REI Labor Day Sale: 32 Camping Deals on Gear We've Field-Tested
Camping is the deepest category in this sale — furniture, camp kitchen, tents, cots, and sleeping bags
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August 28, 2026
REI's Labor Day Sale & Clearance runs from Friday, August 28, to September 7, 2026. Of the four categories we combed through, camping is the one with real money in it. There are 1,093 discounted camping products in this sale, and these 32 are gear that a Treeline writer has field-tested and written up.
The five that beat 25%, since they're the genuine outliers: the NEMO Stargaze Evo-X reclining chair at 44% off, the Mountain Hardwear Mineral King 3 and Mineral King 2 tents at 40%, the REI Co-op Half Dome 2 with footprint at 40% in the Earthen Gray colorway only, and the Rumpl Backcountry Puffy blanket at 40%.
One last thing, and it's the real argument for buying now rather than in November: car camping gear usually doesn’t change much from year to year. A Coleman Cascade 3-in-1 stove bought this week is the same stove you'd buy next May, and unlike a thru-hiking kit, nothing you buy for camping is going to be the wrong size after five months of use. If you're setting up for next season, this is a better moment than it looks.
If you’re not an REI member yet, $30 buys a lifetime membership with benefits:
10% member dividend on eligible purchases
free U.S. shipping
extended window for satisfaction guarantee (in most cases, it’s one full year)
member coupons, such as 20% one full-priced item
The Top 32 Camping Deals at REI’s Labor Day Sale
Save on Treeline-vetted Gear
| Product | Retail Price | Sale Price | Discount | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mountain Hardwear Mineral King 2 Tent | $350.00 | $209.99 | 40% | $140.01 |
| NEMO Stargaze Evo-X Folding Reclining Camp Chair | $179.95 | $99.99 | 44% | $79.96 |
| REI Co-op Half Dome 2 Tent with Footprint | $329.00 | $197.39 | 40% | $131.61 |
| Rumpl Backcountry Puffy | $149.95 | $89.89 | 40% | $60.06 |
| Mountain Hardwear Mineral King 3 Tent | $400.00 | $239.99 | 40% | $160.01 |
| Kelty Lowdown Cot | $149.95 | $112.39 | 25% | $37.56 |
| The North Face Wawona 6 Tent | $585.00 | $438.69 | 25% | $146.31 |
| REI Co-op Base Camp 6 Tent | $569.00 | $426.69 | 25% | $142.31 |
| Exped MegaMat Duo | $399.95 | $299.89 | 25% | $100.06 |
| NEMO Disco 15 Men's Women's |
$349.95 | $262.39 | 25% | $87.56 |
| Dometic Recon 69 L Cooler | $425.00 | $339.99 | 20% | $85.01 |
| REI Co-op Siesta Hooded 20 | $149.00 | $111.69 | 25% | $37.31 |
| Therm-a-Rest MondoKing 3D | $259.95 | $194.89 | 25% | $65.06 |
| NEMO Stargaze Reclining Camp Chair | $279.95 | $209.89 | 25% | $70.06 |
| Kelty Cosmic 20 | $179.95 | $134.89 | 25% | $45.06 |
| Helinox Chair Zero Highback | $189.95 | $142.39 | 25% | $47.56 |
| Kelty Low Loveseat Nest | $169.95 | $127.39 | 25% | $42.56 |
| REI Co-op Campwell Sleeping Pad | $129.00 | $96.69 | 25% | $32.31 |
| REI Co-op Siesta Hooded 20 Double | $249.00 | $186.69 | 25% | $62.31 |
| Kelty Low Loveseat | $149.95 | $112.39 | 25% | $37.56 |
| REI Co-op Trailmade 25 | $119.00 | $89.19 | 25% | $29.81 |
| Crazy Creek Hex 2.0 Power Lounger Chair | $89.95 | $67.39 | 25% | $22.56 |
| Coleman Cooler Quad Chair | $54.00 | $40.49 | 25% | $13.51 |
| REI Co-op Trail Stool | $24.95 | $18.69 | 25% | $6.26 |
| REI Co-op HunkerDown 20 | $219.00 | $164.19 | 25% | $54.81 |
| Kelty Galactic 30 | $189.95 | $142.39 | 25% | $47.56 |
| Coleman Cascade 3-in-1 Stove | $275.00 | $206.19 | 25% | $68.81 |
| Dometic Recon 41 L Cooler | $325.00 | $259.99 | 20% | $65.01 |
| Helinox Chair Zero LT | $159.95 | $119.89 | 25% | $40.06 |
| MSR Hubba Hubba LT 3 | $649.95 | $487.39 | 25% | $162.56 |
| Jetboil Genesis 2 Burner Stove | $349.95 | $262.39 | 25% | $87.56 |
| REI Co-op Wonderland Comfort Cot | $249.95 | $187.39 | 25% | $62.56 |
Read more in our complete REI Labor Day sale coverage
Turn your summer kit into a shoulder-season kit with these gear swaps
FAQ
When does the REI Labor Day Sale start and end?
