Just outside Homer, tucked on a small hill off the Old Sterling Highway, a new, locally owned and operated gear shop has opened to serve and supply the community’s outdoor adventure and sports needs.

Old Sterling Outfitters opened its doors in January for a soft launch and celebrated an official ribbon-cutting on Feb. 15. On Friday, the walls inside the shop were lined with used and new gear options, including roller and ice skates, skis, baseball mittens, and outdoor clothing like wool jackets and wetsuits.

The store also offers a range of services, including repair and restoration of outdoor gear to keep items in circulation and out of landfills. Owner Dakotah Larson said the business is community-driven, and that it’s important that locals come in to tell them what would be the best things to carry. He also encouraged community members to bring in gear they’re not using anymore, so they can get other people to experience it.

“The whole gear trade part of it is super exciting, because people bring in the gear that they’re no longer utilizing, they get some store credit, and then they’re able to replace it with gear they want to use. And then the next person comes in and they’re like ‘Oh my gosh, look at this cool thing!’ And somebody else just had it in their closet.”

Larson said a lot of times, traded-in gear doesn’t even make it onto the shop floor before somebody else wants to buy it.

“Somebody will bring in a snowboard and I’ll set it up to price it, and somebody else will come in an hour later and say, ‘Hey, I’m looking for a snowboard.’ And you’re like, that’s fantastic, really serendipitous.”

Owner Kait Skundrich said the idea of the store has been “percolating for years,” ever since they moved to the area and had very little access to the gear for outdoor activities.

“We want to foster more active things in Homer and give people access to things,” she said in an interview on Friday. “Because how do you know if you want to kitesurf or paddle around on a surfboard if you have to spend $1,000 just to get one here? It’s pretty cool to introduce new things that people have been wanting to try but don’t have access to.”

Skundrich said the store will be carrying Alpaca Rafts and have the ability to accessorize and repair them. They also offer specialty services like ice skate sharpening and plan to expand into surfboards and kitesurfing, as well as dry suit gasket repair. Mechanically inclined people by trade (be it on fishing boats or building houses), Skundrich and Larson said it’s been fun to fix and repair items that might otherwise go to waste.

“We had a whole family come in yesterday — a mom, two daughters and a son — for the daughters to play softball. The mom and son were going to play catch with them in the yard, and they all bought broken-in, real leather gloves for the price of, like, half a new glove. And they all got to pick one that was comfortable and already broken in, which makes it easier to learn how to play catch. It’s just really such a rewarding store.”

A common misconception is that the store is located in Anchor Point; in reality, it’s located just off the Homer side of Old Sterling, about a 10-minute drive.

Old Sterling Outfitters is open weekly, Wednesday to Saturday, from noon to 6 p.m. at its location on 42443 Old Sterling Highway. You can visit them online at oldsterlingoutfitters.com.