Cabelas and Bass Pro take it to REI

[Bobbygun]

"...shooting a dear and, pfbbrt... putting its head on a wall..."

I made it to 1:15... and I'm proud of me today. Thats one minute and fifteen seconds of patience I showed someone with no clue about what they're saying...

What a d-bag. Somebody get this tool a happy meal and take his damn camera away...

Oh. Were we supposed to watch the video?

 

[Aero Denezol]

All of these chain stores suck.

REI though.. Any little moisture wicking t-shirt is like $129.. REI takes advantage of people who either 1. have way too much discretionary income, or 2. people who are too chickensh* to shop anywhere other than the mall.

 

[AshWilliams]

Man, if I'd seen that guy walking through Cabella's with his piece of cardboard and selfie stick, I'd have gone "What an ahole."

Yeah public places are full of these self-important a-holes now.

 

[Bobbygun]

I visit every so often since I have one close to me but rarely if ever buy anything

This is me. I've got several gift cards that I've had for quite some time, plus nearly $100 worth of Cabela's Bucks built up on my credit card. The last three times I've been in there (twice this calendar year) I've spent less than $50 total. I do watch for their sales flyers but haven't seen anything lately worth pursuing.

 

[3MTA3]

I was a member of REI back in the '70s when they were an actual co-op. They have changed so much from their original mission that I bought less and less and then they went full Eddie Bauer.

Eddie Bauer used to be a top notch outfitter you would choose for major expeditions or if you wanted high quality gear that was up for anything. The rich wannabees glommed on and then the real stuff slowly went away as they catered to their new brand label market.

REI went the same way to a large extent but still focused on outdoor gear. I became increasingly uncomfortable in their stores as I don't fit their increasingly snobby customer expectation. A few years back one of our forum members was treated badly by them as he did not fit in to the urban yuppie model so I resigned my near 50 year membership in writing citing why. Their response was to simply reply that my request had been granted. No reflection whatsoever on losing a near 50 year customer. Effem. There are plenty of other places to get gear.

 

[WAYNO]

Nearly 7 minutes I will never get back.

REI and Cabela's have different customer bases. Nobody took it to anybody. Being more expensive (I don't see it), does that mean REI sells a higher quality level of Chinese junk?


Never had any interest in REI. I'm not into designer hiking clothes, backyard tennis paddles, or backpack tents. G.I. Joe's did the same thing and also failed. And I now have little interest in Cabela's. Everybody's loss, my gain.

Defend whoever we want, the bottom line for me, is there are precious few brick and mortar dealers that sell what I want to buy, so most of my purchases are purchased online. And more stores will continue to fail. They still don't get it.





.

 

[raftman]

Unless you're after something pretty specialized, REI has always been stupid expensive. Was in the market for a travel backpack that would comfortably fit like a week's worth of clothes plus toiletries, etc. The closest fit was well into the hundreds at REI but found one for 20ish at a military surplus store, which 10+ years later and having been everywhere from the fjords or Norway to Death Valley is not any worse for the wear. Lots of people spend way more money than necessary. Guess maybe that's starting to change in this economy.

 

[osprey]

I agree with Koda. Both are overall pretty expensive but good deals can be had at both. Rei outlet is the place for bargain shoppers.

 

[Bacchus]

It's a good store to go have a look see.

Cabela's is a great place for a look-see! Even if their prices aren't Walmart level, I find they have a great selection and that is worth something to me also.

For some reason I am reminded of the year before Cabela's built near Marysville, WA. It was built adjacent to a Home Depot and a Walmart and a casino. There were some REI-types trying to stop it, claiming it would introduce "too much traffic" in the area.

 

[salmon creek gary]

Ah, got it now.
I mentioned camelback as a comparison...

Its true REI took away your Camelback choice, at their store. But its also true that Cabelas selling The North Face is financially supporting a company thats doing more than just supporting gun control. Why arent we boycotting Cabelas?

Is there a store anywhere that sells everything we want or need that only supports politics and social movements that conservatives do?

Notice that the title to this site includes the word "Firearms". I don't personally give a flying F about what other stuff and nonsense Cabelas politics about, so long as they don't go all SJW about firearms.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Never been a fan of REI.
Used to like Cabelas...before the take over by Bass.

With that said...
None of the three really carried firearms , items or gear that either worked well for me and how I hunt / play outside...or could afford.

