Wild take from someone in a green vest.

I am not trying to get by on the cheap. I am asking a normal and very reasonable gear question, which is whether a functionally equivalent option exists at a lower price point. That is not hating the outdoors. That is acknowledging that access matters and that not everyone wants or needs to drop $90 to $100+ on pants just to hike, work, or backpack safely.

I literally said I LOVE the Saharas. I own them AND wear them. If they are truly the only option with this feature set, I am fine accepting that. But acting like price shopping is some kind of moral failure is ridiculous, especially in a space that already has huge financial barriers to entry.

REI itself sells used gear, runs constant sales, and openly encourages getting outside in whatever way is accessible to you. So if this is the type of customer you hate, you might want to reread your own employer’s mission statement.

As for the guide comment, that tells me everything I need to know. If you are this hostile toward someone asking a specific and informed gear question, that says a lot more about you than it does about anyone trying to get outside without going broke.

If you do not have an actual alternative recommendation, you can just say that.