Outdoor Equipment Retailers

Part of Recommended Outdoor Gear by Mark Verber

Discount / Closeout Deals:

• Sierra Trading Post: great discounts on seconds, overstocks, and discounted models.  Over the last ten years the majority of the clothing I have purchased as been 50-70% off retail through STP.
• campsaver.com:

"Big Box" e-tailers

• REI: Goliath retailer, also sells their own brand. Well done web site. The best return policy I have experienced. Dividend at the end of the year for co-op members. REI is the first place I look when I need information about a particular item. The only downside is that many of the part time sales associates are not that experienced in the outdoors. Most stores have a few people are serious outdoors folks. (REI Coupon Codes)
• MEC: Canada's equiv of REI.. I think MEC designs are better than REI.  Often a good value, especially when the dollar is strong
• Campmor: tend to have some of the best retail prices and a wide selection of items.  They almost always have a nice selection of decent second tier manufacturers at decent discounts.  In house brand items aren't great, but some are a good value.
• Backcountry: Reasonable selection.  Owner reviews.  Easy navigation and lists technical specifications.  Free shipping for orders over $50.

• Moontrail: Eclectic collection of gear with lots of good pictures.  Almost as good as seeing items in person if you are looking at tents. (was backcountry-equipment.com). I think their pictures are a great service to the online shopper. I encourage people to give them business as a way to say thank you.
• ProLiteGEAR: Bozmann retailer which has a lot of ultra-light clue. They reliability report weight of items.
• Only the Lightest: A nice selection of ultralight gear. They reliability report weight of items

Notable Stores in the SF/Bay Area:

• Down Works, 222 River St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, 831-423-9078
  Nick and Shelley are great.  They own the store and have been running it for years.  The store is small, but everything they carry has been carefully selected.  The best store in greater bay area for ultra-light or light-weight packers. They will do custom sewing work and have great relationships with a number of companies. For example they seem to be one of the first in line for new products from Western Mountaineering and know the founders of a number of companies like Osprey. Packs: Granite Gear, ULA, Osprey, Montbell, GoLite, and ArcTeryx.  Sleeping bags: Western Mountaineering, North Face, DownWorks brand.  Clothing: Montane, Montbell, Mountain Hardware, ArcTeryx, Black Diamond, Westcomb, and Integral Designs.
• Patagonia Santa Cruz, 415 River St. #C, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, 831-423-1776
  An outlet store with a minimum of 30% discounts, and an additional 40-50% saving around Memorial Day and Labor Day.  A block up the street from Down Works
• Sunrise Mountain Sports, 2455 Railroad Ave, Livermore, CA 94550, 925-447-8330
  Good selection of a wide variety of manufacturers.  Family owned and has knowledgeable staff, especially when it comes to climbing and alpine.
• Marmot Mountain Works, 3049 Adeline St, Berkeley CA 94703, 510-849-0735.
  Decent selection of a variety of manufacturers.
• Redwood Trading Post, 1305 El Camino Real, Redwood City, CA 94063, 650-363-2033
  Mix of outdoor activities and survival gear.  Nice, family owned place.
• REI: Mountain View  650-969-1938 / Saratoga 408-871-8765 / San Carlos 650-508-2330 / Berkeley 510-527-4140 / SF 415-934-1938
  Large stores with great return policy.  Doesn't stock a lot of ultra-light gear.  Berkeley store seems to have a better selection of items for light weight backpackers.

Other Parts of the Country

• Wilson's Eastside Sports: 224 North Main Street, Bishop, CA, 760-873-7520
  Knowledgeable staff. Good mix of manufacturers. If you are in Bishop, also stop in Mountain Light which is down the street just a block or so.
• Pro Mountain Sports: 5625 University Way NE, Seattle, WA, 206-522-1627
  Very small stock which is exclusively ultralight. Owner has a lot of  ultra-light packing and climbing clue.  Gives 10% of MSRP to compete with REI.
• Feathered Friends: 119 Yale Avenue N, Seattle, Washington, 98109, 206-292-2210
  Known for their down gear, also runs a small but well stocked retail store with knowledgeable staff.  Across the street from the Flagship REI.

Companies I Don't Use Normally

• Mountain Gear: Nice catalog with interesting selection.  I stopped ordering items from them because they don't indicate what is out of stock and can be quite slow in notifying customers that an item is back ordered and will take time to forfill.
• Hermit's Hut: Post advertisements offering "great sales" on user contributed forums when the prices are just slightly less than MSRP.  I call this spam.