[touron]

[cascadeclimber]

[cairn builder]

[Riverside Laker]

Ooooh, can I wear my Calvin Klein down jacket (Costco, $29.99 plus tax) on the Katwalk? If so, I vote for Touron to be CEO/COO/CIA of REI, MGD is VP of drinks, and Polarbear is in charge of cold weather gear.

[touron]

At that price and since you were already at Costco you should have bought a Calvin Klein down jacket for all of us. Yes you can wear, er I mean fashion that on the Katwalk at the next sheau which will probably be in spring. As Riverside Laker, you can be in charge of all aqua apparel, rain gear, fishing gear, flotation devices, and authoring lake bagging guidebooks.

[fourteen410]

[Redwic]

[boot up]

[Bedivere]

I've been pretty happy with the REI branded clothing I've bought, except for the pants. Their underwear and lightweight poly layers are perfectly fine and cheaper than the big names. I have an REI windstopper fleece that has held up well and was better designed than the other brands they had at the time. Their merino wool socks are every bit as good as Smartwool. Their tents are pretty good too. The quarter dome t3-plus is huge yet light and pretty sturdy. A good tent for two guys and two dogs for a week in the Pasayten - survived some pretty good thunderstorms and rain in it. Their convertible hiking pants were a big disappointment though. I need pants that are very loose in the legs and the REI pants fit the bill. They were also lighter weight than the others which was a plus, but the zippers failed and the fabric ripped too easily so now I'm back to scouring the rack in the gear garage for gently used North Face pants.

[Slide Alder Slayer]

REI switched to Malden Mills Polartec several years ago, really improved their base layers and polartec pieces. That being said I have noticed that the REI branded outdoor clothing in general appears to be lifestyle function first then outdoor second. Be that as it may I heard their new clothing roll out has been indefinitely delayed so hard to say what direction the last several years of design and production has produced. I see REI far more progressive with Novara and their fitness line of clothing but I see truth in the statements that the REI brand has retreated from mountaineering clothing and left that to other manufacturers for their stores, but they seem to still be in the active backpacking game with the house brand. At a minimum it takes two years to research, design, and manufacture a new product line so we won’t know the direction of the new CEO for a while. I’d like to see REI do what Novara does with its line (bike clothes for bike use) and go mountain first with more of the outdoor clothing line and bring back some more mountaineering tents and packs. REI is not in competition with cottage industries which are great sources of innovation, not to mention Kickstarter and all the other inventive outlets out there. REI is competing with national retailers like itself with physical locations, private labels, and online sales. REI also competes with national online retailers. It’s a different world than 35 years ago.

[cascadeclimber]

[Slide Alder Slayer]

I agree that REI has changed, but REI is still a CO-OP just not the way you would like to organize it. On its face it’s not a bad idea to purchase MMW if the pockets were deep enough. To your credit your opposition to REI reflects your conscious and I respect that.

[DIYSteve]

REI is indeed still organized as a cooperative non-profit, although it often doesn't look like one. It might take a fair amount of us to band together to get to the level of Lock's net worth. Count me out. I've worked too much in and with the outdoor industry to know better than to put my hard-earned money into a brick & mortar operation in 2014. IME, REI-branded clothing has been better-than-average quality. REI-hate is too common and too easy. If you don't like REI, don't shop there. I do what I can to spread my money around, including to the local mom & pops (MMW got lots of my $$), and especially to local manufacturers, e.g., McHale, FF, but REI gets my money too. Re the Monica Johnson claim, the litigation decisions were made by the products liability insurance carrier, not by REI. Those insurance policies are written to give the carrier, not the insured, control, and that's the only way PL coverage can work. If anyone is interested about that issue, see my posts on the TAY thread. If you think REI and firms like it should be held to the standard of a manufacturer, then do something to change the law.

[cascadeclimber]

[509]

I think that co-ops, public utility districts, government agencies, and others of the ilk need to meet higher standards than the typical for-profit business. I complained twice to REI about products that could literally kill people due to bad design. One was so bad that I even called REI and went through four or five people in their food chain. I was offered my money back. I refused and said that was not the issue.......it was about a safe product. I refused to ship the product back to REI stating that I would wait for the recall letter from them. It came about a year later. Four or five people died and as a result of the lawsuit and they were replacing the product. That really is no way for a co-op to operate. My wishes for REI to continue their tradition of offering average products at good prices. At this point, I would also like them to offer quality products. Yes, I realize these cost more, but many are made by small companies that frankly could use the business. I shopped really hard for panniers that would fit my new bicycles. The REI selection was limited and could be found everywhere else in the universe. I finally tracked down two quality manufacturers. One was made in the Puget Sound and the other in Canada. Neither were carried by REI. REI is run like a for profit business. If you are a co-op you really do need to do more. I know it would take a significant cultural change for them at this point. But hey, if enough people complained and RAN for the Board of Directors I would vote for them. So lets put together a slate from NWHIKERS. I would vote for it.