REI

The place sells nothing but quality stuff and the customer service is the best you can get in the retail industry. Store in neat and clean and always has great sales. Great winter clothing store.

Since coming to Boise, this is pretty much the place we shop mostly with anything outdoors! From camping, hiking, biking, snow/​ski etc! They carry high end, great quality stuff that’s why it’s a bit pricey! It’s great to have a membership though coz you get some special discount every now & then plus they have seasonal garage sales!

REI is a great company and the Boise store has a knowledgeable crew always willing to answer questions and give friendly advice.
I purchased a hybrid bike a couple of years ago from them and were happy with their assistance in finding the right size and making adjustments for the proper fit. I’ve also taken it in for routine maintenance and have been happy with their service.
It doesn’t appear that Larry Craig comes in anymore. At least I haven’t seen him wandering the aisles.

Tried getting ahold of events director for several days. Even went into store to get help. Finally got a call back and boy were they rude. We work for a local non profit and tried to find information on their programs and how we could work together to help enrich area youth. Apparently it’s not in their job description or budget to be helpful.

In my search for the perfect rolling backpack for an international trip I ordered two backpacks online and had them delivered to the store. At the encouragement of my husband I also paid for a membership. The backpacks were estimated to arrive a couple weeks after I placed the order.
About a week into the wait I thought, «Hm. That’s weird. I never received a welcome email for my membership or any notification that my order was received.» I called the corporate number and they told me that I had entered my email incorrectly when I signed up. Okay, cool. I take responsibility for that. When they changed my email to the correct one I still did not receive a welcome email or any notifications in my regular inbox or junk folder about my order.
The day the store was supposed to receive the backpacks came and went. No phone call. No email notification. I called the store. After lots of confusion on the sales associate’s part (including comments like, «I’m not sure why it says they haven’t shipped» and «Oh, it says this order was partially filled»), they located the bags and told me I could pick them up. Oh, great, I thought. I will stop by next week when the craziness of school and work has settled down.
A little more than a week later I stop by the store and again there is massive confusion about where my backpacks are. The sales associate who finally looked up the order said, «Your order has been canceled.» Turns out, the one email I got from PayPal (not REI) said that I didn’t actually pay for them and that REI would collect payment when I came in to pick them up. Again, my fault for assuming that I had paid in full for the backpacks and they were just waiting for me to go get them.
Another sales associate (who at various times is also casually eating an energy bar or something while trying to help the first one) comes up to see if they are somewhere on the floor and finds just one of the backpacks I originally ordered plus the same bag in a different color. Resignedly I say that I will take the other color and when the sales associate rings it up, it is almost 190.00 MORE than the first bag, which is on clearance.
From beginning to end the whole ordeal has been a disaster of miscommunication and on top of it they are asking me to pay 190.00 more than what I had intended to pay for a situation that is not my fault. I ask if they can honor the price of my original order and the associate radios Brad the «manager» (and I use this word loosely) to explain the situation and ask for the price adjustment.
Brad simply says, «Nope.» Or maybe he didn’t say that. Maybe he said, «F off» or «Oh, hell naw» or «Pssshaaah!» I can only guess because Brad, in his role as «manager,» never came to me to apologize for the mix up or try to make it right. In fact, as I was surrounded by three sales associates (the one who helped me, the masticating one who found the backpacks, and another who had to figure out how to refund the cost of my membership), Brad walked by, saw that I was unhappy by the look on my face (which, by the way, I am proud to say I did NOT take out on anyone in the store — although I totally understand why there is yelling, fit-​throwing and general rage from other people in situations like this), LOOKED ME UP AND DOWN, gave me the side eye, then passed the whole situation by.
This made me instantly realize that I was not being treated as your typical REI shopper. Maybe I should have thrown a fit. Maybe I needed to look like I just rappelled off a mountain to get stellar service. Maybe I should have insisted. But it’s not my job as a consumer who was failed by a company to make it right. The sales associates were nice enough but Brad didn’t stick around long enough to have that conversation. As I was waiting for the associates to figure out how to refund my membership payment, I told them, «This whole thing could have been avoided if I received a phone call or an email from the store to let me know 1. That my backpacks had come in, 2. That my order had been canceled and/​or 3. That my backpacks were being put back on the shelf.» The only response I received was, «Yyyeeeeeaaaaahhhh… Sometimes we call people and sometimes we don’t, so… Sorry.»
At no point while I was in the store did anyone try to convince me to keep my membership or offer a solution about how to make it right. I called the Corporate office to complain about Brad and the entire debacle and even they could not honor the price I originally paid for the backpack that went missing. At best, they said they would communicate with Boise about my treatment in the store and offer a 30% discount on any full price backpack I did buy — which doesn’t even begin to the touch the cost I would have originally paid for the backpacks I found online.
This is the worst retail experience I have ever had. And I have been to Walmart in Florida! I will never shop at REI again and I will actively encourage my friends and family to never shop there.

