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Teachers Can Get Special Discounts. These Are Our Favorites

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Teachers Can Get Special Discounts. These Are Our Favorites


Discounts for teachers are sought after for good reason. Teaching is a tough, important, and often thankless job. And with so many out-of-pocket costs for supplies and resources, even small savings can feel crucial. We’ve rounded up a list of exclusive discounts that educators can snag with their teacher credentials—so you can spend a little less time stressing out over full-price dry-erase markers and a little more time stressing about the kid who learned to swear over the summer. We thank you for your service.

Are you a parent or a student? You can usually score on discounts with a valid .edu email address as well. We’ve got a handy list of student deals, plus some roundups of Back to School Deals and Back to School Laptop Deals.

Table of Contents

How to Qualify

Retailers and service providers use various authentication methods to verify whether someone is eligible for faculty discounts. The website SheerID verifies teacher status and has a huge list of offers available to teachers. The same is true for ID Me. If you’re a homeschool teacher or a childcare provider, you may still be able to qualify for some of these deals and discounts. Double-check with the listed reward offerer for more information and details.

Tech and Apparel Deals

Photograph: Mario Tama/Getty Images

The Apple education discount isn’t just for students. Teachers can get 10 percent off Apple hardware. The company usually sweetens the deals in the fall. In 2025, you can get free accessories like AirPods or a Magic Keyboard with your iMac, iPad, or MacBook purchase.

Dell offers discounts to teachers for free, but the sign-up process is a bit confusing. You’ll need to sign in or sign up for a free Dell Rewards account. Navigate to your Membership settings, and then click “Verify Teacher Status” to verify through SheerID. You’ll get an extra 10 percent off select PCs, monitors, and accessories, plus up to 9 percent back in rewards.

Sign up for HP education discounts by verifying your .edu email address. HP says eligible shoppers can save up to 40 percent on select products, with “special discounts” for students, parents, and faculty. Find more HP coupon codes here.

Lenovo switches up its discounts on a regular basis, but students and teachers can get at least 5 percent off on top of any additional seasonal savings. Accounts are free and verified via ID Me.

Microsoft offers up to 10 percent off a variety of products, including Surface devices and accessories. Parents, students, and faculty are eligible.

Samsung’s program is for students, parents, and educators, who can get up to 30 percent off laptops, tablets, phones, and other gadgets. Usually, these discounts come in the form of extra percentage-based savings on already-discounted gear, but sometimes you can get additional storage for free or deals on bundled products. WIRED has additional Samsung promo codes you may want to check out.

Adidas offers teachers 30 percent off online and in-store orders and 15 percent off factory outlet purchases. Verification is completed through ID Me. You can find some Adidas promo codes here.

Teachers love Crocs, and who could blame them? (I also love my Crocs). They’re comfortable and fun to decorate. Verify your teacher status with ID Me to get 15 percent off full-price styles. (And yes, this includes Jibbitz).

Classroom and Supply Deals

Happy Planner open with notes taken next to pen and plant

Happy Planner

Courtesy of The Happy Planner

Verify your educator status through ID Me at checkout to receive 15 percent off your Happy Planner order. This company makes our favorite paper planners. Some are even designed especially with teachers in mind.

Educators and school staff can take 20 percent off one qualifying online purchase through August 30. You’ll need to join Target Circle (which is free) to redeem the offer. You can also get half-off a paid Circle 360 membership (usually $99 per year).

Verify your educator status through ID Me to get a one-time 20 percent off discount online. You can also get a one-time 20 percent off discount for an in-store purchase, though it’s unclear whether you can redeem both coupons or whether you’ll need to choose between them.

Educators can always get 15 percent off at Michaels, including on sale items. Aside from picking up the obvious arts and crafts supplies, this could be a good way to get a slight discount on things like baskets, prizes, plastic drawers, desk accessories, and decor. (Or very oversized coffee mugs.)

Educators can join this program to guarantee that they’ll always get the lowest possible price at Blick. In-store purchases are matched to online pricing, with shipping and handling costs included. You’ll also get an extra 10 percent off your order total. Note that you’ll need to sign up for this program in-store. You’ll also need to present your faculty ID in addition to your membership card to get the discount when checking out in-store.

Stacks of used books on a green backdrop

Photograph: DmitriiSimakov/Getty Images

Teachers can get 20 percent off in-store purchases at Books-A-Million by applying for the free Educator Discount Program. You’ll also get free shipping on your online orders, and there are extra savings during “educator events” throughout the year. You can apply for the card in-store or online.

Half Price Books gives educators 10 percent off year-round in-store purchases. Note that the discount doesn’t apply to online purchases.

Meijer’s teacher appreciation sale runs through September 7. Show your ID to the customer service desk and you’ll be able to save on school supplies, home office gear, cleaning essentials, and more. There’s a big list of eligible items on this page.

