Europe Bound

this store seems to have a huge selection of stuff, i find that the pricing is about on par with mec across the street. the staff are friendly and very knowledgeable, which is handy, because trying to find some stuff in this place is a bit harder then expected. a good selection of great product, at a decent price, defiantly worth checking out.
clean store, street parking only unfortunately.

This place is an unorganized pig sty. The staff are arrogant and seriously unknowledgable in:
Customer service
Product knowledge
Product location
They will most certainly go out of business soon. There’s no way a business can withstand continuous bad reviews.
Crap! A retailer that provides credit notes on heat transfer paper is seriously fucking with you.

This place used to suck, but it definitely doesn’t anymore. They’ve reorganized the store and hired some new, helpful people. The prices are better than MEC and the staff were really helpful when we went in. I would definitely recommend giving these folks another chance!

By every rational measure, Europe Bound is one of the weakest of Toronto’s Outdoor Enthusiast stores. Oversized and understaffed, a shopper could probably take refuge in a display tent, unfurl a sleeping bag and survive for months on Cliff Bars and Gatorade without being disturbed by anyone who works there.
At least a quarter of the space is taken up by a ghost town of racks and displays for brands no longer carried in store. Another third is occupied by clothing and gear so far past deadstock it might as well be called Zombie-​stock.
And therein lies the fun, if you’re so inclined. Jackets from brands long deceased; ancient hang tags offer waterproof-​breatheability just this side of yellow rain slickers; a flame-​stencilled pair of Oakley Fives recalls days when Hulk Hogan meant nWo, not KKK.
Prices are ridiculous for items that would have been cleared out of Winners a decade ago, but if you’re the sort who frequents garage sales, or vintage stores, or the local Goodwill/​Salvation Army, you’ll surely get a kick out of the place.
Ever wonder what Bear Gryll’s place would look like if he were a hoarder?
Look no further.

Great location to price compare with MEC, but the store is so poorly organized. I felt very overwhelmed and distracted looking for things.
Prices seemed to be about average for the offerings, but I doubt I’d go in here again. Small businesses really underestimate the customer’s need for organization. I felt very uncomfortable amongst all the clutter.

The store is conveniently located across from MEC and often times offer the same products at lower prices.
Enter at your own risk because upon entering the store you’ll feel overwhelmed since the merchandise is organized and scattered everywhere on shelves, racks and container bins with not much walking room. Seems like they’re trying to cram everything into the store to cover every square inch of floor space.
Therefore, it can be very claustrophobic meandering through the store if you managed to even pass the first shelving units. Lots of racks as well that seems to be positioned strategically in the way of the aisles making it a challenge walking by if you have shopping bags with you.
The downstairs area is a little better, but only if you managed to reach the stairs leading to the lower level.
The place is definitely an organized chaos with some items that are placed in sections, but there’s sometimes no logic to the placement since the merchandise is just placed wherever there’s space.
It’s definitely a hit or miss with the staff as I have experienced friendly and helpful staff, but there were times where I was completely ignored and left wandering on my own getting lost amongst the merchandise.
If you like a good scavenger hunt with obstacles than this store is for you, otherwise go across the street where order is the norm and staff are always present and helpful.

I don’t understand this store.
It’s got so much high quality product in it. It’s like a treasure chest of great stuff. It’s got tall ceilings and second floor made of glass that doubles as the first floor ceiling and cool architectural cues. Upstairs it’s a sea of North Face, Canada Goose and other brand name winter coats. Prices are reasonable. This place has so much potential to be cool it should just be automatic.
But it’s a mess. It’s an unholy earthquake style spilled over disaster area mess. There is no flow whatsoever to the store and the front windows are covered in graphics so you can’t see what’s inside. There’s a cycling section that you’d never know was there because the store and the section are so messy. The jacket section as well. The sunglasses section can also be added to this list, high quality name brand sunglasses and it’s part of the landslide that is this store. It’s like they put all the store’s inventory into a cannon and left the stuff wherever it landed. Insanity!
The staff were largely indifferent, but I’ve only been here a few times and to be honest I like to be left alone most of the time while I’m browsing so this didn’t bother me.
But what does bother me is that there’s this store with awesome product that WOULD be one of the best in the city if it would just clean up its act. If there were better sign indicating where things were, proper displays for the higher end items and good use of the floor space this place would kick ass. But it doesn’t. I just don’t get it.
I won’t say don’t go. I wasn’t treated poorly and I don’t care that the staff barely acknowledged my being there. But it’s a shame to see what could be 5 star get 2.

