REI has an extremely useful wedding registry program for outdoorsy couples — here's what you should know

• A growing number of couples are waiting until later in life to get married, and many live together before they do so. They may not need — or want — the traditional wedding gifts.
• REI just revamped its wedding registry with the objective of making it easier for couples to register for gifts they'll really use over a lifetime together. Find the details below. 
• We also have a comparison of some of the most popular wedding registries here, if you're still looking.

A growing number of people are opting to marry later in life. Many of them have chosen to live together before stepping into a lifetime commitment, and as such, have collected the myriad trappings of a shared life together already: plates, bowls, spoons, a robot vacuum ... the list goes on. 

What that means for wedding registries is pretty simple — it needs to be easier to gift things that match a couple's aspirations, values, and the kind of future they envision having together as partners.

If not every couple needs cookware and appliances to begin a life together because they already own them — or if they're not really the Waterford crystal glasses and silver gravy boat type — it should be just as convenient to gift them a double sleeping bag for their frequent camping trips. Or, in the place of a KitchenAid mixer, a portable burner, or a water purification system, etc. Some couples will want to prioritize gifts that make it easier to spend and enjoy time together outdoors.

For that, REI has revamped its registry to make it easier for couples and the people that love them to share more practical gifts as well as those curated for a shared adventure.

Here are a few of the perks to an REI registry:

1. No membership needed: Couples don't need to be REI members to make a registry, but we'd highly recommend it so you can stack the perks together.
2. Shop anytime, anywhere: Purchase registry gifts online, over the phone, or in person at any REI store. You'll also get expert advice in-store and online if you're unfamiliar with something and want a second opinion or guiding light. 
3. In-store mobile scanning: Scan in-store items using your cell phone to add them directly to your registry. You can also do it online. 
4. Easy shipping: Most orders over $50 ship free — seeing as this is often the benchmark for wedding gifts, most guests won't have to pay at all for shipping.
5. Return policy: In case you wind up with duplicates — or just have a change of heart — REI purchases can be returned within a year. 
6. Alerts on inventory level: You can receive alerts when inventory is low on an item, and when something is back in stock. Guests can also see inventory levels, so they can prioritize what to give. 
7. Extra savings on any un-purchased gifts: After your event, save 10% on any unfulfilled items from your registry.
8. Feel-good gifts: A gift purchase from REI should benefit the long-term health of the outdoors, so you can keep enjoying them for longer. As a member-owned co-op, REI annually gives 70% of its profits back to the outdoor community through dividends to REI members, employee retirement, and investments in nonprofits dedicated to the outdoors.

It also doesn't hurt that REI makes it easier to shop your (and/or their) values. In 2018, REI invested $8.8 million in 400 nonprofits across the country to steward more than 1,000 outdoor spaces. In the same year, the co-op launched a comprehensive set of product sustainability standards that applied to the 1,000 brands they carried, plus a set of preferred sustainability attributes — so shoppers can narrow the REI selection by attributes like "recycled materials" or "organic cotton" to find something that's made with resource-conserving practices.

REI gift registry ideas:

According to the co-op's top sellers, the most popular REI wedding registry gifts are the following: A $25 gift card, Yeti Tundra 65 Cooler ($350), The North Face Dolomite 20 Double Sleeping Bag ($160), the Suunto M-3 D Leader Compass ($44), and the Coleman Triton Series 2-Burner Stove ($85) to name a few of the top 10. You can find more wedding registry ideas here.

Sign up for your REI wedding registry here

SEE ALSO: Hydro Flask water bottles are lightweight, nearly indestructible, and just downright fun

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