Station Agent
A Lending Library for Camping Gear

Congratulations, you’ve just been approved for a loan.

No, not for money. No, not for a library book.

It’s for a flashlight. And some chairs. And maybe a tent...

The lender: The Ranger Station, the newly launched gratis library of camping gear from the quirk-loving outdoorsmen at Alite Designs, taking reservations now.

Libraries: you know how they work. You come in, flash your library card, walk out with a well-thumbed copy of Tropic of Cancer. (And maybe, just maybe, a smile and/or a shushing from a sexy librarian.) This works like that, except instead of Henry Miller, you’re getting a backpack.

More accurately, you’re getting a clear, plastic box filled with the camping essentials: a tent (dubbed the In-law Outlaw), a backpack, some camp chairs and some utensils. Oh, and at least two inessentials: a camera stand and a tripod mount. (You’re alone, with a date, in the woods. We’re sure you’ll think of something beautiful and natural to film.)

How it works: reserve your kit via phone or email. Pick up the kit at their warehouse in Potrero Hill. (They prefer you do this on a Friday afternoon, but other arrangements can be made.) You return it, cleaned, on Monday.

We’ll assume you know a good tent-cleaning guy.