Teachers get half-off a subscription to Vooks, which are essentially animated educational storybooks with read-along text. The price drops to $3 per month or $50 for a year. Note that this membership used to be free, but this still isn’t a bad deal if you’re in the market.

Teachers are eligible to receive a free used book valued at $7 or less when they purchase four or more books at ThriftBooks. Eligibility and signup are completed via SheerID.

Sign up for the free Extra Credit rewards program to get 10 percent off your purchases.

Music teachers can get 8 percent back through Sheet Music Plus’ rebate program. The cash back is given back in the form of a Sheet Music Plus gift card. If you’re buying lots of sheet music, it’s worth checking out.

The Eduporium Educator Discount Program offers teachers up to 20 percent off. The marketplace has several STEM resources such as 3D printers, drones, coding tools, and robotics devices.

The website Teacher Wish Lists allows educators to make a wish list that may be fulfilled by random donors or members of your community. If there are items you’d like to have but don’t necessarily need, this tool may be worth a shot. Get Your Teach On is another popular teacher wish list aggregator.

Free Educational Resources for Teachers

A few websites compile free resources, from worksheets to posters to fonts. Check out Teachers Pay Teachers, Crayola, and Canva for examples.

Software and Service Deals

Closeup of a person's hands holding a smartphone that is displaying the Babbel app

Babbel

Courtesy of Babbel

This is nearly half off the normal cost of a six-month Babbel subscription. Babbel is our favorite language-learning app out of the many we have tried.

Eligible students, parents, and educators get 50 percent off Ableton Live Intro, Standard, or Suite license, or can apply the same percentage off to Live bundled with Push. This software is especially enticing for music creators, though if you’ve been considering uploading some fun projects to SoundCloud, it might be worth your while too. It’s the best DAW for DJs and live performers. You don’t need to be a music major to take advantage of the offer. Check out our guide to learning music online for more tips.

Students and educators can use a valid .edu email address to get free access to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and Teams, plus some Microsoft AI tools. There are free alternatives to Microsoft Office products, but if you use the suite frequently, this deal is worth considering.

Adobe Creative Cloud includes more than 20 apps, like Photoshop, Illustrator, Acrobat Pro, Lightroom, Firefly AI tools, and more. You also get 100 GB of cloud storage. It’s usually $70 a month, but students and educators can get it for $30 monthly with a free one-month trial. After a year, the $30 price raises to $40, but it’s still a good discount if you can’t access needed Adobe apps another way. This discount can be applied to monthly or annual plan purchases.

MacBook Air with M2 displaying Final Cut Pro X

Courtesy of Apple

This bundle includes licenses for Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, and more. It’s tailored to video and music creators and costs $200. Considering that Final Cut Pro sells for $300 on its own, this bundle is a worthwhile purchase if you plan on buying any of these software licenses individually.

Prezi offers a slate of tools used to perfect digital presentations. It can be integrated with Zoom and Google Meet, along with other services. Prezi has two educational premium plans for students and educators that cost either $4 or $8 per month (usually $7 or $19 per month, respectively).

Teachers can save on select phone plans and home internet plans at Verizon when they verify eligibility through ID Me. Phone lines start at $25 per month and Fios Home Internet starts at $45 per month. As is true with most mobile phone services, there are many terms and conditions. However, it’s still worth checking out, especially if you’re already a Verizon customer. These Verizon promo codes may also be of use.

Educators can provide their employee ID to get discounts on wireless services through AT&T. The discounts fluctuate often, but you can save on various phones, phone plans, and home internet plans. WIRED also has AT&T promo codes that may be helpful.

Verify your status with ID Me to get 50 percent off your first Home Chef box (up to $60), plus 10 percent off future orders. You’ll also get free shipping on the first box and free dessert for life. Home Chef is our favorite meal kit subscription service for families, and it’ll help a lot when you need to cook dinner after school and your brain is too tired to function. You can find more Home Chef coupon codes here.

Discounts on Magazine and Newspaper Subscriptions

We’re biased, but a year of unlimited digital access to WIRED costs $24 per year. Teachers can also get affordable subscriptions to The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, and more. If there’s a magazine or newspaper that you frequently read, you may be able to get a discount when you subscribe. It’s also worth checking your local library to see if you can get a free or discounted subscription there.


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The Best Deals From REI’s 2025 Labor Day Sale

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The Best Deals From REI’s 2025 Labor Day Sale


Isn’t it amazing how fast summer goes by? The kids are back in school, and it’s time for the annual REI Labor Day Sale. This year’s event kicks off today, August 22, and ends on Labor Day, September 2. Many items are up to 30 percent off, and REI Co-op members save 20 percent on any REI Outlet item. To get the member discount, add the promo code LABORDAY2025 at checkout.

