The Best Outdoor Deals From the REI Anniversary Sale 2026

Published 20 May 2026 · india

It's nearly summer. Birds are migrating, flowers are blooming, and REI's annual anniversary sale is live. The event marks the outdoor retailer’s biggest sale of

It's nearly summer. Birds are migrating, flowers are blooming, and REI's annual anniversary sale is live. The event marks the outdoor retailer’s biggest sale of the year. It kicked off May 15 and runs through Memorial Day, May 25. Many items are up to 30 percent off, but REI Co-op members save up to 20 percent on any full-price item and an extra 20 percent off any REI Outlet item. To get the discount, add the promo code ANNIV26 at checkout. I’ve highlighted the best deals on gear I’ve loved over years of testing. There’s something for nearly all your favorite summer activities: tents, stoves, sleeping bags, and plenty of outdoor apparel. Be sure to look at WIRED guides to outdoor gear, like the Best Tents, Best Sleeping Bags, Best Backpacking Sleeping Pads, Best Rain Jackets, Best Backpacking Water Filters, Best Merino Wool, and Best Binoculars. Updated Wednesday, May 20: I've added a new section of merino and outdoor apparel, two new tent deals, and our top pick from Zenbivy's Memorial Day sale. WIRED Featured Deals Deals on Tents Need a new shelter from the storm? REI tents are some of the best deals around, even more so during sales. There are also plenty of other brands on sale as well. If you'd like to learn more, see our guide to the best backpacking tents and best car camping tents. Photograph: Scott Gilbertson REI's Base Camp tent is WIRED's favorite car camping tent. It's extremely well-designed and proved plenty weatherproof in testing. The traditional dome tent design, with two crossed poles and two side poles, holds up well in wind, and the tent floor is high-quality 150-denier (150D) polyester. There are loads of storage pockets, double doors, great vents, and huge windows, making it comfortable even in summer heat. The REI Half Dome 2 is the best budget two-person backpacking tent. I’ve toted it on many a backpacking trip and found it to be plenty sturdy, quick to set up, and capable of fitting two people and their gear. It even comes with a footprint (which I never bother with, but it's nice to have it if you have to deal with prickers or pointy rocks). The Big Agnes Copper Spur series is our top pick for freestanding ultralight tents. This is a high-quality, well-designed tent that's lightweight, easy to set up, and roomy enough to be livable in the backcountry. The “awning” design (where the front fabric is held aloft with trekking poles or sticks) is a nice extra, and the mix of 15D nylon and 20D ripstop—while also feels fragile—has held up well over time. The four-person version, which is one of the lightest 4P tents on the market, is also on sale. Photograph: Scott Gilbertson Nemo's Dagger Osmo line of tents is reasonably light with roomy interiors. They have proved very storm-proof in my testing. The three-person version has long been my tent of choice for trips with my kids. Setup is simple thanks to the single main pole design (which forks at each end) with a cross pole in the middle. There are two spacious vestibules for storing gear, and if you leave the rain fly off, the mesh room is excellent for stargazing. Nemo's Dragonfly tents are great. I really like the generous amount of mesh at the top, which provides some nice ventilation on warm summer nights and is perfect for falling asleep under the stars when the weather permits. The Osmo fabric continues to live up to the hype, with much less water absorption than nylon tents in rainy weather, and there's a good amount of room for storing all your stuff. MSR's Groundhog stakes aren't cheap, but they're the best tent upgrade you can make. They're super strong. I've never had one bend or pull out on me, and for the strength, they're pretty light. I carry a mix of stakes when backpacking, including 4 of these, some carbon fiber pegs, and some shepherd hooks. That way, no matter the terrain, I've got something that'll work. Deals on Camping Gadgets and Gear Need a new power bank, stove, or headlamp? They're all on sale. Photograph: Scott Gilbertson Goal Zero's new Yeti 1500 is one of the best camping and overlanding power stations we've tested. The new LiFePO4 chemistry battery is rated for 4,000 charge cycles (about 10 years of average use), and there's a new high amp output (30 A) for tying into van and overlanding setups.