As inflation and the threat of higher tariffs threaten to drive up the cost of outdoors gear, a shop that has been a Boulder institution for more than 50 years is getting into the used gear market
In August, Neptune Mountaineering will launch “Second Send,” selling pre-owned mountaineering apparel, footwear, camping and skiing equipment. A gear buy-back program will start in mid-August with sellers paid in cash or store credit. That inventory will go on sale Labor Day weekend.
“We’re talking about it as a used gear ecosystem, because there is still so much life left in some of the high-quality goods that our industry puts out,” said store owner Maile Spung.
The store was founded in 1973 by Gary Neptune, a Boulder mountaineer with several major ascents to his credit, including Mount Everest. He sold the store when he retired in 2013, and there were two intervening owners before Spung took over in 2021. She also owns the Ute Mountaineer in Aspen, which, like Neptune, is a legacy store.
Neptune won’t be the only second-hand mountaineering shop in the metro area. Others include Feral mountain gear in Denver’s Berkeley neighborhood and Wilderness Exchange near downtown in LoHi.
“There are a lot of economic factors that are at play, in that everything is getting more expensive in our consumers’ lives,” Spung said. “We really want to make sure we’re lowering the barrier to entry. We believe everyone should have access to the outdoors.”
Another factor at play is uncertainty over tariffs placed on gear manufactured overseas.
“Every couple of days we’re getting emails from our vendors about price increases,” Spung said. “Even with the uncertainty around the tariffs, the vendors are building in price increases to protect themselves. Unfortunately, that passes along to the consumer.”