We’ve rounded up the best deals on all our favorite tents, backpacks, sleeping bags, pads, cookware, outdoor apparel, and more. Many of the best REI deals are on the company’s house brand gear, but we’ve also pulled in deals from competing sales at Backcountry, Public Lands, and cottage industry retailers.

Updated Thursday, August 28: We’ve added new end of summer deals on Sea to Summit sleeping pads, MSR water filters, Zenbivy sleeping bags, a few new tents, a whole section of bikepacking deals, plenty of puffer jackets for winter, and more.

WIRED Featured Deals

Deals on Tents

REI tents are some of the best deals around, even more so during sales. If you’d like to learn more, see our guide to the best backpacking tents and best car camping tents.

Photograph: Scott Gilbertson

REI’s Base Camp tent is WIRED’s favorite car camping tent. It’s extremely well designed and proved plenty weatherproof in our testing. The traditional dome tent design, with two crossed poles and two side poles, holds up well in wind, and the tent floor is high-quality 150-denier (150D) polyester. There’s loads of storage pockets, double doors, great vents, and huge windows, making it comfortable even in summer heat.

The Wonderland 6 is REI’s replacement for the Kingdom 6 and looks to be, for the most part, very similar. We haven’t tested this one, but my almost 20-year-old Kingdom 6 is still going strong. For the most part, it’s made of the very same ripstop nylon used in the Wonderland. With plenty of mesh, this will have better ventilation than the Base Camp above, but the rainfly doesn’t come as low and the hoop design isn’t quite a strong. For summer camping, though, this is a great option.

The REI Half Dome 2 is the best budget two-person backpacking tent. We’ve toted it on many a backpacking trip and found it to be plenty sturdy, quick to set up, and capable of fitting two people and their gear. It even comes with a footprint (which I never bother with, but it’s nice to have it if you have to deal with prickers or pointy rocks). I really like the color options this year too, which blend in with its surroundings rather than stand out.

The Big Agnes Copper Spur series is our top pick for freestanding ultralight tents. This is a high-quality, well-designed tent that’s lightweight, easy to set up, and roomy enough to be liveable in the backcountry. The “awning” design (with trekking poles or sticks) is a nice extra and the mix of 15D nylon, and 20D ripstop, while to feels fragile, as held up well over time.

I’ve only spent two nights in this tent, but so far it’s my favorite solo freestanding tent. I like the generous amount of mesh at the top, which provides some nice ventilation on warm summer nights and is perfect for falling asleep under the stars when the weather permits. The Osmo fabric continues to live up to the hype, with much less water absorption than nylon tents in rainy weather, and there’s a good amount of room for storing all your stuff. The bikepacking friendly version, with shorter pole segments that fit better on a bike, is also on sale for $390 ($130 off).

Bikepacking is my favorite way to travel these days, and while you don’t have to have any special gear, bikepacking tents, with shorter pole sections, are easier to pack in panniers. They’re also nice when traveling by kayak or motorcycle, and they work just fine for backpacking too. The Sea to Summit Telos TR2 Bikepack tent is otherwise a clone of regular Telos 2-person tent. At 4lbs 9oz for the 2-person version it’s light enough and the floor area of 28.2 square feet is roomy enough for 2 with gear.

Deals on Day-Hiking Packs and Backpacks

Be sure to read through our guide to day-hiking packs. While we haven’t published our guide to ultralight backpacks yet, several of our picks are on sale right now and noted below.

REI Flash Air Backpack in gray with white grid and writing

Photography: Scott Gilbertson

I just started testing this pack this summer as part of an upcoming ultralight backpack guide. It’s very comfortable, carrying a 25-pound load without issue. I haven’t lived out of it for more than a night yet, but so far I like it, and it’s very reasonably priced. Interestingly, there’s a comment on REI saying that you’re better off going with the Flash 55 and just removing the top lid to save some weight. That’ll save you some cash right now, as the Flash 55 is also on sale for $139 ($50 off).

Nemo’s Resolve is a great pack that incorporates a low-waste footprint into the design. It uses solution-dyed fabrics, and eschews straps and buckles in favor of bungees and pull-tabs. This does make adjusting it fussier, but once you’re used to it and have the fit dialed in, it’s not an issue. The Resolve is a comfortable pack. While technically frameless, it feels like it has some structure. and it sits nice and high on your back. At 1 pound, 15 ounces, it’s also pretty light.

The Osprey Talon is perhaps the most tried-and-true day-hiking pack on the market, and for good reason. It’s light and comfortable, and the 33L capacity can swallow a ton of gear and haul it well. This 33L iteration weighs just 2 pounds, 12.5 ounces and sports 100D high-tenacity nylon that’s been coated with a non-PFAS DWR. Annoyingly, there’s no rain cover, but that omission aside, it’s a superb daypack.

