The technology company Gearo aims to provide the widest assortment of rental gear online. And by combining the forces of many local retailers, it just might reach its goal nationwide.
You’re headed to Denver for a weekend from, say, New York. You want to rent a tent, a sleeping bag, and a mountain bike for the weekend and have some fairly specific wants. Where should you start?
Well, even without knowing all the local shops in Denver, there is now a single source that puts all those independent retailers on a single platform. It’s called Gearo, and it aims to make gear rentals simpler for consumers while supporting local businesses. Here’s how it works.
Gearo Gear Rental Platform
I first learned about Gearo in January. At a pitch event GearJunkie hosted in Denver, founder Justine Barone gave a sharp pitch as to why her brand deserved support. It made a lot of sense, and she won.
Essentially a tech company, Gearo provides an online marketplace for gear rentals. Just drop in your location and the gear you seek, and it’ll bring up a real-time inventory of all the rentals available in the area.
Gearo is hard-launching in Denver this month. The brand hopes to roll out future markets over the next 3 months, Barone said.
A quick browse through the site gives an idea of the breadth of offerings at local rentals: gear for camping, backpacking, hiking, paddleboarding, kayaking, river surfing, mountain biking, triathlon, skiing, snowboarding, and more are easily available.
Barone touted a couple of strengths of her platform. First, using Gearo helps support local businesses, as it gives smaller retailers and rental shops a voice online. Second, it allows those rental shops more time to prep your gear, simplifying the pickup experience.
“It’s an experience in itself renting from these retailers. It simplifies their workload, making it easier for them to spend time talking plans with the renter,” she said.
So if you’re heading to Colorado this summer and need some gear, check out Gearo. The new marketplace for gear rentals should give you the first step toward most any adventure the state offers.
