Normalize mismatched, secondhand outdoor gear.

Mid-January, I drove south to another Cascade volcano for a couple days of mountain biking and skiing with friends. On our ski tour up Mt. Bachelor, I looked down and noticed how mismatched (truly clashing) all my gear is.

If I’m being honest, I often get jealous seeing people ski or bike or paddle by with the cutest matching set-up. I mean, I want my poles to match my skis! Running tops in my fave colors! Puffies that don't clash with my pants!

But also... I care about how I feel moving outdoors more than how cute the photos will turn out. And I need to save money where I can. 🤷‍♀️

I’ve been so lucky to collect what I have and use. The photo above shows the ~8 ways I acquired just my backcountry ski gear (and I wouldn’t have been able to get out there for years without some of the support from friends and scholarships).

The outdoor industry loves to sell us on the idea that we need the latest color-coordinated kit to be serious athletes. But that’s BS. Embracing secondhand keeps gear out of landfills, saves you money, and breaks down elitism in outdoor spaces.

(And yeah, I still purchase new when I need to! But I’m moving forward with a focus on supporting smaller businesses instead of big corporations, even in the outdoor industry. Small shifts add up.)

So cheers 🍻 to all the others out there rocking a hodge-podge of gear, slowly collected over the years via stores, friends, consignment, applications, and even (shudder) goddam Facebook Marketplace.