Topo Designs makes some of our favorite bags, from the Mountain Cross, which Gear editor Jeremy White says is “best bag in the world”, to the Global Briefcase, which is on our list of the Best Messenger Bags. Neither of these bags, sadly, are currently in the 60 percent markdowns but many others are!

Sleeping Bag Deals

Whether you need a cheap car camping bag, or something more robust for fall and spring trips, we’ve got you covered. Be sure to read our best sleeping bags guide for even more options.

Grey sleeping bag on top of light blue inflatable sleeping pad both laying in the grass

Photograph: Scott Gilbertson

REI’s Magma line of down gear are some of the best deals around. The Magma 15 sleeping bag has long been an affordable bag that’s perfect for shoulder season trips when the temp potentially swing lower than you’re expecting (the comfort rating is 21 F). There’s three lengths and three widths, making it easy to get something that’s perfect for your body, and the 850-fill-power goose down (bluesign-approved) packs down nice and small. If you don’t need the shoulder season coverage the Magma 30 is also on sale for $262 ($87 off), and makes a great summer sleeping bag.

I’ve just started testing this as a budget option for ultralight quilts. So far, I’ve been impressed. Like the sleeping bag version above, this is 95 percent of what you get from far more expensive bags. It’s light (20.3 ounces for the medium), packs down small, includes straps to keep it on your sleeping pad, can be completely unzipped and used like a comforter, or snapped up in a proper footbox on colder nights.

The Boost is a hybrid bag that would work for backpacking, but it can also be adjusted to a semi-retangular shape to make it more comfortable for car camping. There are arm holes, which makes reading in it a bit easier, and you can reach out to open or close the “WarmZip” center zipper, which cinches down the Boost to make it more like a traditional mummy bag.

Crumpled grey sleeping bag on top of light grey inflatable sleeping pad both on the ground

Photograph: Scott Gilbertson

The “mummy” design of mummy bags is about optimizing for warmth, not comfort. But let’s face it, most of us are not sleeping in situations where our survival is at stake. Therm-a-Rest has addressed this with what it calls W.A.R.M. fit, which stands for “with additional room for multiple” positions. Indeed, this bag is very roomy for a mummy design. I was able to draw my legs up when side-sleeping and spread out considerably more than with most bags. If you toss and turn through the nights and don’t want a quilt-style bag, this would be my top pick.

The Siesta is our favorite sleeping bag for car camping. You really shouldn’t need to spend a lot of money on a sleeping bag for car camping. Should your best efforts to cocoon warmth around you fail, there is, after all, a car to retreat to. That’s why we love the REI Siesta Hooded 20—it’s plenty warm and affordable. The Siesta’s rectangular cut makes it a roomier, more comfortable bag, and the 20-degree rating makes it enough for three-season trips, and unlike most rectangular bags, the Siesta has a hood, which helps on those cold nights. We also like that you can zip two Siestas together.

The Zenbivy Bed (9/10, WIRED Recommends) is hands-down the most comfortable backcountry sleeping experience I’ve ever had. It wouldn’t be my top pick for extreme situations, but so long as your expected temperatures fit in Zenbivy’s range (the comfort rating is 35 degrees Fahrenheit), it doesn’t get more comfortable than this. The Zenbivy isn’t just a sleeping bag. It’s a sheet, hood, and quilt-style bag that can be combined in various ways.

Deals on Sleeping Pads

Good sleep in the backcountry can be frustratingly elusive, but one good place to start is with a quality sleeping pad. Whether you’re looking for the an ultralight, ultraminimal packing pad or a plush 4-inch-thick car-camping behemoth, there’s deals on both right now.

Inflatable sleeping pad with white top and red bottom

Courtesy of Nemo

This is our favorite all-around backpacking sleeping pad. The Tensor All-Season hits all the sweet spots. It weighs an acceptably light 18.2 ounces, provides a good 3 inches of padding, and has an R rating of 5.4. That works out to the best padding and R rating for the weight. It’s also mercifully quiet—none of that annoying crunching noise every time you roll over.

If you’re gearing up for a winter trip, this is a good deal on a great winter sleeping pad. The Tensor Extreme Conditions has the highest R value of any pad we’ve tested, yet somehow manages to pack down to about the size of a Nalgene water bottle and weighs just 21 ounces (587 g). It’s one thing to claim an R value in lab tests though—a subzero night on the snow in a Wisconsin winter was the real test. This pad performed extremely well. Paired with a Z-Rest (see below) and a –10F sleeping bag, it kept me toasty down to 4 degrees Fahrenheit.

