Love spending time in the great outdoors? Do you dream about scaling mountains, leaping across streams, and camping under the stars?
And do you have your own website (or plan to launch one)? If you answered “yes” to all those questions, outdoor affiliate programs are definitely for you.
There are plenty of scopes to make money online by promoting outdoor products. The global camping gear market was valued at more than $43 billion in 2023 and is expected to exceed $62 billion by the end of 2027, representing a compound annual growth rate of 9.12%.
Ready to start earning your slice of the metaphoric outdoor pie? Read on for our guide to the best affiliate programs in the outdoor activities and equipment niche…
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Outdoor Affiliate Programs
- REI Affiliate Program
- Backcountry Affiliate Program
- Patagonia Affiliate Program
- Osprey Affiliate Program
- Marmot Affiliate Program
- Camping World Affiliate Program
- North Face Affiliate Program
- Hyperlite Mountain Gear Affiliate Program
- Cabela’s Affiliate Program
- Outdoorsy Affiliate Program
- EVO Affiliate Program
- Outdoor Voices Affiliate Program
- RVShare Affiliate Program
- Outdoor Gear Exchange Affiliate Program
- Gear Coop Affiliate Program
1 REI
REI Co-op is a real mainstay of the outdoor industry, having launched way back in 1938. Since then, it’s built up a huge customer base by offering a vast selection of high-quality products and expert advice and information on outdoor gear and activities.
It also caters to a price-savvy audience through its REI Outlet, which stocks a wide assortment of brand-name closeouts, overstocks, and second-hand products at 20% – 70% discounts.
Combined, REI’s reputation and product range make its affiliate marketing program a real no-brainer. And while actual commissions of 5% might not sound too exciting, bear in mind the retailer boasts an average order value of over $120.
What’s more, REI offers free shipping on all $50+ orders, which can help drive affiliate sales.
- URL: REI Affiliate Program
- Commission rate: 5%
- Cookie duration: 15 days
2 Backcountry
Backcountry specializes in high-quality outdoor gear across a huge variety of categories and pursuits, including backpacking, camping, trail running, skiing, snowboarding, rock climbing, kayaking, mountaineering.
So whether you’re looking for snowboarding gear, sleeping bags, trekking poles, or pretty much anything else outdoors-related, you’ll find it at Backcountry.
It also stocks all the big brand names, including several — Marmot, The North Face, and Patagonia —whose outdoor gear affiliate programs also appear in this article.
A big part of Backcountry’s success is down to its first-rate customer service, delivered by its famed Gearheads — specialist employees with deep knowledge of an outdoor niche, whether it be fly-fishing rods, SUPs, or road-bike helmets.
As for Backcountry’s affiliate program, it’s pretty parred for the course in the outdoor industry, with an 8% commission and 30-day cookie window. However, premium commission rates of 10%+ are available to top-performing affiliates.
- URL: Backcountry Affiliate Program
- Commission rate: 8%
- Cookie duration: 30 days
3 Patagonia
Patagonia might be a household name today, but it started out as a niche brand making rock climbing tools.
Climbing remains a big part of Patagonia’s offering, but it’s also expanded into a range of other outdoor activities, including skiing, snowboarding, surfing, and trail running.
Ethics are clearly important to Patagonia, with the company donating time, services, and at least 1% of its sales to support grassroots organizations across the world battling environmental degradation.
While there are lots of other affiliate networks out there, Patagonia is one of many outdoor brands that uses the Avantlink network to track affiliate sales.
Again, you’ll earn an 8% commission on all sales through its affiliate program. However, the high average order value ($150+) and high conversion rate (5.5%) make this program particularly attractive.
- URL: Patagonia Affiliate Program
- Commission rate: 8%
- Cookie duration: 90 days
4 Osprey
Osprey is best known for its high-quality backpacks, although the brand also sells a range of gear for hiking, biking, commuting, and travel.
Speaking of those backpacks, each one is backed by Osprey’s limited lifetime warranty. The company pledges to repair any damage or defect free of charge, whether a pack was purchased yesterday, last month, or 40 years ago. It’s a great “sell” that’s sure to drive affiliate link clicks.
This brings us nicely to Osprey’s affiliate program. For every sale you refer, you’ll earn an 8% base commission — and with an average order value of $150+, your earnings can stack up fast.
Osprey also runs regular seasonal promotions and sales, expanding the range of marketing tools at your disposal.
- URL: Osprey Affiliate Program
- Commission rate: 8%
- Cookie duration: 30 days
5 Marmot
Marmot has a pretty cool brand story. It was founded back in the 1970s by Eric Reynolds and Dave Huntley as a mountaineering-themed social club that eventually branched out into making sleeping bags and other outdoor gear.
