Adventure 16 Outdoor & Travel Outfitters

Los Angeles, United States

4.7

Open now

20 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards

Contacts

QR code, vCard

Telephone:
+1 310-473-4574
Website:
www.adventure16.com
Address:
11161 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA, 90064
Sawtelle
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
860 ftExpo/Sepulveda
0.7 miWestwood/Rancho Park
0.9 miWestwood / Santa Monica (South)
Categories:
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Bussiness info

Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Accepts Apple Pay
No
Parking
Street, Private Lot
Bike Parking
Yes
Wheelchair Accessible
Yes

Today

Today 10:00 am – 9:00 pm
Open now
Local time (Los Angeles) 12:58 PM Friday, November 29, 2024

Business hours

Monday 10:00 am – 9:00 pm
Tuesday 10:00 am – 9:00 pm
Wednesday 10:00 am – 9:00 pm
Thursday 10:00 am – 9:00 pm
Friday 10:00 am – 9:00 pm
Saturday 10:00 am – 7:00 pm
Sunday 11:00 am – 6:00 pm

Description

Specialties

We specialize in top quality gear for mountaineering, climbing, camping, backpacking and travel. We have highly skilled associates who can fit you into your next backpack, outfit you for your upcoming safari, fit you into a pair of climbing shoes, hiking boots or custom Superfeet. We have a wide range of travel lugguage, accessories and travel clothing. In apparel, we do everything from down jackets to rain pants to hiking pants to dresses and skirts to run around town in. You will find a great selection of watches, knives, binoculars and GPS units, as well as a wide array of sunglasses. Tents range from bivvys to solo tents to family size tents, and we carry both synthetic and high quality down sleeping bags.

History

Established in 1962.

Adventure 16 has a reputation as one of the best outdoor outfitters in the United States. Our dedication to providing Customers with the finest products, first hand and accurate information, and plenty of inspiration, has guided us since our origin in 1962.

Adventure 16 began as a goal of some young Explorer Scouts whose leaders were involved in river running in the early 60s. Together, they set out to make 16 mm adventure films for a lecture series. In the process, their passion turned to making backpacks. By the late 60’s the hobby had become a business. In 1970, Mic Mead, an avid customer and active outdoorsman, bought and incorporated the company.

Now, Adventure 16 consists of four retail locations specializing in high quality gear for backpacking, hiking, camping, climbing and adventure travel. Adventure 16 offers inspiring slide shows and educational clinics at store locations.

Meet the Business Owner

John M.

Business Owner

John D. Mead, President Adventure 16. John started with A16 as a stock boy in 1972, graduated from the University of Idaho with a degree in Business Management, and became A16’s President in 1991. He was named the Outdoor Industry Retail Leader of the year in 1995.

John married his high school sweetheart, Cindy, in 1978 and together they’ve raised two now adult boys. Over the years he has been active in the Southern California community, serving on many non-​profit Boards. In 1997 he founded the Donate-​a-​Pack Foundation, which provides free new and used wilderness camping equipment to Southern California organizations that introduce disadvantaged youth to the outdoors. He is a founding Director of Mt. Helix Park Foundation, an organization that operates and protects an 8-​acre nature park in San Diego’s urban area. John is an avid backpacker and woodworker and also enjoys skiing and mountaineering.

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20 reviews of Adventure 16 Outdoor & Travel Outfitters