Thermarest ZLite Sol

Photograph: Thermarest

The Z-Lite Sol weighs next to nothing (10 ounces for the small), folds up small enough to lash to the outside of any pack, and can double as a chair, extra padding on cold nights, table, you name it. I am too old and too soft to be the sort of ultra-minimalist who gets by with just a Z-Lite for sleeping, but I still have one around on almost every backpacking trip I take.

Sea to Summit’s Ether Light XT is a 4-inch thick ultralight sleeping pad—the ever-popular Therm-a-rest X-Lite is only 3—making it the best ultralight option for side sleepers. I also like the baffle design better than the Therm-a-rest as well, and it seems to be a little more durable. Note that this is an REI Outlet deal; the XT has been replaced by a newer model.

The big fat camping pad that started the trend of big fat camping pads, the Megamat is a revelation. Trust me, you have no idea how comfortable tent camping can be until you sleep on a Megamat (or a MondoKing, see below). The 4-inch-thick Exped MegaMat is soft and surprisingly firm thanks to the closed-cell foam inside it, which relieves pressure and feels about as close to the mattress in your bedroom as you’re going to get in the woods.

When I sold my Jeep I had to give up my overlanding dreams and return to being a mere camper, but this Megamat, which cuts in to fit around the wheel wells of an SUV, has brought some of those overlanding dreams back to life. I throw this in the back of my wife’s Rav4, and while it’s not a perfect fit (check Exped to see which vehicles are supported), it’s close enough that I can get a good night’s sleep in the car.

If you get a Megamat, get this pump to go with it. I love this pump not so much for the inflating (though that is nice too, it speeds things up), but for the deflating. You can get all the air out and the mattress back in its stuff sack in no time with this thing. It’s well worth the money, especially on sale.

Deals on Stoves and Camp Gear

We’ve filtered through all the camping gear deals to highlight our favorite camp stoves, water filters, and more.

Coleman 1900 Camping Stove

Photograph: Coleman

REI sales are the time to grab this upgrade stove. Sure, the basic version below gets the job done, but the cast iron burners of the Cascade are so much nicer and more durable. The griddle plate is also handy, perfect for cranking out pancakes. My only gripe is that I wish there were an option to get two griddles, as I find the grill not nearly as useful.

Walk around any campground in America and you’ll likely see dozens of these, for good reason. They’re easy to use, last a long time, and aren’t all that expensive. The 10,000-BTU burners are plenty to cook on just about any pan you have (I use cast iron pans on mine), and the electronic ignition means you don’t have to keep track of a lighter.

The MSR PocketRocket 2 is our top pick isopro backpacking stove for most people. It’s lightweight (2.6 ounces) but has wide enough arms to support just about any one- or two-person pot. It’s simple to use, even while wearing gloves, and it’s efficient—at sea level (OK, technically 947 feet), it boiled 1 liter of water in 3 minutes, 47 seconds. You can even get it to simmer, though the flame radius is small, so fancier cooking isn’t easy. See our next pick if that’s your goal.

If you want to cook in the backcountry, like legitimately cook with ingredients, not rehydrating food, the best stove I’ve tested is the Firebox Nano with the gas burner and diffusion plate. The Firebox Nano is a twig stove, so you have that option as well (I am fortunate to live somewhere I can use this feature), but with summer burn bans in many places, it’s really the gas burner and diffusion plate that are the centerpiece here. Together, they spread out the flame enough that cooking on a 10-inch pan is pretty much like cooking on my stove at home. This is a nearly miraculous achievement for a stove setup this small and light (8 ounces).

This is a backpacking must-have for me. It turns cleanup from a tedious chore to a couple of seconds’ work. I’ve even perfected cleaning burnt pans with it: Boil water in the pan to loosen the burnt bits and scrape them out. It’s not a massive savings, but you might as well grab one while it’s a couple bucks cheaper.

The word “ultralight” means different things to different people, and this pot may or may not qualify for you, but if you’re cooking for a group, this 3-liter pot is about as light as it gets. This is my go-to pot for family backpacking trips. The hard-anodized aluminum is sturdy and provides good heat transfer. The ceramic nonstick coating makes for easy cleanup (especially paired with the GSI scraper below). You can also nest the 2L version ($51) inside this one for more cooking options on the trail. If you want to go nuts with it, I haven’t tried it, but you can theoretically also nest the 1.3L version ($45) inside the 2L.

Image may contain Plant Vegetation Tree Land Nature Outdoors Woodland Jungle Rainforest Grove Accessories and Bag

Photograph: Scott-Gilbertson

The MSR Gravity Aitoflow filter is a must-have for backpacking with a group. All you have to do with this filter is scoop up 10 liters of water in the dirty water bag, attach the hose, connect your water bottle, and sit back and relax. The filter is good enough to keep you safe from all the usual protozoa and bacteria, and the flow rate is a solid 1.5 liters per minute when the filter is clean.

