Holly Phillips grew up in Ona, West Virginia, exploring the outdoors on fishing trips with her dad. The two would set out on a Friday evening, camp near a river, and start casting the next morning. Their gear consisted of what they could afford at the local Kmart or Walmart. 鈥淚 always got cold in cheap sleeping bags. And if it rained, the tent walls would soak through,鈥 says Phillips. As a result, Phillips鈥檚 earliest outdoor experiences were a combination of joy, because she was outdoors, and sufferfests, because her gear was so low quality. 鈥淏ut even as I grew older, I didn鈥檛 know any better because people like me鈥攍ow income and outside the normal demographic of backpackers, climbers, or even avid hikers鈥攁re left out of the outdoor conversation,鈥 she says.
It wasn鈥檛 until she moved to Boulder, Colorado, in 2012 at age 29, that the single mom even heard of Patagonia or Black Diamond. One day, she ventured into one of the town鈥檚 premier outdoor stores, Neptune Mountaineering. 鈥淲hen I saw the price tags, I was so bummed,鈥 says Phillips, who was making roughly $16 an hour at the time (which is more than five dollars above the national average minimum wage). 鈥淚 knew I could never afford that stuff.鈥
She is not alone. Outdoor Foundation鈥檚 2018 Outdoor Recreation Report shows the high cost of gear is the second most common deterrent for getting outside. (鈥淭oo busy鈥 was number one and 鈥淧laces for outdoor recreation cost too much鈥 is number six.) For years, the outdoor industry has claimed it wants to be more diverse, equitable, and inclusive. If affordability is one of the biggest barriers to inclusion, are we really addressing it?
What Does Affordable Mean?
When Phillips struck out at Neptune, she headed to REI and was overwhelmed by the prices there, too. It鈥檚 a common problem says activist Cianna Walker-Flom, who has criticized the outdoor industry for being 鈥渋ntimidating and exclusionary for those who are underrepresented.鈥 She believes a key way to welcome them in is for brands to partner with nonprofit organizations that serve underrepresented populations to offer them upcycled (or new) gear at greatly reduced prices for lending libraries.
The fact is, 鈥渁ffordable鈥 is a relative term. But you could say several brands in the industry are already delivering. In the sleeping bag realm, for instance, Marmot, Kelty, The North Face, and Slumberjack have produced sub-$100 bags for years. But even a $79 bag would be pushing it for a minimum wage earner. [Patricia Cameron reported on this problem in our Winter 2020 issue: 鈥淚t would take a minimum wage worker two full eight-hour days to afford new hiking shoes from most outdoor brands,鈥 she wrote.] And there remains an undeniable performance gap between a $69 Kelty bag that works as a legitimate (albeit bulky) backcountry option and the $25-dollar Walmart variety that left Phillips cold.
Gear Everyone Can Afford
Brands have very different views on what鈥檚 possible when it comes to price versus performance. Durability, for example, is subjective (see p. 48), and Big Agnes founder Bill Gamber acknowledges that even his $200 鈥渆ntry-level鈥 tent is out of reach for many people like Phillips. But, he says, skimping is risky. 鈥淐heck the dumpsters in Moab. They鈥檙e full of Costco and Walmart tents,鈥 he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just not possible to make a $100 tent that will last. At least I haven鈥檛 figured out how to do it.鈥
Kelty has almost cracked that nut鈥攊t offers several quality two-person tents that are just north of 100 bucks. Senior vice president and general manager Russ Rowell is content in that middle market and doesn鈥檛 intend to chase even lower prices. 鈥淥nce a brand presents itself downstream, it鈥檚 very hard to go upstream,鈥 he says. That creates a hole in the market which is precisely where two companies鈥擠ecathlon and Walmart鈥攕ee opportunity.
