Backpacking Gear Deals Worth Acting On This Week

Late August is when retailers clear summer backpacking inventory to make room for skis, which makes the next two weeks the best window of the year to buy a pack, a pad, or a shelter. Everything above is gear we have carried, at a price checked against that product's own history.

The deals

1Best deal on a load-hauler−25%

Osprey Atmos AG 65

Still the most comfortable 65-liter pack we have carried heavy, and 25% off is as low as the current version has gone. If you are carrying a week of food, a bear can, or someone else's gear, the four-and-a-half pound penalty pays for itself daily. Check your torso length before you order — a clearance pack in the wrong size is not a deal.

Osprey Atmos AG 65

Osprey

$255$340Ended Nov 1

This deal has ended.Read our full review →

2Reference ultralight pad, 20% off−20%

Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XLite NXT

An R-value of 4.5 at thirteen ounces is still the number to beat, and the NXT revision fixed most of the crinkle. Rarely discounted in the regular length, so this is the window. Budget for the patch kit and a groundsheet — the fabric is thin by design and we punctured ours on a gravel bar.

Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XLite NXT

Therm-a-Rest

$168$210Ended Nov 8

This deal has ended.Read our full review →

3Best freestanding shelter deal−25%

Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL2

The freestanding default for two people who want to sit up, and the outgoing colorway is 25% off while the new one carries a full price for an identical tent. We have pitched it repeatedly but not run it through a full season of testing, so no rating yet. Two doors, two vestibules, and a pitch you can manage alone in wind.

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Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL2

$412$550Ended Oct 27

This deal has ended.

4Daypack pick, 30% off−30%

Osprey Talon 22

Our overall daypack pick at the lowest price of the year, in the sizes that usually sell out first. Twenty-two liters is the sweet spot for a full day out with a shell, lunch, and two liters of water, and the hipbelt is one of the few at this volume that actually transfers weight.

Osprey Talon 22

Osprey

$112$160Ended Oct 26

This deal has ended.

What we left off

Plenty of this week's "50% off" packs are last-generation frames that were overpriced at full retail, and three tents we looked at are on sale for exactly what they sold for all spring. Neither is a deal, so neither is here.

Buying advice

Packs are the one category where fit beats price: if the discounted size is not your torso length, walk away. Pads and shelters carry no such risk, and both lose value fast enough that last season's colorway is simply free money.

Prices and end dates were accurate at publication. We mark entries expired rather than deleting them.