Second Gear was founded on the idea that enjoying the outdoors, and exploring all the adventurous activities it holds, shouldn’t always cost an arm or a leg – and especially NOT a whole paycheck! Back 20 years ago, before Second Gear opened its doors in 2004, and before there was an available Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace, there were nearly zero options for quality used gear. If you wanted to break into something new, you had to buy new – but how would you know that investment would be worth it if you eventually found that new hobby wasn’t exactly for you? 

Exploring one’s curiosity and finding adventure in our outdoors should never come with a roadblock, it should be affordable and more equitable for everyone – and that’s exactly what Russ Towers, Second Gear’s Founder, thought too when opening the doors to Second Gear over two decades ago.  

Drawn to wanting to get out and explore this world through cycling, Russ knew it was going to be an expensive endeavor, but what if it ended up not being the activity for him? Not wanting to blindly spend all that money, Russ wondered how anyone could ever try anything new with such a looming challenge in front of them. Russ knew he wasn't alone in his frustrations, and that’s when the idea for Second Gear started to really take form…

What if he opened an outdoor equipment consignment business, in collaboration with a team of adventure experts, that would help his community make exploring the outdoors finally affordable and equitable? 

It was a pretty great idea, and so many in Western North Carolina agreed. 

Now 20 years later, after a small idea became a big reality, Second Gear has now become Western North Carolina’s premiere outdoor gear and consignment shop – a special community driven space for anyone and everyone to be able to afford to try (or learn from our team) something new, upgrade gear on the cheap, and have a way to make back on a hobby that maybe wasn’t the one. Over two decades Second Gear has saved thousands of pounds of apparel and gear from landfills, helped just as many people find adventure in the outdoors, shared over $125,000 of profits to a wide variety of nonprofit organizations, and has paid out over 6 million dollars to our consignors through the resale of their beloved or gently used gear.