Norway is a great place to visit if you want to go camping in the wild, go on hikes to mountain tops or just spend some time outdoors, but all of this require you to have some camping equipment and outdoor clothes to be able to cope with the changing weather.
Hiking and camping are popular activities in Norway, and most Norwegians have plenty of hiking equipment readily available. However, as a tourist, you might not have packed all you need with you, so where do you go to buy affordable camping equipment and outdoor gear when in Norway?
The short answer is that you can buy cheap camping equipment at places like XXL, Biltema or Clas Ohlson, while cheap outdoor clothing can be bought at XXL and Sport Outlet. This gives you a good selection of gear and equipment at a much lower price compared to regular outdoor stores.
Buying cheap camping equipment in Norway
If you need basic camping equipment like a tent, a sleeping mat, a camping stove or anything like that, there are a few cheap options. One of the great places to start are at Biltema or Clas Ohlson. Both of these store are general goods store where you can buy pretty much anything for your home or hobbies.
You will typically find big Biltema warehouses a bit in the outskirts of most cities, while Clas Ohlson tend to have smaller stores that are often found inside shopping malls. Both of them carry all the basic camping equipment you could need for a decent price.
Your other option is to go to XXL. This is a type of outdoor and sporting warehouse, and they have a huge selection of items. Keep in mind that they sell both cheap brands as well as expensive equipment, so you have the choice when you are there.
If you plan on staying in Norway for a long time, buying the cheapest camping equipment might not be such a good idea. While it works fine for a while, you will notice that it’s not as good as the more expensive stuff, especially when it comes to durability. However, as a tourist, it tends to be just fine.
If you want to plan ahead, stop by their websites to find the camping equipment they have for sale:
Some of the more expensive options
If you prefer to pay premium to get quality camping equipment, then there’s plenty of options for you. Some of the popular chains that sell camping equipment are:
- Fjellsport.
- Sport 1.
- Out North.
- Intersport. (Intersport tend to have some cheaper options as well).
All of these chains sell camping and hiking equipment, and will have a nice range of items to choose from. As with XXL, all of these have both cheaper and more expensive options, but they are generally not as cheap as the ones mentioned above.
In addition to this, many towns and cities have their own sporting and outdoor goods store that is not part of a chain, so you should definitely consider stopping by one of these. While it might be a bit more expensive, supporting local businesses is always nice.
Where to buy cheap outdoor clothing in Norway
There are plenty of tourists who visit Norway in April with mostly t-shirts and maybe a few sweaters, and are surprised that they should have brought a waterproof jackets and some wool underlays instead (especially when hiking or camping in the wild).
If you are going wild camping or on more serious hikes, you will need proper clothing. While outdoor clothing can be extremely expensive, there are some cheap versions that you can look into. These are usually almost as good as the expensive options, but not as durable.
So for a tourist visiting, the cheaper options are often more than good enough. Especially if you plan on using the clothing for just a few hikes.
Some of the stores that sell cheap outdoor clothing in Norway is Sport Outlet and XXL.
Sport Outlet tend to mostly only have cheap brands, and a lot of their stuff is pretty good. Sport Outlet also has some basic camping equipment, but their range is very limited.
As mentioned above, XXL is a big outdoor and sporing warehouse with a huge range of items, so you will definitely find everything you need, and there are both cheaper and more expensive options.
Renting camping equipment in Norway
Renting is finally starting to become more popular in Norway, and there are a few services that offer camping equipment for rent. The most popular one is called Hygglo, where you can rent camping equipment from private sellers.
I have not personally tried Hygglo before, so I’m not sure exactly how it works, but the basic of it is that you pay a certain amount to rent equipment for a certain number of days.
From browsing the website, it looks like most cities will have some camping gear for rent, but the selection is not that great. Maybe that will change in the future? That remains to be seen.
The website is only available in Norwegian as well, so it’s a bit of a hassle to try to rent camping equipment as a tourist in Norway.
Buy used camping equipment and outdoor clothing
If you want to buy used camping equipment or outdoor clothing, your best bet is to go to Finn.no. This is the number one website for buying and selling used items, and it’s pretty much the only website people use for this other than Facebook Marketplace.
Here’s a direct link to see all camping equipment for sale at Finn.no. There are over 20,000 items for sale as I’m writing this, so I’m sure you will be able to find most of the things you are looking for there.
With Finn, you buy things directly from other people, and there’s no middle-man. Expect to pay with cash, since regular people can’t accept credit cards. Most Norwegians pay with Vipps, but that is not available to foreigners who are visiting Norway.