Best places to acquire used gear for the year

This is the best time to start acquiring gear for the fishing and hunting seasons ahead. It is better to start stocking up now as opposed to scrambling last minute to maybe find the things that you need. Here is a list of places that I like to visit when looking for good deals on used outdoor gear.

I enjoy attending local gun and outdoor shows like the one last week at Wasilla High School for the Wasilla Warriors Hockey Team and the Alaska YESS Gun Show and Christmas Extravaganza in December at the Fairgrounds. These shows, while contributing to a good cause, are great places to find deals on gear. Looking for a firearm? You can purchase new or used from a private seller or from an attending dealer. Need more ammunition for a unique caliber you can’t find in town? Someone there will probably have it. Need a scope for your rifle? Or maybe some reloading powder? What about a new knife? There is a little bit of everything at these shows and some vendors are willing to negotiate prices. The next gun show in the Valley will be the Matanuska Valley Sportsmen Gun Show at Raven Hall on February 14th and 15th.

One of the first things I do in the morning and before I go to bed is check Facebook Marketplace. People from the community are often selling backpacks, duck decoys, rafts, four wheelers, snow machines and more. Many sellers are willing to part with their items for a lesser price when out of season. Before heading to the store or searching Amazon for a piece of gear, check our Marketplace first and see if someone nearby has what you’re looking for.

While any of the thrift stores in the Valley can have some outdoor gear for sale, your best bet at finding used outdoor equipment will be at places like Hatcher Pass Thrift and Play It Again Sports in the Valley or the Hoarding Marmot in Anchorage. These types of places specialize in selling used outdoor equipment. You can find anything from ski gear, to cooking accessories, tents, sleeping bags, boots and more. I have purchased items for nearly half the price as new from these places that still have life left in them.

Poshmark and Steep and Cheap are great online retailers that I have used to purchase used gear or items that have been heavily discounted from MSRP. I recently ordered a bag that fits my packframe off of Poshmark that the pack company doesn’t make anymore. When my wife and I first moved to Alaska, we purchased several winter clothing items from Steep and Cheap that we still use to this day. The only downside from ordering online is the shipping hassle to get the packages to Alaska.

I’ve slowly been crossing items off of my list all winter and I have absolutely zero hesitation for purchasing second hand. Just today I picked up a backup headlamp from the thrift store here in Willow. You never know what you’re going to find, whether you really need it or not.