Favorite place to buy gear?

Where is your favorite place to buy gear? I moved to Thornton not long ago and I need to get more gear but I don't know where the best place to get gear around here is? I especially need to get a new pair of shoe's without spending a ton of money. Any idea's? It would be appreciated!

Go to any outdoor store close to your house. Between REI and Neptune in Boulder you should be able to find whatever you want. Bent Gate in Golden is also good but thats a bit of a drive for you.

I normally never buy anything from these stores, sometimes REI. If your looking for some new shoes, check to see if those stores have it, find the right size and order it somewhere cheaper online. Moosejaw.com is a good route to go. They give you points (just like REI) and they price-match as well.

for sale section on this site
Bent Gate
Neptune Mountaineering
Wilderness Exchange

Sometimes its hard to pass up the online prices but I prefer to support the local businesses that create jobs here in Colorado.

Bentgate.com!

IME Utah

Shameless promotion of steepandcheap.com. lately they have had tons of super nice gear like jackets and such, but nothing in terms of technical say rock climbing gear.

Wilderness Exchange

They have new and consignment gear. You can't beat it. Nice store, too.

I would check out coloradocrackgear.com We sell all things trad climbing!

For the record, stores know what you're doing when you walk in, try on very specific shoes, then walk out with a weak excuse for why you're not buying them, and they think it's super lame. Just support your local shops when you can (I'm broke too, so I know it's hard), and remember that local mountain shops keep way more climbers employed than online retailers.

With that in mind, I'd throw a shout-out to Mountain Chalet, because that little shop got me into climbing by being downtown (where I'd go window shopping as a kid), and by having a very awesome and supportive staff of real-live humans.

Mark Wyss wrote:I normally never buy anything from these stores, sometimes REI. If your looking for some new shoes, check to see if those stores have it, find the right size and order it somewhere cheaper online.

This is called "being a bastard." I know, I know. The free market and competition and blah blah blah. Maybe you and Ann Raynd can go tell jokes somewhere.

Oh, wait. She doesn't know any. Because she IS A ROBOT.

I'm sure if this were a real conversation you would point out in a shrill and sanctimonious voice that 'there was no contract' and 'they offer the service free' and so on. But the fact is that local store owners trust you to reciprocate their provision of that service with a purchase. You're right that there's no written enumeration of this contract. They trusted you! Silly them! You saved $3.04! You are the winner! You saved money! Money is the most important thing! You have the most money! You win! You saved the money!

Illegal? Of course not. Dick move? Of course.

-Bent Gate or WildyX for good service and friendly staff. Generally, Bent Gate for the selection and Wildy for the deals.
-REI for moderate quality stuff I'm just going to replace or because I have gift cards.
-I avoid Neptune due to bad customer service, attitudes, and stricter business policies. The selection is great, though.

Mark Wyss wrote:Go to any outdoor store close to your house. Between REI and Neptune in Boulder you should be able to find whatever you want. Bent Gate in Golden is also good but thats a bit of a drive for you. I normally never buy anything from these stores, sometimes REI. If your looking for some new shoes, check to see if those stores have it, find the right size and order it somewhere cheaper online. Moosejaw.com is a good route to go. They give you points (just like REI) and they price-match as well.

This post violates Rule #1.

Think about it, man. When you buy from Bent Gate et. al., you are supporting other climbers in your community...the guys and girls who work there...who really do climb, ski, etc.

You may pay a little more (not much, really) but it's an investment in your community.

Crag Dweller wrote: This post violates Rule #1. Think about it, man. When you buy from Bent Gate et. al., you are supporting other climbers in your community...the guys and girls who work there...who really do climb, ski, etc. You may pay a little more (not much, really) but it's an investment in your community.

But on the other hand if you want to unclutter the slopes and the cliffs, the best thing you can do is not support these stores, man.

Personally, I'm part of the not buying much gear movement lately. Mostly, I do resoles for the shoes and stick tight with the gear I have. But I do REI on occasion and a mish mash of whatever climbing shop I'm near. Locally, we don't have much options for gear, and I'm not furthering my support of the highly underachieving and unresponsive local gym by also buying gear from them in addition to my membership.

I do either Moosejaw.com or I buy from my local gym (they price match to an extent)!

Mark Wyss wrote:If your looking for some new shoes, check to see if those stores have it, find the right size and order it somewhere cheaper online. Moosejaw.com is a good route to go. They give you points (just like REI) and they price-match as well.

Rather than wasting the local shop's time by pulling this classy move, you should work within the market that you have chosen. Meaning - if you are going to buy online, use the benefits and resources available. If you want a new pair of shoes and don't know the size, (you should at least have a pretty good idea or call the shop for advice) order two/three pairs of different sizes (on your credit card so no cash outlay) and return the ones that don't fit. Most online retailers (Backcountry, Mossejaw, etc.) offer 100% refund and free return shipping. Now you got the shoes you wanted, and you didn't act like a clown.

