5 ms·

What a great company, always feel like they have good products, good sales, and helpful employees. Never regretted buying something from REI.

hueving 10y ago
Except for the insane prices for everything, sure. It's great for people with money to burn, but it's definitely not a good place to shop if you're into outdoor activities and not rich.
- dirtae 10y ago
  Where do you recommend shopping for outdoors gear that offers a significantly better value than REI? The gear at REI is not cheap, for sure, but it's also high quality. You can get cheaper gear at big box stores and discounters, but it will also fall apart more quickly, often negating the lower price. When shopping for gear, I look around and check Backcountry.com, Moosejaw, and other retailers, and on average, REI's prices are not out of line with those other shops. And, of course, if you pay full price for something at REI, you get 10% back as a dividend at the end of the year, and REI's return policy is very generous.
  - avar 10y ago
    A lot of mountaineering gear costs a lot, but lasts for a really long time. It's like buying a car in some ways. So your go-to solution should be to buy used. There's no shortage of people who bought an $800 backpack along with $2000 of other gear, who thought they'd be using them regularly, who later find out that they made a significant investment in a hobby they don't care much about. Unless you're swimming in money buying gear from those people should be your first choice. Knowing what to buy is also a huge factor. E.g. the market for backpacks is a bit like the market for racing bikes. You can easily end up spending 3-4x what you actually need because you're convinced that you need the latest & greatest. A bit like the weekend warriors who buy $4000 carbon fiber racing bikes to shave of a couple of kilos, which, unless you're competing, is a complete waste of money.
    - noir_lord 10y ago
      > A bit like the weekend warriors who buy $4000 carbon fiber racing bikes to shave of a couple of kilos, which, unless you're competing, is a complete waste of money. Heh, As a cyclist I see that a lot, I ride a Carbon Felt Z6 2012 which cost me £768 new (about half what it cost originally here) when the 2013's came out. I regulary ride with people who spent 5-8 times that on their bikes and go on about the weight savings (for reference my bike is often the same weight or at most 1/2lbs heavier), when I got the bike I was 245lbs, these days I'm 185lbs, the people with the 5 grand bikes are often a stone or two overweight...in terms of RoI skipping the cake would have been the way for them to go ;).
      - cdubzzz 10y ago
        Entirely off topic, but I love that this post mixes $, kilos, £, lbs, and stone.
        noir_lord 10y ago
        Welcome to the UK where the units don't matter.
    - Bartweiss 10y ago
      > A lot of mountaineering gear costs a lot, but lasts for a really long time. Precisely. REI has some stuff which is wildly overpriced - I wouldn't buy hiking shorts there. But if I'm buying climbing gear, no one will sell it cheap anywhere. REI dividends and a good warranty make the competitive, because I'm expecting to keep the gear for a decade or more.
      - weaksauce 10y ago
        They changed the return policy on climbing gear to be much shorter. The gear coop has pretty good climbing deals and a good selection and a lifetime return policy(iirc) just don't abuse it. Edit not lifetime anymore. Both places are one year.
  - Bartweiss 10y ago
    I think it depends on what you're getting. REI is very pricy for common or short-lifespan gear like hiking shorts - you can do much better with Backcountry or Sierra Trading Post. But for quality, long-lived gear (rope, tents, etc) you're not going to find it cheap anywhere at all. I usually end up comparing REI with Moosejaw + Activejunky, and it's a tossup which one will be cheaper. (If you haven't tried Activejunky, do. It's usually another 5-15% off while shopping through other sites.)
