Do you want to routinely get 30 to 50 percent off of name brand travel gear and clothing? It’s not all that hard. You just need to understand the seasonal cycle at retail and take advantage of it.

It’s mid-December and ski gear is already discounted 50%!

Even if you don’t shop much in clothing stores, you’re probably vaguely aware of the silly practice of putting swimsuits on the racks in February and putting sweaters and down ski jackets on the shelves when it’s still baking hot outside. That’s because manufacturers and wholesales really care more about the push (big order wholesale numbers) than they do about the pull (individual consumer purchases.) Sure, they want what they ship to sell through, but the whole industry is built around “What’s new for spring?” and “What’s new for fall?” This is as true for Patagonia as it is for Prada.

Over at Practical Travel Gear, where I’m editor, this sometimes leads to some strange conversations with PR people representing these brands. Last week one told me it didn’t do her any good to have ski clothing reviewed in January, even though that’s when the ski season really kicks off in earnest. “We’re only promoting the spring lines then,” she said. In other words, don’t review the things people are actually buying in stores, review the things we’re trying to get the big chain wholesale buyers to buy.

It’s bass-ackwards, but that’s the mentality. The travel gear companies are pumping out new shirts and jackets as fast as the companies you see advertising in Vogue, even though the differences from year to year are too insignificant for the average consumer to even notice.

So how do you act on this? It’s quite easy once you know how the game is played.

1) Buy things at the last minute.

Sure, this feels very uncomfortable for people who plan ahead and shop often, which is why the silly retail cycle works the way it does. But if you buy ski clothing right before your February (peak season) ski trip, you will probably find what you need already marked down or on the clearance rank. Same goes for a bathing suit in July.

2) Buy things off season (which may be your on season).

If you want to really rake in the deals, but winter clothes in the spring and summer clothing/gear in the fall. Sure, this could mean hanging onto them a while before using them, but maybe not. If you’re going to the Southern Hemisphere in your travels, the seasons are backwards anyway. If you’re going to the tropics, you need summer clothing no matter what time of year it is. If you’re going somewhere high altitude, you need layers whenever.

If you visit the markdown sites of the big online gear retailers, you don’t even have to keep any of this straight. Just click on their clearance section and you’ll often see items everyone coveted two months ago going for 50% off—or more. Follow these links to see what I mean and bookmark them (or subscribe to their RSS stream) to return. The selection changes quite a lot from month to month.

Backcountry.com
REI Outlet
Summit Hut Sale Gear page
Campmor Sale Items
Sierra Trading Post Clearance
Rock Creek Clearance
Altrec Deals of the Day

Happy hunting, and remember that if you’re not finding a price you can live with on the item you really want, just wait a while and you’ll almost surely see it reduced. For people who hate paying list price for anything, procrastination and being a contrarian are the paths to big savings.

I just returned to the U.S. for a week and spent the whole time checking out travel gear, luggage, and outdoor apparel. I got to hit the Rocky Mountain slopes one day, trying out new ski equipment. Then there were three solid days bouncing from booth to booth at the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market. This is where store and chain buyers come to place orders for next fall and winter, meeting up with gear and apparel companies and seeing the new lines.

For media people like me—I was there for Practical Travel Gear—it’s a chance to check out trends, see what’s on the way, and learn about brands we didn’t know about.

Subscribe to the RSS feed of my gear blog to see specific product wrap-ups later this week on cool new gadgets and gear, but here are some things to keep in mind when you’re facing the dizzying array of choices in your local store or online.

Light Bags are Good, but Only if They’re Made Well

“All anyone is talking about now is weight,” lamented the marketing person I met with at High Sierra. The problem is, a light bag that isn’t made well isn’t going to last you very long. Sure, it’s tempting to buy that $49 suitcase or no-name backpack that’s so light you can pick it up with one finger empty, but what happens after using it for a year? Often you’ll lose a wheel, the zipper will break, or a strap comes apart.

So pony up some cash and buy quality. The companies with the best guarantees are the ones you know you can trust. They’ll stand behind what they sell. Briggs & Riley will fix your bag—probably at a shop in your own city—for any reason whatsoever. If a dog chews off your handle or a TSA agent busts your zipper ten years after purchase, you’re covered. Here’s another confident quality statement: “Osprey will repair for any reason, free of charge, any damage or defect in our product – whether it was purchased in 1974 or yesterday.” Eagle Creek also guarantees their bags for life. (I’ve owned four of them and have never had to take advantage of this.) American-made Tom Bihn bags are only guaranteed for life for defects (not wear and tear), but in my experience they don’t have many defects.