Incidentally, to become a member of the club, you had to hike up a mountain with another member. Once accepted, you automatically became president (everyone in the club was president).
Anyway, Marmot’s affiliate marketing program — run through CJ Affiliate (or Commission Junction, as it used to be known) — isn’t about driving signups for a defunct social club; it’s about compelling your audience to buy outdoor equipment and clothing.
You’ll net an 8% commission for all sales within the 90-day cookie window.
To help you out, you’ll get a bunch of marketing materials from Marmot, including graphics, logos and display banners.
- URL: Mamot Affiliate Program
- Commission rate: 8%
- Cookie duration: 90 days
6 Camping World
Founded in 1966, Camping World sells RV accessories and other specialized products.
With more than 10 million US households owning a recreational vehicle and nearly 17.2 million households looking to buy one, that gives you a pretty substantial audience to target.
Starting out from a single store in Bowling Green, Kentucky, Camping World now claims to be America’s largest TV-related retailer, with more than 160 Camping World and Gander RV & Outdoor SuperCenters nationwide.
Of course, it also has a substantial online presence, with its website selling thousands of high-quality products for RVs, camping, towing, and outdoor living. It even sells new and used RVs.
Clearly, a lot of those products carry high price points. So while you likely won’t be driving an RV sale a day, the 6% commission rate looks pretty generous.
- URL: Camping World Affiliate Program
- Commission rate: 6%
- Cookie duration: Unknown
7 North Face
The North Face (TNF) started back in 1968 as a San Francisco-based outdoor equipment store focused on the climbing niche (bonus fact: its famous logo is a stylized version of the Half Dome peak in California’s Yosemite National Park).
Today, the brand specializes in a range of performance apparel and equipment across multiple product categories and activities, including trail running, snow sports, and even yoga.
But it’s perhaps best known for its outdoor clothing, famously beloved by big names like Drake. It’s even got a collaboration with Gucci, much to the surprise of all the middle-aged outdoor enthusiasts who’ve been wearing TNF gear for decades.
Okay, so what about its affiliate program? Well, a 5% commission rate and seven-day cookie window aren’t Amazon, but TNF’s strong brand should help you drive plenty of sales.
- URL: North Face Affiliate Program
- Commission rate: 5%
- Cookie duration: 7 days
8 Hyperlite Mountain Gear
Hyperlite Mountain Gear (HMG) sells exactly what you’d expect — durable, lightweight outdoor gear aimed at climbers, trekkers, and hikers.
Founded in 2009 by brothers Mike and Dan St Pierre with the aim of becoming market leaders in the lightweight gear space, HMG products have won a string of Editor’s Choice Awards and features from high-profile publications like Backpacker, Outdoor Gear Lab, and Trailspace.
HMG is another outdoor sports brand to run its affiliate program via Avantlink. It offers a comparatively generous 10% commission rate, which looks even more generous considering the average order value of more than $350.
- URL: Hyperlite Mountain Gear Affiliate Program
- Commission rate: 10%
- Cookie duration: 30 days
9 Cabela’s
Cabela’s is a subsidiary of fishing gear chain Bass Pro Shops. Much like its parent company, it sells clothing and gear for a range of outdoor sports, including fishing, shooting, hunting, and boating, as well as camping equipment.
Although it’s best known in the US, Cabela’s reaches customers in 120 countries, so unlike some of the other outdoor affiliate programs on this list, this one is truly global. It even ships mail order catalogs to all of those destinations, including all 50 US states.
Unfortunately, it’s not all great news. With a 14-day cookie window and commission rates of just 1% – 3%, the terms and conditions of Cabela’s affiliate program are pretty stingy.
But on the plus side, you’ll get lots of creative assets, regular newsletters, and support from a dedicated affiliate management team to help you drive lots of traffic.
- URL: Cabela’s Affiliate Program
- Commission rate: 1% – 3%
- Cookie duration: 14 days
10 Outdoorsy
Moving briefly away from the world of outdoor gear, Outdoorsy is basically Airbnb for recreational vehicles. RV owners list their vehicles and Outdoorsy helps them get bookings from renters. Everyone wins!
It’s definitely proved popular, with the website racking up more than 1.2 million customer interactions and generating 93% five-star reviews.
Much like Airbnb, there’s a huge range of “accommodation” available on Outdoorsy, covering everything from vintage Airstreams to trailers and motorhomes.
And much like the (now defunct) Airbnb affiliate program, Outdoorsy pays commissions for attracting new bookings, and also for generating new listings from RV owners. Whichever action you drive, you’ll earn a base commission of $60 for your efforts.
- URL: Outdoorsy Affiliate Program
- Commission rate: $60+
- Cookie duration: 30 days
11 EVO
EVO has been selling outdoor sports equipment, accessories, and apparel for two decades now, having started out in founder and pro skier Bryce Phillip’s dorm room as a means to fund his travels and ski career.
