Old School

A Shakespeare Triumph 1958 Reel

When I was adventure racing, weight was everything.

You bought the lightest mountain bike you could afford, the lightest canoe and the lightest pack.

Everything was about weight. 

Food?  The most calories for the lightest weight.

Use the heavy race-provided paddle or carry your own break-down paddle?

Shoes?  The lightest shoes that drained the fastest when they got wet (and this was the right side of the country, so feet were ALWAYS getting wet).

Trying to figure out how much (or how little water you could get away with carrying until the next fill up opportunity, 'cause water is heavy).

The smallest trowel that would meet pre-race gear inspection.

100 weight or 200 weight fleece? 

Carry a rain jacket or will the weather hold up until the next Transition Area, where you could restock and change out for the next section of the race?

3 inch folding knife or 2 inch folding knife?

How much food will we need until the next TA? 

We screwed the pooch on that one a couple of times, by carrying too little.

Every decision about what to carry had to take into account the weather, the time of year, the race conditions through each section, whether it was a day or night section of the race, mandatory gear that had to be carried at all times, specific gear required for each section of the race, what you could hold off carrying until the next TA, how fast or slow you wanted to travel. 

Ultimately it all came down to weight.

Heavy gear, heavy packs, heavy bodies all slowed you down.

Now that my racing days are over I don't think of weight in quite the same way.

On a personal level I still pack carefully. 

I still have tons of gear from my racing days.  It's not the latest and greatest gear anymore, but it's still high tech and still lightweight and still serves me well.

And I know my gear. 

I treated it respectfully when training back then (but generally treated it awfully during races) and it all held up.

So me and my gear are like old, familiar friends.

We've been through a lot together.

Over the past few months (and without really trying), our store has managed to accumulate some interesting, way cool, totally old school gear.

Some of it is interesting.  Some of it is unique.  Some of it is heavy.  Some of it is just as functional and efficient as uber, ridiculously high dollar, new gear.

When we first opened OAR we imagined that it would contain only "new skool", high tech, breathable, wicking, synthetic stuff.

But when you open a consignment store you have no idea what will come into the store.

OAR is not the same deal as retail outdoor stores such as Sierra Trading Post (which receives regular and predictable shipments of gear sent to it by its distributors).

We find what we find, and what walks in the door is what we share with the community.

If you look this stuff up on-line (and we have) you'll see buzz words like vintage and antique.

I guess it IS vintage stuff.

But when we look at this stuff we see Made in America, great gear in great shape even though it has been used for many years, the history of outdoor gear development, the military service of previous owners.

We love the newest, latest and greatest gear.

But we also LOVE our old school stuff.

It's awesome, sometimes heavy, and always totally bomb proof gear!

Outdoor Life Complete Book of Fresh Water Fishing / Complete Book of Hunting

A pair of vintage GALIBIER RICHARD PONTVERT hiking mountaineer boots. They were made in France, likely from the 1970's, in great shape for their age, weigh a ton and are virtually indestructible. The sole looks brand new and is screwed to the upper (not glued like the newer, lighter, high tec boots).

Carman Super Gator lined gaiters.

Based on the little we could find on-line, and the background of the man who brought these in, we believe these are 1960's military ski poles.

A Sunshine Of The Night Model 2420 Coleman Lantern

These are an awesome pair of boots!  They look brand new but are actually Adidas Thunderstorm boots from the 80's.  They include attached gaiters.

A Kelty external frame pack and a 60's military cot. 

THREE REMINDERS

1.  Check out our Facebook page.  We post up gear info and pictures almost daily.

2.  Hunter Gear Swap is scheduled for Saturday June 29 (10am-2pm) in the parking lot outside the store.

More info on the gear swap can be found in the Special Events section of this blog.

3.  The 25% discount for former, retired and currently serving military and law enforcement ends May 31.

Hunters Gear Swap - Saturday June 29

When we first opened OAR, we wanted to get some sense as to which promotional efforts that we were using were most effective in reaching our target markets.

