[jenjen]

I have had really good luck with Marmot Mountain Works. They're in Bellevue next to Bell Square. I wear a women's 10.5 narrow, a really hard size to find, and they always come up with something that'll work.

[troutman]

Try Feathered Friends or Pro Mountain Sports Both shops are the best is the business. Between the two, they have the best lightweight and most technical gear available. Jim Nelson specializes in ultralight and super technical The folks at the Friends have a wide variety of experience and most have hiked enough and have worked there long enough to be very helpful. 1st peice of advise, if it isn't comfortable wearing it around the shop...It will never be comfortable. Comfort is #1.

[Bob K]

I'm not sure what good advice on boots is nowadays. My current belief is that most people don't need big heavy boots unless they are going through significant snow. With lighter shoes (like running shoes) I get fewer blisters (i.e. *no* blisters), walk faster, and don't get the twisted ankles I got with heavier boots. Off course, I also have a much lighter pack now. REI has gone downhill as far as help. The new kids don't know a lot about hiking in general, and the old guys haven't kept up with the changes in technology. REI is still my very first choice because of the unsurpassed return policy and the dividend. Feathered Friends probably has the best people. Pro Mountain Sports is pretty good on most things -- but they sometimes try too hard to come off as experts, and will tell you things they don't know much about that are just plain wrong. Watch you wallet if you shop at Marmot Mountain. The best thing is to do your research on the Internet. You can learn way more about everything (including fitting boots) than any of the sales guys know.

[hikermike]

I'm So disapointed nowadays, I have a pair of Asolos which I love, but are now very worn out and sagging and I can't find a lightweight replacement. I wear a D width, which is not that wide, but every one has been changing their lasts to more narrow widths. Others must be having the same problem, what gives. How come 280 million Americans can't overcome 50 million Europeans in shoe size?

[troutman]

[quote="Bob K"] Pro Mountain Sports is pretty good on most things -- but they sometimes try too hard to come off as experts, and will tell you things they don't know much about that are just plain wrong. .[quote] I'd disagree about the blanket statement. Jim Nelson is quite knowledgeable and is the main employee and owner. His assistant is also very knowledgeable. If they come off as experts, that is because they are very much experts on lightweight hiking and climbing gear. Moch more so than any other shop. Please elaborate on your story about the time you went in and they told you something they didn't know much about. I am interested to know who you spoke with and what the situation was regarding.

[Bob K]

it's nothing worth firing anyone over, but since you asked... even though i have dropped a lot of money at the store, most often i just go in for the opportunity to look at new equipment in person before i buy it on the web; so believe me, items i'm interested in are *thoroughly* researched before i go in. i don't expect sales people to know all the details on everything, but i can see when someone is telling me things which i know aren't true. the taller guy, who i think mentioned once that he is or was a photographer, just says he doesn't know and doesn't give you a lot of info. he tries to look things up but is usually not very successful at finding the answers. i'm sorry if he was an innocent victim of my 'blanket' opinion. the shorter guy, who looks asian, tells you a lot of things that are wrong -- from breathability of materials, availability of similar products, lengths, weights, characteristics of products, etc. he's a good guy in general, and my impression is that he actually gets outside and uses the equipment a lot. he gives a lot correct facts along with the incorrect ones. he doesn't intentionally mislead you -- i think he believes what he is saying is actually true! please don't get him fired. please talk to him first and give him another chance! thoughts on pro mountain sports in general: -the asian guy is knowlegeable -- maybe as knowlegeable as any outdoor gear sales guy in the area -- and is a good, friendly, likeable guy , but throws out a lot of incorrect facts. -the prices are high and the return policy sucks. you can usually get things much cheaper on the web. if rei has the same item for about the same price, get it at rei, because of the much better return policy. this might be the cause of their misinformation. because they can't compete on price or return policy, part of their business model is to sell themselves as experts -- unless they are pressed for time or just don't like buying on the web, why else would anyone be stupid enough to pay higher prices with a worse return policy unless they thought they were buying expert advice? -- but i think they could be trying too hard at the expertise thing. -they are often the only store in the area to carry the latest gear and really the only store in the area that has embraced the move towards ultralight equipment. but they are, as often as not, out of stock on many items.

