College Outdoors
Rental Information
College Outdoors strives to help the Lewis & Clark community get out as much as possible. If you are going on a College Outdoors trip, any and all gear you need for the trip, including personal gear, is included. For private trips, we offer rentals on these types of essential equipment (see below).
Thom Lehman manages the gear rentals. To rent gear email Thom Lehman (tml@lclark.edu) to request your gear. If you are renting for a weekend during the semester, please be sure to make your rentals reservation by no later than 4 PM on the Wednesday prior to your trip. If you’re renting for Fall Break, Thanksgiving Break, or Spring Break, your reservation should be in no later than 7 calendar days prior to the last day of class before the break. This advance notice is needed because we are so busy with the many College Outdoors trips going out.
Sorry, no gear will be rented on Friday- there are just too many College Outdoors trips going out that day. But you don’t have to pay any extra to pick it up earlier in the week.
Rentals are only available during Fall and Spring Semester to current students, alumni, faculty, and staff of Lewis and Clark College. (The rental program actually loses money, and we don’t have enough student staff in the summer or during winter break to run it. Sorry!). Due to resource constraints, we are unable to rent any gear for the weekends before and after both fall and spring breaks.
For the equipment we do rent, we ask for a reasonable rental fee and a refundable deposit, in case the gear is damaged and needs to be repaired or replaced. As long as the gear you rent comes back in the same condition in which it left, your deposit will be returned to you. Lewis & Clark community members may rent gear for themselves and for one additional person. We are trying to make as much gear available for rental possible, and currently our rental closet includes:
Item |
SpecialSpring/Fall Break Prices |
StandardWeekend Prices |
RefundableDamageDeposit |
| Snowshoes (rented only if snowpack is deep enough) | $20 | $15 | $200 |
| Tent (4 person, 4 season free-standing models) | $35 | $25 | $400 |
| Down Sleeping Bag (0 degrees F) NOTE: Will not work if wet! | $25 | $20 | $300 |
| Synthetic Sleeping Bag (0 degrees F) | $20 | $15 | $200 |
| Foam Sleeping Pad | $5 | $3 | $10 |
| Backpack (5000-6000 cu in size) | $20 | $15 | $200 |
| Hiking Boots | $15 | $7 | $150 |
| Ski Poles & Hiking Poles | $6 | $5 | $100 |
| Food Cooler | $6 | $5 | $20 |
| Stove (Propane canister type, includes fuel canister w/ fuel) |
$12 |
$10 | $30 |
| Water Jugs (5 gal) | $5 | $5 | $20 |
Gear Rental Policy
Equipment must be returned clean (it does not have to be dry, just clean) to the Sequoia building by the agreed upon rental date by 5:00 PM (generally Monday after your weekend rental, unless arranged otherwise). Email tml@lclark.edu to set up a specific time for gear return.
If the item(s) are not returned by 5:00 PM on the agreed upon rental date(s), a $10 late fee applies. After this time, a charge of $10 per day applies for each additional day, or, if the equipment is damaged beyond repair or cleaning, the College Outdoors staff may decide to charge the renter the retail replacement price of the equipment. Cleaning fees may also be applied, at the discretion of College Outdoors, if gear is not returned clean, determined at a prorated price of $18/hour.
The cost of irreparably damaged, lost, or stolen items (while in possession of the renter) will be paid by the renter at a rate equal to the current retail price of replacing the item with a comparable item. All damaged equipment of Lewis & Clark College remains property of Lewis & Clark College.
We recognize that there is a great deal of interest, but we cannot (yet!) provide everything needed. If you are looking to rent gear in the summer months, or during Winter Break, we suggest checking out some of the other gear rental opportunities listed below. Here we list addresses, websites, and phone numbers of local businesses that rent gear and/or sell it cheap.
Local Businesses that Rent Gear
Portland State University Outdoor Program Rentals (Open to non-PSU students, too!)
SW College St., between 5th and 6th Avenues
(503) 725-2637
Alder Creek Kayak & Canoe
250 NE Tomahawk Island Drive
(503) 285-0464
Next Adventure
426 SE Grand Ave
(503) 223-0706
Oregon Mountain Community (OMC)
2975 NE Sandy Blvd
(503) 227-1038
Otto’s Cross Country Ski & Snowshoe
Hwy 26 (in Sandy on the way to Mt. Hood)
38716 Pioneer Blvd
(503) 668-5947
REI
1405 SW Johnson
(503) 221-1938
The Mountain Shop
628 NE Broadway
(503) 288-6768
Local Businesses with Discounted Gear
Columbia Sportswear Outlet Stores
(East Side of Portland)
1323 SE Tacoma
(503) 238-0118
Columbia Sportswear Outlet, Lake Oswego
3 Monroe Parkway, Suite H
Oswego Towne Square (down Boones Ferry Rd.)
(503) 636-6593
Next Adventure (New & Used Gear, and rentals)
426 SE Grand
(503) 233-0706
US Outdoor Store
219 SW Broadway
(503) 223-5937
Toll free (866) 876-3932
Cheap Gear on the Internet
Patagonia’s Common Threads Program
If you still can’t find what you’re looking for in this list, come on in and ask—we’ll try to point you in the right direction. If you know of a local business you think we should add to this list, please let us know!