My favorite outdoor retailers....

 So...where do I buy my outdoor gear?

I am a total outdoor gear head and I like researching, acquiring and talking about outdoor gear.  I tend to buy my gear where I can find it and have no set retailer who I favour over others...when I need new gear I go look for it. So far I have yet to find a single store that sells everything I might need. 

Jon at Nina Hut way back in 2016...

That said there are some retailers who I know will almost always have the gear I am looking for. I thought it might be a good idea to have a look at some of the places that I buy the equipment I take on these outdoor adventures and comment on what they supply. 

Some of my favorite outdoor stores...

Here are a few of the local stores where I have brought outdoor gear from in the past and these range from the general stores like the Warehouse right up to specialist outdoor gear retailers...

Hunting & Fishing New Zealand:

Tramper's have a fractious relationship with the hunting/fishing fraternity but they really should not. In a lot of ways we have very similar reasons, needs and requirements when it comes to being outdoors. This includes the gear we use while getting amongst it. Tramping gear and hunting gear are mostly interchangeable and you will often see the two groups wearing the same gear in huts, at track ends etc..

A typical hunters camp...looks just like a tramper camp!

My most visited store for outdoor gear is actually Hunting & Fishing...they are a co-operative series of independent retailers scattered right across the country. You would be hard pressed to find a city, town or even moderately large settlement which does not feature an H&F store. I have visited these shops from Invercargill to Hamilton over the years and all of them are jam packed with good gear. 

Hunting & Fishing Tower Junction

Hunting & Fishing sell their own branded gear which is aimed more towards the hunting/fishing/camping community but still good for tramping. I have been exclusively wearing H&F fleece for 20+ years now and I have a range of their other products including jackets, hats, gloves, shorts and shirts. 

Wearing my H&F fleece on the Queen Charlotte Track in 2016

They also stock a lot of other camping, hunting and fishing brands like Ridgeline, Stoney Creek, Simms, Lowa, Tatonka, MSR, Garmin, Exped, Sea to Summit, Coleman, Rab, Nemo, Zempire etc.etc. Stoney Creek is one of my favourite brands as their products are relatively cheap, fit for purpose and run to larger sizes and H&F stock a good range. I also buy my Lowa boots from them (with Bridgedale socks) and they are my go to store for outdoor electronics and MSR products.  

In my Stoney Creek jacket atop Mt Herbert in 2020

Max the cat models my Lowa boots brought at H&F...

We have two excellent H&F stores here in Christchurch...the main store at Tower Junction and an equally good store in Rangiora. I am also a real fan of the store in Kaikoura as it has the best range of Stoney Creek gear I have ever seen in a retail shop. 

H&F Kaikoura has a great selection of gear for every outdoor pursuit

The next time you pass a H&F store go have a look inside...I am certain you will not leave without buying something!!!

Bivouac Outdoors:

Bivouac Outdoors is an independent outdoor retailer with stores in a number of locations around the country including here in Christchurch. They stock a number of different items useful for tramping including tents, stoves, packs, Alpine gear and outdoor clothing. 

Interior of Bivouac Outdoors at Tower Junction, Christchurch

I have purchased both of my Osprey packs from Bivouac as well as my Exped sleeping bags, Sea to Summit ground mat, crampons, gaiters, socks and an ice axe. They are also my 'go to' for freeze dried food as they always have a full range of meals from Backcountry, Absolute Wilderness and Radix. 

Andy the Atmos was purchased from Bivouac in 2018...

...as were my snow/ice tools...

Bivouac used to be my go to store for gear with a varied line up of brands but they have declined over the last five years. Most of the shop is now taken up with outdoor clothing which is not really useful to me. The last major item I brought from them was a Campmaster stove earlier this year. 

I purchased a Campmaster stove from Bivouac in January

If I was looking for a new pack, footwear or sleeping bag they would be one of the first places I would visit. I have also been eyeing up a Soto Windmaster stove they have in stock at the moment....don't judge...I only have five others!!!

