Steve S.
Yelp
I live in REI home territory (near Seattle), so of course I'm a fan of REI in general. Their private brand products are mostly excellent, and prices are very competitive with outside brands of comparable quality. (They might look expensive compared to discount store junk, however.) Their selection of outside brands is very good, and prices are good too. Most of all, they are a great resource for outdoor activity knowledge.
That's what I like about REI in general. But this is a review of this REI store. I was in New England in July 2021 during a lull in the pandemic.
I bought my old Lowa hiking boots at the Seattle REI flagship store in 2010 when I started hiking with my new girlfriend (now my wife). They've been great boots, but the heels are wearing thin. It would be nice to get more life out of them with new heels, but I didn't have time to investigate that for the New England trip (and still haven't followed up; out of sight, out of mind). I needed new boots.
I went to the footwear department, and tried a bunch of different types of boots and shoes. I tested the fit, and discussed the merits of various types of boots with footwear specialist Brooke.
Eventually, her guidance led me to the conclusion that for my kinds of hiking, my best choice is probably something called "approach shoes", so named because they're used by mountaineers for the easy hiking to the point where they change into hardcore mountaineering boots. They're more like really sturdy sneakers than actual boots. Of the approach shoe options they had, I chose a pair of La Sportiva shoes.
I was very impressed by how knowledgeable Brooke was, and asked how long she had been there. Only three weeks, she said. I commented that they must have trained her really well, but she already knew hiking footwear because she "has tried practically every hiking boot there was." That's the kind of great people REI hires.
This store is in the North Conway village, population 2000, within Conway town, population 10000. For such a remote place (locals, no offense intended; metro Seattle is 4 million), this is an amazing store. The only store in northern New England that compares is in the suburbs of Portland Maine. That's worth a five-star "as good as it gets".