Demand for camping gear climbing to new heights during the pandemic
GOLETA, Calif. - Camping gear is in high demand as more people take to the outdoors to go on vacation during the pandemic.
With international travel virtually impossible and many hesitant to fly or travel long distances in order to reduce the risk of catching the coronavirus, camping has become the solution. Many locals and visitors from across California have taken to South Coast outdoor stores to stock up.
Mountain Air Sports in Santa Barbara is one of those stores. Manager Joey Duddridge says items like fuel and backpacking food have seen bigger sales this summer.
“The things that as you use them, you gotta get more,” he said. “What we’ve seen—a lot of people already have the tents and packs and stuff like that. But they’re just going [camping or backpacking] more. So they just need more of the smaller, accessory type stuff.”
The major exception, Duddridge says, are car racks and rooftop tents for car camping. He says that type of business is "quite a bit busier than it normally would be."
Santa Barbara Outdoor Gear in Goleta, which builds custom camping set-ups for cars and trucks, is seeing overwhelming demand.
People are investing thousands of dollars in the set-ups--which can feature rooftop tents, lights, specialized storage, solar panels and other camping accessories. Yet, SB Outdoor Gear is busier than ever before.
“This is probably three times as busy as last summer,” said owner Casey Hurd, who also owns Car Stereo Guys. “We have so much work at this point, we can’t keep up with it… We have no more stock. Like, we can’t get new tents. It’s been almost impossible to keep up with demand as far as a roof rack goes.”
Hurd says tents could be back in stock by mid-August. His outdoor business also offers camping accessories and new navigation technology.
For some, car camping is becoming even more popular than traditional camping. Several National and State Park campgrounds are either closed or reservations are limited and booked for the foreseeable future.
Car camping allows people to chart their own path and camp away from more popular spots.
“This is kind of a unique opportunity for people to be able to get out and being able to enjoy nature and kind of get away from the crowds,” Hurd said. “We try to build vehicles where you can go where people aren’t. Where you can go off-grid… and be able to camp in your own little special area.”