It’s a similar policy with High Sierra. They give you a lifetime warranty for no-wheel bags and packs, five years for wheelies, but they’re willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. “If you’re nice to our phone reps, we’ll probably replace it for free long after that if something breaks,” they say. So find your dream luggage or backpack with all the right pockets and features. Years from now you’ll be glad you didn’t buy the cheapo option. Remember too that buying an 8-pound wheelie suitcase with top-notch wheels and handle is better than a 7-pound one with inferior parts.

If your backpack budget is really tight, go with Kelty. Many of their packs are a terrific value (like under $100) and still hold up well.

Breathability Matters—Sometimes

There’s a war going on in the outdoor apparel industry over breathable waterproof wicking fabrics and membranes. Everyone is taking shots at the market leader, Gore-tex, all saying their solution is better for this reason or that. Other choices include eVent, Omni-dry, OutDry, Hi-Tec (Ion Mask), Polartec’s NeoShell, and upcoming new proprietary solutions from Mountain Hardware/Montrail (DryQ), and many others.

The thing is, many times you don’t need any of them. When you need waterproof, breathable fabric is generally when you are in cool or downright cold places. You want to stay dry from the elements, but you want your sweat to get away from your body and out of your jacket. In the tropics, where most of the World’s Cheapest Destinations happen to be, your sweat is not going anywhere. If the outside air is hot and humid, the moisture has nowhere to go.

This is especially important for shoes or hiking boots because there are generally two levels of water resistance: the treatment on the outside of the shoe (DWR, wax, or treated leather) and the membrane inside. The latter can easily add $20 to $30 to the price. So if you’ll be getting rained on a lot or will be in snowy conditions, by all means spend the money. If you are going to use the shoes to go hiking around the western U.S. or Morocco though, it’s a waste and could even be counter-productive depending on the temperature. Sometimes you just need good travel shoes.

Last Year’s Model is a Better Value

When I go to this outdoor trade show, I’m flabbergasted at how many different lines these companies are putting out each season. The North Face booth was bigger than my last house and Columbia Sportswear’s was big enough that they had their own fashion runway. Some companies are rolling out 25 new jackets and Outdoor Research must be putting out at least 50 new hats this coming autumn.

So what’s wrong with last year’s model? Nothing. Sometimes there’s a slight new innovation, but in about 95% of the cases, the new version is pushed by fashion trends or internal expansion plans, not by necessity. But last year’s model is old news, so it’s got to go.

Whether you are shopping at your local retailer or shopping online, head to the clearance rack. That perfectly good hat, shirt, jacket, or pair of shoes may be half price now, for no logical reason except that it’s not the new girl anymore. I’ve found some of the best screaming bargains at Sierra Trading Post, REI Outlet, Campmor, and Backcountry Outlet. Some manufacturers have their own online clearance rank too, like the Columbia Sportswear Outlet.

Happy Trails!

I seldom do any kind of year-end round-up on this blog. After all, the cheapest places to travel are still cheap no matter what year it is. Things don’t change that rapidly.

But over at Practical Travel Gear, it’s a different story. There are three of us reviewing gear and gadgets all year and we like to take a step back to summarize which ones really made us sit up and notice. So check out the picks from me, Kara Williams, and John Gordon here: The Best Travel Gear of the Year.

Unlike most magazines doing this kind of thing, we’re not picking out the most expensive or the most luxury-oriented items in order to please big-ticket advertisers. Just useful stuff that’s worth packing, no matter your budget.

As for me, right now I’m enjoying some time off in Zacatecas, Mexico with my family. This is one of those amazing cities that’s a major secret, with hardly any gringos in sight. More on that soon. Meanwhile, you can check out this cool slideshow I posted last year on the Zacatecas Mexican Mask Museum. It’s so awesome I’m going back again.

I’ve spent this past week at the PhoCusWright conference, where travel technology companies talk about innovation and how you all want to book your trips. The rock star of the event yesterday was the president of Groupon, which it turns out is the fastest-growing company ever. In nine months they went from 100 to 3,000 employees and launched in 30 countries. Was there any doubt that people love to get a big discount?