At the end of the day...
I shop elsewhere or simply do without...and survive.
Andy

 

[Mark W.]

In high school in the 70's through college I was a REI CO-op member I still have the frame backpack I bought in 1975 its still in real good shape. I buy a few things there almost nothing at Cabelas there are other places to get what I want. I don't much care for either better then the other.

 

[Bacchus]

None of the three really carried firearms

Wut?

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Wut?

Welll....
If you were to read the whole sentence...and not just quote part of it...

None of the three really carried firearms , items or gear that either worked well for me and how I hunt / play outside...or could afford.

You would see that none of the stores carried firearms , items or gear that worked for me and how I hunt etc...
Not that they did not carry firearms.....
Andy

 

[oremike]

I posted this before but it seems relevant to this thread. I wanted a Speedy Stitcher (https://www.speedystitcher.com/) so the first place I thought would have such a common old school tool was REI. They kept bouncing me around the store and each time I asked for help they didn't know or hadn't heard of such a tool. But they all wanted me to become a member of the co-op. Some quite insistently. Why would I want to be a member of a place that doesn't sell the one product I want to buy there? Next was Hobby Lobby and no Speey Stitcher there either, figured it would be in the leather department but nope. Last was Calbelas were they bounced me around the store because "that sounds like something they might have in the hunting, dog, backpacking, shoe, camping or boating area". I bought mine on line from the link above. You would think a simple handy tool such as this would be in every sporting/outdoor store hanging off peg hooks right by the cash register between the gummy worms and beef jerky.

 

[Koda]

I posted this before but it seems relevant to this thread. I wanted a Speedy Stitcher (https://www.speedystitcher.com/) so the first place I thought would have such a common old school tool was REI. They kept bouncing me around the store and each time I asked for help they didn't know or hadn't heard of such a tool. But they all wanted me to become a member of the co-op. Some quite insistently. Why would I want to be a member of a place that doesn't sell the one product I want to buy there? Next was Hobby Lobby and no Speey Stitcher there either, figured it would be in the leather department but nope. Last was Calbelas were they bounced me around the store because "that sounds like something they might have in the hunting, dog, backpacking, shoe, camping or boating area". I bought mine on line from the link above. You would think a simple handy tool such as this would be in every sporting/outdoor store hanging off peg hooks right by the cash register between the gummy worms and beef jerky.

Sorry i couldnt help myself posting this...

https://www.rei.com/product/602118/speedy-stitcher-basic-sewing-awl-kit

 

[oremike]

Sorry i couldnt help myself posting this...

https://www.rei.com/product/602118/speedy-stitcher-basic-sewing-awl-kit

Fair enough, if I'd have waited until now they've heard of the product and even now have it in stock in the Eugene store. I wanted to fix my camp chair back then not wait.

 

[Koda]

Fair enough, if I'd have waited until now they've heard of the product and even now have it in stock in the Eugene store. I wanted to fix my camp chair back then not wait.

The problem is most employees these stores hire are hit and miss if they even know the gear they sell, let alone how to repair them. Not surprised you couldnt find anyone who at least knew what to look for, on their own website.

 

[Bacchus]

Welll....
If you were to read the whole sentence...and not just quote part of it...

You would see that none of the stores carried firearms , items or gear that worked for me and how I hunt etc...
Not that they did not carry firearms.....
Andy

I considered that interpretation, but with what I consider a very extensive firearms selection at Cabelas I disassociated that first clause with the remainder of the sentence because I didn't think it would be possible that they didn't have a gun that "worked for you. and how you hunt;" I figured you only meant "items or gear".

So ... what kind of guns did Cabelas not have that worked for you and your hunt? Something like a Hawken (Jeremiah Johnson) or a Sharps (Quigley) ?

 

[oremike]

I considered that interpretation, but with what I consider a very extensive firearms selection at Cabelas I disassociated that first clause with the remainder of the sentence because I didn't think it would be possible that they didn't have a gun that "worked for you. and how you hunt;" I figured you only meant "items or gear".

So ... what kind of guns did Cabelas not have that worked for you and your hunt? Something like a Hawken (Jeremiah Johnson) or a Sharps (Quigley) ?

I will say I have a hard time finding what I want a Calbelas and I like different guns than Andy. He's blackpowder guy more or less and I'm left handed. They won't even special order common models in left handed for me. Saying the guy that used to do that doesn't work there anymore.