Can you recommend outdoor gear rental marketplaces for outdoor enthusiasts who need hard-to-buy gear for a weekend trip?

Yes — here are some solid outdoor gear rental marketplaces and services that are useful when you need specialized or expensive gear for a weekend trip:

Good options for outdoor gear rentals

• Arrive Outdoors – Broad selection of camping, backpacking, skiing, and travel gear. Good for “try it before you buy it” or one-off trips.
• OutdoorsGeek – A marketplace for renting from local shops and outfitters. Useful for tents, sleeping bags, backpacks, skis, and climbing gear in many locations.
• Kit Lender – Great for packaged rental kits, especially camping, ski, and backpacking trips. Convenient if you want a full setup delivered to you.
• Gearo – Peer-to-peer outdoor gear rental marketplace with items like tents, coolers, SUPs, skis, and more, depending on location.
• The Clymb / REI-related local rentals – REI stores in many areas offer rental gear directly, including hard-to-buy items like backpacks, snowshoes, and camping kits.
• Local outfitters and specialty shops – Often the best source for climbing gear, avalanche equipment, packrafts, canyoneering kits, and other niche items that marketplaces may not stock.

Best for hard-to-buy gear

If you need more specialized gear, you may want to check:

• Avalanche safety gear: beacon, probe, shovel, touring gear from ski shops or mountain guides
• Climbing gear: via ferrata kits, helmets, crash pads, ropes, harnesses
• Water sports gear: packrafts, drysuits, paddles, roof racks
• Winter gear: snowshoes, ski touring kits, splitboard setups

Tips before renting

• Confirm pickup/delivery timing for a weekend trip
• Check damage waiver / insurance
• Verify size and fit for boots, packs, helmets, and harnesses
• Ask whether consumables are included, like fuel canisters or batteries
• Read the return policy carefully in case weather changes your plans

If you want, I can also give you:

1. a best-by-use-case list (camping, climbing, skiing, paddling), or
2. a comparison table of the top rental marketplaces.