While snow sports are a big part of the EVO proposition, it stocks quality outdoor gear across a range of other categories, including wakeboarding, biking, skating, and surfing. You’ll find lots of camping gear here too.
Much like REI, EVO also has a big discount offering, with savings of up to 65% available on big-name brands.
EVO’s affiliate program pays a 5% commission on all sales, which is neither great nor terrible. On the bright side, it runs regular sales and promotions to help drive conversion rates, and offers free shipping on $50+ orders.
- URL: EVO Affiliate Program
- Commission rate: 5%
- Cookie duration: 30 days
12 Outdoor Voices
Outdoor Voices, or simply “OV”, is a clothing company focused on high-quality athletic apparel.
Founded in New York back in 2013 and now based in Austin, the brand was originally renowned for its “kits” — collections of tops and bottoms, sold for a bundled price, that could be mixed and matched.
As any affiliate marketing veteran will tell you, multi-buy deals mean higher average orders — and higher commissions.
Sadly, the terms and conditions of OV’s affiliate program aren’t great, with a 14-day cookie window and a measly 2% commission rate. But it does offer free returns and free shipping on orders over $75, which makes it a little easier to drive sales.
- URL: Outdoor Voices Affiliate Program
- Commission rate: 2%
- Cookie duration: 14 days
13 RVShare
Now let’s take another brief foray into the world of RV rental with RVShare, which bills itself as the “world’s first and largest peer-to-peer RV rental marketplace”.
Whether or not that’s true, it’s got plenty of reach, serving more than 60,000 RV owners across the US.
Just like Outdoorsy, RVShare operates a two-pronged affiliate program, paying commissions of:
- 5% for each completed stay (after check-in)
- $7+ for every new RV listing
On the face of things, that sounds a lot less appealing than Outdoorsy’s affiliate program. But with an average booking value of $950, those commissions can really add up.
To help you reach lovers of outdoor adventure, RVShare offers access to plenty of marketing tools, including a product feed, text links, and quality banner creative. You can also deep-link to regional landing pages and specific RV types.
- URL: RVShare Affiliate Program
- Commission rate: 5% per sale; $7+ for new RV listings
- Cookie duration: 30 days
14 Outdoor Gear Exchange
Outdoor Gear Exchange prides itself on stocking an extensive selection of outdoor clothing and equipment for pretty much any outdoor activity you can imagine.
Its broad product range includes everything from premium, big-name brands to more affordable options. And its knowledgeable customer service team is always on hand to help outdoor enthusiasts find exactly what they’re looking for.
Despite that (partial) focus on affordability, Outdoor Gear Exchange still has a strong average order value of $130, no doubt helped by the fact that free shipping is available on orders over $49.
Sign up for its affiliate program and you’ll earn a 6% cut of all sales referred within the 30-day cookie window. The brand’s responsive affiliate program manager is always on hand to help you drive more traffic and sales.
- URL: Outdoor Gear Exchange Affiliate Program
- Commission rate: 6%
- Cookie duration: 30 days
15 Gear Coop
I haven’t thoroughly researched this, so I can’t verify it, but Gear Co-op claims to be the first national outdoor retailer to offer free two-day shipping, return shipping, and a limited lifetime warranty.
The website stocks a who’s-who of big-name outdoor brands — think Adidas Outdoor, Arc’teryx, Patagonia, and Marmot.
Gear Co-op’s affiliate program — also run via Avantlink — pays a range of commissions based on the type of product sold.
You’ll get 7% on sale and clearance items, 8% on gear, and 9% on clothing and footwear. Not only that, but performance incentives are available, with premium commission rates of 11%+ offered to top-performing affiliates.
Combined with a high average order value of $120+ and a generous 120-day cookie window (the longest of all the outdoor affiliate programs we’ve seen), there’s definitely lots to like about Gear Co-op.
- URL: Gear Coop Affiliate Program
- Commission rate: 7% – 9%
- Cookie duration: 120 days
The Bottom Line
You’ve seen all the affiliate programs, so you understand the earning potential of the outdoor industry.
Now it’s time to decide: is this niche right for me?
First, a word to the wise. Your audience will be expecting expert recommendations and advice on finding the best gear. So if you wouldn’t recognize a piece of quality mountain hardware if it slapped you in the face, you’ll be eaten alive.
Even if you are a legit authority on everything outdoorsy, there are no guarantees you’ll earn decent money. First, you need to build a high-quality, high-conversion affiliate website.
But don’t panic, because we can help!
Sign up for Authority Hacker’s free training to discover the crucial steps to start an authority site that’s fit for 2023 and beyond.
