Outdoor adventure is big business. In 2017, the Outdoor Industry Association reported $887 billion in consumer spending on outdoor recreation. And it’s good for the world too: when communities invest in outdoor recreation, research shows it can “reduce crime rates, improve educational outcomes, and lower health care costs.” But, like with everything, there are costs too. One major cost of the outdoor industry is the impact on our landfills, since the outdoor gear that gets made also (eventually) gets thrown away. Many outdoor companies are doing important work towards making their gear more environmentally friendly by increasing durability, choosing better materials, and using designs that encourage reuse, recycling, and repair. Supporting these companies is an easy way to minimize your impact. Another easy way is to repair outdoor gear instead of throwing it away. In this article we’re gonna look at 4 reasons why you should repair outdoor gear, instead of buying new. Once you’re convinced that you should repair your gear, check out How to Repair Your Outdoor Gear.

Why You Should Repair Outdoor Gear

There are many reasons to repair your gear instead of buying new: keeping it out of landfills, having an awesome story to tell, learning a new skill, and gaining “trail cred.”

1. Keep it out of the landfills

The EPA estimates that Americans throw out 13 million tons of textile waste each year. Moving that waste into recycling programs would the equivalent of taking 7.3 million cars and their carbon emissions off the road. While that’s obviously not all outdoor gear, imagine the impact if outdoor adventurers led the way in reducing this waste. Repairing your gear instead of throwing it away and buying new gear is a great step in the right direction. And while we’re as much gearheads as anyone, keeping waste out of landfill is a compelling reason to repair outdoor gear instead of buying new.

Check out: Outdoor EDC: The Ten Adventure Essentials

2. Have an awesome story

What’s a better story, buying new or getting something repaired? Everyone has that piece of gear that they absolutely love and would never part with. Treat all of your gear this way and you’ll build up a gear closet full of character and history. Whether it’s a jacket with tons of patches, a backpack that’s been sewn back together over and over, or a tent that has more repaired sections than original fabric, your gear will prompt questions from strangers, start conversations, and tell a story of awesome adventures.

Read More: Planning Your First Backpacking Trip: A Comprehensive Guide

3. Learn a new skill

Don’t know how to sew? Learn! Not sure what repairing a tent pole looks like? It’s actually not that hard! And the awesome thing about living in today’s world? The internet. There are so many resources out there to help you learn how to repair your gear from YouTube to instructional articles. Many companies will happily provide resources on how to repair their gear. The DIY world is full of people who want to help others learn new skills. So even if a repair is foreign to you, there’s no excuse in today’s world to not to be able to learn how to repair outdoor gear.

RELATED: How to Choose the Best Backpack

4. Gain street trail cred

It’s a commonly known fact that outdoor professionals judge each other by how dirty and “loved” their puffy down jackets are. If it’s hard to tell what color the jacket was originally because of the dirt, repair tape, and burn marks, you know they have seen some shit. When your pack is held together by DIY sewing with mismatched buckles and random duct tape, you gain a certain “trail cred.” Really only two types of outdoors people show up with all brand new gear: newbies and sponsored athletes. And while we encourage all people to head outside (even newbies—we were all there once!), buy gear that will last and start turning it into some respectably dirty, broken, and repaired gear that would make a guide jealous.

To find the best quality gear that will last a lifetime, check out our Buying Guides.

If you enjoyed this article, check out other articles like it, see our article on how-to repair outdoor gear, or you might like one of these:

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