  I used to ask people who walked in the door, how they had heard about the store.

Their answers for the first few months ran the gamut - the radio, a flier, an ad or an article in the newspaper, area on-line classifieds, regional on-line classifieds, somebody told me about you - everyone seemed to be hearing about us in a different way and no one method seemed to be more effective than any other.

It told us to just keep doing what we were doing, because the word was starting to get out.

Now (almost six months later) we are still using many of the same marketing strategies, but when I ask people how they heard about us, the answer I am receiving the most is "Somebody told me about this place so I thought I'd check it out".

Word of mouth is beginning to work, and for that we are both extremely excited and extremely gratified.

The flier above is for a Hunters Gear Swap that OAR is pulling together for the end of June.

We set up a poll on the local "guy" on-line classifieds site "Guy's Gear" asking for input on the best date that did not conflict with either other local events or hunting opening days, and Saturday June 29 was what we came up with.

There is no fee to set up.

We are looking for local non-profits interested in setting up a food vending situation.  No fee to set up and it is a great way for a local organization to raise funds. 

Give us a call if interested.

Because music always makes an event more fun, we're also looking for someone to set up some speakers and play some cd's.  No pay offered for someone to do this, but we'll buy you lunch!

Mark your calendar. 

And if you want to buy / sell/ trade / swap start digging through your stuff and pulling it all together.

We still have this Avenir Discovery bike trailer for sale.

Structurally it is sound in every way, but the blue and yellow canvas is very faded from the Wyoming sun.

A great little bike trailer at a very good price.

Other great items we have at the store right now:

Jetrak Roof Rack (48" - 75kg capacity)

Blue and white granite camp cookware.  All in great condition but with no makers marks.

 

North Face Back Magic large volume external frame pack.

This thing is a beast ,but would serve you well if you're heading to the back country for a few days.

It is in perfect condition aside from one thing - the magic marker crossed-out name and phone number of the previous owner on an outside pocket. 

Comes with pack cover to keep your pack dry in rain or snow conditions.

 Shakespeare Triumph 1958 Reel

Orvis fishing vest, camo tactical vest, Columbia cotton multi-pocket fishing vest, and name brand down vests.

It's well worn but this book on knives is an interesting read.

A Mountain Of Gear

We have been VERY busy at OAR this past week.

Over the weekend we picked up a huge amount of primarily hunting gear.

When I dumped it all in a pile on the floor beside the counter we had a mountain of gear three feet high, and all I could think was "Awesome!!  Now where the heck am I going to put it all?"

It took three days, tons of cleaning and researching and labelling and fixture installing but.....we got it all done, and now we have some totally cool stuff to offer the local outdoor adventure community.

Holsters, saddle bags, duffel bags, back packs, hunting books, ammo pouches, rifle cases, more camo hunting jackets and vests. 

Lots more.

At the top of the post is a Bianchi, western rig belt and holster for single action 45 cal, 34 inch waist. A link to a site that has many good pictures of the same belt:

http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/7099328/FS_Bianchi_1890H_SASS_gunbelt

Mountainsmith Cross Country II internal frame multi-day pack for sale. This awesome pack is brand new, still with tags, and comes with detachable day pack.

Vintage military ski poles (we believe they're from the 60's).

We have a number of strong and sturdy canvas duffel bags in sizes ranging from small to large.

There are both Cabelas and Dunns brands, and they are all clean and in excellent condition.

One of my favorite people brought this beautiful jacket in for consignment a week or so ago.

A Tri Mountain Mens XL jacket. Large external side zippered pockets and one external zip chest pocket, lined, multiple ventilation points.

An awesome jacket for a big guy.

OK........these pictures have absolutely nothing to do with the store but we think they're awesome pictures anyway.

Last weekend our sweet old pup Jamie was sitting and looking out through the screen door at the front of the house.