The sale runs Friday, August 28, through Monday, September 7, 2026 — eleven days, ending on Labor Day. Prices are the same in stores and on rei.com, but some deals are online only.
Is Labor Day actually a good time to buy camping gear, or should I wait for Black Friday?
For camping specifically, now. Two reasons. Black Friday discounts are usually deeper, but by late November retailers have cleared most of the summer camping inventory — you'll find great prices on winter gear and a thin, picked-over selection of tents and coolers. And camping gear doesn't iterate the way footwear or packs do, so a tent bought in August is identical to the same tent bought in May, minus a season of price increases. The exception is anything you need for a trip this fall, where a deeper Black Friday discount does you no good.
Almost everything is exactly 25% off. Is that normal for REI?
It's normal for this particular sale. REI's Labor Day event is built around flat percentage markdowns on named collections — 25% off REI Co-op brand, 25% off Darn Tough, 25% off Altra and KEEN, 20% off Thule and Yakima racks — rather than item-by-item price cuts. The Anniversary Sale in May and Black Friday both produce a wider spread. Practically, it means you should ignore the percentage and evaluate the gear.
Why isn't the cooler you named Best Overall on this list?
Because REI didn't put it on sale. The YETI Tundra is our Best Overall cooler, and it isn't discounted; neither is the RTIC Ultra-Light (Best for Car Camping), the RovR RollR, or the Calcutta Renegade. Dometic's Recon line is the one cooler pick in this sale, at 20% off (which happens to be my favorite cooler!). We don't add gear to a list because a category looks empty — if we haven't tested it, it doesn't appear.
Should I buy a bigger tent than my group size?
For car camping, almost always yes, and it's the most common regret we hear. Tent capacity ratings assume adults sleeping shoulder-to-shoulder with no gear inside. Two people are comfortable in a 4-person tent; a family of four wants a 6. That's why the Wawona 6 and Base Camp 6 are on this list rather than their smaller siblings, and it's the one place we'd spend up rather than down.
Do I need the footprint?
For a car camping tent that gets pitched on gravel pads and packed wet, yes — it's cheap insurance on the most expensive fabric in the tent, and it makes packing up in the rain much easier. For a backpacking tent that you baby, it's optional weight. Footprints for the Wawona 6 and Base Camp 6 are both 25% off in this sale, and buying them together is the moment to do it.
Can any of this double as backpacking gear?
Some. The MSR Hubba Hubba LT line and Mountain Hardwear's Mineral King are genuinely crossover tents, and Helinox's Chair Zero LT is light enough for a short approach. Most of it — the MondoKing, the MegaMat Duo, the Loveseat — is unapologetically heavy and better for it. If you want gear that does both jobs, look at our backpacking deals list instead; the overlap is smaller than people expect.
How long do these prices last, and will things sell out?
The sale runs through September 7, but availability won't. Tents and chairs in popular sizes and colors go first, and the deeper markdowns — the Mineral King tents, the Earthen Gray Half Dome — are colorway-specific, so when that color is gone, the 40% goes with it. There are also flash deals at REI Outlet on Aug. 31–Sept. 1 and Sept. 3–4 that may beat some of these prices on past-season equivalents.
I'm a member. Does anything here earn my Co-op Member Reward?
No. Sale and clearance merchandise is excluded from the Member Reward, so buying at 25% off means giving up the roughly 10% you'd have earned at full price. On a $100 item, that's the difference between paying $75 and effectively paying $90 — the sale still wins by about $15, just not by the full $25 the tag implies.
