Kit Up, Give Back: How Outdoor Gear Rental Is Opening Up Adventure To Everyone

‘The outdoors is for everyone’ is a phrase that we hear a lot these days. Recent years have seen more and more people heading outdoors in order to enjoy the mental and physical benefits that activity in nature can provide, and whilst it may seem that our open spaces are free for all to enjoy, the associated costs of essential kit are still prohibitive for many.

While training soldiers overseas, ex-British Army Office Bruce Leishman realised that many felt apprehensive about outdoor activities owing to a lack of experience or confidence in using the equipment and clothing required to participate fully and safely. This realisation inspired Bruce to found KitUp – a rental service and app that allows users to hire outdoor gear from other outdoor enthusiasts based on location and activity, reducing costs and emissions as well as improving accessibility.

Below, Bruce gives us an insight into the company’s humble beginnings, and how KitUp is on a mission to open up adventure to more people by improving accessibility and connecting communities.  

The Cost Savings of Renting Equipment

In my garage, I have a couple of paddle boards, a mountain bike, a road bike and a few pairs of skis, poles and boots. As much as I would love for this kit to be used regularly, it’s not. I bought a new mountain bike in 2021, and if I am being very honest, this was entirely unnecessary and also tied me into a fixed debt for 2 years. Over that time it has been ridden a grand total of 14 days. When I calculated the cost per use I was astounded. For me to ‘get my money’s worth’ from this bike (instead of renting), I will need to ride it for 60 days (assuming an average day rental rate of £50 per day). At my current rate of use, this will take me over 8 years! Clearly, this does not take into account the maintenance, cleaning costs, transport costs etc. If this were to be included, it would be considerably more.

Renting that piece of expensive kit that is sadly languishing in the shed can be a great way of earning a little passive income, on top of providing an opportunity for use by someone else. Thankfully, rental seems to be catching on!

Getting the Most Out of Your Kit

2 weeks ago, an incredible thing happened. Another KitUp user rented my paddle boards for the weekend and that rental took me to the point that both boards had been used as often by other KitUp users this summer as they have by me. This not only makes me feel great, knowing that people have been able to go out and enjoy them, but those people have not had to buy and store boards (this is the most cited benefit of using KitUp!). This is so much more sustainable and is so easy to do.

Supporting Sustainability and Environmental Initiatives

Other than creating better access to equipment, there is another issue that we have to talk about and that is sustainability. For an industry that is entirely dependent on customers engaging with the environment, the outdoor industry has a terrible track record in this area. The majority of the equipment we use is of petrochemical construction (it comes from oil) and spends most of its life cycle not being used – more than 50% of paddle boards bought in the UK over the last 2 years have been used less than 5 times. This is remarkable. By increasing the usage of kit and by making more kit available, far less need be bought in the first place. This also incentivises people to buy better quality kit that will last longer as it can also be rented to others.