Several weekends ago, my family headed to REI with a gift card supplied by BlogHer so that we could explore the store and find some goodies to help our family have fun this summer. We met up with Sean who cheerfully showed us each section of the downstairs while chatting with us about all the exciting family activities REI can prepare us for. He shared with us about his family (he has a 6 month old baby) and told us they would be doing lots of hiking this summer.
Here’s Sean showing us the features of one of the child trailers you can hook up to a bike or convert into a jogging stroller. Its wheels also pop off super-easily so you can collapse the whole thing and throw it in your car. I had no idea these things had so many cool tricks.
Sean also took me to the in-store computer terminal, where we checked out the Expert Advice Articles, definitely a cool part of their website. On our way to the store, I had actually already read Cycling With Kids (my husband was driving) to get some ideas about what I needed to pick up at the store. I had just recently bought a used bike here on base, and ordered a bike seat for Anneliese. But I needed several other things to prepare us for our outings and keep us safe. We shopped for helmets and some other bike stuff, which I’ll tell you more about later.
Back to the expert advice stuff, REI’s website has a whole section of family activity articles, from your basic Hiking with Kids to the more obscure Snowshoeing with Kids. Each local store (click for the Fresno location) also offers classes, many of which are free.
Here’s Sean showing me the different babywearing options they carry for hiking with small children. I happily used my Boba to hike with Anneliese on my back, but REI carries Ergos and more heavy-duty structured (vs. soft structured) carriers like Kelty and Deuter.
Sean also told us about a great rental program REI has. All sorts of equipment, from tents and sleeping bags to kayaks (at stores near the water) can be rented for a very reasonable price. I think the tent we were looking at, which costs several hundred dollars, rents for about $30. I’m not sure on those numbers anymore, but it was VERY reasonable. That way, if you want to try out a new family activity but don’t want to commit to the “investment” of buying all the equipment, you can rent!
This summer, Anneliese and I will be biking around base together, for fun and exercise (for me, not her), and possibly even to run some errands.
What outdoor activity do you pledge to do with your family this summer and how would a $100 REI gift card help you get there? Take the REI Outdoor Pledge and submit your comment to be entered. (CLOSED).
Hi! I'm Emily. I'm a Navy wife and stay at home mom of two beautiful children. I cook simple, delicious, grain-free recipes, do crafts, decorate my home on a budget, and keep a happy household. I tandem breastfeed, babywear, cloth diaper, practice elimination communication, homebirth, and co-sleep, but I'm not a hippie.
I love rei!
Love shopping at REI.
Tweeted here too
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We are big on Camping and we could use new sleeping bags for sure.
gmissycat at yahoo dot com
I pledge to take my nephew camping and teach him about nature. I would use the $100 gift card for the basic camping essentials.
i pledge to keep taking my 4 kids camping and teaching them about nature and 100$ would be great to get my boys 11 and 10 there own tents we got a 4 person an were a family of 6 so were getting a lil cramped. lol
I have never gone camping, although my husband is a “happy” camper. I’m ready to take the camping plunge and take our family to a beautiful site in Sedona and be one-with=nature!
So, I would defin love a $100 to get a nice tent, air mattress, stove, etc. 
)
Shopping for grandson and grand daughter
I like to take my grandson & granddaughter shoping for school clothes
I’d LOVE to buy my little guy a hiking pack so we can tote him along on some fabulous hikes in the Rocky Mts.
I would buy fishing gear from REI so my family could hit the lake near Delores Co. and go trout fishing.
We moved from NC to NM a year ago and I’m very excited to do more exploring around the state. I would use the gift card for a sleeping bag that can survive some colder weather in Colorado!
I would love to take more family bike rides, but my husband needs a new bike. I would use the gift card towards that!
love to win
Would love to get a bike trailer for me and my son to get out more.
The whole family participated in a camping trip at Scenic beach in Washington. It was great to be together and outdoors!
buy some new boots
My husband and I would LOVE to take our 4 yr old quadruplets camping!! Only thing we’re missing now is a tent for 6. I think that $100 would come in quite handy!
REI has always been a delight adventure in and of itself. Love to look for things I can use.
all right
This would be very nice to win
Would love to win this for my hubs!! Our REI opens soon less than a mile from our house!
COOL !
very nice of you to offer a gift card
This would sure be handy for my Christmas gift shopping!
My daughter, the professor, buys a lot of her travel clothes at REI. This would make a perfect gift for her and make mom look good.
Our family loves to hike and it always seems as if someone is needing new hiking shoes…so there would go our $100 gc to REI.
i would love to win this sweepstakes.but i cant figure out how to enter this wounderfull sweepstakes?
We took our daughters camping often as they were growing up and this is their favorite memory. We love to camp in the Blue Ridge Mountains whcih is only 2 hours from our home.
Enjoy your site.
I pledge to hike. And we camp once a year. We could use a new tent as the zipper broke on our last trip and I had to clothes pin it shut to keep the mosquitoes out!
I’d like to take my father camping
Camping… geocaching…hiking… playing… Beach trips! We pledge to do them every season!
love love being outdoors with my kids and dog! we even got a NEW REI in our town this summer! yippie! we love it in there… we are currently eyeballing some new camping mats… comfort of home in our tent!! cozy!
My husband and I are planning a camping trip! We just stocked up some stuff at REI over labor day weekend but we still need some utensils and cookware…
I’d like to go hiking in the local botanic garden with my daughter and take pictures while there. REI has hiking boots, sunscreen, hats and classes on digital cameras to help us! I took the pledge.
I pledged to get a group out camping. And hopefully backpacking camping. We have only car camped this summer and are really craving a trip solely out in nature this fall. As I get older, I find that my short thin thermarest from college doesn’t really support my aging body after a long day on the trail, so my next purchase at REI will hopefully be a new thick thermarest!!
We just moved to a magical place. We found this weekend that we could pick wild blueberries as our family hiked along the shore line. We would love to go back and pick more. REI could help us because there are so many activities that we want to try here. Kayaking, Hiking, Skiing, Snowshoeing, Fishing, and Camping to name a few.
I didn’t know REI had Ergos or you could rent equipment! I need to visit ours again!
I pledged to take a family bike ride! A good reminder to get out and enjoy summer while it lasts. With that gift card, I’d probably buy some nice biking gloves for long rides.
REI is my happy place!
I took the pledge! REI is great! If I won the money I would buy my mom a pair of keens…(so I could get mine back)! She tried them on and never wants to give them back!
I need that $100 to buy a bike!
In my family of eleven kids, each child gets a “big” birthday celebration for their 5th, 10th and 15th birthday. One of my Ethiopian children turns ten later this fall, and I am going to take her and a group of her friends (plus my daughter’s siblings) camping to celebrate. I love REI: I just recently retired my 32-year-old external frame pack and replaced it with a much more comfortable internal frame pack (Osprey Argon 85 for those who want to know-with eleven kids, there is no such thing as “fast and light”).
When we have kids we will be doing the same thing. With the help of REI, we won’t be kept indoors!
We love REI!
http://twitter.com/#!/HappyTina0115/status/108700427528318977
Camping!!! I need a new tent
I pledge to go hiking with my son. I would get him some new hiking boots since he is growing so fast!
Thanks!
I really love REI
I´d like to get a volleyball set for my family to play together.
I would love to get some new fall camping gear; we hike quite a bit but would love to start camping again with our toddler!