[troutman]

Bob, It is sooo very unfortunate that you decide to purchase your gear from REI or the internet after establishing a relationship with such a great shop as PMS. In youth comes education and experience. The shop guy you are referring to is very knowledgeable compared to anyone at REI. As far as your knowledge of equipment, think twice about what you read about weight, fillpower, breathability of fabrics, etc. They are all marketing tools designed to help the sales of the product. Your knowledge of gear isn't half of the knowledge that comes from PMS. The tall guy you refer to in his peak time was climbing some of the most difficult routes in the Cascades. Some have never been or possibly never will be repeated due to their difficulty. I can't think of a time where older and more experienced salesman knew when to keep quiet or to say "I don't know". Young guys are always much more excited to talk about gear and yes, will not always be correct. Calling him on it makes you look good eh? Spraying about it on the internet makes you look even better. You are royally screwing the small shop over by buying on the internet after wasting thier time by going in and viewing the items of interest without buying. If you are not going to buy their gear then don't waste their time. Shame on you dude~! I hope I am not stepping out of line here. If so, please send me a private message.

[Bob K]

You're killin me, man. If you really like a store the best thing you can do is to just say you disagree and then say nice things about that store. If you personally challenge people who say anything negative about that store, then you're just opening up more opportunities for them to really slam the store even more. It does the store absolutely no good. I reserve the right to give my honest, *unvarnished* opinion about any place of business or piece of gear or anything else for that matter. I think, in giving my honest evaluations, I have said good things and bad things about every local shop. If you think anyone saying anything negative about a local shop here is "spraying about them on the Internet", that's just too bad. I'm afraid you're just going to have to live with it. This would be a pretty useless and boring Gear forum if you could only say positive things about gear and had to remain silent about the negatives. I also reserve the right to window shop and evaluate items at any store and then buy them elsewhere if the price or anything else doesn't suit me. It's tough, but that's the way business works. (Window shoppers usually end up buying things from them eventually anyway.) Actually, I only think young. My knees keep reminding me how old I am. I still have gear from local shops -- like Early Winters, Swallows Nest and Eddie Bauer before they turned into a yuppie boutique -- that I'm pretty sure is older than that PMS sales guy who was trying too hard to come off as an expert. (Somehow, I'm not sure this is something worth bragging about and it feels stupid having to defend myself against your stupid comments about age.)

[Tom]

Kudos for offering your frank and honest opinion Bob K. Personally, I've only stopped by PMS once. It didn't really work for me but I know several folks who value the expertise in the area they're looking so I guess it depends. As much as everyone knocks REI (myself included), I was blown away by the knowledge of a salesperson I encountered a month ago when looking for a lightweight hiking shirt. I could have cared less how many peaks he'd bagged. He knew what he was talking about and that's all that really mattered.

[Backpacker Joe]

Interesting how different people see the same thing so differently. Jim Nelson has more experience in the back country than I would say *anyone* working in the Seattle area today! Sure he has his opinions, we all do. Jim would never intentionally mislead, or misgive information ever. If Jim says "I don't know" then it's rare, but you can be sure that he'll find out. I don't see his prices as expensive in comparison to any other shop in the area. You cannot compare a business with obvious overhead to any warehouse on the internet. I agree that one should support local shops whenever possible. Those that don't will be the *first* to complain when they are all gone (because of the internet) and we no longer have places to go to actually touch gear. TB

[troutman]

Amen!

[scot'teryx]

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[SeaNat]

FWIW, I found a guy at Outdoor N more when I was looking at packs for my wife. Very knowledgable on Lowe Alpine which there is very little in Seattle or on the web. He hails from Colorado. They don't have the largest selection of boots but they might have what you're looking for and they are cheaper than REI. As far as Feathered Friends, I'm a little skeptical. A woman who works there was trying to sell my wife a Dana Design that wasn't the right fit, mostly because that's what they had in stock. Then come to find out A friend's wife wasn't particularly happy with the fit of her DD pack and she bought it from the same woman! If you really need special shoes or boots, go see a phys. therapist at a sports med clinic. I have a good friend who works at Mt. Stuart Clinic in Leavenworth. They can actually prescribe custom fit insoles that are made from digital imprints of your feet and weight pressure points. They do it for runners all the time. Good luck and treat your feet right, sometimes they're your best friend!