The 5 Best Camping Gear Deals From REI's Big 2025 Holiday Sale

REI closes all its stores on Black Friday, so it's wheeling out the savings early. Here's the deal: From now through November 24th, all customers save up to 30% on hundreds of products, and 55% off hundreds more items in the REI Outlet department. Co-Op members get those same deals, plus two 20% off coupons: one for any item store-wide, and one for any outlet item. REI is one of the largest suppliers of camping gear in the country, so when they open up their doors to deals, the discounts hit at all angles. If it can help you get outside, chances are you'll find it at REI; this week, odds are you can buy it at a discount. 

We noticed some of our personal favorite camping gear, some industry-leading equipment, and some surprising brand names available at steep discounts. We're talking Patagonia fleeces, Thule car racks, Garmin electronics, and even niche icons like Big Agnes, all seeing significant markdowns. GQ estimates that somewhere around 8,000 different products are on sale during the holiday blowout, so let's get shopping. Below, we've highlighted five pieces of equipment whose sales really caught our attention. Each one is a large discount on equipment that could improve your time outside.

The MegaMat Duo mattress consistently ranks among the best camping mattresses built for two. The plushy inflatable expands up to a queen-size bed and has developed a luxuriously soft reputation over the years as a versatile addition to your camping kit: You can use it for camping, sleeping in the car, or even as a spare mattress at home.

MegaMat users say things like, "It's awful if you dislike comfort. Not to mention how difficult it will be leaving it in the morning. Plus if you don't have those aches and pains from lesser mattresses, how's your chiropractor going to make money?" Another redditor says, "Seriously, I could use one as a permanent bed." Another adds, "The Exped has a cult-like following for a reason... I have very limited funds, but I was not going to have another sleepless night ruin my days of hiking. I regret nothing and love knowing how great I'm going to sleep from here on out." 

We could go on, but you get the idea. People love this mattress. Its only real flaw is that it is quite expensive. At full retail, the Queen-Size Megamat Duo will set you back a whopping $519.95. That's a steep investment for a camping mattress, even one with 4 inches of insulated polyurethane foam. Luckily for us, the mattress is included in REI's holiday sale. From now through November 24th, you can sleep like a king on a queen bed in the backcountry for $389.99.

While all REI Co-Op members can get one Patagonia item at 20% off retail, the store is also running a bigger sale on several jacket models. The Women's Better Sweater Hoody, Quarter Zip Pullover, and full-zip jacket are all available at a massive discount. The steepest sale is on the hoodie, which is 35% off and will set you back $108.73. The other two models are available for a respectable 29% off the retail price: The Quarter Zip is $97.73, and the full zip is $111.73. Act fast — this deal comes from REI's outlet and only lasts as long as the supplies do.

The Better Sweater is one of Patagonia's most iconic releases. It consistently ranks among Patagonia's best sellers and leaves very few wearers disappointed. Style blogger Carly Riordan wrote that if you had to pick one piece of clothing from Patagonia, it should probably be the Better Sweater, and it's not hard to see why. The sweater is classy enough for casual dinners, comfortable enough for around the house, and stylish enough for downtown. That alone makes the jacket worth consideration, but the Better Sweater is also techy enough to work as a decent mid-layer for ski trips and winter hikes. And since this is Patagonia we're talking about, it's all made from 100% recycled materials.

This deal makes our list for its longevity. While most of the action on REI's holiday sale expires November 24th, according to the REI website, the JBL Clip 5 will be 24% off from now until December 6th. Long after Walmart employees have scrubbed up the last of the Black Friday stampede footprints, you'll still be able to score this speaker for $59.99. 

This deal also makes our list because it's a darn fine speaker at a darn fine price. The JBL Clip 5 is my travel speaker of choice. I used to take a Megaboom 3 everywhere, but that 8-inch-long and 2-pound speaker was too unwieldy for backpacking. My sister gave me a JBL Clip 5, and it felt like a revelation. Sure, the speaker quality isn't flawless, but it definitely does the job, and most importantly, it fits into every packing list. The speaker and its built-in carabiner can hook up to sternum straps, water bottles, and fanny packs to go anywhere you are. 