When she started to growl I thought that she had seen a bunny or a cat (both of which we have in abundance in the area, and James would happily rip them to shreds if she had the chance).

Instead, when I looked outside I saw these guys grazing on our neighbor's front lawn.

The other picture is an old wagon we have at the edge of our driveway.

I love that thing.

A S&W ammo belt, 30 cal, 34 inch waist, and a Broadus Boot and Tack , Tracy Fruit Maker ammo belt, 45-70 cal, 34-36 inch waist.

Two pairs of Simms boots.

One has a felt sole.  The other has a leather sole that is screwed to the upper.

They are both in excellent shape and are very high quality.

Just a reminder that ex, retired and currently serving military and law enforcement receive 25% off all of their OAR purchases throughout the month of May.

Our very small way of saying thank you for your service.

A beautiful table for sale, made of reclaimed wood that was salvaged locally, antlers, rope and new Plexiglas.

It is a lovely piece that we have used at the store to display some of the natural decorative items we have in one dedicated space in the store, but we would love to find it a new home.

Please No More!

PLEASE NO MORE!

When a lady brought in a roof mount ski rack and two pairs of cross country skis last week, we did the paperwork on them, she walked out the door and I thought "What am I doing?"

It's mid-April and effective as of now, OAR will no longer be accepting any more winter sports equipment (including skis, boots, helmets, boards, poles etc.).

It's time to move on.

We took the old downhill skis off the floor this week (and they'll make an AWESOME bench when we cut 'em down this summer), but still have some gear left out, for those folks looking forward to the 2013/2014 season (which is only six or seven months away).

People are totally beginning to look for warm weather gear - camping, hiking, biking, boating, hunting, and (especially) fishing stuff.

Aside from the obvious gear, people have asked for things I would never have thought of (and it continues to be a learning experience owning an outdoor store in a place like Cody Wyoming).

People are looking for good, technical, name brand day and multi-day packs, but there is also a market for old-school beater packs (so guys can haul meat out of the mountains and not worry about messing up a good pack).

They're looking for lightweight and tiny back-country stoves, but they're also looking for cast iron cookware so that they can car camp.

They're looking for good, high quality fishing rods for themselves, but they're also looking for lightweight and cheap rods for their kids.

And soccer cleats!!!!!

TWO THINGS:

1.  If you have a good, high quality, name brand road or mountain bike, or a boat (canoe or kayak), we'll find room for it at our little store. 

At OAR we still have high hopes to be able to expand back, take up the entire garage bay we are currently renting and effectively double our space by the end of the summer.

We need your help to be able to do that.  The more great stuff we have at OAR, the more people will come by to see what we have.

The more great stuff we have at OAR, the more fun it is to dig through and check out what's new!

2.  If you're not sure we can use it, just give us a call.  You'd be surprised what people are looking for and what they'll buy.

We've been surprised many times over the past few months!

We have the awesome-est pair of boots in the store right now! They are a pair of vintage GALIBIER RICHARD PONTVERT hiking mountaineer boots. They were made in France, likely from the 1970's, in great shape for their age, weigh a ton and are virtually indestructible.

The sole looks brand new and is screwed to the upper (not glued like the newer, lighter, high tec boots). I LOVE these things! They're small - we couldn't find a size on them but I tried them on and would guess they're a ladies Size 10 (maybe a man's 8 1/2?). Totally old school and totally bomb proof.

Looked them up and found reviews on these boots: http://www.trailspace.com/gear/galibier/super-guide/

The boots came in with a pair of vintage Carman Super Gator lined gaitors. VERY COOL!

Area Public School And College Students Receive 10% Off All Their Purchases Everyday

We have a group of Outdoor Recreation students from Northwest College who drop by here regularly, and we say THANK YOU for your support of OAR!

YOU GUYS ROCK!!

Don't forget to follow us on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Outdoor-Adventures-Revived-OAR/295312997264285?fref=ts

Thanks To Polestar

While we were at the Beast Feast last month, my husband bought two tickets to the upcoming Polestar dinner and auction.

