31–40 of 119 posts
What a great company, always feel like they have good products, good sales, and helpful employees. Never regretted buying something from REI.
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In California, dude is not gendered.
I've lived in California for 27 of my 41 years, about equally split between SoCal and Northern California, and I have never heard someone call a woman 'dude' without it being a mistake or a joke.
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You've heard the song, "Dude looks like a lady", right? It would make the title a lot less impactful if this was generally accepted.
You've heard the song, "A Boy Named Sue", right? It would make the title a lot less impactful if this was generally accepted.
I have a lot of appreciation for the fact that, despite how large the company has become, it's very clear that outdoorsiness is still a big part of the REI's DNA, especially with so many companies these days owned by private equity firms that seem to be most interested in milking their brands for all they're worth.
I especially appreciate this when I visit REI as a Canadian. Our REI 'knock off' MEC (Mountain Equipment Coop) was inspired by REI, but in the last few years has diverged away from enthusiast mountain equipment and a lot more toward urban oriented fitness activities such as running, yoga and cycling. I still like MEC, but I like how committed REI has been toward hiking, camping and more backcountry activities.
What a great company, always feel like they have good products, good sales, and helpful employees. Never regretted buying something from REI.
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.
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.
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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.
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…
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.
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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…
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 mo…
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 ;).
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I especially appreciate this when I visit REI as a Canadian. Our REI 'knock off' MEC (Mountain Equipment Coop) was inspired by REI, but in the last few years has diverged away from enthusiast mountain equipment and a lot more toward urban oriented fitness activities such as running, yoga and cycling. I still like MEC, but I like how committed REI has been toward hiking, camping and more backcountry activities.
That is a shame to hear. As recently as 2011 I thought that MEC's house brand gear was much higher quality and had better design and features than REI's house brand. The MEC stuff I bought was comparable to some of that made by more specialist outdoor manufacturers and was a fraction of the price. I still have most of it, and the things I gave away are still in use. I think REI very much caters to the car camper and…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
In California, dude is not gendered.
I've lived in California for 27 of my 41 years, about equally split between SoCal and Northern California, and I have never heard someone call a woman 'dude' without it being a mistake or a joke.
[1] https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/11/dude-tr...