Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire LL Bean?

Back about 50 to 55 years ago. LL Bean was a great store and I did quite a bit of shopping with them. Now I shop with them very little. They have steadily gone downhill over the years and the reason is obvious to me. When i first started shopping with them at least 98 percent of their goods was made in the USA with about 2 percent being imported. Today only about 2 percent of the goods they carry are made in the USA and about 98 percent imported. Not surprised at the downhill slide to the point of no return!

I live about 35 minutes from Freeport. The hunting department isn't worth a damn mostly. Some decent guns to be had, sometimes. Mostly not anymore though. The hunting gear mostly sucks. Their upland clothing is decent. The fly shop has actually gone from terrible to pretty good now, a rare positive. Their prices are often higher than others. Warranty isn't what it used to be. I go every so often and paw over the guns and go to the fly shop. But that's it. Clothing isn't anything special, IMO.

Used to like LL Bean and Woolrich. Recent purchases not so much. The Eddie Bauer stuff is hit and miss. Recent jacket is top notch.

Brand loyalty for me is gone, consistent quality just not there anymore. I like seeing and trying on the wares before purchase. Tougher to do nowadays. Find myself settling for what’s available more often.

Net revenue in 2022 was $1.8 Billion. Someone must like them.

IME their outdoor clothing and gear are better than BPS or Cabelas. They don't have the selection, but I could get what I need from them.

None of the big stores like Cabelas or LL Bean can compete with guns or gun accessories. I can do better locally or online. But you only need so many guns. I wear outdoor related clothing year-round and even good stuff wears out. You could do a lot worse than LL Bean.

We were vacationing in Maine early last summer and I made a point to go into the Freeport store. I didn't find anything I couldn't live without, but did buy a T-shirt to commemorate the visit.

Hipsters.

LLBean is nice enough to support anti trapping legislation, so its a hard no from me. Same with Eddie Bauer.

We're not the ones who should be showing brand loyalty. It's the stores who should retain their quality.
I'll pay more for great gear if they would provide it. But Beans has continued to cut quality to try and keep prices down. And they fail to do that, sadly

I have a blaze orange/brown upland shirt from them that my bride bought for me several decades ago. I don't wear it a lot, but that thing is one of the nicest shirts I own. It'll outlast my burial.

Still wearing the Snowy River Stetson ($50) bought there on our 2002 trip to the store. Always looking for their khaki permanent crease and tailored fit slacks in the thrift stores here. I have some old good Duo-Fold from there that still keeps me warm when I get the occasional invite for a hunt. Bean’s Oxford Cloth cotton button-down collar shirts are practically indestructible in my experience.

I have a pair of their Maine Hunting Boots. They are comfortable and tough.

I like the.river driver shirts. And I have a Windstopper Waterfowl Sweater that I wear alot hunting. Probably 25 years old. Their clothes in general don't fit me well. But I like most of what I have bought from them. I wish Eddie Bauer would have stayed the course their stuff from 40 years ago was great.