No registration required
Place rating: 5
Torrance, CA
5 stars. No doubt. The staff are very knowledgeable, and genuinely seem interested in where you’re going and what you’re doing. You really are shopping with their actual boots on the ground experience. The selection here is also great, you’ll find brands and items you won’t at the other outdoors stores.
Beyond the warm staff, the over all feel of the store is pretty awesome. It always smells great an there’s always a fresh pot of coffee awaiting you. Good Buys, Great People, Earthy Aromas.
Place rating: 5
San Diego, CA
Adventure 16 is more than just a store; it is a community and hub for outdoor enthusiasts here in Southern California. They support local environmental organizations and regularly put on events like educational clinics, presentations, workshops, swap-​meets, etc. A16 is 90% employee owned and it shows! The people that work here are genuine and really love the outdoors. They won’t try to sell you stuff you don’t need, but really want you to own gear that works for you. John Mead, president of A16 and son (grandson?) of the original founder, is a caring and passionate individual. He also founded Donate-​a-​Pack Foundation, a nonprofit that helps underprivileged youths to partake in outdoor wilderness experiences. Please support this local small-​business. I know many outdoor enthusiasts in the area who get all their outdoor gear at REI. REI is a good company and has economy of scale on its side, but it is businesses like A16 and the people that work there that create a sense of community and need and deserve our support.
Place rating: 5
Los Angeles, CA
this place is an adventure by itself!
the inside is quite awesome, you feel like you are in a cabin in a park. people here legit seem like they are going camping right after they exit the store.
they have plenty of items to choose from, probably the most extensive option in west LA or even farther.
Place rating: 5
Los Angeles, CA
This is the go-​to place for any new adventure.
The staff is incredible. The gear selection is top notch. And they stay true to their adventure roots, without being elitists.
Check out the website for seminars and events. All are low-​key and pressure free. And yes, I still shop at REI, but buy here when I can. Prices are similar, but A16 offers more knowledge and experience. And it’s much easier to park here than REI-​Santa Monica!
Highly recommend! Swing by and check it out.
Place rating: 5
Los Angeles, CA
Love coming here to purchase new hiking/​camping gear :) this is my Disneyland .
Staff is knowledgeable and very helpful. Everyone is kind and ask about your next adventure. Love it !
Highly recommended :)
Place rating: 5
Santa Monica, CA
The original outdoor store in LA. I’ve been coming to A16 for over twenty years now for many of my camping purchases. Whether it’s for a camping trip in the Sierras or some more extreme mountaineering this is the place to go for information and the best gear.
Don’t get me wrong I love REI and shop there as well but A16 has the best informed sales individuals and the best gear. If you want to have a detailed conversation about the right piece of gear for a certain type of outdoor experience come here.
Be forewarned though, I the place is addicting and my habit of browsing after I’ve picked up the item I need always leads to more purchases than I expect!
Place rating: 5
Brooklyn, NY
staff really helpful they had what i was looking for and the store is just cute to boot
Place rating: 5
Torrance, CA
Bought a hydroflask water bottle (Dec 2015) and I think it was defective. I noticed it wasn’t keeping the ice cold and melted quickly. I went on the hydroflask site and found directions to see if it works properly or not. unfortunately it failed the test and it said to take it to the store I bought it from. I called A16 to let them know and the manager brought up my receipt (thankfully I used my parents membership number! I threw the receipt away after I bought the bottle) She told me to just bring my bottle and let the employee know at the register. Because I only had my bottle for 4 months, they just exchanged it without any hassle! I drove through 405 traffic for literally a less than 5 min. transaction. but super happy with their customer service and transaction!
Place rating: 5
Los Angeles, CA
I joined a hiking group and had to buy a lot of camping/​hiking gear in a short amount of time. I hardly did any research on gear so I put my faith in the employees at Adventure 16 and I am glad I did! They went above and beyond to offer help to me. Everyone I spoke to was extremely knowledgeable and took their time to make sure I made the right purchase. They also offer a wide range of gear you can rent from them. I was happy with all the items I rented as well!
Place rating: 5
Los Angeles, CA
My favorite store !!! It just makes me happy to be here. They have good gears with good pricing. I love to go for their happy hours and presentations. Usually they have interesting talk by people working there on different topics, like hiking Catalina island. I also like the staff working here, super friendly always like to give you good suggestions. I can not recommend this place more !
Place rating: 5
Los Angeles, CA
Have gone to A16 for years, whenever I’ve needed maps, tiny LED lights, field guides, hiking boots, Superfeet insoles, outdoor clothing, trekking poles, camping gear, headlamp, leather conditioner, gifts, etc., etc.: paradise for nature lovers!
It’s not just that the store is convenient, well laid out, comfy to be in, always smells good (thanks to incense that gives it that piney-​woods fragrance), keeps hot coffee on (or in season, hot cider), and that everyone working there seems like they enjoy their jobs. They’re knowledgeable and genuinely nice people, and today the store manager Mark offered to go above and beyond to help solve a problem that was not the store’s responsibility.
