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Boy Scout Adult Leader Equipment Discountsi

AZMike

By AZMike
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AZMike Senior Member

AZMike

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Thought it might be worthwhile to start a list of businesses that offer discounts for outdoor equipment to Scouters.

 

Please feel free to add any other sources of which you are aware.

 

Also, please don't abuse these resources, many of which offer very hefty discounts out of appreciation for what Scouting does. Most of these businesses ask that you do not go to local retailers and use the discount price to try to get them to beat the price (which harms the relationship between suppliers and retailers), and obviously, do not purchase these items for resale, or for friends and extended family. Specific requirements for each site are listed on each on-line companies' website.

 

COLEMAN - Coleman offers discounts to Scouters through their Non-Profit Outdoor Recreation Center Program - see http://www.coleman.com/youth.

 

ALPS - ALPS manufactures quality camping gear through their Scout Direct program under its own name and under contract to suppliers such as Browning and Cedar Ridge. They offer a discount of 45% off their retail price to established scout troops. This is a very kind offer, and I've been using their Mystique 1.5 tent for years, use their tough and soft Browning XL air pad to sleep very comfortably when car camping, and after a particularly frigid night, bought their -20 bag and sleep like a big giant happy baby whenever it's cold. Once you get on their mailing list, they will also send you occasional offers of display items that were used by their salesmen that are even more heavily discounted. Go to http://www.scoutdirect.com/scout/program for info on how to sign up.

 

In 2008, the Insane Scouter blog listed a number of outdoor big box retailers that offer a discount to Boy Scout leaders upon display of a Scout Leader Identification Card at the check-out counter (usually 10%). http://insanescouter.org/p/4990/28/Discounts_to_Scouts.html Please be polite and courteous when asking if they still offer such a discount. I've received a discount at Sportsman's Warehouse, I'm not sure how many others continue to give a discount, but the listed ones include Bass Pro Shop, Gander Mountain, Cabela's, Next Adventure, Blueridge Mountain Sports, Eastern Mountain Sports, and REI.

 

Other retail businesses:

 

Great Outdoor Provision Company (North Carolina) offers discounts of 10 - 25%: http://greatoutdoorprovision.com/about-us/we-support/scouting-program/

 

Appalachian Outfitters (Ohio) offers a 10% discount, 15% if preparing for Philmont. http://www.appalachianoutfitters.com

 

Dick's Sporting Goods (nationwide) offer a 10% discount on camping gear if you show your Scout ID.

 

 

Some outdoor equipment discounts that are not offered to Scouters specifically, but which many of you will qualify for:

 

http://www.promotive.com aggregates several hundred businesses that offer hefty discounts (averaging about 45%) for camping gear, sports gear, sunglasses, knives, tents, boots, bicycling gear, police/military tactical gear, sports supplements, etc. You sign up as a member of different groups, which include military (active and veterans), government, corporate employees, members of organizations (not Scouts - maybe someone at BSA headquarters should make a request), etc. Check the site to see if you qualify for any groups (the more groups you are accepted for, the more businesses you can purchase from). If you are a military veteran, you can email them a redacted copy of your DD-214. If you are a government employee, providing them a government email that they will confirm will suffice. I bought a winter backpacking tent from Big Agnes for about 50% off through this service. Most of the businesses put limits on the number of items you can purchase a year to reduce potential abuse of the service.

 

OutdoorProLink does a similar service as Promotive with about 80 companies' prodeals: http://www.outdoorprolink.com for outdoor industry professionals. You can see if you fall in to one of their categories here: https://www.outdoorprolink.com/apply.aspx?

 

Mountain Hardwear produces quality jackets and outerwear, sleeping bags, tents, and packs. They offer a Pro-deal (about 40%) for "outdoor professionals," that includes government and military employees, teachers, resort employees, professional guides, resort employees, SAR, and outdoor supply company employees. See https://www.mountainhardwear.com/pro-signup to apply.

 

Keen Footwear's pro-deal specifically excludes large groups or those with a tax-exempt status, but if you are an outdoor industry professional, you can apply at https://pro.keenfootwear.com/pro/

 

Patagonia offers a pro-deal discount to a number of professional categories, see here: http://www.patagonia.com/us/patagonia.go?assetid=81361

 

Arc'teryx offers a pro-deal discount to the professional categories listed here: http://www.arcteryx.com/Pro-Purchase.aspx?EN. If you are an outdoor industry professional (not a retail employee), you can apply here: http://pro.arcteryx.com/Industry-Partners.asp

 

Hope all this is helpful.

 

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JasonG172 Senior Member

JasonG172

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If you have the pleasure of having a Sportsmans Warehouse they have a 10% discount as well. Their camping sections !!! OMG almost half the store. Its Sad walking into Bass Pro, but now they are moving to the Memphis Pyramid which will make it the LARGEST Bass Pro in the World.