Complete Outdoors:

There are only a couple of totally independent outdoor stores here in Christchurch and one of them is Complete Outdoors. This shop used to be two blocks from my workplace so I used to spend a lot of time up there looking at their selection of gear. The moved out to the northern side of town after the earthquakes so I don't visit as often as I once did.

Complete Outdoors is in Redwood, Christchurch

When I first got back into tramping back in 2012 I brought a job lot of equipment from the shop as I was lacking a lot of the essentials after nearly 15 years without a lot of trips. In particular I brought a tent, pack, sleeping bag and sleeping pad. I still have most of this gear today and though some it has been super-seceded I still use other pieces.

My Vaude Accent pack came from Complete Outdoors...

What I liked about Complete Outdoors was they stocked unusual brands like Vaude, Rab, Berghaus, Montane, La Sportiva, Doite, Salewa, Deuter and Aarn. You would not see many of these brands except at this store as few people import them anymore. My most recent purchase was a Sawyer Squeeze water filter back in early 2020. 

Interior of the Complete Outdoor store...

If I am looking for a new piece of gear I always check online to see if Complete Outdoors stock it as I like to support these smaller local shops. 

Macpac:

Macpac are one of the most successful outdoor retailers here in New Zealand and they have been producing quality gear since the late 1970's. They were set up to import and manufacture outdoor gear that was unavailable here and produce gear suited to our conditions. Every Kiwi tramper is going to have some item of Macpac gear and some people will only kit themselves out with Macpac.  

Macpac Tower Junction...one of the original stores!!!

I have purchased a lot of gear from them over the past 30 odd years ranging from hats to jackets, tents, sleeping bags and camping equipment. My oldest piece of Macpac gear is the Kovea stove which I brought from their original store in Cashel Mall way back in 1988 and is still in use today. 

My Kovea stove is 34 years old in February 2022...

I have multiple Macpac brand sleeping bags, two Macpac tents, down jackets, wet weather jackets and warm tops. 

My NZAT down quilt is from Macpac...

...Karen owns a Macpac Minaret tent...

In the mid 1990's the company was sold to overseas interests and they have tended to concentrate on outdoor clothing sales to the detriment of their previously bomb proof tramping gear. They sold a ton of clothing and made stacks of $$$ but their reputation with serious outdoor people plummeted. They have started to reverse this trend and their gear is starting to get back to the standard they occupied in the late 1980's and early 1990's. 

I have owned several excellent Macpac jackets over the years...

One of the good things about Macpac is how easy they are to find...there will be a store in just about every major mall in New Zealand. A truly iconic Kiwi brand (if only in New Zealand and Australia) and one that I hope continues...

Warehouse:

Nobody in their right mind would call the Warehouse a dedicated outdoor gear retailer but they do sell a number of different items that are of use to the novice tramper or budget conscious outdoor person. 

One of the Warehouse stores...aka 'the Big Red Shed'

The Warehouse is similar to big chain stores overseas like Walmart, K Mart and Cost Co. They sell a wide range of outdoor goods but you need to be selective in what you buy. The main thing I buy from them are synthetic shirts and shorts that I wear when I am tramping. You would have seen hundreds of photos of me wearing their Cool Dry short sleeved shirts and nylon rugby shorts over the years. 

Warehouse shirt and shorts up the Cobb Valley

They have cheap gas cannisters, stoves and foam sleeping mats all of which are of use. They also sell some half decent car camping gear which is worth a look if you are in the market for that kind of gear.

The foam pad under my air bed is from the Warehouse

What I wouldn't buy from them are tents, sleeping bags or outdoor shoes...the quality and construction are not good enough for the tough environment here in New Zealand. Festival camping...sure...but I wouldn't take one of their tents on a 7 night trip to the Olivine Plateau.

Others...Torpedo7, Kathmandu etc.

There are a couple of other retail chains that I buy gear from but the ones above more or less fulfil all my requirements. 

I have brought gear from Torpedo7( another of the nation wide chains) before but not from the shop at Tower Junction. I had a negative interaction there a couple of years ago (...very rude and un-helpful staff...) and I refuse to spend any of my hard earned dosh in their shop. The last thing I brought from a Torpedo7 were my Leki trek poles last year...

