REI commercialization

“Could this be a problem of perception?

Remember when you 1st got into this "sport"? You went into REI and spent 2 hours looking at packs, then went over to the stoves for an hour. Let's not even try to count how many tents you climbed in and out of. Oh, look at this gizmo! It's called a self inflateing air matress!

Now, years later, you walk into REI glance at the packs, curse that there are so many tents to walk around to get to the ezbit tablets.
Freeze dried food sucks! I know because I've tried them all.
How come they never have anything NEW?!”

“the REI near me are lucky to have 2-3 tents up. The other day it was one..a friggin 2 room car camping tent that stood 10' tall...lol”

“When buying my Roadster, one of the employees set it up with me. He was pretty excited because it was tent he owned as well. Told me all about his very rainy trip to the Olympics with it.
Any tent you want to crawl in, just ask, you can set it up and do just that. (It's also nice when buying to see how it sets up!)”

“Ewker, I wish they'd set up more tents as well. In their defense, tents take a huge amount of space, especially compared to profit per square foot. And they couldn't possibly put them all up.”

“pixie, I won't buy a tent from them..to expensive. Lots of better tents out there IMO”

“OH! Ewker, I only own REI brand tents. They rock! And they are not overpriced.
When I bought my Roadster, I did extensive research on solo tents. I compared sizes, reviews, prices, etc. I have a spreadsheet and everything... The Roadster was the one that was the lightest, had the most "sitting up" space and the cheapest price. The only one I liked better was the Seedhouse UL. But it was way too expensive.
I am the queen of online shopping. If it something can be found at a better price, I will find it!”

“I'm surpised folks setup as many tents as the do as well. When I hit a gear store with my 5 year old son I think we can all guess the first thing he checks out. I cringe. "Oh crap, that's a Mountain Harwear, go over to the Eureka if you want to explore!"”

“I used to own an ALPS tent... I really liked it too... *ducks*”

“"Oh crap, that's a Mountain Hardwear, go over to the Eureka if you want to explore!"

lmbo!!.. hehe.. ya son.. please don't touch the expensive stuff.. daddy would be really sad..

;)”

“Enjoy it while you can, dayhiker.

My boys are all over six feet now and don't wanna play with dad like that anymore.

Well, if she's a pixie how much sitting up space does she really need?”

“My wife and I were talking at lunch today about how glad I am that he enjoys doing stuff like that with me. It won't last long enough for sure.”

“One out of three, the middle kid, is my backpacker.

He's going along on the FYAO V.

At least I'll have next of kin handy to identify my frozen body.”

“My son has already been on a TT trip and lived to tell the tale. I want him to go to Sipsey week after next, but he's not quite big enough to keep up.”

“Sass-- you forgot that there is another REI in Troy, Michigan.

Thinkbubelz & I have been to both stores, we like the Northville one better because it has more of a selection.

The Troy one appears to be geared towards cyclists-- (I think because of the Velodrome (sp?) in Rochester.)

I've always found that the sales people at the Northville REI have been extremely helpful...

Generally, Thinkbubelz and I like to look and buy things "out of season" to get the best deals. We have EMS right by our house, but their selection and pricing doesn't seem to be nearly as nice as the REI (The whole store is probably 1/4 the size of the REI in Novi.)

Yes, we are still on the "newbie" side of things, but I love going to REI and checking out what they have... We are price conscious, so we also like to go to the "REI Garage Sales"... have been able to score a few deals there. (A couple of really nice jackets, a GPS unit, a perfectly fine stove... :-) )

I was lucky enough to witness their good return policy-- had a fanny pack for almost a year, and exchanged it for another, just because of a small problem with the zipper pull. I had bought it in Michigan and was exchanging it in Alaska. (Still in good condition.) They took it back-- no questions asked... Haven't tried to take back my "singed" gaiters though... That will be an interesting test!)

By the way, what's wrong with Grammaci pants? I've bought several pairs of pants and shorts for myself and Thinkbubelz-- (All on sale!) Most of them were synthetic, but what I liked about them is how comfortable they are.... :-)”

“Oh, and we love our REI Halfdome tent and the the backpacks we picked up on their clearance racks-- they got us through our Alaska trip and will hopefully last us many years in the future!”

“36 inches”

“Buy the workable stuff for outdoor adventures...and leave the yuppy stuff for the weekend warrior.

It's just a way to bring in more money, and customers for the store.

Later on, if/when the yuppies want to get serious....they'll pick up the real deal.”

“And if'n they don't, more clearance for us!”