The MSR Guardian is our pick for trips with sketchy water sources because it filters down to 0.02 microns, which will remove even viruses. It is heavy at 22 oz. (617 g), and may be overkill for trips in the US, but it’s a great option for overseas. I really like that it’s designed to be self-cleaning, which makes field maintenance incredibly easy, and that it screws right onto a Nalgene bottle. Also, because it’s a pump filter it’s very fast, you can crank out a couple of liters in hardly any time at all. The gravity fed version is also on sale for $232 ($78 off).

Nemo Moonlite Elite Chair front view in the woods

Photograph: Scott Gilbertson

If you want to bring a chair backpacking, this is the one to get. It’s just about the lightest on the market at 18 ounces, and it packs down nice and small. Nemo also solved the main problem with all pole chairs: The included base pad keeps it from sinking in soft ground.

The thing to keep in mind when you shop REI brand gear is the company’s basic proposition: you get 90 percent of the designer item, for 70 percent of the price. It’s a strategy that works quite well and has generated some really great, affordable gear. This chair is a good example of that. It’s not as nice as the Nemo above, but it’s still comfortable (it does wobble a little, side to side when you move) and nearly half the price.

This camp chair is the coziest way to hang out around the fire. It is somewhat huge, heavy, and awkward to fold up and carry, but so long as you have room for it in your vehicle, there’s no better way to relax under the stars with your loved ones.

I’ve noticed that, when trying to lighten their load with a smaller, lighterweight backpack, people then struggle to fit all their gear. The answer for sleeping bags and clothing is this compression stuff sack, which smashes anything soft down to about half the size of the same item in a regular stuff sack. This works well with sleeping bags and clothing, especially puffer jackets, but also fleece and merino wool.

Deals on Outdoor Apparel

Looking for Labor Day deals on new rain gear or hiking clothes? We’ve got you covered with guides to the best merino wool t-shirts and clothing, best rain jackets, and best puffer jackets.

Patagonia jacket

Photograph: Patagonia

Patagonia’s Nano Puff series has been a hit since it launched years ago. If you want a technical midlayer that you can also wear around town, this is the jacket to get. The fill is synthetic, but it’s impressively warm and manages to stuff down almost like a down jacket.

Mammut’s 800-fill-power down Broad Peak IN hoodie stuffs down remarkably small (into its own pocket), weighs little for the warmth it provides, making it a good all-around puffer. The fill weight is 4 ounces, which I think is the perfect amount of down those active winter days with temps in the 20- to 30-degree range. It’s also light enough (13.5oz) to bring for cool evenings and mornings during shoulder season trips.

When the weather gets down well below freezing, and the wind makes your cheeks burn, this is the jacket I turn to. With a base layer at the bottom, wool sweater over that, then this jacket, I was toasty warm walking in the early morning chill of winter (usually –10 Fahrenheit in January). If you’re familiar with Rab (which is a much bigger brand in Europe), this replaces the Axion Pro. The shell is lightweight (20D) Pertex ripstop nylon that’s nicely windproof and water-resistant.

REI CoOp Rainier Rain Jacket

Courtesy of REI

The best budget rain jacket you can buy, REI’s Rainier Jacket is impressively waterproof and reasonably long-lasting for $70. The durable water repellent (DWR) is PFAS-free, but still pretty good. You also get taped seams and an adjustable hood, two nice features you generally don’t find in jackets this cheap.

Arc’teryx’s Beta AR rain jacket is one of the burliest rain jackets I’ve tested. The Beta AR uses 40D fabric for most of the face, with reinforced 80D patches in high wear areas, all of it with Gore-Tex Pro 3L membrane. It’s been the only Gore-Tex jacket I’ve tested that hasn’t wetted out yet, and the pit zips provide excellent ventilation. At 1 lb. 0.3 oz. it’s not the lightest jacket out there, but you’d be hard pressed to find anything else this durable at this weight.

REI’s Sahara Shade Hoodie offers UPF 50+ fabric (a polyester and spandex blend) to protect you from that high-altitude sun (or any sun). It’s soft and stretchy, so you have a good range of movement, and there are thumbholes in the sleeves to keep them from riding up and exposing your arms. The three-panel hood has a drawstring you can use the cinch it down and keep your neck covered as well.

Left to right Merino wool calflength sock  anklelength sock  and calflength sock

Photograph: Darn Tough; Getty Images

You can’t go wrong with a pair of Darn Tough merino wool socks. There’s a bunch of styles and colors to choose from, but remember to go with more merino than not if you’re hoping to get several days out of them. Anything over 30 percent nylon starts to smell quickly in my testing.

The awesome wool shirt from Fjällräven is about as northwoods as it gets. It’s also nice and warm and soft, at least on the inside; my kids do not like the outside.

