E-rock Posted January 26, 2003 Posted January 26, 2003 I'm looking for a good shop to buy backcountry safety equipment and telemark gear in the Seattle area. Here's the catch. They have to have all three of the following: A good selection Friendly, knowledgable service Fair prices For one or more reasons this rules out: Marmot Feathered Friends REI Quote
cracked Posted January 26, 2003 Posted January 26, 2003 REI all the way. They always have what I want, the salespeople are friendly, don't hound you, know what they're doing, and the prices are the best around. Plus the don't cater to gapers and they don't sell any North Face junk. Seriously, though, what's wrong with marmot and FF? I like them both. Sure, they don't have as good a return policy as Returnable Equipment Inventory, but in my limited experience Marmot and FF are awesome. Quote
E-rock Posted January 26, 2003 Author Posted January 26, 2003 In my not-quite-so-limited experience they both suck. They often don't know anything about the gear they carry, they continue to carry and rave about gear that has proven to be unrealiable (i.e. G3 skins which have been discontinued), and they don't always have the friendliest service, which is a must for local indendent shops like FF to survive (althought they have been). Perhaps REI is the only way. Maybe FF or Marmot have been able to cut it here, but if they were in Salt Lake City, or Denver, or any other mountain town, they would've been driven out already. Quote
Geek_the_Greek Posted January 27, 2003 Posted January 27, 2003 Proski on Aurora (or in N. Bend), owned by Martin Volken is a good bet. They know their shit when it comes to skiing way better than any "general" outdoor shop, were super friendly the 2 times I was there (totally no sales push), and have good stuff. Only downside is that they don't have quite as much selection of backcountry boards, bindings, etc. as some places (they do a lot of downhill stuff), but they do stock everything - beacons, shovels, probes, etc. They also rent beacons for cheap. Check 'em out. Quote
Beck Posted January 27, 2003 Posted January 27, 2003 Marmot's got the best selection of AT, Tele gear and snow safety equipment in the state. You'll find helpful AND lame service in any store. Martins really anti telemark. Quote
Pro Mountain Sports Posted January 28, 2003 Posted January 28, 2003 Another recommendation for Pro Ski Service on Aurora. Great shop for both telemark and AT. Quote
iain Posted January 28, 2003 Posted January 28, 2003 Martins really anti telemark. the europeans are always so far ahead of americans... Quote
David_Parker Posted January 28, 2003 Posted January 28, 2003 Did you check out Second Ascent in Ballard? If you go to Marmot, just talk to Beck. No lame service there!! Quote
jon Posted January 28, 2003 Posted January 28, 2003 You got to love it when the employees from the stores start slamming and sticking up for each other Quote
E-rock Posted January 28, 2003 Author Posted January 28, 2003 Now Iain, we all know you wanna telemark. If Beck works at Marmot, I WOULD trust his opinion. Beck, are you guys FINALLY carrying the Hardwires? Quote
snoboy Posted January 28, 2003 Posted January 28, 2003 In my not-quite-so-limited experience they both suck. They often don't know anything about the gear they carry, they continue to carry and rave about gear that has proven to be unrealiable (i.e. G3 skins which have been discontinued), and they don't always have the friendliest service, which is a must for local indendent shops like FF to survive (althought they have been). Perhaps REI is the only way. Maybe FF or Marmot have been able to cut it here, but if they were in Salt Lake City, or Denver, or any other mountain town, they would've been driven out already. [bold mine] I thought they had been not shipped because they had a problem with this batch of glue... Kinda like Assension did a few years ago. I guess you do need somewhere that knows what they are talking about. Or maybe I am talking out of my Quote
E-rock Posted January 28, 2003 Author Posted January 28, 2003 As far as I know G3 ain't making skins anymore because their glue kept peeling. After the first year, they claimed to fix the problem. Marmot sold me the second year's model, after the salesperson raved about how great they were, then my first day out touring a huge patch of glue peeled from one side of the skin to the other. Quote
snoboy Posted January 28, 2003 Posted January 28, 2003 Crappy dude! Did they give you new ones? Or reglue them at least? The g3 website still has them, page updated dec 21. I've always stuck (ha!) to Ascension myself. I am almost superstitious about what skins I use. Even when the G3 tail fix system came along, I just put it on my Ascensions. Quote
Beck Posted January 28, 2003 Posted January 28, 2003 Inside track from BD rep says the same glue dudes that were cooking up that bad batch of Ascension glue wound up working the G3 skin shop; maybe that's just hype. We certainly don't have those on sale, the company cancellled shipments of them a month before xmas. The new Voile hardwires? We'vew got them, but wait until next year, there may be a new voile releasable unit widely available that will render the old Voile plunger obsolete. And we have the new O2 replacements. The inside story on that recall was 10% of the plastic risers and tail hooks being improperly cured by the manufacturing vendor; New structure, and a new approach to the curing process for the reissued 02 binding. W'eve got lots of Fritschi Freeride AT bindings in stock still. Quote
Steigerman Posted January 28, 2003 Posted January 28, 2003 I'd take a short drive south to The Mountain Shop in Portland. From my experience they know what they're talkin about. None of this "I work in agear shop I'm god" attitude. I'm sure one of the CC'ers in PDX could get you the phone number and you could call and see if they have what you're looking for. Plus no tax and some great drinking facilities. Quote
salbrecher Posted January 28, 2003 Posted January 28, 2003 Snoboy, I've had 2 pairs of ascentions that have had crappy glue peeling from one side to the other. I still have the second pair and plan to take them back to MEC shortly. the guy i'm returning them to asks employe: "well uuuhhhh have you been uuuhhh pulling them apart when it was like cold?" Stefan: Uuuhhhh ya, it usually is when I ski " Quote
iain Posted January 28, 2003 Posted January 28, 2003 my advice is to contact black diamond directly. I had two pairs of bad ascensions (glue came off in chunks on my skis). They treated me like royalty, advance replacing the skins immediately and asking constantly if I was satisfied. BD may be the Microsoft of the climbing world, but they treat their customers very well from my experience. Now if they would just stop releasing bindings on the market that have not been beta-tested.... Quote
E-rock Posted January 28, 2003 Author Posted January 28, 2003 (edited) I know at least two dozen skiers who have used ascension skins exclusively (including myself) and never had problems with them (but don't buy seconds). I don't know if there's any data out there to corroborate, but I'd guess that they are the most reliable skin. However, I considered it a bad thing when BD bought ascension and the clipfix tail definitely performs poorly compared to the old Euro Kit due to the changing length of skins as the get cold/warm or wet/dry. A friend of mine bought the BCA skins this year and wound up putting new ascension glue on them the first day he used them because they didn't stick well. Edited January 28, 2003 by E-rock Quote
E-rock Posted January 28, 2003 Author Posted January 28, 2003 Iain, BD is notorious for testing ALL of their products on the public. Quote
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