I love REI

[bill_schubert]

 Over 35 years ago I went into my first REI in San Diego.  I needed some cycling stuff and got it there and fell in love with the place.  Like LL Beans it is just quality.  I've not bought a lot of stuff there but over the years have bought a few items most of which I still have.  I've got a cycling nylon jacket I bought there about 20 years ago that I still wear.  I like it so much I bought another just in case the first one ever died.  The fun thing about REI is they are a membership coop.  As a member you actually own the store and if you buy enough you actually get dispersed income.  I have never really bought enough but am still a member.  Whenever I go there they look me up and update my record.  It costs them very little and I feel like they give a damn about me.

I decided that I need some compression socks for my plane ride to @susandennis land.  Likely I don't but it is something that is worth the investment to be certain (DVTs are not a risk I'm willing to take any longer). 

Amazon has tons of sock choices but according to the nurses who write reviews they are mostly crap.  Bombas has them but I waited too long and I wasn't going to pay for expedited shipping. 

Enter REI.  I went there IRL in Austin and the store is still quality top to bottom.  They have an excellent staff and all their stuff is the best.  Not the cheapest  The best.  I managed to get out of there buying only a pair of exactly the compression socks I and a sun shirt, long sleeve, with hood for walking dogs in the Texas summer.  Way too expensive for both but they will last the rest of my life so who cares.  I could have easily spent a lot more there.  After a while I stopped looking at all the stuff I really, really need.

And once again, my membership is updated.  From California to Florida to Texas and now to the right address in Texas.  

And the socks and shirt are perfect.  Exactly what I wanted and the IRL experience was actually nice.

Meanwhile lunch is done and I'm watering down in prep for a couple of hours of excitable fur!

Comments

[zestfive]

my wife just got a job there and we're so excited about the employee discounts and pro-deals.

[bill_schubert]

That IS cool. I hope she loves it. One of the things I enjoy about REI is the positive energy of the staff.

[msconduct]

REI is absolute crack. Here we have lots of outdoor shops because outdoor stuff is very popular, but because of the small population we never get all of an overseas range. Walking into an REI and seeing racks and racks of stuff is sheer heaven. My particular vice is rainwear - I can never resist buying just one more for a slightly different situation than all my other rainwear is for. To be fair I like to visit other countries when billions of other people aren't visiting too, and that usually means travelling in the rainy season.

The other outdoor shop experience I've loved overseas is visiting the Arcteryx shop in Vancouver. Arcteryx gear is ridiculously expensive, but it's fantastic quality. When we were out in driving rain in a Zodiac in Antarctica, I was the only one whose rainwear didn't let in water. Not only did the Arcteryx shop have everything in every permutation, they even had some things on sale!) Sheer joy. I also went to a great Patagonia shop in LA...hmm, I think I might be addicted to outdoor shops.

[bill_schubert]

Yeah, when I owned a sailboat I loved trawling through sail gear stores. Very expensive but quality stuff.

[mollywheezy]

I was going to recommend Bombas compression socks which are great, but you definitely don't want to pay for expedited shipping.

[bill_schubert]

Yeah, that was my first choice but 5-8 business days shipping (which is really just fine normally) puts it outside the window. And I would have missed REI!

[mrdreamjeans]

If memory serves me, there is an REI near where Susan lives. It's the only one I've ever been in ...