You can always pickup your gear for free at our retail store in the Phoenix/Tempe area. Otherwise, we ship camping gear and gadgets anywhere in the US that most carriers serve. We ship to your home; your motel along the way or your night before you go camping; or anywhere at or near your destination, such as any one of thousands of Fedex locations. If you're flying in from overseas or cross country, we can ship gear to near your arrival airport for pickup there. We include a prepaid return label in the box; just swap out the labels when you're done and drop our box off at the relevant carrier's counter. You do not have to drop off the gear in the same city as the pickup location. Read further details below, or watch this quick video:
We charge the same rent whether gear is picked up at our store, or we ship it; but if we ship it, there are added costs you can see early in checkout. Shipping fees charged by our site are the actual carrier Ground costs to and from our facility in Arizona to your designated point of delivery, usually arriving at least one full day ahead of your Start Date if ordered in time. We do not add a markup or handling fee. Your rental period does not include the transit times from and to Arizona; that's on us. That transit time ranges from 1 business day within AZ; 2 days to southern CA and Vegas; 3 days to WA and TX; 4 days to most Midwest and Southern states; and 4 or 5 business days to most locations on the East Coast. If you will need expedited shipping to meet your requested start date, we will contact you to discuss any additional costs. We can ship to HI and AK, but you'll need to call for a custom quote and to place an order for those states over the phone.
A couple of important notes we've learned over the years - if you want us to ship to a motel, you should let them know in advance to expect a package, and be sure the shipping addressee you give us is to the person named on the reservation at the motel; otherwise they sometimes have trouble matching it up. If we ship to a Fedex authorized delivery point, keep in mind pickup hours vary from location to location, and not many are open on Sunday. See the 'find locations' tab on the carrier's site. Shipments to a locally owned retail mail center can be convenient, but there will probably be a pickup fee charged by its independent owner and not all such stores accept shipments for non-regular customers; you should call a targeted store to confirm their policies. Also confirm the maximum box size they will accept, and look for locations that specifically state they will hold Ground packages (some only hold Express shipments).
Some lodges at National Parks may accept shipments, but you should confirm that in advance as there may be special shipping-label instructions that vary from the address on their web site - just call and ask if they accept Fedex shipments (our most frequent carrier), and if there are any special instructions. There is often a delay in shipments inside a Park, so we highly recommend finding a pickup spot outside the Park - motel, retail center, etc.
The shipping costs are based on the rented gear's weight, box size and distance - whatever the carrier charges us. See our video on gear size and shipping. The shopping cart will calculate the total costs after you have entered your desired delivery location (which can be different from your billing address). You can see an estimate of what the shipping cost will be before you enter any personal information. If you want to pick up gear at our store, there is no shipping cost, but there is sales tax. If we deliver to a retail mailing center, there will likely be a pickup/storage fee charged by that store owner. If we ship to a carrier's terminal (not all are for Ground shipments), there is no pickup fee. If you want us to ship to your hotel, you should let them know to expect a box to hold for your arrival.
For really ballpark estimates, a small box with an electronic device typically costs around $14 to the Midwest; a box with a backpack, bag and pad to CA would be around $20, and a large box of gear to the East Coast may well run more than $30. The shipping weight of each piece of equipment may be higher than it's actual weight if it is over-sized for its weight - which is the case with backpacks, sleeping bags and bear cans for example. In some cases, the shipping cost may be based on the size, not the weight of the box, and it can vary from zip code to zip code in the same general area.
There are several delivery options you can choose at check out - most customers want the to-and-from shipping option, but if your travel plans have you near our store at some point, you can pick up at our store and ship back; or, we can ship to you and you can return to our store. In those cases, the site just calculates one-way shipping. We guarantee delivery by the end of the day of your requested Start Date. Since the carriers might deliver until late in a day, if you need gear early on the day you've made your Start Date, you should reset the start date to the day before and adjust the rental period accordingly. As a standard practice, if given enough advance notice we usually target delivery the business day or two before to build in a cushion to get there by the Start Date. If gear arrives early, that does not change your rental dates; you just get it early.
For suggestions on trip preparation, what gear and essentials to take, and other helpful reference information, check out our Advice page.