The Best Labor Day Deals on Outdoor Gear from REI, Backcountry, and More

By Nicole Raney Updated April 21, 2021

best labor day deals outdoor gear — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Labor Day began as a celebration as the American workforce, which translates today to a three-day weekend. What better to spend your time off than by unplugging and enjoying the outdoors? If you can’t swing a last-minute getaway or camping adventure this weekend (Friday, August 30 through Monday, September 2), then you might as well take advantage of the best Labor Day deals on outdoor gear for your next trip.

Some of our favorite retailers — including REI, Backcountry, and more — will be offering steep discounts on items like tents, sleeping bags, sleeping pads, backpacks, and more. Since Labor Day is the unofficial end of summer, we’ll be looking forward to sales on warm-weather gear. Thing products for camping, backpacking, swimming, hiking, watersports, biking, climbing, and more. However, we can also expect a few deals for winter activities like skiing and snowboarding. It’s never too early to start planning excursions for later this year or next summer.

Recommended Videos

Rather than go to the physical store and deal with the crowds of hungry Labor Day shoppers, we suggest buying online. We’ll be rounding up the best Labor Day deals on outdoor gear and placing them here to make your search that much easier.

Best Labor Day Deals on Outdoor Gear

We’ve highlighted some of the best products, but there are so many other deals you should check out, especially from REI. Need new stakes or patches for your tent? Get those while they’re 30% off. Is your camp chair about to wear out? You can find discounts on everything from heavy-duty rockers to lightweight backpackers.

When Is Labor Day?

Labor Day is Monday, September 2 (the first Monday in September). However, stores and sites will have Labor Day sales starting as early as Thursday, August 29 running through the entire three-day weekend. Product availability will be limited; while there isn’t one day during the weekend that will be best for shopping, we suggest to start your search early so you can score deals before they run out.

Tips for Finding the Best Labor Day Deals

First off, you need to bookmark this page — don’t forget that we’ll be updating it with the best Labor Day deals on outdoor gear. If you’re unsure about a product, do a quick Google search to compare prices and find reviews. However, you can trust that we’ll only highlight the top brands, well-reviewed products, or steepest discounts.

We’ll be focusing on all of the fun things you need to get outside, however, our team is also scouring the Internet for the best sales on men’s clothing.

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Nicole Raney is the former Managing Editor of The Manual. You can also hear her on older episodes of The Manual Podcast, a…

Outdoors

Two-story Trail Dog camper sleeps four with room for all your powersports toys

The rugged, go-anywhere rig is built to take you and yours far afield with ATVs and motorbikes in tow.

Mission Overland Trail Dog powersports camper trailer parked in a grassy field.

Versatility is the name of the game for many of today's trailer-towing overlanders. The best off-road-ready towables transform effortlessly from gear hauler to toy hauler to microcamper and back again. So, too, with Mission Overland's Trail Dog camper trailer — a rugged, convertible toy hauler with room for four and plenty of powersports gear, too.
Get the details on Mission Overland's Trail Dog overland-ready toy hauler

There's a growing number of versatile gear-hauling trailers/campers on the market today. But what sets Mission Overland's Trail Dog apart is the dedicated rear ramp. It's a functional design element pulled from the best full-sized toy hauler RVs, allowing campers to stash ATVs, dirt bikes, mountain bikes, or any other adventure gear safely inside for transport.

Outdoors

The WLY Mammoth is a bumper-pull travel trailer built for serious Arctic camping

With a heated king bed and a massive portable heater, it's like a go-anywhere camp sauna on wheels.

A WLY Mammoth camper/trailer being towed up a snowy treelined road.

While many campers pack up their gear for winter at the first subzero temperature dip, there is a certain segment of hardcore outdoorsmen who enjoys the great outdoors in any season. Mammoth Overland's WLY Mammoth is a lightweight travel trailer designed for just those campers who don't mind bitter cold, scorching heat, and everything in between.
Get the full details on Mammoth Overland's WLY Mammoth travel trailer

All-season travel trailers and RVs are nothing new. But Mammoth Overland takes "Arctic-ready" camping to a whole new level with the WLY Mammoth. Like the company's other bumper-pull trailers, it's built tough enough to survive the rigors of overlanding. But the WLY (that would be "wooly") is purpose-built for winter camping. The cabin features a handsome plaid wool liner that not only looks great but also delivers an R-value of R12 — significantly higher than the R5 rating found in more ordinary campers. The floor boasts an even better R25 rating. Mammoth Overland adds an 11,500 BTU/hr propane-powered mobile forced air heating system to the mix. That's enough power to heat a 600-square-foot cabin, ensuring the WLY stays ultra-toasty no matter how far the mercury drops outside. Plus, a heated king-size bed provides the perfect centerpiece for this winter-ready basecamp.

Outdoors

Zipper pull camping hack: Exit your tent and disturb no one

Don't wake up your partner while camping with this tent zipper pull hack

Man at a campground stargazing

Camping overnight comes with a bunch of challenges, but if you're like me, one of the worst ones ever is needing to exit the tent before dawn to use the bathroom or grab something from the car. My husband is a pretty light sleeper, so any excessive rumple I make is going to wake him up. Worse, I've also had the misfortune of startling wildlife. Fortunately, I've found a great camping hack that solves the problem — glow sticks!

Yep! You heard me. I've found that creating a glow stick ring through the holes in my tent's zipper pulls solves the issue. Not only does this make your zipper visible, but it also gives you something bigger to grab on to. With this camping hack, I am able to open my tent's zipper slowly and quietly, minimizing risk of startling anything inside or outside.