- matwood 10y ago
  I have a Traverse day pack that is > 8 years old that has been used almost everyday. I don't remember it being too expensive, and the quality has been nothing short of amazing. I wish every zipper I own worked as well as they have on this pack.
  - maxerickson 10y ago
    Are the zippers YKK?
    - matwood 10y ago
      Yes. They are oversized and use a mix of plastic and metal teeth.
- rconti 10y ago
  Insane? Most prices on their non-house-brand gear are about what you'll find anywhere else at retail, so a chunk more expensive than you can find online. Once you get your ~10% dividend back at the end of the year, it pretty much makes up the difference vs shopping online. Especially if you EVER have to return anything or rely on customer service. Unless your time is worth nothing... I absolutely don't buy everything there, but your time is often better spent doing that than bargain hunting.
- slantedview 10y ago
  They basically price stuff at retail. It's expensive because they tend to carry nice gear.
- gumby 10y ago
  I do think REI's pretty expensive, but it's midrange (see below). If you do a lot of backpacking, you find you don't really need much specialized gear anyway -- in fact you probably have a lot of what you need lying around the house already. So the overall cost isn't that high. So it was worth buying a very expensive winter sleeping bag for sub-zero conditions, but for the summer I don't even need a bag at all. I wear the same hiking boots for any long walk. When I say REI is "midrange": they are a great place to get basic stuff (I found the outdoors stuff at Dick's or Bass Pro to me cheap but mostly worthless crap). After the rebate, prices aren't bad and stuff tends to last a long time. They don't sell the super high end stuff (custom boots or sleeping bags) but the market for that is vanishingly small anyway, and like I said, typically you only need one or two pieces of expensive gear. My locally-owned discount camping place (Redwood Trading Post in Redwood City) is my go-to just because it's locally owned, but they have some clunkers (e.g. their ropes). One thing I've noticed is that REI do stock a lot of gimmicks (outdoor themed playing cards, heavy stoves for car camping, cheap knives) which I assume are the bulk of their profits. I haven't seen that stuff crowd out the "real" gear. Cabellas used to have really good gear too, but they couldn't make a go of it and the crud-laden Bass Pro bought them so we'll see what happens. Oh, and another note on "midrange": I am referring specifically to backpacking, cycling and skiing (though I don't buy ski/snowshoe gear there). I am intimidated by the rock climbing gear and have no way of knowing if it is crap or ultra-high end.
- calbear81 10y ago
  Their REI-branded stuff is a pretty good value and has consistently become better and better winning several awards annually in Backpacker's magazines Gear of the Year. It used to just be the tent (Half Dome) that was well regarded but I think this year, both the tents, their backpacking packs, and down sleeping bags are considered some of the best gear and usually 20-30% cheaper than the bigger name brands that they also sell. Also, I generally use my 20% member's coupon for things that never go on sale such as bear canisters and climbing shoes. For budget outdoor enthusiasts, I would recommend Walmart's Ozark Trail brand. You can find a sub-4lb backpacking tent for $30 on sale (which is still twice as heavy as a high end backpacking tent but costs $30 vs. $300). They put out a lot of decent gear but never the lightest or the most durable. If you want better quality gear but only clearance/outlet, try sierratradingpost - basically the TJMaxx of outdoor gear.

