Annotated Gear Sources

This list does not purport to be comprehensive - you may have your favorite store/site that is not on the list. These are my favorites, based on actual purchases in most cases. Shopping for gear (especially used gear), takes persistence, patience, and time. Do your research, know what stuff costs, and you will be rewarded.

Local

Backwoods (Ft. Worth): Knowledgeable, friendly people. The manager, Tim, has been to Philmont. Pricey, but offers a 15% Scout discount on anything "that can be used at Philmont".
Mountain Sports (Arlington): Lots of gear, Scout discount.
Cabelas: Good place to buy non-cotton shorts, shirts, and convertible pants. Frequent sale items. Their internet store is great too.
REI: The venerable father of backpacking stores. A bit of a drive (North Dallas). Lots of gear to check out and try on first hand. Frequent sales. Best guarantee anywhere - if you don't like it, take it back for an exchange or full refund, period.

Internet Used

www.backpackinglight.com: Go to the "gear" tab, the "gear forums", then "gear swap". I've bought more "lightly used" gear here than from any other source. Gear nuts put their slightly used stuffup for sale all the time for usually great prices (you DO need to do a little research on prices for stuff you are interested in first, however). Sleeping bags, tents, backpacks - EVERYTHING can be found here (eventually). My very best favorite site!
www.whiteblaze.net: THE site for Appalachian Trail hikers has a great used gear sale forum. Like the BPL site, you can find most anything here (if you are patient).
www.ebay.com: Yes, eBay has tons of used (and new) gear for sale. Just search for whatever brand or item you are interested in.
www.craigslist.org: You can occasionally find good stuff on craigslist locally (or in Austin).

New

www.frontcountry.com

Great site with lots of deeply discounted gear. Sizes are sometimes a problem, but they have really good brands (patagonia, Marmot, many others) and everything from clothing to tents.

www.prolitegear.com

Another good source of gear. Frequent sales.

www.backcountry.com

Their 20% off sale is killer! Get on their mailing list. Tons of gear here.

www.backcountrygear.com

www.campmor.com

Campmor has great shipping, lots of gear, and good customer service. Frequent sales.

www.rockcreek.com

Great service, sales and lots of gear.

www.moosejaw.com

Fun website run by crazy people! Great sales, great shipping. I always come here when shopping for new gear.

www.moontrailoutlet.com

Located in San Antonio (so you have to pay sales tax). Great prices.

www.gossamergear.com

Founded by Glen Van Peski, the "godfather" of ultralight gear, who started sewing backpacks in his house and grew from there. I love all the stuff GG makes. The Mariposa Plus pack is what I recommend for the Philmont crews. Scout discount (20%!, Glen and his sons were Scouts). Located in Austin (Glen lives in San Diego). Superb customer service.

www.sixmoondesigns.com

Ron Moak makes the best lightweight tents on the planet. I have 4 (!) of his tents. He's a genius.

www.tarptent.com

Along with Glen and Ron, Henry Shires of Tarptent is one of the oldest (and best) manufacturers of ultralight tents. The Tarptent Squall (and the later Squall II) are superb tents (I have both!).

www.mountainlaureldesigns.com

Ultralight gear as art. Beautiful designs, superb execution, cutting edge materials. Expensive but worth it.

Books / DVD's / Web sites for Information

Lightweight Backpacking and Camping, edited by Ryan Jordan: The bible of lightweight camping. A must have book if you are interested in light and ultralight backpacking. Available from BPL or the usual sources (Amazon, Bookfinder, etc.)
Beyond Backpacking, Ray Jardine: This book started it all. Ray is the father of ultralight backpacking. Excellent info, sometimes a little off the wall with some of his ideas, always entertaining.
Lighten Up, Don Ladigin and Mike Clelland: A nice intro to the lightweight scene.
Lighten Up! An Ultralight Makeover (DVD): The folks at Gossamer Gear took a seasoned, traditional backpacker and showed her the light side! Great info, and lots of great footage on the Pacific Coast Trail. $5.00 on the Gossamer Gear website.
www.verber.com: Go to his outdoor pages. Mark has some great info on gear selection, brands, tests etc. A MUST VISIT website.
www.jwbasecamp.com: Jim Woods has some great info here, particularly on water-proof stuff sacks. His gear list article is interesting.
www.chrisibbeson.com: At last, a gear list/weight calculator that is easy to use! ! You absolutely, positively MUST download his weight calculator and begin weighing your gear. It's the only way to get a handle on keeping your packweight low.