Now it’s that time of year: the weeks that make or break a retailer’s year, online or off. And since we’re still not out of this nagging recession, no company is kicking back just hoping you may think about spending money there. Here are a few select deals rolling out now in case you’re looking to buy gifts or gear.

If you want to do some good and get a deal, buy from Novica. They contract with local craftspeople in places like Peru and Indonesia so you can get quality goods without them going through five middlemen. Take $15 off any purchase of $50 or more! Use Coupon Code:NOVICA9438

Or set up your traveler friend or relative with a discounted deal from here: Sale! Save as much as 75% in the National Geographic Online Store

The travel gear retailers are getting ready for the holidays by offering free shipping on top of their sales. Go get what you need for your next trip now at Magellan’s, eBags, or Backcountry. And this one’s hard to beat: 20% off your order at Sierra Trading Post Valid 11.4 to 12.1.2010 Use Code: ALVNOV2KX

$1 Shipping on your entire order at Overstock.com!

BeltOutlet.com is a good place to find travel accessories for a good price. Here’s the deal page: Incredible Values on SALE

Or is all this materialism and Christmas music driving you crazy already? Want to get away? Save up to 25% on Last Minute Adventure Travel Packages at GAP Adventures.

Regular readers know that one of my other sites is the Practical Travel Gear blog, where I and two other writers run a new first-person review each weekday of a useful item to pack. The fact that we’re even able to do that shows you how many items are competing for your attention and it’s easy to spend a small fortune just preparing for a two-week adventure vacation, much less a trip around the world. So finding deals on what you do need to pack is imperative.

Right now my inbox is flooded with coupons and deals from the online travel gear retailers. It’s a sign that the seasons are changing, both for real and on the retail calendar. Which leads to the first item on this list…

Buy gear during transition times

I’m a cheap bastard when it comes to shopping and I’m practically allergic to paying list price for anything. I just don’t covet any thing badly enough to pay a premium. (The Apple marketing team hates people like me.) So if you see me at the REI or Academy Sports store, you’ll probably find me at the clearance racks, picking up last season’s model. Or last year’s. Most travel apparel companies put out new lines as fast as Gucci or Ralph Lauren (see this Columbia Sportswear runway fashion show video I made to see what I mean). But really the changes from season to season are very subtle. This year’s fleece jacket is only so different from last year’s model. But last year’s model is 2/3 the price—or less.

The virtual clearance rank is an even better deal. You can find some amazing bargains by surfing the Sale or Outlet sections of sites like Campmor, Sierra Trading Post, REI, Backcountry.com, Rock Creek, Altrec Outdoors, or eBags. Some even have an RSS feed you can put in your reader, like the very handy Steep and Cheap daily deal from Backcountry.

Always shop around

Prices on new travel gear items tend to stay relatively standard across sites, at least for the first few months. After that it’s open season. So shop around at the sites linked above or do a search on something like BizRate to get an idea of the range and see who’s got the best price. Don’t forget about Amazon: half the time they’re as cheap or cheaper than the others and on some things you get free shipping if your order is over $25. They have dedicated UK and Canadian sites as well.

Check the manufacturers’ sites too. For example, often the prices at the official Columbia and ExOfficio sites are as low as they are anywhere else, with plenty of closeout deals on colors or styles that didn’t sell quickly.

Read reviews to choose wisely

Of course I’m going to say that since I do travel gear reviews every week, but you no longer have to buy the marketing hype on anything without seeing whether real people agree. You can get long and detailed reviews on sites dedicated to gadgets, shoes, adventure gear, or biking products, or just read the reviews at the online retailers’ sites. Often you’ll see a pattern of some nagging defect or annoyance that will steer you away, or unadulterated praise from the masses telling you this is something definitely worth purchasing.

Beg or borrow

Have you ever seen a nice Mountain Hardware ski coat at Goodwill? Or an Osprey backpack? Probably not, because people have trouble donating something they spent $200 on, so the items just sit in an attic or garage, unused. The people who own them would probably be glad to give them or loan them to someone they know, however, so ask around with friends and relatives. Put a notice up on your Facebook page or beg from your Twitter followers. “I’m going to the Canadian Rockies for two weeks and need some good cold weather gear” will probably save you hundreds of dollars. Everyone wins, including Mother Earth.

How about you? What tips do you have for scoring good deals on gear?