I have been on a shopping spree for winter (getting new boots, jackets etc) and being the researcher I am, I stopped by here last week. First of all the store is a mess, very disorganized, prices seem higher than the competitors on comparable products and they have a limited selection. Customer service is o. k but not great. What is great about this place is its across the street from MEC, so you don’t have far to compare shop.
My advice, go to both stores and compare the products and the service together before making a decision. I am giving this place 2 stars because it could use a bit of a clean up and some competitive pricing…

I haven’t shopped at Europe Bound before but wanted to review the great customer service by Danielle.
She was human — very patient, attentive and empathetic to my coat search. She provided similar options and information about each coat. She gave helpful suggestions such as trying on a sweater to see how layering affects the fit.
She tried other stores to get a size I wanted.
She gave me space to retry on the coats and ‘leave me to my thoughts’; she was understanding and patient of my indecision.
There was no ‘sales pitch’ vibe at all.
There was no pressure and I felt she cared about getting me the right coat and being happy with it.
I ended up not finding what I wanted but felt good about walking away with no coat. I’m going to check back to see if they have what I want in their next shipment hopefully
Thanks Danielle!

So many great choices; so little time! Excellent prices, awesome service, and all of best, newest ideas. When you need something in downtown Toronto, this is the store. I bought stocking stuffers for my girl!

I have the craziest Europe Bound experience ever. My girlfriend once forgot her jacket there. We called the staff to ask if anyone had spotted it. They claimed they hadn’t see it. Eventually, certain it must still be in the store, she went to check. Walking around the store she found her jacket forsale; discounted of course, as it looked a bit dingy! Truly unbelievable. Welcome to Europe Bound baby! An «accident» I’m sure. Avoid this place at all costs.

I don’t know why people are so down on this store. They have quite a large range of things, and although they aren’t organized and clean like MEC, they also sell things that MEC doesn’t have.
The guy will also undercut anyone’s prices on things, so just ask if you found it cheaper elsewhere.
I come here for travel adapters, RFID card sleeves, and all those things that people sell for $ 15 elsewhere but are dirt cheap here (as they should be).
I must admit however, their Canada Goose selection is old and outdated, I’d rather go to Sporting Life or Queen Street for a wider range, but they do sell a lot of stuff. Don’t discount them.

I go here sometimes to get certain items that I can’t get at MEC. My wife bought a winter jacket here recently and we had great service. The other day I stopped in and had this misfortune of dealing with the general manager. Within 30 seconds of our conversation I felt rather put off. Some of the sales people are really cool. However the GM made me not want to every spend another dime in this store.

Terrible customer service. I just called to inquire about photos for a visa and all I got was «Yeah, we do any kind of photo here.» I ask for the price of the photos and I was told the address instead. I asked again. He told me. I said «Ok, thank yooou!» And he just hung up.
Great. That really makes me want to come in. After reading the reviews below, I see this is a regular occurrence. I think I’ll make my way the (dreaded) Eaton Centre to go to Black’s instead.
Thanks Europe Bound (for nothing).

If you are planning to purchase outdoor gear from Europe Bound, you might want to bring your water bottle and some trail snacks, because you may be in here for hours and hours.
This place does have all the outdoor gear you need, it just looks like it’s been through a hurricane.
This place is a disaster.
Consider it a test for your tracking, navigation, and hunting skills.
The sales people can point you in a general direction, but then you’re on your own.
The sizes are disorganized and as a small person, I really don’t want to sort through piles of gigantic people pants.
I hate shopping here.
I’ll say it.
I’ll say it again.
I hate you Europe Bound.
I’d be surprised if there aren’t mountain hippies lost or living under piles of stuff.
The only thing I like is that they carry Arcteryx jackets and Ice Breaker marino wool items.
Yes, there are different brands here than MEC. (I heart MEC).
But I can find these brands at Sporting Life (I double heart Sporting Life xoxo).
Farewell Europe Bound.
Good luck to all that attempt to shop here.