“REI takes the fear out of buying gear. Hey, that's a pretty good ad line. Money is somewhat scarce for me, and I don't want to waste it, so I have amassed gear slowly, buying things that will last. At Rei, I know I can return it if the item breaks, wears out prematurely, or just isn't right for me after all. Clothes has been the last group of items on my agenda. We have cool summers here in Pugetopolis (Seattle), and I hike slowly, so all this "moisture wicking, no cotton" talk has always left me unimpressed. But my GF just went crazy at the recent clearance (one day before my birthday!), and picked me up some really nice technical clothing, all nylon/poly, but feels like soft brushed cotton. Also, she got me some winter boots, two parkas, and other stuff, all cheaper than I've seen anywhere else. Examples: Merrell Blizzard boots, size 14, two pair, $40 per pair. A Marmot Phoenix jacket for $50. A North Face parka for $100. Ex Officio Air strip L/S Niagara shirt, $20. Ex Officio convertable pants, $20 per pair. Regular retail total $1,100, final price, $318. All clearance items, and they had my sizes in stock, mainly XXL. What the heck is wrong with that? And with the new Lynnwood, WA (Alderwood) store being twice the size of the old store, why would I care that some space is given to things I don't want, like fashion-type clothing? Come to me with your complaints when they STOP carrying actual backpacking gear. PS- I never wear my good gear around town. It's too expensive to wear it out going grocery shopping. If I want people to know I'm a hiker, I just wear shorts. The rippling muscles of my tree-trunk legs are all they need to see. If only they would stop there, and not look up to my beer gut, beer tits, and bald head. lol.”

“I bought a bunch of rayon shirts a few years back from Meijer at the end of summer. They were about $5 each. I should have bought many more. They flap like flags in the wind.

BTW, if wicking is that much of an issue, hike without the shirt. Oh, and I like to dayhike in big 3X Cotton Fruit of the Loom T-shirts. My dad wore them. I wear them. And the big sweat ring shows how long the hike was. I make little ink marks noting the day and location of the hike. Hehe. Just kidding.

You can get these things at the Family Dollar 3 for $5. The funniest things is that some of them are irregulars. I have one that was apparently sliced right at about where my kidney is. Someone actually stitched up the shirt at the factory. I wear it and Kathy always asks me when I had the kidney transplant.

But, wicking is not just for hikers. I went to the Men's Wearhouse to get a tux set up for my wedding this summer.

Anyway, the thing is on June the 25th and I just KNOW it's going to be 100 degrees in Northern Wisconsin that day. So, I ask the guy if he has any wicking tuxes and tux shirts. Kathy starts laughing about my continual quest for wicking shirts. The guy just kind of looks at me like I've come from Mars.

But, really, they need wicking tuxes. REI should start selling them.”

“Oh, yeah, one more thing. The big, ripped-and-repaired Fruit of the Loom T-shirts are marketed under the "Oops" name brand. Do they sell "oops" brand at REI?

I also love how Fruit of the Loom is now starting to sell stuff under the initials FTL. That's kind of like when Kentucky FRIED Chicken started to sell FRIED chicken as KFC. Now everyone thinks they're eating healthy as they eat the chicken leg, cole slaw and mountain dew. Oh, and those corn bread muffins with margarine are sure tasty.

I suppose FTL will now be the height of fashion and I'll have to pay $10 for those ripped T-shirts.”

“Right on RL! Anmd guess what folks, he still hikes fast enough I have to trot next to him!!! Cotton is okay.

Pink, I didn't forget there's another REI in MI. I've never been to the Troy store and probably will never go there because it's not in my community. I have no need to go there; I have a store within 15 minutes drive from me. No sense in driving an hour instead, lol.”

“If you bought a decent tuxedo it is designed to wick moisture away from your body. Polyester lining with a worsted wool outer shell and satin lapels.”

“I had mentioned that I do window shopping online. What I mean by that is that I look online then if I see what I like I will go to REI to see it up close. Check the zipper, see how it works etc.

If I like what I see I will wait for a sale or buy last yrs version from some gear store or online.”

“Amazing - on page 5 and the thread is still basically on topic. What's wrong with you people???

LOL.”

“DeoreDX...
about Polyester suits.
My friends held an "ugly outfit" Mardigras party a few years ago.

I found a FLOURESCENT GREEN (and I'm not kidding, if you held a black light up to me I would have glowed) suit with BLACK AND WHITE CHECKERED LAPELS at the local Salvation Army.... I think I paid all of $3 for it....and it had to be 100% man-made, noone-would-have-ever-found-this-color-in-nature polyester....

Paired it up with a Polyester blouse in white, black flourescent green and flourescent pink poly blouse...

Came in 2nd place for ugliest outfit! LOL!”

“OK, it's taken me about a week to finally read this thread.

I still like REI. They continue to have all the gear I want. Yes, they have expanded the clothing somewhat, although really not all that much. They have also expanded in a couple other outdoor areas - e.g., they now sell kayaks 'n' stuff and a lot more bikes.

Every person at the REI closest to me has always been extremely knowledgeable about whatever I needed help with. One thing I noticed at this store is the dozens of photos of the staff actually backpacking, skiing, biking, etc. It's kind of reassuring to go to pay for your new tent and, while waiting in line, you notice the photo of the salesperson who helped you pick out the tent backpacking along the John Muir trail. So far, no photos of the staff members hanging out at Starbucks in their cotton shirts....”

“I haven't had Ham on Rey in ages.”

“

Already pretty hammy, wasn't he?”