As long-term readers of this blog will know, I’m not exactly an advocate for the irreverent spending of money on stuff.
I write highly opinionated posts, for example, about why fancy gear is totally unnecessary, how to get touring bikes and equipment for next to nothing, and how to travel forever for free. That sort of thing.
But I understand that outdoor enthusiasts occasionally have to splash out on new gear. Some, apparently, even enjoy doing so.
I personally tend to wait until my stuff is falling apart at the seams and covered in repair tape – and then wait another year for good measure. And when I do buy new gear, I try to avoid the purely price- and convenience-driven buying decisions that have got global capitalism into so much trouble.
So much for my buying habits. Here for your perusal are some of the more… tasteful Black Friday 2023 deals I’ve found while scouting around over the last couple of days.
All of the retailers or manufacturers listed here donate a percentage of their profits to charitable causes, and make transparent efforts towards sustainable business practices, considering that they all rely on the preservation of the natural environment to have an industry to operate in.
Terra Nova: Black Friday 2023 Tent Deals & Discounts
Terra Nova is a British premium tent-maker of whose shelters I’ve long been a fan. A couple of the tents on offer this weekend are long-time cycle touring favourites, notably the Terra Nova Voyager and the Wild Country Zephyros, both of which have featured in my ever-popular round-up of the best cycle touring and bikepacking tents for many years.
This “Green Friday” weekend, as well offering a generous 30% off all full-price products in their online store, they’re donating 5% of profits to EOCA, a charity whose outdoor industry member contributions fund a wide variety of hands-on, outdoor-oriented conservation projects around the world.
Click here to visit terra-nova.co.uk and use the code GEAR30 at check-out to get the applicable discount (the donation happens automatically).
Alpkit: Black Friday 2023 Deals For Cycle Tourists & Bikepackers
UK-based direct gear retailer Alpkit have long had a policy of re-investing in outdoor causes, in part by donating at least 10% of profit annually via the Alpkit Foundation.
This Black Friday weekend they’ll be doubling the usual portion of sales proceeds in an effort to raise that figure yet further.
Among the wide range of deals of interest to cycle tourers and bikepackers, you’ll find their highly-rated Ordos tents and Pipedream sleeping bags, alongside a plethora of other outdoor accessories too many to list here. (I’m a big fan of their frame luggage, as mentioned on my big cycle touring kit list page.)
They’re also having a big clearance of ex-demo Sonder bikes – among them many solid base bikes (eg: the Santiago) for touring and bikepacking – though you’ll have to create an account and login in order to see them.
REI: Black Friday 2023 Deals for Cycle Tourists
While some consider this US-based outdoor cooperative to have become too big for its own good, REI still invest a portion of profits (the rest of which go as dividends to members) into charitable causes via the 501(c)(3) nonprofit REI Cooperative Action Fund, whose operations are fully funded by the cooperative.
Among the deals of interest this weekend, I spotted MSR’s rarely-discounted WhisperLite International, WhisperLite Universal and Dragonfly multi-fuel stoves, which have for decades been the burners of choice for riders setting off on long and meandering journeys around the world (see my round-up of cycle touring and bikepacking stoves here). It’s pretty rare to find these gold-standard stoves on sale like this, hence why I mention them here.
Of course, REI being capable of outfitting an entire bike trip, it’s worth checking their other deals too.
Amazon: Black Friday Deals for Cycle Tourists & Bikepackers
Amazon? What – you think I’d encourage you to line Jeff Bezos’s pockets yet further this weekend?! Come on…! ?
Yeah, that’s a pretty short list. But the truth is that I found a disappointingly small number of gear makers and retailers with a solid, demonstrable and transparent commitment to giving something back through their profits. Let’s hope the trend picks up!
In the meantime, if you are going to splurge this Black Friday weekend, allow me to encourage you to take a second to consider where your money goes, as well as how good that deal is.
If you do know of any socially responsible gear businesses you think are relevant to cycle tourers and bikepackers (and not just on Black Friday), I’d love to hear about it in the comments below.
Something to add?