Hi There

[paulh]

Hello,

I'm a new transplant to the area from Washington and figured I would start exploring the Oregon Outdoors. I live in Newberg and so I'm about halfway between Mt. Hood and the Coast. I look forward to exploring the area and meeting new friends.

[paulh]

I'm curious as to where the best place to buy gear is. I have been to OMC but they seem expensive. Any suggestions?

[Jane]

Welcome Paul! Halfway between the coast and the mountain gives you lots of wonderful outing choices huh What type of gear are you shopping for? Hiking clothing, backpack, camp gear, boots? Many of us here look for BARGAINS, and that can be from thrift stores, garage sales, craigslist, outlet or used gear sales...There's a store called Next Adventure on Grand and Stark that has an okay selection of used clothing and gear. REI, The Mountain Shop, Bike-n-Hike, Joe's (there's one out your way) - spendy but watch for their sales and sidewalk sales. There's also many online places , such as Sierratradingpost.com, and some others were posted on a different thread if I can locate it *...Even at Freddies or Walmart you can often find stuff. Have fun!

* http://www.portlandhikers.org/forum/vie ... f=15&t=107

http://www.backcountrygear.com/index.cfm?code=TS2309

[fishy]

Welcome! Usually, if I'm buying gear, I buy it online because it's cheaper. My favorite sites are:

http://www.steepandcheap.com (You can install a small application that alerts you of the newest deal...I buy a lot of stuff from there)
http://www.backcountry.com (and Backcountry Outlet)

[jeffstatt]

Hey PaulH! Glad you found us. Welcome to the site