REI Launches Uncommon Path Print Magazine

Posted on October 11, 2019

REI has launched a new print magazine called Uncommon Path. REI is retiring its mail-order catalog and publishing the magazine instead. The magazine is the result of a partnership between REI and Hearst.

Ben Steele, REI's executive vice president and chief customer officer, says in the announcement, "Uncommon Path tells the stories of the experiences, the events, issues and ideas that shape the relationship between people and life outside. But those stories aren't limited to trails and peaks. They take us to parks and urban places closer to home, covering issues like climate change impacts that, due to dwindling resources and shrinking local newsrooms, are getting less and less press."

Uncommon Path will contain full-length stories about outdoor life and culture. It will also offer product recommendations and gear reviews. The first issue includes coverage of a bike ride through Atlanta with Civil Bikes founder Nedra Deadwyler. It also covers the landscape of the U.S./Mexico border and the eerie green glow of phosphorescent diatoms in the intra-coastal waterway of northern Florida.

REI is also supporting local environmental and outdoor coverage through a national matching-gift campaign called NewsMatch. REI's gift to local outlets will total $100,000 in 2019.

The quarterly magazine is available in REI stores and at select newsstands nationwide. REI is also mailing the magazine to its members. REI also provides some content from Uncommon Path online as part of its blog, the Co-Op Journal.