Paddleboard and Kayak Deals

Paddleboard with 2 seats floating in water with a piece of land jutting out into the water in the distance

Photograph: Scott Gilbertson

This is my favorite paddleboard for lazy days at the lake. The LowRider Aero is large and stable, making it great for beginners. It’s surprisingly nimble and easy to steer too, with very good tracking ability. I also love the two-in-one kayak/SUP hybrid design, which means you can turn it into a full fishing rig with Bote’s various add-ons.

Oru’s foldable kayaks are genius—all the boat, none of the size. The Lake is light, reasonably fast, and the cheapest way to get into the world of folding kayaks. As with all Oru’s offerings, the Lake folds origami-style into a roughly 30-inch square that’s just 15 inches deep—small enough to fit in a car trunk or hall closet.

Deals on Bikepacking Gear

If you’ve got backpacking gear, and a bike, you can go bikepacking. All you need is a way to strap your backpacking gear to your bike. Below are some deals on our favorite racks and panniers to help you get started bikepacking.

Ortleib Quick Rack rear rack for bikepacking in black

Courtesy of REI

This nearly universal rack is easy to get on and off thanks to the quick release system. Thanks to testing bike I probably move racks more than most people, but it’s still nice to have a rack that’s easy to take off when you don’t need it. I clips into M5 or M6 mounts, but you can add a Ortlieb Thru-Axle M6 Connector (also on sale) to mount it directly to the thru axle if you don’t have any other ways to attach it.

These waterproof panniers pair well with the Quick-Rack above, though they are small enough to mount on your forks if you aren’t doing anything too technical. These have a combined capacity of 29L though they are on the shallow side at about 13-inches deep (that’s where bikepacking tents with shorter pole section come in handy. These are rated IP64 which makes them dustproof and waterproof against splash water. If you want something bigger, and completely waterproof, Ortlieb’s justly popular 20L Back Roller Panniers are also on sale for $150 ($50 off) for a pair.

I’ll be honest, I’d love to have a pair of Tailfin’s 5L fork packs, but they’re out of my budget so I get by with these Ortlieb fork packs. They’re slightly bigger than the Tailfin bags, and haul my gear just as capably, so I don’t know why I want anything else. They’re waterproof, lightweight, and swallow an impressive amount of gear and food for a 5.8L bag.



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The AI breakthrough that uses almost no power to create images

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The AI breakthrough that uses almost no power to create images


Numerical and experimental results of a multicolor optical generative model for colorful Van Gogh-style artwork generation, compared against the teacher digital diffusion model with 1,000 steps. Credit: Nature (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-09446-5

From creating art and writing code to drafting emails and designing new drugs, generative AI tools are becoming increasingly indispensable for both business and personal use. As demand increases, they will require even more computing power, memory and, therefore, energy. That’s got scientists looking for ways to reduce their energy consumption.

In a paper published in the journal Nature, Aydogan Ozcan, from the University of California Los Angeles, and his colleagues describe the development of an AI image generator that consumes almost no power.

AI image generators use a process called diffusion to generate images from text. First, they are trained on a large dataset of images and repeatedly add a statistical noise, a kind of digital static, until the image has disappeared.

Then, when you give AI a prompt such as “create an image of a house,” it starts with a screen full of static and then reverses the process, gradually removing the noise until the image appears. If you want to perform large-scale tasks, such as creating hundreds of millions of images, this process is slow and energy intensive.

The AI breakthrough that uses almost no power to create images
Experimental demonstration of snapshot optical generative models. Credit: Nature (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-09446-5

A light-based approach

The new diffusion-based image generator works by first using a digital encoder (that has been trained on publicly available datasets) to create the static that will ultimately make the picture. This requires a small amount of energy. Then, a liquid crystal screen known as a (SLM) imprints this pattern onto a . The beam is then passed through a second decoding SLM, which turns the pattern in the laser into the .

Unlike conventional AI, which relies on millions of computer calculations, this process uses light to do all the heavy lifting. Consequently, the system uses almost no power. “Our optical generative models can synthesize countless images with almost no , offering a scalable and energy-efficient alternative to digital AI models,” said Shiqi Chen, lead author.

The researchers tested their system on various images used to train AI models, including those of celebrities and butterflies, as well as full-color pictures in the style of Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh.

The results were comparable to those of conventional image generators, but were created with much less energy. This breakthrough has the potential to reduce the carbon footprint of AI-generated content significantly.

The technology could also find its way into a variety of applications. Because the system is so fast and requires minimal energy, it could be used for things like creating images and videos for virtual and augmented reality displays, or for small devices like a smartphone or wearable electronics, such as AI glasses.

