If there is an REI close to you, see if they have the ‘Used Gear’ or ‘Garage Sale’ events. It’s better than it sounds, they take all the returned gear and tag it with the return reason then put it out at massive discounts. Some items have small repairs needed. Some items are brand new. They also use it to clearance…

When I decided to start backpacking last summer, I would go to the Used Gear sales at REI and buy stuff. I got a nice Gregory Deva 60 womens pack for $60 (new was around $230), it had a zipper that was off track on a pocket so I just used the other one. Bear canister was brand new, “hard to open” reason for the return…