Oakland and Milpitas Gear Libraries are Closed

Oakland closure – May 17th 3pm to May 30th 10am

Milpitas closure – May 15th 6pm to May 29th 12pm

How to reserve the gear:

Our gear is available on a first come, first serve basis. To make sure you get everything you need, make your reservation ahead of time. The earlier you complete and submit an equipment request form, the better. This is especially true in our busiest months: June, July, and August.

New 48-hour policy regarding gear requests:

Any requests submitted less than 48 hours of a pick-up will be denied, regardless of inventory.  Adjusted gear requests must be submitted at least 24 hours in advance of a pick-up.

Oakland Gear Library:

1. Download the Excel-sheet form, fill it out, and rename it with your last name and the date of pickup. Here is an example: Smith 4-20.xls.
2. E-mail the completed Excel worksheet to Gear@bawt.org with the subject line “Oakland Gear Request – Name – Pick-Up Date”.
3. We will usually be able to confirm your request within 48 hours.
4. Come pick up your gear.

South Bay Gear Library:

1. Download the equipment request form. South Bay Gear Library’s Gear Request Form (download)
2. E-mail the completed form to Gearsb@bawt.org with the subject line “SB Gear Request – Name – Pick-Up Date”.
3. We will usually be able to confirm your request within a week prior to your scheduled pick-up date.
4. Come pick up your gear.

San Francisco Gear Library

The gear in our San Francisco Gear Library is exclusively used by our Camping at the Presidio program. When you book your CAP campsite, you will be able to also reserve your gear, which will be waiting for you at the campsite on your arrival.

Gear Library hours:

Oakland hours: 9am to 4:00pm, Monday through Friday*
South Bay hours: Mondays 3-8PM and Wednesdays 11-3 by appointment only, email  programs@bawt.org

Both the Oakland and South Bay libraries will be closed around the Wilderness Leadership Training dates, on weekends, and on major US Holidays.

*The Oakland gear library is now also open late Tuesday nights from 5:30 to 8:30 for volunteer hours and gear pick-ups/drop-offs! Please contact us at Gear@bawt.org or check our Events Calendar for specific dates.

Pick up:

Please arrive at the pick up time you’ve reserved. At most times, we will have your gear staged and ready for you. We expect you to count the gear you get and sign it off. This way we can be sure of the number of items you checked out, in case something is missing on return. The person picking up the gear should be the person trained by BAWT.

Drop off:

Please return everything clean in the condition you received it. If anything breaks, went missing or didn’t work well during the trip, let us know. When you return the equipment, we ask that you assist us in counting, folding and putting the gear back up. We also check the tents, which means setting them up. This is to make sure everything is clean, functional and ready to be taken out by the next group of youth.

Please familiarize yourself with the equipment use policies and procedures.

Please have a trip report filled out before dropping off the gear. We need that information to keep our operations running, so please take the time to fill it out!