The island special is that you get to pay full retail plus 10%.

Nothing is cheaper in Kona, at least for me. (I live in Taiwan; some things more $$ than US, others less, works out about the same)

The only thing I like to buy is some WC kit and I buy kona t-shirts for my teammates. (we have a tradition for this, so it's nice to build up a collection of different years of Kona shirts in addition to my finisher's shirts.

And in 2017, I did score a very good deal purchasing the slightly used Zipp 808s I had rented from racedaywheels. That was truly a good value as in addition to knowing the wheels were in great condition, they took off the rental price and provided a competitive used wheel price.

Don’t go expecting deals. Maybe you will get some free trucker hats or t shirts. All the major brands will be present, but very few offer compelling deals at the expo, etc.

If you are looking to leverage your Kona status and want a new bike, some brands might give you a good deal to help their count there.

i simply picked up some c02 cartridges....if you don't use them, you can return them for a store credit at BIke Works Kona..so I just traded them in for a few water bottles. I honestly don't think I purchased anything else!

Other than C02 I do my best to never "need" to buy anything. I always pack a tool kit and a bunch of spare parts - tubes, tires, cables, brake pads, etc, etc. in case of emergency.

As others have said, prices are high, inventory is low, and it's generally a bit chaotic. I know plenty of people who've been running around the island last minute looking for parts and it's a nightmare.

I would probably drop a chunk of change on an IM Kona polo, maybe a bike kit, and some other wear; e.g., souvenir stuff that you wouldn't find at home.

A lottery ticket..... to pay for the trip.

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I got a puncture on my first ride , stuck my spare on and was left with just a can of foam as my spare ,guess what I got another puncture !

I Finally managed to purchase a new tub for $125 ouchhhhhhhhhh and the guy in shop could see I was panicking about buying 2 of them ,so he kindly said if I brought my bike in he would fill my tubs with continental revo sealant .

So my advice take as many spares inner tubes & tubulars as you can borrow or afford before you travel

I went in 2015 to Sherpa for my cousin. Outside of the IM tent, I thought there were some good deals at the expo and much more so than any other IM expo. The general consensus was that they paid to haul all that stuff there, they would prefer to leave it than pay to haul it back home especially the annual model type stuff like the Xterra speed suits that were $100 (might have been less). $100 Rudy Wing helmets and deeply discounted glasses. The TYR tent has a lot of great deals and I picked up a new transition bag for $50. I also scored about a half dozen free trucker hats and visors from various vendors that I still wear today in addition to a lot of free samples of nutrition type products. There was probably a lot more stuff that I just didn't understand or know about since I was still new to the sport. I plan to budget a few hundred dollars to buy stuff I may not "need" the next time I go.