As for supporting local business over the internet retailers makes one morally/ethically superior, please. All of the local shops mentioned in this thread have internet presence. Some buyers will always be motivated by price - nothing can be done about that whether its a small shop vs. online retailers or a small shop vs. REI. The value in the local shop is the shopping experience. If the shop hasn't figured that out by now and fails to demonstrate that value to each and every customer, then they have sealed their own fate. All too often shop employees don't embrace and invest in noobs, which provide large sales, great word of mouth marketing (if treated well), and will likely be return customers. People want guidance (see the OP) from people face to face, shops need to be that resource and sell it! An example, of the increasing trend in customers desiring human interaction - grocery stores are removing the self-checkout stands.

To the OP, you live in Thornton not some BFE town like Burlington. Drive the 15-20 minutes to Wilderness Exchange, ask questions, be friendly, and thank them that you got your shoes today rather than waiting for 3-day ground shipping and dealing with the hassle of returning.

I'm not necessarily hating on the online stores. I'm as likely to buy from them as a traditional store.

Some great points and honestly I personally would never size up all sorts of shoes in a store. I'm sure that is how my comment came across, understandably so considering that was the OPs next desired purchase, and that was what I was addressing. I know that is a dick move.

But this day and age why would one want to pay full price. I have done it recently at Bent Gate, etc. But its not because I want to support a local business. Recently I found a rope at Wilderness Exchange, $230, which was retail so that is expected. But when I went home, I found the exact same rope for $150 at Alpenglow Adventure. I wonder where I bought the rope. Would you really have paid $80 extra dollars to support the local business? Even the guys at the shop would laugh at that one.

There are countless great deals out there if you know where to look. Paying retail these days is ludicrous. But if you have the money to do so, by all means.

Mark Wyss wrote:Some great points and honestly I personally would never size up all sorts of shoes in a store. I'm sure that is how my comment came across, understandably so considering that was the OPs next desired purchase, and that was what I was addressing. I know that is a dick move. But this day and age why would one want to pay full price. I have done it recently at Bent Gate, etc. But its not because I want to support a local business. Recently I found a rope at Wilderness Exchange, $230, which was retail so that is expected. But when I went home, I found the exact same rope for $150 at Alpenglow Adventure. I wonder where I bought the rope. Would you really have paid $80 extra dollars to support the local business? Even the guys at the shop would laugh at that one. There are countless great deals out there if you know where to look. Paying retail these days is ludicrous. But if you have the money to do so, by all means.

In your earlier post, you suggested getting help from a local store to find the right product and then going home to buy it from somewhere else cheaper. That's why it's a dick move. You want the help of the local business but you don't buy from them.

Why go to the local store in the first place? If you're not going to buy from them, don't take advantage of them. Service doesn't come for free. And, that local business is providing a service that benefited you in your gear selection process.

An $80 difference is an extreme example. More often than not, the price difference is much less.

Summit Hut has been the most devoted grassroots local supplier I've ever had the pleasure of doing business with. They always contribute to our local cleanup efforts, Beanfests and other charitable events. Add that to a good return policy, good online store, two locations, knowledgeable and courteous staff and you have my business every time I need to buy something.

I agree with you that paying full price should not be about wanting to support a local business, the business should be providing value to justify your purchase.

While I understand not wanting paying too much for gear (indeed, it's the american way to expect to pay less than the actual cost/value of an item), there is value in paying full price at a shop - just depends on what the buyer perceives as value. As I mentioned before there may be value in the staff, but I also find value in my time. If it takes X number of days waiting for a deal to appear, X number of hours online to find the deal, and X number of days for shipping when I could have gone to the shop today and paid full price for the item to use it now, well that extra $$ was worth it - to me.

I wouldn't have bought the rope either, mainly because a rope purchase can be anticipated.

Joe, that is funny, the "american way" comment. I'm not being sarcastic, that made me chuckle a bit.

A lot of this talk is all about priorities. Everyone on this site has a different income and finds themselves in different circumstances all the time. For me, I am at a point in my life where If I can cut back a substantial amount on climbing gear then so be it. I know I am not the only one. Look at the marketplace here on MP for example, case in point.

I don't exploit the services of the shop employees. When I go in, I already pretty much know what I want, sometimes I just want to see it in person first. Try on the jacket or whatever. I always put the jacket (for example) back, zip it back up exactly how I found it. I don't ask for advice and really never need it cause I have already done plenty of homework (weight, materials, features, etc. etc.) beforehand.