Written for you by our author Paul Arnold, edited by Sadie Harley, and fact-checked and reviewed by Robert Egan—this article is the result of careful human work. We rely on readers like you to keep independent science journalism alive.
If this reporting matters to you,
please consider a donation (especially monthly).
You’ll get an ad-free account as a thank-you.

More information:
Shiqi Chen et al, Optical generative models, Nature (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-09446-5

Daniel Brunner, Machine-learning model generates images using light, Nature (2025). DOI: 10.1038/d41586-025-02523-9

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I Tested the Best Red-Light Therapy Masks for 8 Weeks Each

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I Tested the Best Red-Light Therapy Masks for 8 Weeks Each


If your skin is crying for help but you’re too tired to care, the best red-light therapy masks are the easiest fake-it-till-you-make-it hack around. You might have seen a wave of people on social media channeling their best Hannibal Lecter while wearing an LED device, like our top pick, the CurrentBody LED Face Mask Series 2 ($470). They’re not sipping Chianti but instead claiming that the wrinkles and fine lines on their faces have disappeared with the help of red-light therapy. There’s nothing wrong with aging (duh), but after seeing the huge rise in popularity of these skin care devices, we had to find out if the “anti-aging” technology behind them could make a big impact on your skin.

You can’t get the same effect with just any red LED from the hardware store. If the wavelength isn’t strong enough, it won’t penetrate your skin—sorry to the one TikToker sitting in front of a chicken coop heat lamp. After talking to board-certified dermatologists and testing several at-home devices, we’ve rounded up the best red-light therapy masks for every sensitive skin condition, budget, and lifestyle.

For more beauty and wellness recommendations, check out our guides to the Best Electric Toothbrushes, Best Hair Dryers, and Best Lip Balms.

In This Guide

Updated August 2025: We’ve added the HigherDose Red Light Face Mask as an honorable mention and LED devices to avoid. We also added more information about our testing methodology and updated prices.

Best Red Light Overall

  • Courtesy of CurrentBody

  • Courtesy of CurrentBody

  • Photograph: Nena Farrell

CurrentBody

LED Face Mask Series 2

The CurrentBody LED Face Mask Series 2 is a medical-grade, silicone mask. It also comes with a more secure strap—each side is shaped like a U, instead of using a single strap, making it much more secure. I can wear it and walk around if I like, without worrying about it slipping off, and the attached remote even has a little clip on it to hook it to your body.

This mask only has a red-light mode, though it does have three red-light wavelengths, while most others only have two. The three levels are red (633 nanometers), near-infrared (830 nm), and what CurrentBody calls deep near-infrared (1,072 nm). CurrentBody says the deep near-infrared lights are designed to target areas that will have more signs of aging, though you can’t tell a difference in the lights just by looking at the lit-up mask.

It also has more LED bulbs in it than most other masks, with 236 LED bulbs in total. It’s a powerful mask, but I didn’t see much different results than I did from the cheaper LED Esthetics, once again seeing my acne clear up quickly with fewer scars left behind and a good glow to my skin. It was noticeably more comfortable and easier to wear around the house, so if you’re looking for a red-light-only mask you can multitask while wearing, the CurrentBody Series 2 is a great choice. —Nena Farrell

Best Cooling

Image may contain: Computer Hardware, Electronics, Hardware, and Mouse

Courtesy of Shark

Shark

CryoGlow Red Blue and Infrared iQLED Face Mask and Under Eye Cooling

The Shark CryoGlow is one of the newest LED masks on the market and is a great choice for newcomers, since it holds your hand through the process. There are two main programs to follow—Blemish Repair, which uses a combination of blue light (415 nm), infrared, and red LED (630-830 nm) for eight minutes, and Better Aging, which uses just infrared and red LED for six minutes. It’s recommended to follow one program daily for eight weeks, switching to the four-minute Skin Sustain program afterward to maintain the best results. It comes with a handy controller that counts down your time remaining and also tracks your progress, plus the mask has a party trick of cooling under-eye pads that can be used in combination with the LEDs or on their own, to soothe puffiness.

During my eight weeks, I noticed patches of perioral dermatitis clear up much quicker than they usually would, and my skin looked plumper and more glowy. Most interesting, though, was going to an aesthetician who scanned the layers of my skin beneath the epidermis before and after the program and found I had considerably less inflammation and pigmentation after eight weeks, plus improved fine lines to boot.—Verity Burns

Best Vibration Therapy

  • Courtesy of Therabody

  • Photograph: Boutayna Chokrane

The TheraFace Mask has become my favorite excuse to sit still for 10 minutes (fine, nine minutes). Most LED masks stop at light therapy, but this one ups the ante with built-in vibrations that massage pressure points around your brows, temples, and scalp. It’s so soothing that I almost don’t care whether it’s transforming my skin (though I’d like to believe it is).





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