REI superclearance - College Park store

[Cataboo]

There's still some good deals to be had at the REI's... I stopped into the Bailey's crossroads store on Sunday...

And walked out with 3 pairs of ski boots (1 pair for $10, 1 for $15, and 1 for $17... considering I just decided I absolutely hate my current pair of ski boots and my last 3 pairs, this gives me another 3 pairs to work my way through hating for various reasons - and I've got 2 cousins that ski with feet my size who also have boots they hate, so we can swap around), a pair of carbon fiber shimano road shoes ($17), and a pair of carbon fiber rollerblades (Does anyone roller blade anymore?), & sugoi arm warmers for $5.

[tulip]

Those are good prices, but three pairs of skiboots??? I'm not allowing myself to spend on any extras for the next few months due to my renovation costs. But NEXT year, hopefully I can partake in the REI super clearance. There's an REI about a mile from my parents' house in NC.

[Cataboo]

Those are good prices, but three pairs of skiboots??? I'm not allowing myself to spend on any extras for the next few months due to my renovation costs. But NEXT year, hopefully I can partake in the REI super clearance. There's an REI about a mile from my parents' house in NC.

It came down to $52 for 3 pairs of ski boots - MSRP was probably $499 for one, $399 for another, $299 for the 3rd. The cheaper ones are a flexier pair that would actually be beneficial for skiing powder. I usually go out west to ski once or twice a year - so I do end up skiing in powder, and I usually ski the icy stuff in Pennsylvannia a couple of times a week.

I have thick calves, so I tend to have issues finding a ski boot that will work. I should really go to a professional boot fitter and get custom liners or a boot fitted to me... But that's a LOT of money, because typically you buy the boots from the at near full price & then pay for the rest.

So, I totally rationalized that 3 pairs of ski boots at $52 was a worthwhile purchase. Because I hate my current pair of ski boots. With a passion. I can't manage to make my right heel stay down in the boot, no matter how tight I buckle them - so I end up either in pain from having the boot buckled as tightly as it goes, cutting off circulation to that foot & making it colder, which gives me a little bit more control, but still a foot that shifts up out of the boot. Or I leave the boot buckled to the extent that I have circulation, but my heel comes up more than the previous situation. I've tweaked my ankle a few times skiing recently because the ski is going one way & my foot the other way inside my boot - and ski boots really aren't supposed to let you have a twisting force on your ankle.

I was in Scotland over christmas, and my cousin was asking me to look out for ski boots for her, because her ski boots were too tight & painful. My other cousin (in law) was also asking about it (she's currently using a previous pair of my ski boots)... All 3 of us have size 6.5 feet, however their calves aren't as "muscular" as mine, so boots that I dislike for the calf area will probably work on them. So eventually the 3 or 4 pairs will get distributed between us, if I really wanted I could get them to pay me back the $10-17 for the boots. Another of my cousins has a ski lodge up at Kicking Horse... So I may just end up leaving a pair of ski boots there, since airlines are now charging for baggage.

But I did reign in my spending... I didn't buy a 4th pair of boots that was $50. Because that would have been ridiculous.

[tulip]

Yeah, if they had had something similar for my world I would have done the same thing. Like kayaks. I would have bought two--one to keep at my honey's on the water and one to keep at my house. Or helmets and bike shoes or even a bike or two! I so get it now!

[Cataboo]

I did buy the carbon fiber road shoes for $17, despite me using mountain bike shoes... I just figured if I ever switched, I'd have really cool shoes!

I didn't buy the $15 shimano mountain bike shoes that fit me, because I'd already bought the sidi bullets and have too many bike shoes (I keep one for mountain biking, one winter pair, one at my bf's, and one at my house... and then one falling apart pair just stays with my trainer)... And I couldn't dream up anyways to justify having more.

I've unfortunately never managed to find a kayak on superclearance at REI, but I have a friend in Georgia that managed to get 2 last year - one for him, one for his wife.

I did get a spare bike helmet - because the 2 I use that I bought from chainlove are probably fine but did say manufactured in 2005 - and if I'm supposed to replace them every 5 years, that makes them almost 3-4 years old when I first started using them. And my other one I probably bought and started using in 2003.

[Zen]

I'm trying to save for a trip, but existing gets in the way.

[Cataboo]

I'm trying to save for a trip, but existing gets in the way.

At this point, I should be saving for paying taxes. At least my condo association finally came back and said that their insurance would pay for the new ceiling that I had to get because of the broken water pipe from the foreclosed guy upstairs.

After I save for taxes, I'll save for a trip.

[tulip]

I'm trying to save for a trip, but existing gets in the way.

Trip to where? Do tell!