- Thread Starter
- #21
I've got some fond memories of REI gear circa 1971, making a couple day trip from PDX to SeattleLand.....in the days I actually enjoyed the abysmal traffic etc. The unusual adaptation to the available store floor space, the various departments where the sales people actually knew a LOT about the product & the art of outdoorsy stuff; the used boot department alone was worth the trek.
Shouldda seen it coming, for decades everything pointed away from 'rugged outdoorsy type' to just another type of boutique. And I refuse to put up with the malarky about NRA.
I became a member in 1965 when REI had just one store in Seattle. You could buy vibram soles for your hiking shoes; most of the hiking shoes available didn't have vibram yet. Back then the sales people knew more about the stuff they sold than most customers did. Now I don't think any of them are very knowledgeable about anything that doesn't use batteries.