It is an annual fundraising event held in Powell.

The event helps to raise money needed for Polestar to be able to continue to provide opportunities for disadvantaged youth in the community.  

It is a mentor driven and volunteer dependent organization that provides quality outdoor experiences for young people.

Without Polestar many of these young people would never know what it is to hunt, fish, camp, and enjoy other outdoor activities that many of us take so much for granted.

More information about Polestar:

http://www.polestar-outdoors.org/

OAR was invited to set up a table at the event and when we first walked in I was amazed at how beautiful they had decorated the hall.  This was going to be fun!

We didn't have a whole lot of time to take pictures but I snapped these in between telling folks about the store, talking about the outdoors, and eating a HUGE meal.

We met so many awesome people the other night, had a great time watching the auction, and are glad that we played a small part in this great event.

A Coleman Powerhouse Dual Fuel lantern for sale at OAR (used only once)  Info on specs for this great piece of gear:

http://www.coleman.com/product/premium-powerhousereg-dual-fueltrade-lantern/3000000946

Facebook Hates Me

Facebook hates me.

I've been trying to post pictures and text on the OAR Facebook page for a couple of days now and it won't let me.

Maybe this tech-nerd changed a setting on the site without meaning to.

Or maybe Facebook really DOES hate me.

Either way, we'll get it figured out and post again as soon as we can.

At the store we have some great gear that needs to find a new home.

A lady brought this beautiful little Rossignol youth snowboard/ski helmet in a while back.

It's in brand new condition, has ample padding to protect a little athlete's head, and is filled with all the hearts and flowers and pinkness that a little girl would love.

Oxygen Element 580 snowboard (size 152) - without bindings, has a few scratches but no major dings, and the graphics on both sides are still in great shape. 

This little MSR Pocket Rocket (yes, that's the actual name of this baby) is a tiny camping stove.

It comes complete with plastic carrying case, and is sturdy but lightweight enough to throw down in the bottom of your pack when you head out to camp or go into the back country.

Quite a few people have looked at this thing, then looked at me bemused and said "What IS that?"

It's a wind resistance bike trainer.  Designed for those who want to ride their bike indoors when the weather outside is too nasty for outdoor riding.

It's in excellent condition, simple to install and use, and breaks down easily when you want to store it away.

Burton Ranger snowboard boots that are in very good shape and a pair of Vision youth snowboard boots that are in excellent (barely used) shape

This is a Graber trunk mount bike rack, designed to hold 3-4 bicycles.

If you need to transport bikes and don't have the room to haul them in your vehicle, this tight little bike rack will do the trick.

If you have any of the following and want to consign them, we would LOVE to have them to sell at OAR, because folks are beginning to head back outside again:

packs - headlamps - trekking poles - camp stoves - hiking boots - trail shoes - paddles and life jackets - wet suits - wind and rain proof jackets - gaitors - tents - camp chairs - anything to do with hunting

Cutest Little Cowboy

Mom gave me permission to post this picture.

The cutest little cowboy we've ever seen!

We had a blast at the Beast Feast the other day!

There were tons of outdoor related businesses and booths set up, and it was awesome to see what other local folks had to offer. 

It was also GREAT to meet with and chat with hundreds of residents who came out to support the event.

Thank you so much to the Cody Bible Church for putting on such a great event, and thanks for inviting OAR to be a part of it!

We had some x-country skis and boots come into the store today.

Yes.......the season is on the wane, but there is still a lot of cross country skiing to be done before the snow all melts out in the Northfork!

The boots (in excellent condition) - Salomon SR301 and Salomon SN Air

The skis (brand new) - Salomon Jarvinen Control 3 Base 318R

Drop by OAR soon to check them out, and remember that we have 30% off almost all our winter gear throughout the month of March.

We have skis, a great snowboard, winter jackets, snowboard boots, ski boots, hats, gloves, scarfs, goggles, poles, helmets, and more.