I thought this assessment was spot-on!

http://www.telemarktalk.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=28551

Too bad, as when I joined REI 20 years ago it really was a mountaineering co-op vs the trendy "lifestyle" outlet became a dozen or so years back.

I do most of business at Sierra Trading post.

At least the Anchorage REI isn't too bad, I was looking at canoes and got some moose hunting recon from the sales guy.

+1 on the Anchorage REI, I have heard stories about how much they dislike hunters but at this store I would bet that 25% of their customers are hunters. I can't help but spend a few hours every time I go in there.

Well, when it comes to REI in Roseville, CA and Folsom, CA they absolutly are the anti-hunting. There maybe someone working there that isn't, but they dare not say so.

This was about 7 years ago at the Roseville store, I went in to pick up some winter clothing for a deer hunt I was going on. Got all the stuff to the counter to check out, and the girl asked me if I was doing some winter camping. "I said in a way yes, going deer hunting in Idaho." She let out a gasp and rolled her eyes. So I asked to see the manager while she was ringing my purchase up. When he got there I told him the story and said "This is why I am not nor will I ever purchase any of your product!" I have walked out and never been back.

Sierra Trading post is great, just got an order from them yesterday.

Sactoller

huskyrunnr, Beautiful dog! I'll try to attach some picture of mine. Nikita is 3 years old, 93 lbs (AKC, went right out the door, when he didn't stop growing), and his favorite hobbies are turning logs into kindling, and eating the door knob off the front door of my house, if i forget to kennel him before I go out. -TomT

I don't go to REI to listen to their political views. I just go there to browse the clearance racks and hit their sales. To the tune of a decent dividend every year. Better deals can be had at other sources if you want to put in the time to search the interweb, but day in and day out, REI is a decent retailer. I don't see myself giving up on them anytime soon. Keep in mind that unless you restrict yourself to a very small set of brands, you'll be supporting people that disapprove of hunting whenever you buy outdoor gear. Bunny huggers are everywhere.

Sactoller - I was living just a couple miles away when the REI Roseville store opened in 2002.

Regards,
Scott

Wow, Nikita is gorgeous! 93 lbs is quite big, but she looks in trim shape to me. My females run 40-45 lbs. I have a slew of them but they're all special in their own ways. This girl is the most shy and gentle one and the only piebald. Dad was brown eyed, mom is blue eyed.

Typical yuppie take over of the outdoor supply places, if I can't get it mil-surp I will use Sierra, Cabela's or stay home. I will not support those yuppie places, in fact I would not relieve my bladder in their parking lot if the building was on fire.

It's not the same place I joined in 84 or so, that's for sure. It used to be that getting out of there without spending a couple hundred bucks was tough. Now I tend to walk out with a topo map and maybe one other thing. Sometimes they're the only place to browse good topo maps without driving to Metsker's in Seattle.

For camping and hiking stuff there is a trading post type of place by Lake Union. We go there a couple of times a year to get good stuff for decent prices. No matter what nearly every place that carries higher end gear with the exception of Cabelas is going to be stuffed to the gills with bunny huggers.

huskyrunnr. Thanks for the bigger pic. I couldn't see the brown/blue eyes in the small pic. She's a beaut. Nikitas actually a boy (named after the Communist Nikita Khrushchev....i'm not a commie or anything, i just like the name). He was the biggest of a litter of 6. I can't wait to show my wife the pic. of your dog when I get home.
By the way, sorry to hijack the thread, but i'm a sucker for huskys.
For my 2 cents on REI, I like Cabela's and Campmore and EMS (EMS-not hunter freindly) for gear (sleeping bags, clothes, tents, etc.) and Midway and Natchez Shooters supply (Natchez is in Tenn. i believe) for reloading stuff (dies, bullets, scope mounts, etc.). -TomT

+1 on that.
Bass Pro is another that if you shop the sales you get good deals. There are far too many retailers in the outdoor biz to allow yourself to compromise your principals by buying from one that is funding legislation against the recreational activities you enjoy.
MCS

you would just not believe how confusing all this is to a fellow from Florida. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />
I did a lot of research just to figure out what this was about.

In Canada the Co-Op is MEC,my # is 21xxx,it would have beeen 22xx,except our family used one card for a year or so.It does silence the clerk when you say "upstairs on Fourth".It's polite way of saying it's my Co-Op, latecomer.

I've wrapped several presents in topo maps; made envelopes and stationery, too.
I've no doubt that I'm sitting on a few dozen maps I'll never use again. It makes for a very 'outdoorsy' and unique package.