The whole contraption weighs less than a pound and has a respectable IP67 waterproof rating, which means you can theoretically submerge it in 3 feet of water for up to 30 minutes. You probably shouldn't test the limits of that waterproofing, but you can absolutely clip this bad boy into your shower at home and onto your backpack on the road. The "6" in its waterproofing rating offers the highest level of resistance against dirt and solid materials, so even when the road gets rough, nothing can stop the music.

We all love saving money, but most deals aren't lifesaving. This next one might be. If you spend enough time outside, you'll eventually need a first aid kit. Now is a great time to stock up, as REI is discounting all Adventure Medical Kits by 25% during its holiday sale. From the Hiker ($24.69), which has everything you need for a one- or two-day trip, all the way up to the Mountaineer ($206.19) — intended to support a group of 10 for just under 30 days — you can save money on a wide range of boo-boo fixing and emergency supplies that will give you more confidence on the trail. 

If you're shopping for your first-ever medical kit, the Hiker model will likely cover everything you need. It packs a moleskin for hot spots, a trauma pad, a decent elastic bandage, plus pain relief, antihistamines, and medications for common ailments. This kit isn't the most robust medical kit on the market, but it easily covers the range of problems most folks are likely to encounter on a trail. It also crucially includes butterfly bandages, an essential item on a first aid kit checklist.

If you want more protection, the Backpacker ($41.19) is also on sale and can protect two people for four days with additional gauze, bandages, and pills. It simply feels good to head out of the car and into the wilderness knowing you have emergency supplies in your back pocket. It's an even better feeling when that peace of mind comes at 25% off.

This holiday sale couldn't come at a better time for stocking up on cold-weather gear. The clocks just went back an hour, the leaves are coming to rest, and the weather is not getting any warmer. But that doesn't mean the fun has to stop. Quality base layers are the key to beating winter and staying outside once the temperatures drop.

To get outside, REI is breaking out great deals on all sorts of nationally recognized brands, but unsurprisingly, many of the sale's best deals come from the store's in-house clothing lines. It was hard to pick just one item to feature on this list because so many Co-Op products are available at great discounts right now. If there's anything you need for your personal closet, from raincoats, gloves, and long-johns to beanies, now's a great time to shop. But ultimately, we chose to highlight the Merino 185 Long-Sleeve Base Layer because it's made from 100% merino wool and it's 30% off. Now through November 24th, you can stay warm for $55.89.  

We covered the beauty of merino while looking at Costco's best outdoor gadgets for cold weather, and we concluded that the only reason not to wear merino is its cost. But right now, you can score nice discounts at REI, and the perks of merino are very real. The fabric is naturally more moisture-wicking and odor-resistant than most synthetic materials. While some undershirts would be damp and stinky after one ski day, this base layer can last all week. Just don't tell anyone you've been wearing the same shirt every day. 

To choose the best products from this year's REI holiday sale, I first looked at the bottom lines. There are thousands of deals, so I first narrowed the list to items with savings of 25% or more. That's how the Exped mat made the list. You can save over $100 if you buy that bed during the holiday sale. Secondly, I am an REI junkie who tries to stop by the stores bi-weekly to check out their "Re/Supply" sections. Of course, I come for the garage sale and end up perusing the store's entire collection, so I know from experience that some items on this list, like the Patagonia sweater, are rarely on sale.

 Next, I sorted through our items and selected things that I, or voices within the outdoor space, feel are exceptionally useful. We don't want to buy something just because it's on sale. We want to buy genuinely handy products that are also on sale. That's how the merino wool shirts and JBL speaker ended up on the list. Anyone who wants to spend time outside should invest in more merino, and I would recommend any backpacker buy that speaker at full price, so when I saw it was going for about $20 off, I debated getting a second one.

I also distinguished products that were on sale solely for this holiday promotion. There are hundreds of other pretty crazy deals going on at REI, like 75% off this North Face Shirt, but the REI website lists the product as discontinued. I kept this article focused on items that are on sale for reasons other than being discontinued.

The final factor for our rankings was the product's relevance to camping trips. Again, there are hundreds and hundreds of sales at REI right now. I could make separate articles for biking, kayaking, climbing, and numerous other categories. So, the final cut for this particular piece was to look at all the sales and identify which products I would tell someone to buy first if they wanted to do more camping. That's how the first aid kit made the list. It's one of the best pieces of camping gear you can own, and one of the first things you should buy when you begin your camping journey.