Fall 2019 - Inside Outdoor Magazine

CampCrate Yet another trend that retailers should have on their radar are pre- made backpacking and camping kits and adventures from companies like CampCrate. CampCrate is a startup that not only assembles, packs and ships a variety of essential, high-quality camp- ing equipment to customers, but it also helps plan a camping or backpacking vacation by providing pre-planned food, campsite rentals, wilderness per- mits and training videos. CampCrate also offers standalone rentals for items including tents and sleeping bags. “Each customer will receive their own personal backpack, sleeping bag, sleeping pad and headlamp,” the company explained. “A tent, water filter and camping stove will also be provided, but these are shared items. For example, a customer taking this trip solo will receive one of each item. A crate for two customers will include two of each personal item and one of each shared item.” With CampCrate, gear can be shipped to any location. The company also partners with local gear shops when possible, which also helps drive in-store traffic and can lead to further sales. At the end of the trip, all the customer must do is return the crate with a pre-paid shipping label for a hassle-free experience. The gear rental market is grow- ing and evolving quickly. Perhaps the most important takeaway, though, is not to fear the idea of gear rental, as daunting as it may seem. Embracing this new trend will feed into consumer demand and could even drive sales of ancillary items. One thing is certain: as more retailers continue to embrace this concept in the coming years, it will be increasingly difficult to ignore. m Inside Outdoor | FALL 2019 35 Check out the internet's favorite new beer & wine chiller that cooler companies don't want you to know about. Learn more at https://chill.systems Meet the Chiller The ice-free portable beverage refrigerator