Josh Barta
jbarta@uwyo.edu
A large number of Laramie residents and UW students stood shoulder-to-shoulder in the Yellowstone Ballroom Saturday for the annual fall outdoor gear swap hosted by the UW Outdoor Program.
The event featured a variety of outdoor gear from coats and backpacks to skis and bindings.
Skis and ski gear were the hot commodities at this year’s event, Dylan Hall, a graduate assistant at the Outdoor Program, said.
“We had an entire wall in the ballroom devoted to skis,” he said. “You could come and put together an entire kit if you wanted to – there was that much stuff.”
The gear swap acts as a middleman for individual gear owners, so they do not have to go through the trouble of selling it on their own, Hall said. Sellers turn in their gear the day before the swap then the Outdoor program organizes and sells it the next day.
The Outdoor program takes 15 percent of profits and gives the remainder to the original sellers.
“The Outdoor Program puts those earnings towards the gear the program rents to students,” Hall said.
Dan McCoy, assistant director at Campus Recreation, said the gear swap has a specific motto.
“Price it low if you want to see it go,” he said.
The gear swap provides those in the outdoor community with the opportunity to buy the equipment they need to fuel their fun, Hall said. There are also options for those who are not looking to buy anything in specific.
Linda Cardinal, a graduate student at UW and outdoor enthusiast, bought a dog toy for a friend.
“You definitely have to know what you are looking for,” she said. “It is like my version of Black Friday.”
The atmosphere at the gear swap was enough to draw in other shoppers.
Rudi Hanekamp, a nutrition student at UW, said he enjoyed the atmosphere.
“I had a great experience, “ he said. “Especially because there were so many people there that love nature and being active.”
The Outdoor Program does not yet know how much money the swap made, but Hall said he is optimistic about the results.
“The swap was a success,” Hall said.
A gear swap is planned for the spring, but Outdoor Program employees are not yet sure when it will take place.
