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is there a way to easily get them? my dad worked a couple courses for OB and got a prodeal on Arcterex for a while, but he stopped.
do you have to work for OB or at a gear shop to get good deals on gear?

It varies a lot from company to company. Some will hook you up if you just volunteer to teach a little like your dad did, some demand you work full time in the mountains as a guide or ranger. Patagonia adds the requirement that your company does some significant social good.

Some suppliers require you to demonstrate membership in an organization such as American Mountain Guides Association or Asoociation for Experiential Education.

You can gain access to prodeals from several companies based on the industry you're involved in. Many prodeals can be had directly from the company whereas others are done through a prodeal portal.

For instance, REI employees have Snaplink (their intranet) whichs provides direct access to prodeals from all the companies they work with.

For smaller companies like MomNDad's Outfitter, you can sign up with a Prodeal specialty place such as www.3point5.com and/or www.promotive.com (same company, different level of deals). These places will offer the individual a suite of products based on what the store sells or what general industry (climbing, cycling, etc) the store is involved in.

Promotive allows you to ship the products directly to yourself whereas 3point5 requires shipping directly to the retailer.

3point5 ships directly to my mailing address.

The level of the deal also varies even from the same maker. One equipment maker I know of gives one level of deal to individuals but a much deeper one to businesses.

Yeah, the easiest way to get a pro deal is to go work for a shop. That way, you also have the money to buy the pro deals with. However, many shops also require a term of employment (something like 90 days) before they grant access to prodeals simply for the reason of people starting a job, buying a bunch of stuff and then leaving right after.

Outdoor Prolink (http://www.outdoorprolink.com/) is another for professionals.

However, I do remember getting an email from 3point5 about how they started up a new program ("bro deal" i believe) where you can get discounts simply for reviewing equipment and didn't require any sponsorship or employment. Not as good of deals as pro deals, but still a discount.

how to get prodeals on black diamond????
that's my ultamite goal.
I want to get a bd viper for a lot less than $230 or howevermuch they cost, and add to my rack.

kiwiw wrote:how to get prodeals on black diamond????
that's my ultamite goal.
I want to get a bd viper for a lot less than $230 or howevermuch they cost, and add to my rack.

Well, if you only want to get one item rather than build up an extensive collection, your best option is simply to work a few more hours and buy it straight up or search ebay for a month come the season and grab a set from there. Ultimately, it's actually more beneficial to have a solid well-paying job and buy equipment at retail than to work at a shop for a little more than minimum wage and buy gear at great discounts. Pro-deals should not be the main reason to work in the outdoor industry (which is the only easy way to get pro deals, especially on BD); it should be because you have a passion for it and enjoy sharing that passion and knowledge with others.

kiwiw wrote:how to get prodeals on black diamond????
that's my ultamite goal.
I want to get a bd viper for a lot less than $230 or howevermuch they cost, and add to my rack.

Get in line....with about a thousand other gear mongers.

MarthaP wrote:

kiwiw wrote:how to get prodeals on black diamond????
that's my ultamite goal.
I want to get a bd viper for a lot less than $230 or howevermuch they cost, and add to my rack.

Get in line....with about a thousand other gear mongers.

Pretty true!

Another thing to keep in mind when you go searching for pro-deals on a specific piece of gear: Not everything is available for pro deals. The companies will put specific pieces of gear on pro deals depending on what they want to push. When I was working at a shop (for over 2 years), BD never had any cams or tools that I wanted on pro deal. Great deals on skis (which I couldn't afford on gear shop pay!) and some tools like the fusion, but never what I was looking for. I got some other great deals, but never anything from BD.

BD seems to offer pretty much everything on their pro site; as I mentioned prices vary, but even at a minimum 40% of new stuff ain't too bad.

Where can I find one of these well paying jobs instead?

regarding op....one could climb hard and often and then seek support...I know....obscure and crazy idea

Pbbbbbt.

Work. It's a four-letter word.

Dow Williams wrote:regarding op....one could climb hard and often and then seek support...I know....obscure and crazy idea

yes, just crazy.........