Celebrate Freedom this Fourth of July with Amazing Deals
What celebrates Freedom so much as buying stuff? Never mind, don’t answer that. But REI is having a Fourth of July sale, which means if you’ve just discovered that your backpack straps or camp chairs have rotted away, it’s time to stock up on hiking and camping essentials without paying full price.
Several other retailers are also having Fourth of July sales, including Backcountry and Public Lands. We’ve highlighted some of our favorite deals on gear we’ve loved over our years of testing. There’s something for nearly all our favorite summer activities—tents, stoves, sleeping bags, and plenty of outdoor apparel. Be sure to look at our guides to outdoor gear, like the Best Tents, Best Sleeping Bags, Best Sleeping Pads, Best Rain Jackets, Best Merino Wool, and Best Binoculars.
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WIRED Featured Deals
Pack, Tent, and Sleeping Pad Deals
See our guides to the best tents, best sleeping pads, and best sleeping bags for more details, along with our testing experiences.
Photograph: Backcountry
My son saw much of the early part of his life from this Deuter pack, which is one of the most comfortable kid-carriers I’ve worn. There’s a decent bit of storage, and it stands up on its own when you set it down. If you’ve got a little one and want to hit the trail, this is the best I tested. It’s almost never on sale either, so grab it while you can.
Mystery Ranch was once a little-known pack company with a cult following. I have been testing this pack for over six months now, and it’s very close to the perfect daypack. It’s comfy and roomy, and you get the three-zip system that made Mystery Ranch a legend.
I traveled around the world with an earlier version of this Osprey pack, living out of it for almost a year. The Farpoint survived, and my gear inside did as well thanks in part to the thickly padded sides which provide considerable extra cushioning.
Photograph: MSR
Our favorite family camping tent, the Habitude is strong and light. It fits easily on a canoe or paddleboard and is easy to set up—the design is simple and the poles are color-coded. It also has storage pockets, places to hang lights, and a vestibule.
The Base Camp is a light, airy car-camping tent with room for 4. It’s got dual doors for great airflow, and it’s very easy to set up, thanks to the color-coded pole system. If you need a bit more room, the Base Camp 6 is also on sale for $384 ($165 off)
The Wonderland 6 takes the place of the old Kingdom 6 in REI’s big-tent lineup. The layout and design is very similar, with an optional tow-room interior, plenty of large storage pockets, and dual doors. What’s different is the new pole design, which features a forked middle pole for greater stability.
Photograph: REI
Your kids might not need a kid-size pad, but if you want to save some weight and your children are under 60 inches, this pad is excellent. It has an R-value of 4.5, and we’ve tested it as low as 30 degrees Fahrenheit and still had comfortable, happy children. The separate valves for inflation and deflation make it much easier for little kids to not get confused and help set up.
Camp Deals
Be sure to read through our other relevant outdoor guides for more great camping gear, including the Best Tents, Best Hiking Gear, Best Camp Stoves, and our Camp Cooking guide.
