A Review: GetOutfitted.com, Ski Apparel Rental Made Easy

By Wendy Clinch •  Updated: 12/02/14 •  6 min read

Picture this: you’re a family of five living in Florida who wants to go on a ski trip, and you don’t have any ski clothes or equipment. Or your kids have outgrown their jackets and you don’t what to shell out a fortune for your annual trip to Summit County. Or your friend wants to try skiing for the first time, but doesn’t have appropriate ski wear.

Until fairly recently, there were two choices: you could either forget the whole deal and stay home, or you could open your wallet and let the bloodletting begin.

Not good.

That’s where a new company called GetOutfitted comes in. GetOutfitted will rent you whatever you need for a ski trip for a short time and have it delivered to you free via FedEx to wherever you’re going.

That’s the key: have it delivered free to wherever you’re going. I know there are local ski shops that’ll rent out apparel or gear – sometimes one, sometimes the other. GetOutfitted does both online, so there’s no packing, no schlepping, no running around pulling things together. A true one-stop shopping experience.

When GetOutfitted contacted me and told me about their service, I thought, ‘Genius! This is something I’d like to find out more about.’

So I did. Here’s the story: GetOutfitted was started by Julian Flores, a former school administrator, in 2013. “I came up with the idea after my wife rented a designer dress online from Rent the Runway,” he said. “Outside of fashion and film, the web rental economy is strangely underdeveloped. I’ve lived in Colorado for a long time and never took full advantage of the all outdoors has to offer in this state. GetOutfitted lowers the barriers of entry to the outdoors so people like me can enjoy the outdoors and try new things.”

GetOutfitted offered me the opportunity to try their service free of charge. Here’s what I learned:

The online experience

If you’re like me, you want this to be simple. It is. Directions on the GetOutfitted site are clear and the graphics are good. It’s easy to navigate and figure out what you have to do to make your selection and pay your way.  There are loads of pictures of the items they rent. For clothing, you can dial in your selections by color, brand, size, or even by choosing “warm, warmer, and warmest.”  Or you can choose a pre-selected package.  Whatever works.

After that, you just choose how long you want to keep your items – 3 days, 5 days, or 10 days — enter your shipping and billing information, and bingo! Your shipment is on its way.

Shipping and receiving

GetOutfitted apparel arrives beautifully packaged.

GetOutfitted apparel arrives
beautifully packaged.

This is really nice. The company will ship your order free via FedEx to wherever you want it to go. If you’re renting a condo in Vail, no problem. Which means you don’t have to cram a lot of stuff in your suitcase. After you place your order online, you get a confirmation email that tells you that your shipment is on its way and when you can expect it to arrive. When you want to send it back, no problem. They provide you with a package that you just drop in the mail, pre-paid. Easy, peasy.

Product

You can rent anything you need for a ski vacation: jackets, pants, midlayers, base layers, goggles, socks, even a camera. And yes, you can rent skis or snowboards, too. Product selection is good, and even better, it’s not junk. There are a lot of high-end brands. In clothing, there’s Patagonia, Obermeyer, Marmut, Dakine, Helly Hanson, Burton, and more. I ordered the Regatta jacket and the Malta pants, both from Obermeyer, and was very impressed. The cost: $36. for three days for the jacket, and $30. for the pants. Customers also have the option to purchase gear insurance for their items in case damage occurs, but the company says they’re pretty understanding about accidents. That said, thoroughly damaged items will be charged to the customer for their remaining value, so keep that in mind.

I loved the jacket & pants sent to me by GetOutfitted.

I loved the jacket & pants
sent to me by GetOutfitted.

For skis and snowboards, GetOutfitted partners with local ski shops to fulfill either a performance or premium package that includes boots, poles, and skis — helmets, too, if needed. The local shop will deliver the items to your door and fit you, as needed.  Right now this service is only limited to locations serviced by Black Tie rentals, so it’s only available in western locations. This may change in the future.

So here’s what we all want to know: is it gross to wear something that’s already been worn by someone else? No. According to the company, every item is professionally cleaned so that it looks, feels, and performs like a brand new item each time it’s used.  Be careful, though — you may fall in love with the items you rent. That’s okay, too. GetOutfitted offers its customers a buy option, in case you do. Pretty sweet.

So what’d you think, Ski Diva?

Pros:

This is a smooth, stress-free way to get ski apparel and gear for an occasional ski vacation. I was impressed with the entire experience. The clothing was top quality, it arrived quickly and beautifully packaged, and yes, I fell in love with the items I received. If I were in a situation where I needed either clothing or equipment for a limited period of time, this would definitely be the way to go. It’s one-stop shopping with minimal hassle. My cup of tea.

Cons:

I’m stumped. Truly. The only thing I could think of, and this is because I’m pretty short, is that they could offer women’s ski pants in shorter lengths. A wider variety of colors might be nice, too, to go with some of the jackets. But really, that’s pretty minor stuff. For just a few days of wear, really, what’s the difference?

Would I recommend this service? Absolutely.

So two ski poles up to GetOutfitted. Good job, guys!

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