REI's biggest annual sale brings 25% off gear, camping essentials

REI’s biggest sale of the year wrapped up with a broad 25% discount on REI Co-op clothing and gear, but the clearest bargains were the sharper, less routine markdowns: 40% off the REI Co-op Magma 30 Sleeping Bag and the REI Co-op Half Dome 2 Tent with Footprint during the opening weekend. The sale ran May 15-25 and covered more than 6,000 products, giving campers, backpackers and casual outdoor buyers a rare window to pick up big-ticket essentials before summer demand pushes prices back toward normal.

The everyday value in the sale was the across-the-board 25% cut on REI Co-op brand items. That is meaningful for buyers who need to replace durable basics such as tents, sleeping pads and stoves, especially if a trip was already on the calendar. For people who were only browsing, the better question was not whether the sale was large, but whether the gear on offer was the kind they would actually use for years. A tent or sleeping bag bought at 25% off can be a solid long-term purchase; a discount on an impulse accessory is far easier to skip and wait on.

The most aggressive deals were more limited. REI said everyone could save 40% on the Magma 30 sleeping bag and the Half Dome 2 Tent with Footprint during the opening weekend, a deeper cut than the standard sale-wide discount. Those are the kinds of prices that tend to matter most for shoppers replacing worn-out core equipment, or for anyone heading out soon and unwilling to gamble on later markdowns. By contrast, the general 25% off Co-op sale was closer to a strong seasonal offer than a once-in-a-blue-moon clearance event.

Membership added another layer, but one that made sense only for repeat shoppers. REI members could take 20% off one full-price item and one REI Outlet item, and could get a $100 discount on REI Recommended and REI Exclusive trips over $1,000 booked between May 1 and May 25 for departures from June 1 through December 15, 2026. The co-op model costs a one-time $30 fee and comes with a 10% annual member reward on eligible purchases, free U.S. standard shipping, access to Re/Supply used gear and extended satisfaction guarantee coverage.

The scale behind the sale is hard to ignore. REI said it had more than 26 million members in 2025 and reported $3.54 billion in co-op sales, a reminder that its anniversary promotion is less a niche coupon event than a major annual pricing moment for outdoor shoppers.