim of Gear:30 is to let students know it’s here to help them enjoy their outdoor experience.
“We know that when you can get outside, you’re able to decompress and get creative,” said Long, who also said the Gear Swap is a good way to reach out, get entrenched in the community and afford students the opportunity to be active in outdoor adventures without breaking the bank.
The WSU Outdoor Program sells gear it has used for one or two years so that it can bring in the latest and greatest equipment for next year, according to Turner, and also so that the program can give back to the community.
“All of our gear is state-of-the-art, and this sale allows us to sell our used stuff back to the students for super cheap,” Turner said. “The gear is paid for by student fees, so it’s nice to see well-conditioned gear make it back to the student body on the cheap so they can really benefit from it.”
Bellow advises all Weber State students to “bring some money and go. There’s so much gear you can get for really cheap and some really great quality stuff too. It is definitely worth going, because you never know what you’re going to find.”
