Eastern Mountain Sports Online Store: Almost As Much Fun As Shopping in North Conway
Written: May 31 '04 (Updated Nov 07 '04)
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I visit New Hampshire regularly. My kids go skiing at Attitash Bear Peak during the winter. What’s nice is that while they are being tended to in the ski program, Mom has time to browse the stores in nearby North Conway. That’s how I stumbled onto Eastern Mountain Sports.
Based in Peterborough, New Hampshire, there are quite a few Eastern Mountain Sports stores throughout the northeast and central Atlantic states, plus locations in Michigan and Colorado. In fact, it was in doing research for this review that I found out that there’s a store not terribly far from my own home.
In addition to their own line of specialty outdoor products, Eastern Mountain Sports sells such name brands as Patagonia, Teva, Kelty, The North Face, Vasque, Gregory, Merrell, Sierra Designs, Columbia, and Eagle Creek. In talking with the staff at the physical store in North Conway, I picked up a lot of tips and pointers.
When discussing the camping trip we were taking for Memorial Day weekend, some of the discussions I’d had with the staff came back to me and I decided I needed certain products I’d seen while in the North Conway store back in January. I visited the website in hopes of finding the items that I’d seen and now decided I needed.
The site is quite easy to navigate as the online store is broken down into easy-to-browse categories: Gear and Clothing. Each of these is further divided, making it easy to find exactly what I’m looking for. I found the camping items I’d seen without any problem at all - the search engine brought it up quite easily.
As I browsed around the site more after finding what I needed, I was quite pleased at the selection of camping items, plus items such as hiking boots, car racks (wish I’d seen this place before we bought ours!), travel gear, and especially the clothing. What intrigued me even more is the climbing and kayaking schools! Climbing may be a bit out of my league, but I’d love the chance to learn to kayak and the course descriptions on the site sound very interesting. Perhaps by the time my son is older we will both be able to sign up for some of them.
The pricing is reasonable, although I know that some things I can find cheaper on Campmor. However, the fact that Eastern Mountain Sports stands behind the products they sell with a lifetime warranty as well as repair and replacement service really makes me more inclined to purchase some products from them. They might not have the same selection as Campmor, preferring to specialize rather than offer a wider selection, but what they do sell is the highest quality. For instance, as I browsed the tent section, I noticed that none of the tents they sell approach the size of the tents we own. However, someone in one of my camping groups recently suggested investing in several smaller tents rather than one big one as my kids get older as it makes site set-up somewhat easier in wooded areas or small sites. If I were to do that, I would probably make the purchase through Eastern Mountain Sports.
Checking out with my items was quite easy. I registered at the site so now my information is there whenever I want to purchase through the online store again. The shipping charges are really great as there is a flat $5.50 fee for standard shipping, with the exception of some heavy or bulky items. My items arrived within a week and in plenty of time for our trip, so I was quite happy.
I haven’t had to call customer service, but Eastern Mountain Sports prides itself on it’s knowledgeable staff on the phones as well as in the stores. If the people answering customer service calls are indeed as knowledgeable and helpful as those I met in the store, I’d have no qualms about calling them any time I needed help with a product. I think this is especially helpful for people venturing into the area of outdoor sports as novices.
If you want outdoor gear of a quality that will last longer than most of what you’ll find at Wal-Mart, then I’d suggest a visit to Eastern Mountain Sports. Their gear is well worth the investment you’ll be making in it.
Other camping-related reviews:
Eureka Blue Mesa Three-Season Tent
Coleman Weathermaster Tent
Wenzel Screen Room
Coleman Electronic Ignition 2 Burner Propane Stove
Coleman Sleeping Bags
Coleman King Size Flocked Quickbed with Quickpump
Leatherman Pocket Survival Tool
Lodge Deep Camp Dutch Ovens
Woodall's Eastern Campground Directory
50 Hikes in the White Mountains
Campmor Online Store
BackCountry Online Store
Cabela’s Online Store
© 2004 Patti Aliventi
Recommended:
Yes
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? Camping Gear
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Member: Patti Aliventi
Location: Mount Washington Valley, New Hampshire
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