hueving 10y ago

Except for the insane prices for everything, sure. It's great for people with money to burn, but it's definitely not a good place to shop if you're into outdoor activities and not rich.

dirtae 10y ago
Where do you recommend shopping for outdoors gear that offers a significantly better value than REI? The gear at REI is not cheap, for sure, but it's also high quality. You can get cheaper gear at big box stores and discounters, but it will also fall apart more quickly, often negating the lower price. When shopping for gear, I look around and check Backcountry.com, Moosejaw, and other retailers, and on average, REI's prices are not out of line with those other shops. And, of course, if you pay full price for something at REI, you get 10% back as a dividend at the end of the year, and REI's return policy is very generous.
- avar 10y ago
  A lot of mountaineering gear costs a lot, but lasts for a really long time. It's like buying a car in some ways. So your go-to solution should be to buy used. There's no shortage of people who bought an $800 backpack along with $2000 of other gear, who thought they'd be using them regularly, who later find out that they made a significant investment in a hobby they don't care much about. Unless you're swimming in money buying gear from those people should be your first choice. Knowing what to buy is also a huge factor. E.g. the market for backpacks is a bit like the market for racing bikes. You can easily end up spending 3-4x what you actually need because you're convinced that you need the latest & greatest. A bit like the weekend warriors who buy $4000 carbon fiber racing bikes to shave of a couple of kilos, which, unless you're competing, is a complete waste of money.
  - noir_lord 10y ago
    > A bit like the weekend warriors who buy $4000 carbon fiber racing bikes to shave of a couple of kilos, which, unless you're competing, is a complete waste of money. Heh, As a cyclist I see that a lot, I ride a Carbon Felt Z6 2012 which cost me £768 new (about half what it cost originally here) when the 2013's came out. I regulary ride with people who spent 5-8 times that on their bikes and go on about the weight savings (for reference my bike is often the same weight or at most 1/2lbs heavier), when I got the bike I was 245lbs, these days I'm 185lbs, the people with the 5 grand bikes are often a stone or two overweight...in terms of RoI skipping the cake would have been the way for them to go ;).
    - cdubzzz 10y ago
      Entirely off topic, but I love that this post mixes $, kilos, £, lbs, and stone.
      - noir_lord 10y ago
        Welcome to the UK where the units don't matter.
  - Bartweiss 10y ago
    > A lot of mountaineering gear costs a lot, but lasts for a really long time. Precisely. REI has some stuff which is wildly overpriced - I wouldn't buy hiking shorts there. But if I'm buying climbing gear, no one will sell it cheap anywhere. REI dividends and a good warranty make the competitive, because I'm expecting to keep the gear for a decade or more.
    - weaksauce 10y ago
      They changed the return policy on climbing gear to be much shorter. The gear coop has pretty good climbing deals and a good selection and a lifetime return policy(iirc) just don't abuse it. Edit not lifetime anymore. Both places are one year.
- Bartweiss 10y ago
  I think it depends on what you're getting. REI is very pricy for common or short-lifespan gear like hiking shorts - you can do much better with Backcountry or Sierra Trading Post. But for quality, long-lived gear (rope, tents, etc) you're not going to find it cheap anywhere at all. I usually end up comparing REI with Moosejaw + Activejunky, and it's a tossup which one will be cheaper. (If you haven't tried Activejunky, do. It's usually another 5-15% off while shopping through other sites.)
matwood 10y ago
I have a Traverse day pack that is > 8 years old that has been used almost everyday. I don't remember it being too expensive, and the quality has been nothing short of amazing. I wish every zipper I own worked as well as they have on this pack.
- maxerickson 10y ago
  Are the zippers YKK?
  - matwood 10y ago
    Yes. They are oversized and use a mix of plastic and metal teeth.
rconti 10y ago
Insane? Most prices on their non-house-brand gear are about what you'll find anywhere else at retail, so a chunk more expensive than you can find online. Once you get your ~10% dividend back at the end of the year, it pretty much makes up the difference vs shopping online. Especially if you EVER have to return anything or rely on customer service. Unless your time is worth nothing... I absolutely don't buy everything there, but your time is often better spent doing that than bargain hunting.
slantedview 10y ago
They basically price stuff at retail. It's expensive because they tend to carry nice gear.
gumby 10y ago
I do think REI's pretty expensive, but it's midrange (see below). If you do a lot of backpacking, you find you don't really need much specialized gear anyway -- in fact you probably have a lot of what you need lying around the house already. So the overall cost isn't that high. So it was worth buying a very expensive winter sleeping bag for sub-zero conditions, but for the summer I don't even need a bag at all. I wear the same hiking boots for any long walk. When I say REI is "midrange": they are a great place to get basic stuff (I found the outdoors stuff at Dick's or Bass Pro to me cheap but mostly worthless crap). After the rebate, prices aren't bad and stuff tends to last a long time. They don't sell the super high end stuff (custom boots or sleeping bags) but the market for that is vanishingly small anyway, and like I said, typically you only need one or two pieces of expensive gear. My locally-owned discount camping place (Redwood Trading Post in Redwood City) is my go-to just because it's locally owned, but they have some clunkers (e.g. their ropes). One thing I've noticed is that REI do stock a lot of gimmicks (outdoor themed playing cards, heavy stoves for car camping, cheap knives) which I assume are the bulk of their profits. I haven't seen that stuff crowd out the "real" gear. Cabellas used to have really good gear too, but they couldn't make a go of it and the crud-laden Bass Pro bought them so we'll see what happens. Oh, and another note on "midrange": I am referring specifically to backpacking, cycling and skiing (though I don't buy ski/snowshoe gear there). I am intimidated by the rock climbing gear and have no way of knowing if it is crap or ultra-high end.
calbear81 10y ago
Their REI-branded stuff is a pretty good value and has consistently become better and better winning several awards annually in Backpacker's magazines Gear of the Year. It used to just be the tent (Half Dome) that was well regarded but I think this year, both the tents, their backpacking packs, and down sleeping bags are considered some of the best gear and usually 20-30% cheaper than the bigger name brands that they also sell. Also, I generally use my 20% member's coupon for things that never go on sale such as bear canisters and climbing shoes. For budget outdoor enthusiasts, I would recommend Walmart's Ozark Trail brand. You can find a sub-4lb backpacking tent for $30 on sale (which is still twice as heavy as a high end backpacking tent but costs $30 vs. $300). They put out a lot of decent gear but never the lightest or the most durable. If you want better quality gear but only clearance/outlet, try sierratradingpost - basically the TJMaxx of outdoor gear.