Camping and hiking gear doesn't come cheap, and REI's re/supply resale program offers a way to save. A TikTok creator documented her treasure hunt in the section, putting two real benefits of secondhand outdoor gear front and center: it's cheaper, and it wastes less.

In the video, Sophia, the user behind the account @sophiaxverde, shows off the multiple items she scored, listing original and discounted prices one by one, and says outright in her caption that "secondhand outdoor gear, wins," while calling out REI's re/supply section. In the comments, one person shares how they bought Merrell Moab hiking shoes for $84; another asks in surprise whether all these stores sell secondhand goods, while someone else says there's no such store in their area at all, and one commenter even claims they worked at the store for four years without ever hearing about re/supply.

Outdoor gear is often marketed for its durability, but the barrier to buying it is still high — shoes, shells, backpacks and camping accessories add up fast, especially for people just starting out in the hobby or needing to replace worn-out gear. Keeping still-usable gear in circulation means less of it gets thrown away before it's truly worn out, and for sturdy categories like footwear, jackets and backpacks, reuse both cuts unnecessary spending and meets real needs.

For anyone building a hiking or camping kit from scratch, not everything has to be bought new. Filling in the basics secondhand first frees up budget for the few items where fit or specialized performance matters most. Of course, secondhand inventory varies by store and shifts over time, so it isn't stable.

It's worth noting that supply in REI's re/supply section differs by store and changes daily, and the comments show that plenty of people have these channels right nearby without realizing it. For the secondhand apparel and outdoor industry, retailer-run resale racks like this are shifting from fringe experiment to standard fixture, a sign that the secondary circulation of durable goods has been folded into mainstream retail's product system.

Source: Outdoor creator's 'REI re/supply' haul shows a surprisingly inexpensive way to buy hiking gear · Originally published 2026-09-11