I been into this store at least 6 times per year for the past few years. Whenever I visit Mountain Equipment Co-​op (MEC) across the street, I think «let’s give Europe Bound another try». And then I step into the store and realize that nothing has changed. But that doesn’t stop me from taking a quick stroll around the store though.
Once you enter the store, you’re met with a huge disorganized mess of products. If you’re claustrophobic, don’t even enter the store. Sometimes I get dizzy within the first 5minutes of entering, then I leave. But then again, I rarely spend more than 10 minutes browsing before getting annoyed, then leaving.
They carry brands that MEC does not carry. Arcteryx, Mountain Hardware, Canada Goose, Northface, Outdoor Research, Icebreaker, Columbia, Marmot, etc. Some of these brands can be pretty difficult to find in Toronto. The selection is quite large (the entire top floor is clothing), but finding sizes and particular models can be difficult due to the disorganization. The prices are MSRP.
I have not found that staff are rude like some other people, but they are definitely not as knowledgeable as the MEC staff.
The fun part about strolling through Europe Bound is checking out the products that have been collecting dust and wondering how old the stock is. I’m not joking, you can literally walk around the first floor, swipe your finger across some of the products and have a thin layer of dust on it. You’ll even find products with boxes that are so damaged (maybe repacking, returns, people opening/​closing the boxes) that they look used. They also carry outdated travel books/​guides, if you’re interested in that sort of thing.
Please Europe Bound: organize this store, and sell any product that has been in stock for longer than 3 years. Then hire a student to fix your website (its really bad).
I feel embarrassed for the owner/​manager of this place. I’m not sure how this store survives.

My go to store for all things outdoor is usually MEC, but Europe Bound is conveniently located across the street. There isn’t much Unilocal love for this place, which I don’t understand, probably because I have not experienced the unhelpful customer service. In fact, I have experienced quite the opposite in all of my interactions with store staff.
Yes, the store is a mess, but it is packed with quality gear. You’ll find a lot of good stuff that MEC doesn’t have, including good brands such as Icebreaker and Smart Wool. The prices are also very reasonable, anybody who says otherwise is speaking crazy talk. I bought 100 ft of paracord here the other day for $ 8. You won’t really find better on Amazon (note: not the best paracord out there, but it’ll do in a pinch). The store is also much bigger than what I am reading here. It is 3 large levels jam packed with all of your outdoor needs. I wish their website was useful, unfortunately it sucks, which is why I will not go out of my way to visit the store.
Regardless, there are some real gems in EB if you have the patience to look.

If you’re claustrophobic I don’t recommend coming into here.
This place has a lot of equipment but it’s packed closely together and there’s barely any room to breathe. It’s not well organized and there are 2 levels, so it’s 2 levels of really crammed things! There is only 1 way to get to the second level and it’s via their stairs.
Now I would normally only give this place 2 stars BUT I have to give them the extra star because the staff were fantastic the last time I was in here.
A lady with a baby carriage asked if there was an elevator to go upstairs which a staff member said no unfortunately not and said most people leave the stroller downstairs and carry their baby upstairs but had no problem helping her carry the carriage upstairs. With that they carried the carriage upstairs. When she wanted to go downstairs he offered to help again and carried the carriage downstairs. That’s going above and beyond for your customers! The carriage looked like a tank.

This places gives me an anxiety attack. Stuff piled up to the ceiling … Half of it hadn’t been touched since 1986, so watch out for floating dust bunnies.
The last time I was in there, the staff was busy, hiding behind the counter … texting.

Every time I go to Mountain Equipment CoOp I feel sad for those poor souls I see walking into Europe Bound across the street. I feel like walking over to them to talk some sense into them. With a place like MEC across the street there is no good reason to set foot in Europe Bound.
Despite the name, Europe Bound is really an outdoor gear and apparel store. It is a cramped, disorganized, mess of a store. Most of the staff are friendly however the owner is rude and pushy and ruins any friendliness the other staff show. And, despite what the owner will claim, the prices are not cheaper than MEC. They actually have decent selection, in some cases better than MEC, but the experience of the place means it’s usually not worthwhile shopping here.
Two stories:
1. I once walked into Europe Bound with a MEC bag after shopping across the street. The owner was standing behind the cash and told me smugly «You could have saved 30 or 40 bucks if you had bought that here». First, dude didn’t even know what was in the bag. Second, I made a point of finding the three or four items I had in the bag in the store and in all cases the price was higher than at MEC. I’ve heard of this happening to other people as well.
2. My girlfriend and a friend of mine both rented sleeping bags from Europe Bound for a winter camping trip in Algonquin. They explained where they were going and how cold it was expected to be and they were given bags that were supposed to be rated to minus 30. In reality the bags were old and crappy and did almost nothing to keep them warm. Anyhow, they almost died and now none of us ever go to Europe Bound. The End.