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AZMike Senior Member

AZMike

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Moah, including some regional outlets:

 

I think that Mountain Sports in Arlington, TX also offers a 10% Scout Discount, but check first: http://www.mountainsports.com

 

Outdoor Trails in Lynchburg and Daleville, VA also offers a 10% discount to card-carrying Scouts and Scouters. Their president and founder is a long-term Scouter: http://www.outdoortrails.com/scouts.html

 

L.L. Bean offers discounts to Scouts under the following conditions: "We encourage young people to enjoy outdoor recreation. Accredited schools and troops affiliated with the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts will receive a discount for outdoor equipment that will remain the property of the schools or troops. Restrictions apply; please call 800-458-3058 for information." See http://www.llbean.com/customerService/aboutLLBean/charitable_giving.html

 

Emergency Essentials with stores in Utah offer a 10% discount on camping-related gear. You have to register with the store (here's how: http://www.myscoutstuff.org/resource...utdiscount.pdf). The "My Scout Stuff" blog notes that they have frequent sales on Mountain House freeze dried meals, and the discount would possibly apply to the sale price. http://beprepared.com/#default.

 

The Canyoneering USA on-line store offers a 20% discount on Imlay Canyon Gear products, and 15% on other brands to Scout leaders if the items are used 51% or more for youth group activities. Here's how to do it: http://www.store.canyoneeringusa.com...discounts.html. They have a really good selection of climbing, rafting, and camping gear.

 

Adventure16, which is a chain of southern California outdoor stores that I like to visit when in LA and San Diego, used to offer a discount to Scout leaders - I haven't checked in a while, but I suspect they still do. They started as an Explorer Post in La Mesa, CA which began making and supplying their own line of packs to raise funds to make 16mm films of their trips (hence their name), and grew into a regional chain of stores. Fun places to browse. http://www.adventure16.com

 

 

GENERAL NON-SCOUT-SPECIFIC DISCOUNTS AND TIPS:

 

This page lists current discounts and sales through different outdoor retailers (Moosejaw, GearX, and Mountain Plus). If you bookmark it, you can check back on updated sale items: http://www.backpacking-tips.com/disc...king-gear.html

 

If there are specific items you are looking for, enter them in your shipping cart on Amazon, and mark them as "Save for Later" rather than keeping them in your "buy now" list. If you bookmark your shopping cart, everytime it comes up it will tell you if the seller has increased or discounted the price (sometimes a matter of pennies day to day, sometimes pretty hefty price drops). Also good to check in around Black Friday and Cyber Monday, to see if anyone is selling the item at a big discount.

 

The site www.retailmenot.com is an aggregator for discounts and discount coupons for most of the bigbox retailers. Search them to see if they have any of your local sporting good / outdoor equipment retail chains. I always do this before doing any shopping (of any kind, as I am a frugal man, from a long line of cheap people) and often can print out a coupon to give me a discount off the highest-priced item. At the local "Big 5" discount sporting goods store, they had an advertised sale on 2-burner Camp Chef propane stoves at $80. I printed out a "$10 off a purchase over $50" coupon, and got the item at $70.

 

Signing up for customer loyalty clubs at your local outdoor retailers often gets you discount coupons in your email in-box. Some (like Sportsman's Warehouse, where I shop a lot) have a program where you earn a point for every $1 you spend, and when you get 500 points, you earn a $50 gift card. Cabela's, Dick's, etc. all have preferred customer programs. If you are an REI member, of course, you also get money back (usually in March) based on your purchases through the year. Save your coupon until Memorial Day, when REI has its biggest sales, and you can combine the two to get some serious discounting going on, there.

 

Not really a discount, but if you like to save your change (I have cups all over the house and in my car where I toss loose change as I get it), you can use the CoinStar machines in many grocery stores (you can search for kiosk locations by zip code here: https://www.coinstar.com/#about) If you just want the kiosk to count your coins and give you a voucher that you cash in at the checkout line, they charge a small fee, but if you want to cash it in for a credit at Amazon (where I buy a lot of outdoors stuff), there's no fee. I do this 4 or 5 times a year. The kiosks also let you cash in unused gift cards, so if you have a restaurant gift card you received and you don't plan to go to that restaurant, you can turn that into Amazon credit.

 

 

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blw2 Senior Member

blw2

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sorry, not sure on the van ...  Seems like I did catch wind of someone getting a discount though, I kinda want to think it was Enterprise.

 

I see this is an old thread....but earlier it was mentioned about Dicks Sporting Goods offering a discount.

 

I tried several times at our local store and was told no each time.  I just figured it was the clerks just not being aware of it.  I contacted Dick's corporate and apparently it's not a national thing..... store by store.

 

I have used the discount a time or two at Gander Mountain.  Once the guy made a point to ask me if the stuff was specifically for scouts or for a scout trip.  Apparently that might be a restriction.... not just a discount extended to scouts.

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