In 2017, the 43-year-old French sporting goods giant Decathlon entered the U.S. market. The brand takes pride in providing quality gear at extremely low prices, and its one-year, 352 percent sales growth in the U.S. proves that people are hungry for decent gear at rock bottom prices. Consumers flock to the 47,000-square-foot Bay Area store for daypacks as low as $3.50 (not a typo) and tents that cost just $59. The company鈥檚 scale鈥攊t has 93,000 employees worldwide鈥攁llows it to build gear at prices so low it鈥檚 easy to doubt the quality, but review after review, from the likes of 国产吃瓜黑料, BACKPACKER, and Runner鈥檚 World, praise the brand鈥檚 performance-to-price ratio.
And hot on Decathlon鈥檚 heels is the icon of affordability in the U.S.: Walmart.
Walmart鈥檚 Bid for Backpackers
Eoin Comerford, CEO of Moosejaw, which is owned by Walmart, made a splash in 2018 with his efforts to bring premium brands and premium prices to Walmart customers by creating a 鈥減remium outdoor store鈥 online. At the time, Comerford believed he was introducing high-end outdoor products to people who鈥檇 never been exposed to them. But the project failed after brands including Black Diamond, Deuter USA, Katadyn, Therm-a-Rest, and Leki pulled out, insinuating that by selling on Walmart.com, they鈥檇 take the special out of specialty brands.
Comerford learned from the failure. In April, he told The Voice, 鈥淲e [moved] away from the Premium Outdoor Store because the whole idea of premium versus everyday brands ran counter to our goal of inclusivity.鈥 Instead, he wanted to create an 鈥渆veryday鈥 brand that would offer 鈥渟pecialty-level performance and quality鈥 to customers of Walmart and fill what he says is a huge gulf between mass market and specialty backpacking gear. 鈥淭he most likely source of beginner backpackers are car campers who already enjoy life in a tent,鈥 he says. 鈥淭he most recent KOA North American Camping Report shows car camping is already becoming more diverse. Non-white active camper households increased from 12 percent in 2012 to 31 percent in 2018. Even more encouraging, people of color made up the majority鈥51 percent鈥攐f first-time campers in 2018.鈥
Comerford believes that price is standing in the way of more people becoming backpackers. So in May, he led the Walmart launch of two 鈥渕id-tier鈥 brands that sell through both Walmart and Moosejaw channels and cost the same on each website. Lithic is a backpacking equipment brand that includes tents, bags, packs, stoves, and cookware (also sold in Walmart stores) for prices ranging from $25 to $148. Allforth (online only) offers men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 fair-weather (nothing waterproof or insulated) hiking apparel in regular and plus sizes with prices ranging from $13 to $40.
The products are made in China by factories with experience manufacturing enthusiast-grade outdoor equipment, says Comerford. R&D was a team effort between Moosejaw experts, Walmart development and sourcing teams, and these factory partners.
The least expensive Lithic sleeping bag is a 35-degree synthetic that weighs just under 4 pounds and costs $64, which is comparable to many price-point bags already offered by established outdoor brands. The thing is, Walmart shoppers may not be familiar with Kelty and The North Face. This effort is about bringing new and better-performing alternatives to Walmart鈥檚 huge audience鈥攎any of whom may be people who, as Phillips says, are left out of the outdoor conversation.
The new brands launched just a few weeks before press time. Reviews are still coming in, and some of them are not glowing (google it for yourself).
Performance aside, some skeptics, like Walker-Flom, see Walmart鈥檚 move as opportunistic, not altruistic. 鈥淭his is an issue of stores realizing they鈥檙e missing out on a whole market segment of passionate campers with limited funds. It鈥檚 great to have access to more affordable gear, but when it鈥檚 lower quality, you鈥檒l pay now and then pay again when it wears out or breaks.鈥
But Comerford remains adamant that Lithic and Allforth will break down barriers by leveraging Walmart鈥檚 massive, loyal customer base and introducing them to better quality gear. 鈥淲ith the current backdrop of Black Lives Matter, it鈥檚 never been more important to grow the outdoor pie by making participation more inclusive,鈥 he says.