Came here for a pair of hiking shoes for an upcoming trip to Yosemite (and for training in the meantime).
The two guys that helped me in the shoe department were absolutely awesome!
I explained what I was doing (training to hike half dome) and they were able to guide me to several shoe options to try on. Plus, they carry half sizes through women’s size 11! Not something I can find everywhere. And, they have a railed rock where you can try the shoes two steps up and down steep terrain.
I tried on at least a half a dozen pairs of shoes and they never seemed the slightest bit impatient with me. In fact, they were the complete opposite – happily helpful the entire time.
I don’t shop at REI frequently, but having a look around – I think that will change. They have a pretty sweet women’s clothing section with great workout and outdoor adventuring clothes. Oh! And, I scored a pretty sweet sun hat for all the training hikes (as well as the big day on half dome). Awesome!
Get to it!

When I wrote the previous review I called in to get the name of the woman that I worked with in the camping department. They told me her name was Holly which I questioned as it didn’t seem right. I ran into her again and found out her name was Julie. Just want to make sure Julie receives the credit for a great customer experience!

any outdoor stuff you need… go here! Just be prepared to spend a little more… its a bit pricey…

REI is great, easily the best outdoors store out there from casual campers who want quality gear to pros who need the best. An REI membership is more than worth it, and pays for itself with the dividend. However, this Boise location is not that great compared to the three locations I’ve been to in Oregon. Its tiny and just doesn’t have the same REI feel. The customer service is just okay depending on who is there here in Boise. I also am a bit spoiled not having sales tax in Oregon, which cuts deeply into my dividend, and keeps me from purchasing at this location.

They have the best selection of Hiking/​Camping backpacks in the Treasure Valley. I was able to find the perfect pack for my son AND it was half-​off. I would have given five stars if they had better selection on other items we needed. This has got to be the smallest REI location. The employees didn’t ask me if I needed help but I would have turned it down anyway. There was one employee helping out a girl also getting a pack and he seemed very doting.

Must admit, coming from Seattle, we’re spoiled with the Flagship REI. The Boise one isn’t even the size of a Walmart and we managed to get parking IN THE SHADE on a 90-​degree day, right across from the entrance on a Monday afternoon. Frankly, I was skeptical I’d find anything at all.
However, things changed when I met Matt in the shoe department. Last year I bought a pair of Scarpa hiking boots, and it took me more than 6 months, two sets of shoe inserts, countless sock combination experiments to figure out that the intense feet pain I experienced after every hike wasn’t due to my Edward Scissorhands-​like feet but the fact that my Scarpas were too narrow for me.
I’d done my research and found that Keen Targhees and Lowa Renegades were good for wide feet, and armed with this knowledge felt ready to do battle with REI’s shoe department personnel. Matt was right on his game, however, measuring my feet and determining that I’m a size 8 (not the 6.5 I usually am in regular shoes and in the Scarpas). He also seconded the Keen choice, as it’s a brand that runs wider. Then, he proceeded to teach me how to *properly tie* my hiking boots in two different ways, so that I don’t have to chaff my fingers pulling hard on the shoestrings every time I lace them up. So, like a little puppy that’d been kicked once too many times to the curb, I slowly started to trust REI and its staff again.
The extra star is given for REI’s over-​the-​top service. I’d brought the hated Scarpas in for an exchange, thinking maybe REI would give me $ 50 off on this new purchase, or a voucher — but they actually gave me a full refund, no questions asked (the original inserts weren’t even in the shoes anymore. I probably had them made into dolls and burned them in effigy for the great pain the boots caused my feet).
So, after walking into the store, expecting to butt heads with Customer Service and just wanting to try on hiking boots, so that I could buy them cheaper on Amazon, I ended up getting the boots (not on sale), a dorky hiking hat (not on sale), and a new backpack (on sale) at REI. REI Boise’s service more than makes up for the limited selection, and the company’s philosophy of giving back to the customers in dividends is what keeps customers going back.

I’ve always enjoyed REI, even though I find them a bit over priced.
I’ve been in this Boise location quite a few times and I get really annoyed. I get the vibe that because I’m young and probably look like I have no money, no one wants to help me. In the Spokane store (where I live), the employees are much more helpful. Sometimes I feel the need to beat them off with a stick. Not in Boise though, I practically had to beg to be helped. I hate that.
Other than that, its a nice store.

I love to shop at REI. They have things I want at generally reasonable prices, and great sale racks. But man, I can NOT get help in the bike shop at the one in Boise. I’ve been in there three times and hung around looking lost, to no avail. I’ve even stood at the service counter in that department and watched two employees have a conversation (in the back, but where they could see me) and was ignored for five minutes. I’ll be heading to a real cycling store where they want to sell stuff to me.

The store was very clean and the service was very friendly. We were looking for the toe shoes and they were out. But, the guy working the shoe department informed about why they were out (apparently they are very popular) and then told us how we could order them online and get them shipped directly to our house with free shipping.

You would think that REI would be the most expensive sporting goods store but I just compared their thinsulate pads, camelback hydration systems, and katadyne water filters. Better selection and lower prices at REI. Better service. And you gotta love the dividend. It’s a co-​op.
Plus this is a historic store. Larry Craig was accused or cruising some guy in here.