The thing about hiking shoes...

If you're in the market for hiking shoes, there are two truths that you must accept. The first truth is that hiking shoes are ugly. They're mostly brown, although there are some gray ones, but you're almost never going to find a bright pair with cool colors. Hiking shoes get muddy and dirty, and for some reason, manufacturers believe making the shoes brown, the mud won't stand out as much. The second universal truth to hiking shoes is that they are expensive. You're just not as likely to find the deals on hiking shoes as you do on regular shoes. This is because hiking shoes cost more to make because they need more features for better functionality. Also, it's a small market so they have to charge more to survive, and generally, people who are willing to buy hiking shoes generally are enthusiast who are willing to dish out the money.

I've been stalking hiking shoes online for a long time. A LONG TIME. Like half a year. I just can't get over the price. JEEZ, expensive. I haven't been able to pull the trigger and commit to a pair until now. Almost everyone knows about REI, but REI has an online outlet, and this past weekend the outlet was offering 20% off a single item. This isn't really that cheap for shoes, but it is a pretty good deal for hiking shoes.

This is what I bought:






























The original price is $95.00. It's on clearance for $69.93 and was 20% off. It ended up being $59+ including tax. I don't think that's a bad price considering it's hard to find cheap, good hiking shoes, and it's especially hard to find shoes in my size, if you noticed the size 11 in that one picture :P. While they're ugly and brown, they're high quality shoes, and I don't expect that I'll have to replace them anytime soon.

The reason why I went with Merrell's as opposed to some of the other, cheaper brands is this:















Vibram rubber soles. It makes for a super cushy, comfortable shoe. In fact, these shoes are way more comfortable than my running shoes.







I'm not going to call this "the deal of the day." The fact of the matter is, it's an OK deal on something I've needed for a while. Better than paying retail for sure, but not super. I've heard if you go to TJ Maxx and are lucky, you can find a pair of Merrell's for a lot less than how much I paid. If you wear a common shoe size, like anything size 7-9, I'd recommend trying that route. If you're like me with the huge foot, going to somewhere like TJ Maxx is hit or miss, but generally miss. (If they do carry size 11, It'll be super cheap b/c no one else wears that. But most likely they won't carry size 11 because no one wears that. Therefore, your best bet may be online.)

Right Place, Right Time

The vast majority of deals really require you to be in the right place at the right time. It takes a little bit of luck too, since sizes vary so much.

So I already kind of mentioned this on facebook, but I'll go into more detail here. Kohl's is having a clearance on "older style" running clothes to make room for new running clothes. This is important to note, because I only happens 2-3 times a year. There is always a major clearance on running clothes in general, right before the New Year (to align with people's New Year's resolutions) and there is always a sale on running clothes right before the summer (because this is when people renew their commitment to get in shape and get bikini ready, so they want the new styles in.) As a result, you can score ridiculous deals on running clothes right now. Here are three pairs of running shorts I recently bought:

Three pairs of running shorts I recently purchased at Kohls.

This first pair is the one I mentioned on FB. The original price was $30, but it was 90% off for $3.00. I had 30% off, making this $2.36.










This is another pair of Nike Dri-Fit running shorts. These were originally $25.00 and were 60% off for a total of $10.00. I had 30% off, making them $7.61. I like these b/c they're meshy like guys basketball shorts. Also, they are longer than running shorts and don't have the built in underwear, which I may sometimes refer to as the "diaper."








These last pair or running shorts are not Nike, but Tek Gear (which is a brand you can also find at Target.) They allegedly have "wicking" technology, which is the same as Nike's "dri-fit" technology. This pair was originally $24.00 but was 70% off for $7.20. With my 30% off and tax, it came out to: $5.48. I'm generally only a fan of Nike "Dri-Fit," but for the price, I figure I'd give these a shot.




I also picked up this pair of Sketcher's Shape-Ups for someone. If you know anything about Shape-Ups, you'll know that they brought in a new sportier line, so the original line of shoes is being discontinued, and therefore is on clearance.















This pair of Shape-Ups is marked as $110.00 originally. (This is a BS price, since they are always on sale for $79.99). The shoes were 80% off the original price, making them $22.00. I had 30% off, making them $15.40. Then, I had $10 Kohl's cash received from an earlier purchase, making them $8.41 after tax.




















The last deal I got was for these reversible Nike-Dri Fit Sports Bras (blue/gray).




This is the front side.

They were originally $25.00 each but were marked down 80% off, making them $5. With my 30% off + tax, they cost me $3.61.











This is the inside, or the "reversible side."

I picked up two of these sports bras.








So end the Kohl's deals for this post! Till next time!

Target Daily Deals

I was going to the bank today, and my bank is next to Target so I stopped in just to look around and ended up scoring these deals.



No, those aren't the prettiest color shorts, but they cost $3.24 and I had a $3 off coupon. Those two bottles of Lipton 100% ice tea were $1.00/bottle + $.05 CRV. I had two coupons for one free bottle of ice tea. The feminine care product was $.89 cents but I had a $.75 off coupon.



My total came out to be $0.51. Darn CRV, that was 20% of my total!

Deals are only fun...

Deals are only fun if you have someone to share it with. In this case, since I was going to get this deal for myself, I offered to get it for C as well. I used internet coupons here, and they only allow you to print the same coupon twice, so I had printed two for me, and when she saw me, she gave me her two coupon printouts. The other coupons came from the actual boxes, as in they were stuck to the boxes. I mentioned this deal before, but here I'll go into all the details.

Here's C's loot:



So the deal setup is basically this. Wheat Thins Stix were on sale for $1.99. If you liked them on FB, you could print a $1.00 coupon, making them $.99. For each box of Wheat Thins you buy, you get a free Ritz Crackerfuls. Therefore, these four boxes of snacks pictured above cost $1.98.


And so you don't think I am completely making stuff up, a picture of the receipt:


Check out that total savings of $13.98.

YAY for friends who like deals too!

Traveling Costs Money

... so you gotta save where you can! This isn't my cheapest or best grocery hall, but it's full of essential things that I normally eat or drink.

Watermelon was on sale 10lb/$1. These two watermelons were basically 30lbs combined. (Always buy seasonal fruit.)

Popchips were on Manager's Special for $1.99 each, but I had a b1g1 free coupon. (This comes out to $.99/bag.)

Activate Water was 3/$5 but I had a $.55 coupon per bottle. (This comes out to $1.11 per bottle.)

Total: $10.74

Hiking in the Rocky Mountains

This post is late. For memorial day, while on vacation in CO, P, C, T and I hiked part of The Rocky Mountains. The mountains are amazing! P jackrabbited up and down the hill and the rest of us merely tried to keep up.








This was probably my favorite part of the hike. Seeing this naturally occurring waterfall having been here for hundreds if not thousands of years. It is like seeing an ancient civilization, and I never really get tired of it. This is why I love being outdoors.









This was probably about one of the worse parts of the hike. None of us were expecting snow in May, but apparently, we should have been prepared. Going up in slushy snow without snow boots absolutely sucks, FYI. Still, the hike was awesome.






Another great thing about hiking, is that you burn a ton of calories. Afterwards, we all were able to have a guilt free meal. :)

Till the next adventure!

Will Rogers State Historical Park - March 13, 2011

J, K and I went hiking at Will Rogers State Historical Park yesterday. It was fun. The hike, according to J was supposed to be medium. Maybe it was, but I obviously am not in good enough shape yet to do it. Here are some pictures: