REI Recreational Equipment Incorporated

This place is no bettern than Walmart. REI= Retarded Egotistical Idiots. Just another big box retailer trying to squeeze margins via volume & hidding behind Philosophy.

Unknowledgeable & Unhelp Staff who seem to be unmotivated because they make nothing and have been car camping or to a rock gym a few times a year.

Lack of Technical Gear. Just heaps of junk. Probably better to brave the other gaper climbing/skiing/outdoor stores around the area.

Remember folks:

Act like the salespeople are gods and they just might tell you where the cash register is so you can support their wages.

Also, once you're a member, you are better than everyone else (including other members).

Purchased skis & bindings at REI online & picked up at the Denver Flagship Store. Decided to get them mounted there. Big mistake. Ski shop rep wrote down wrong information regarding mounting specs we gave him, and Ski Tech mounted skis in the wrong location (not as specified) and ruined the new skis. No apologies and big headache.

In general, the store is a junk show. Arrogant representatives who show little knowledge on their products and who do not seem to have people skills. Big box store with nothing to offer except for car camping accessories.

Go to Bass Pro shop instead, besides they sell guns, without the Colorado transplant "holy than thou" attitude.

We never had to look far to find assistance. They had a great selection of all items, especially the ones we were interested in. Even if you don't plan on buying anything, REI Denver is a great place to go explore.

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I strongly suspect that god invented REI so that we could get the advice we need to stay alive on real rock.

Rock shoes, Aliens and harnesses excepted, you can buy almost all the climbing gear you want online nowadays without taking much of a risk. And sports stores being notoriously unreliable about stocking or even identifying gear (I've heard a sales clerk in Cincinnati call webbing "rope," and another tell me that his store didn't sell cordolette when there were at least five spools of it hanging right behind him), why bother driving to the store? I usually pay the shipping deal with it.

At REI, a few things happened that don't happen online:

We ogled an historic landmark. The Denver REI is in a restored Tramway building. It's really neat.

We also got to touch things before we bought them. Pretend to place the gear. Snap the gates on the biners. I could have tried shoes out on an indoor wall if I had wanted.

Most crucially (and coolly!), we talked to sales clerks who CLIMBED. Themselves. They didn't have a brother who once tried it or aspirations to learn or whatever; every clerk I spoke to climbed regularly on gear! So they could discuss the relative merits of passive versus active trad gear, the disadvantages of water knots in cordolette versus its advantages in webbing, and the having-fun-versus-pushing-it philosophies out there in the remote world of climbers. I was amazed.

REI sells camping, biking and kayaking gear, and lots of other outdoor stuff. I didn't ask about much outside the climbing & camping gear, but the workers are there because they love the outdoors (and they get a discount) so I'm guessing they are as knowlegable about other outdoor activities. If you spend any time in nature and you have the opportunity to visit an REI, stop in.

This REI is great in that you can test a variety of outdoor equipment before you buy it. When I bought my hiking boots to climb Fourteeners, I was able to see how they fit on uphill and downhill inclines.

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I really like this store. It is fun to buy from (if you have the money) or even more fun to look around in. They have pretty much every type of spor more...

REI is the best place in the world if you love the outdoors! It is a huge building downtown, with floors and floors dedicated to people like yourself! more...

If you're an outdoor enthusiast in any way, then you've probably visited this great store. It's more than a store--more like a monument (a hand's on o more...

I am a frequent shopper at REI. I have had quality customer service on many occasions. They do offer a wide selection of outdoor equipment for most adventures and the personnel is typically knowledgable & quick to offer hints, tips, advice and personal recommendations. I don't normally purchase the REI brand clothing or equipment but I have always been able to find the particular brand that I am looking for. The personnel does not steer you towards the REI brand - they give you the pros and cons of all the manufacturers. I would recommend REI for your outdoor activity needs.

Rei, a must see if you are to outdoorlife. You are the best.

Tina & Christoffer from Denmark