REI Co-op – Shop Outdoor Gear

Review by eFreeware

REI Co-op – Shop Outdoor Gear is the official shopping app from Recreational Equipment, Inc., the member-owned retailer that has been selling outdoor gear since 1938. It is free to download, carries no ads and offers no in-app purchases, which is refreshing in a category where store apps often double as advertising channels. The pitch is straightforward: the co-op's catalog, your account and your member benefits, all on your phone.

What makes it worth considering is the combination of browsing and buying with the practical extras that come from being tied to a physical retailer. You can order something from your phone and collect it at a store near you at no charge, or scan a barcode on a shelf to pull up product details and customer reviews while you stand in the aisle. For anyone who already shops at REI, those two features alone justify the install.

The app has been around since March 2011 and currently sits at a 4.2 average from more than 8,400 ratings, with over a million installs.

Browsing and buying gear from your phone

The core of the app is shopping. You can search, filter and purchase gear and clothing directly from your phone, which covers the full range of what REI sells: hiking and camping equipment, bikes and bike gear, backpacks, tents, ski gear, trail clothing and electronics. The catalog spans outside brands such as Patagonia, Arc'teryx, Columbia, The North Face, Salomon, Asics, Adidas Outdoor, Cotopaxi, Camelback and Stanley, alongside the co-op's own REI Co-op Brand and Co-op Cycles lines.

Search and filtering matter more in an outdoor store than in most retail apps, because the same product category can split into dozens of variations. A tent is not just a tent; it has a season rating, a capacity and a packed weight. You can search, filter and buy from your phone, and that combination is what I would expect to lean on when comparing two similar items without opening a laptop.

Wish lists, account details and past purchases all live in one place. That is the quiet utility of a store app: you add something to a list in March, come back in June and it is still there, with the price and availability current. For anyone who researches gear over weeks rather than buying on impulse, that continuity is the main reason to use the app rather than the website on a phone browser.

Deals, notifications and member benefits

Members can get early word on sales and discounts. If you shop REI regularly, that is useful; if you do not, it is the kind of thing worth thinking about before you enable it, since retail notifications tend to arrive on the retailer's schedule rather than yours. The app itself carries no ads.

Membership is handled inside the app. Signing in as an REI Co-op Member lets you use your benefits and earn rewards, and the app stores your membership number along with any REI gift cards you have. Keeping the membership number on your phone is a small thing that saves a real annoyance at the register, and storing gift cards in the same place means you are not hunting for a code in your email while a line forms behind you.

I would treat the member features as the dividing line for this app. If you hold a membership, the account, rewards and stored details make the app the more convenient way to shop. If you do not, you still get the full catalog, the wish lists and the store pickup, but the benefits layer is simply not part of your experience.

Order online, collect at a store

Store pickup is the feature I would point to first for anyone who lives within reach of an REI location. You order online through the app and collect your items at a nearby store for free. That solves the one genuine friction of buying outdoor gear remotely: sizing and fit. You can order two sizes of a jacket, collect both and sort it out at the counter rather than waiting on a return shipment.

The other in-store tool is barcode scanning. Scanning a product's barcode in the store pulls up more detail and customer reviews on your phone, which turns the aisle into a research session. Reviews are where outdoor gear shopping gets honest, since a jacket that looks fine on a rack may have a consistent complaint about a zipper after a season of use. Being able to read that while holding the item is a better position than reading it at home and guessing.

Together these two features explain why a retailer app can beat a browser. Neither is exotic, but both are tied to the physical store in a way a general shopping site cannot match, and both reduce the chance of a purchase you regret.

What you need to get going

Setup is minimal. The app is free, there is no subscription and no purchase required to use it. Signing in as a member is tied to benefits and rewards, so an account is about the member experience rather than basic browsing.

The one requirement worth noting is that store pickup depends on having an REI location near you. The developer describes ordering online and collecting at a store location near you for free, so the value of that feature scales with how close you are to one. Barcode scanning is likewise an in-store activity.

The developer also advises keeping your device updated with the latest version for the best experience. That is standard advice for a retail app, and it is the only technical requirement mentioned.

Who gets the most from it

This app is built for people who already shop at REI. If you hold a co-op membership, the combination of stored membership details, rewards, wish lists and purchase history makes it the natural way to buy, and the notification feature keeps you aware of sales without checking the site. The more of your outdoor shopping happens at REI, the more the app earns its space on your home screen.

It also suits the shopper who plans rather than grabs. Wish lists and purchase history are the tools for someone comparing a sleeping bag over several weeks, reading reviews, and waiting for a sale. The app is designed to support that slower pattern, and the free store pickup makes the final step less of a commitment.

If you buy outdoor gear occasionally and across many retailers, the case is weaker. The catalog is REI's own, so the app is a storefront rather than a comparison tool, and its most distinctive features are the ones that tie back to a store or a membership. That is not a flaw; it is simply what the app is for, and it is worth being clear about before you install it expecting something broader.

A capable companion for REI regulars

The REI Co-op app does a focused job well. It puts a large outdoor catalog in your hand, keeps your lists and account details in one place, and adds two features that a website cannot replicate: free pickup at a nearby store and barcode scanning in the aisle for product details and reviews.

The limits are the limits of a single-retailer storefront. Everything you buy comes from REI, and the features that stand out assume you have a store within reach or a membership to sign into. The notification feature is opt-in marketing from the co-op, which some shoppers will welcome and others will ignore.

My recommendation is straightforward. If REI is where you buy your gear, or you are a member who wants rewards and account details on your phone, this is a sensible install and the pickup feature alone may change how you shop. If you are only comparing prices across retailers for a one-off purchase, the app will feel narrower than you need.

What's new in version 26.8.1

Hello, outdoor gear shoppers and REI Co-op members! This update includes trail improvements and maintenance.