My new Leki poles came from Torpedo7...

Kathmandu used to be as good an outdoor shop as Macpac but when they went international back in the mid 1990's they concentrated on the clothing retail market. I would not buy or use any of their outdoor gear for real tramping anymore...it is more or less useless. The exception is their car camping gear and bike accessories which are very good. An example is the shelter Karen and I take with us camping...it is a good piece of Kathmandu equipment. 

Our Kathmandu camping shelter...

I will always visit the local outdoor stores if I am outside of Christchurch and I have brought items from shops in Wanaka, Nelson, Te Anau, Invercargill and Dunedin in the past. It is always interesting seeing what the locals think are useful bits of kit...

Online stores:

More and more outdoor equipment is brought from online stores rather than the tradition brick and mortar shop. Sites like Amazon, Alibaba and here in New Zealand Trade Me are a great source for outdoor clothing, footwear and equipment. There are specialist online only stores and most of the larger outdoor stores have a online presence. 

Here are a couple of sites I use on a regular basis:

Gearshop:

Gearshop is a totally online outdoor retailer based up in Nelson that I have used on many occasions. They have a really comprehensive selection of gear from several big overseas brands and are the sole New Zealand supplier of the Big Agnes range of camping/tramping equipment.

My Big Agnes Copper Spur UL1 came from Gearshop...

They are also the sole distributor of Toaks cooking pots in this country and I have brought several from them over time...

...as did my Toaks titanium cooking pot....

I have brought a heap of gear off these guys over the years including my Big Agnes Copper Spur tent, tarps, Personal Locator Beacons, Garmin GPS units, outdoor stoves, Victorinox knives and cooking implements. The service is always quick, easy and efficient and I have never had any problems with them.

Gearshop sell the Firemaple brand of stoves...

My latest purchase from Gearshop was my new ACR ResQLink PLB that I purchased just two weeks ago. I tend to buy gear from them when they have a sale...the PLB had $100 off the usual retail price. That is so damn fine savings in my book!

My new ACR ResQLink 425 came from Gearshop 2 weeks ago!!

If I cannot find an item locally Gearshop is the first place I search for it online...

Equip Outdoors: 

Another local online only retailer I have used is Equip Outdoors a Hamilton based outdoor equipment supplier. I have brought a few items from the site over the years including hammocks, tarps, tents, tent accessories and several packs. 

The Luxe Lightwave set up at Cowshed Bay on the QCT

The main item I purchased from them was my Luxe 2 person tent and a small DD Tarps flysheet which I take as a ground sheet and over-head shelter for rainy lunch breaks. I found them to be a quick and efficient service and the gear always turned up on time and in good order. 

...and here at Bay of Many Coves Campsite, QCT...

I might buy items from them in the future but I would probably be more likely to use Gearshop as they have a wider range of items on the site. 

I purchased my Vaude Brenta 40l pack from Equip Outdoors...

...and my Vaude Brenta 50l pack

I still check them out if I am looking for particular types of gear.  

Amazon:

Amazon is a name that is known to everyone on the planet...the one and biggest online retailer in the world. There is a virtual cornucopia of useful outdoor equipment available form clothing to tents, camping equipment all the way to bikes, boats and vehicles. It truly has something for everyone.

Amazon has an amazing array of outdoor gear...

Personally I prefer to buy local but being tall and having very long legs means I find it difficult to find pants to fit me here in New Zealand. Americans are gigantic so it is super easy for me to find stuff to fit me if I buy it from the US. The outdoor items I tend to buy off Amazon are clothing items...shirts, pants, jackets and sports underwear. 

My sports underwear and thermals came from Amazon..

I would think of buying things like tents, sleeping bags and sleeping mats off the site but with the new import taxes and postage included they are never much cheaper than equivalent items you can buy right here in New Zealand. I will continue to buy equipment off the Amazon website but it will always be a 'bit player' as a supplier of gear for my outdoor adventures...

I'm off on a Campervan trip this week so come back soon for some trip reports as we intend to do several day walks while we are away.