Mountain Equipment Company’s Kelowna location is going to be trying out something new, a Gear Swap store.

Outdoor enthusiasts are going to be able to trade in used equipment for store credit, shop secondhand gear and get things repaired at the existing MEC location as part of a larger “refresh”, according to a press release.

MEC launched an online gear swap marketplace in 1997, but the platform was taken down in 2022. At its height there were 21,000 listings.

Now, MEC is trying out a different way to get into the used gear market with this pilot project.

“There’s two markets out there, one that’s looking for the newest and greatest product, and one that’s looking for a better price and a really good product,” MEC CEO Peter Hlynsky told iNFOnews.ca.

MEC already has some high-end luxury gear like $250 sleeping pads and $600 tents, but people are looking for cheaper ways to enjoy the outdoors.

Hlynsky said camping gear is just like anything else these days, it has gotten more expensive.

“The camping gear, as with a lot of other products in the market, has risen with inflation,” he said.

Keeping good gear in circulation is something Hlynsky said can make a difference for people’s bank accounts, and the environment.

“For us, the circular economy is such an important part of what is needed in the market. A lot of our customers have been asking for something like this for a long time, and a lot of our staff have been saying that we need to do this,” he said.

The store is having a preview of the Gear Swap store on June 21 and 22 ahead of the official opening on June 25.

It’s going to be a dedicated 2,200 square foot space that will be the first of its kind in Canada.

He said MEC is testing this idea out in Kelowna because it’s an outdoorsy community with a lot of young families.

“We view it as one of the core outdoor markets in Canada,” he said. “You get a lot of young families that are in the Kelowna market. And for them, they’re probably the most stretched from an economic perspective.

“We want to be able to provide an outlet to get young families out enjoying nature together.”

He said if it works well in Kelowna, MEC is going to roll it out in other parts of the country.

“We’re looking for feedback from the community to tell us what’s working, what’s not, and what we can do to improve it,” he said.