Outdoor sports can be an expensive summer hobby for students. Fortunately, BYU’s Outdoors Unlimited rents affordable, seasonal outdoor gear from its on-campus location.
Outdoors Unlimited employee Mallory Reese said their most popular rentals are their tandem bikes, paddle boards and camping equipment.
“Couples love to take the tandem bikes on evening dates,” Reese said. “The paddle boards are especially popular to take on Utah Lake.”
Tandem bikes are $7 an hour or $18 overnight, while paddle board rates are $30 per day.
Outdoors Unlimited also offers some outlandish equipment for rent, such as an ice cream maker. “No one has rented out the ice cream maker yet, but it’s pretty cool,” Reese said.
“We also have Bocci balls, a giant tug-of-war rope, and a giant Twister board that fits up to 80 people at a time.”
Another unusual item they rent out are fat- tired bikes. Reese said these bikes are ideal for biking around sand dunes, particularly The Little Sahara Sand Dunes located near Nephi.
Retail associate Mckay Taylor says Outdoors Unlimited purchases all of its rental inventory. When some of the rentals become dated, Outdoors Unlimited begins progressive sales. In October, the summer progressive sale will sell bikes from Thursday to Saturday at a first-come, first-serve basis.
Winter equipment such as skis and snowboards also undergo the same progressive sales that take place in April.
Reese believes that Outdoors Unlimited is underutilized by students because of their new location and the notion that rentals are expensive. “Some students think that renting equipment is expensive, when in reality, we offer a better deal than most other rental stores,” Reese said.