IOW, they treat you like a person, not just a (potential) customer. And if you get on their mailing list, you get discount coupons and sales announcements, plus there are seasonal clearances worth checking out. All that, and they have occasional evening films and lectures to help plan your adventures.
Oh, and though their parking lot is small, there’s overflow parking in the lot across the street (behind the buildings that face Sepulveda).
Place rating: 5
Tucson, AZ
Adventure 16 is a really nice alternative for outerwear, camping gear, and other items that you would find at REI, without having to drive all the way to Santa Monica. Though the parking lot is small, keep in mind that there is «always someone leaving» and hopefully you will find an open spot.
With its spacious layout, this store is ideal for browsing and trying on clothing items from different brands. The sales people are also very friendly. When my boyfriend needed help finding a size, a nice employee offered to look it up on their online catalogue, specially order it for him, and said he’d get a notification when ready for pick up– exceptional customer service.
Additionally, there are lots of clearance items along the walls and some special racks with discounts for certain sizes. The back room is also useful to look around if you’re planning a backpacking trip: plenty of space saving travel kits, packs, water bottles, and other knick knacks that could come in handy.
A fun place to visit when planning or daydreaming about your next adventure!
Place rating: 4
Marina del Rey, CA
Huge selection. Great prices similar to what you’d find online, etc.
This place is a great resource for outdoor sporting enthusiasts.
Place rating: 5
Venice, CA
Where you come when you want to do some serious outdoors stuff. Or just to buy some great performance clothing.
Need something basic like a cheap swimsuit and know exactly what you want? If you go to Sport Chalet/​Sportmart/​Big 5 you’ll be fine.
But if you want quality gear for serious outdoors time, employee help, and better yet, help provided by employees with years of experience who actually use the gear, A16 is where you go. Or REI.
So what’s the difference between A16 and REI?
Well, REI is a big chain. Great stores, but still, a big corporate chain. Come to A16 and the employees take personal interest in taking care of you, spending as much time with you as you need. I feel like at REI they are always understaffed, the employees are helpful but they aren’t going to spend a half hour with you to help pick out your gear.
Still not sure what you want? They have a huge rental department, and they will even apply a lot of your rental fees towards your purchase cost.
At A16 they want happy customers and they will be there when you come back again. Same location since 1974!
Place rating: 1
Los Angeles, CA
Got here 2 mins b4 8pm to get some deet spray to repel all these bugs my friend tells me they have in Virginia and they’re closed???
Wtf, it’s not 8pm yet. Ahh.
Place rating: 4
Long Beach, CA
I was very impressed with Adventure 16s stock and sales folk. Normally an online, REI, and Sports Chalet, shopper– because it is more convenient-​I took the chance and drove 20 plus miles to this store for a critical piece of backpacking equipment I needed fast.
Not only did they have what I needed but plenty of other tempting things that the a fore mentioned brick and mortar stores do not normally carry. After a worker heard me grumble about price I was handed a coupon that eased the pocket book pain immensely.
I used my new equipment the next day for a 11 day backpack and it performed amazingly well. I am sorry there are not more Adventure 16 stores and hope they start selling online soon. I will definitely be a repeat customer and will spread the word regarding the good service and variety of sporting goods and clothing.
Place rating: 5
Los Angeles, CA
Everything you need as far as climbing, hiking, camping, mountaineering, travel, and more! I love this place because there’s a lot to look at but it will make you empty your wallet out at the cash register.
I’ve bought some button up shirts from here and the prices are pretty fair as fas as outdoor options go. It’s just about as big as REI but they have some better options for climbing shoes and camping gear. They also have pretty good options for clearance too.
The employees are very helpful and very friendly. It seems as if they are interested in helping you out to find what you need and I like that.
Place rating: 5
Bishop, CA
Great place, knowledgeable staff and great inventory of top quality gear and clothes. Some limited parking on site. Warm, friendly atmosphere.
And free coffee.
Place rating: 5
Los Angeles, CA
Not many places in LA to go for outdoor gear. I love adventure 16 because it gives me another alternative to REI. their parking is nicer as well. The crew is very helpful. I love how they have the tents already laid out on the floor for you to try out in person. I do wish their knives section was a little more extensive though.
I frequent this place alot.
Place rating: 4
Los Angeles, CA
Whether you are the outdoorsy pro backpacker or the amateur day-​hiker, this is your store. No wait, even better. This is your kid-​in-​a-​candy-​store store. That’s how wonderful and interesting and tempting Adventure 16 is for camp and hiking supplies.
I came in recently to buy my first-​ever pair of good hiking shoes. Sam was chill and helpful. He took my foot measurements, found 3 pairs of shoes for me to try on, and even helped me lace ‘em up. What’s great is I ended up with one of the last pairs of Patagonia hiking shoes since the company has stopped making shoes, so I came away with a discounted pair. Good on the store to have sample rocky terrain to walk on and try out the shoes too.
And oh yea — for Angelenos who panic and can’t find good winter coats in LA in March/​April but need to travel to the East coast or whatever, come here! Good quality brands at sale prices at this time of year. Also, by winter coats, I mean real winter coats that you’d wear only below 32 °F.