Kids hiking/camping clothes

A3M0N

Observer
We're shopping around for some clothes for our kids wear out camping and hiking. What little we have found that's not 100% cotton costs more than clothes my wife and I have bought for ourselves. Any one have some sources of decently priced kids outdoor clothes?
 

Bennettbf

Observer
Goodwill, thrift shops and garage sales. There's really no good point of buying high quality outdoor clothing for kids who a) aren't going to wear them for more than a season and b) aren't really going to be in the life or death situations that many adults fond themselves in.

My son would wear his second hand rain jacket while roasting s'mores twenty feet from the family tent. When he got old enough to get himself into harm's way as a Boy Scout, we spent a little more dough on what he needed - also, it would last sometimes for a year before he grew out of them.

B
 

HenryJ

Expedition Leader
Agreed. Ebay can be another place to look. We have had good luck with boots and coats from there. Big5 is our go-to for boots and shoes now. When they get into smaller adult sizes LAPG has been a good place to pick up tactical pants.
 

rcharrette

Adventurer
The other way to approach this is buy good stuff for your kid then ebay it when done. My wife bought nice brand name cloths for our first Son and when he out grew it she would ebay it and get 50-75% of what we paid back regularly.
 

Ranchero

Wanderer
Go to Murdochs (or a farm and ranch supply store in your neck of the woods) and pick up some Dickies. Like Carhartt brand but much less expensive. Super-durable denims for pants. Costco has good prices on baselayer stuff like wool and synthetic longies. While I can't stand synthetic stuff, it would be too expensive to keep kids in light wool tops, so we buy our son cheap brands like under-armour synthetic tops for wearing around camp and hiking.

And for nicer stuff for winter camping we use ebay, then sell it when he has outgrown it.
 
Ye gods, some kid's outdoor clothing can be so expensive, especially when they outgrow it or trash it so quickly.

One of my techniques is to shop for sale merchandise at REI, or on Steepandcheap. I recently got her a larger REI down jacket for $40, and a Marmot rain coat for about $30. In the past I've gotten good deals on rain and snow boots, convertible nylon pants (we call them "adventure pants"), winter hats, jackets, gloves, shoes and socks.

It takes some time and it helps if you can be flexible about timing your purchases, but you can save a lot of money on decent quality outdoor clothing.
 

kojackJKU

Autism Family Travellers!
I love Columbia for outfitting my little one. I bought north face for winter clothing and spent 2 times as much for the same gear because of the name. I swear by Columbia for gear lately. Reasonably priced, great products. Omni heat really works!
 

A3M0N

Observer
We live near a Columbia outlet, I think we're gonna be checking that out soon. I still wear my Columbia coat I bought nearly 16 years ago, my junior year in high school. No real wear on it, just a few stains from wood smoke and the great outdoors. Good stuff.
 

05LR3AZ

Adventurer
We live near a Columbia outlet, I think we're gonna be checking that out soon. I still wear my Columbia coat I bought nearly 16 years ago, my junior year in high school. No real wear on it, just a few stains from wood smoke and the great outdoors. Good stuff.

X2 on Columbia outlet. We have bought kids $100+ jackets, coats for $15 in the past. Sometimes it's timing of deals or buying a size ahead of time.
 

kojackJKU

Autism Family Travellers!
I'm going to the Columbia outlet in ellenton Florida in 39 days. Cannot wait. Last time we picked up a rain coat for my wife for 30 bucks. I am hoping to score some gear for me and the family again.

Sent from my SGH-T899M using Tapatalk
 

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