Is an Outdoor Gear Subscription Worth It?
Alright, so you’ve done the subscription meal services, fresh fruits veggies and meats delivered straight to your door. Maybe you even get razors, toothbrushes, vinyl records, even underwear delivered at a regular clip, whether through Birchbox or Stitch Fix.
But what about outdoor gear?
Well Cairn is trying to fill this gap, and they’re putting together a pretty great lineup. The service delivers boxes full of useful outdoor gear to your house every month, and each box costs no more than $30.
Boxes arrive at your door with about $50 worth of outdoor gear. You create a profile with the activities you like to do, your sizes, and they’ll send things along they think you’ll like-and none of them will be sample versions. There will be brands you’ve heard of Black Diamond, Osprey, Clif Bar, and some sweet ones that maybe you haven’t discovered yet: Matador, Cotopaxi, Sunski, and more.
Each box hits some (or all) of these categories: apparel, gear, food, energy, skin care, and emergency. So, you might have a box with some sunnies, a flashlight, and a fire starter. Or maybe green laundry pods, socks, and some itch eraser. Small, useful things that actually work in the outdoors.
Are you going to get a brand-new backpacking bag? No, but you’re going to get some interesting things that’ll give you that nice jolt of excitement when you see the package at your door.
But if you really want to up your game, you can go with the Obsidian collection. Quarterly packages that cost $250 and come with more than $300 worth of gear.
In the winter quarter Obsidian box, I opened items I wouldn’t have thought of myself but totally fit my style. A Smartwool jacket insulated with used down, a Smartwool base layer, Drysure shoe dryers, Defunkify laundry pods, and Tread & Butter insoles. A real solid haul, no misses and all quality items.
The downside is that individual items cannot be returned from the box, but the entire box can be sent back (though you will be covering the shipping). Similarly, there are no exchanges.
Knowing if that outdoor gear subscription is for you really depends on your style. If you're a bit thrift-still trudging along with well-worn gear meticulously held together with twine and duct tape, then $30 commitment likely isn't worth it.
But, if you’re a gearhead, this will introduce you to new brands and products that will have real value in your life. You’ll have some fun things to play, and when the fun starts to wain, it’ll be time for the next month’s box of toys. Not bad if you're in the middle of nature or stuck in a city dreaming of mountains.
And as far as the Obsidian collection, it's the same question only magnified. You’ll be getting high quality stuff, but an Obsidian box might work best for people looking for gifts for the avid adventurers in their lives. All of the boxes are gift-able, and that can be a monthly box subscription paid annually or a one-time Obsidian box.
Oh, and just for good measure, one more dog photo.
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