https://www.rei.com/event/prepare-for-th...amp;mi_u=296126

Something a little different from the usual rock climbing, kayaking stuff. Looks interesting; I will probably attend.

Of course, this is enlightened self-interest. REI carries a lot of the items you will want on hand when problems arise.

But then, a lot of emergency situations are essentially unplanned and unforeseen camp outs....

Hey, for free you can't knock it! Might have some good information.

REI

Lost their way. All fashion shorts and sunglasses these days. Stuff made in overseas sweat shops. Lots of plastic and virtue signaling. No longer honor warranties. PCB filled catalogs. They haven't much of a clue outside the urban areas, so it makes sense they would be teaching about urban survival. "Where can I find a good gluten free muffin?"

Oh dear! How harsh!!!As a card carrying REI member for more than fifty years, with a five digit member number(of which I am inordinately proud), I don't totally agree with all your comments, although there are a fair number of non traditional items in the inventory these days.

Most importantly, REI does honor their warranty, as I know from experience. What they have done is put limits on their "forever" warranty, which was being abused. Now the warranty is good for a year only past the purchase date,but it is honored without question IME.

What isn't plastic these days? my most recent purchase was a protective sheath for my venerable REI ice ax. It looks a darn sight more durable than the rubber item it replaces which only lasted thirty years.

My store has a good stock of of the shelf static and dynamic ropes, slings, carabiners, helmets, and harnesses. No ice axes however, this being SoCal. We have SUPs and kayaks, as well as bicycles. A good assortment of tents, sleeping bags, and backpacks. I could equip myself in the local store or any excursion in the local area

The organization contributes to local efforts, including a recent $10,000 grant to an outfit supporting restoration work in the Channel islands NP, among others.

They have definitely broadened their selection to include items that appeal to less than hardened outdoor types, something that has been going on for several years. I call it adapting to reality. At any rate, REI is doing a darn sight better than Sears.

They will let just anyone into their stores. I have recently noticed a few who are clearly not outdoors oriented, but they could still spend money.

REI is not as environmentally conscious as Patagonia appears to be, but they are getting that way - I have observed that some items are designated as "Fair Trade." it is a coop, after all, so members have some influence. Let your voice be heard...

Yeah, REI seems to be more adept at understanding market trends than Gander Mountain and Sears. You probably can't compete against the Amazons and specialtie etailers by just doing outdoors gear. Clothing is one area where a local store will always have an edge over online retailers since a lot of folks want to try on the item for fit and to see how it looks on them.

I might be getting too old for online forums though..."virtue signalling"? I'll have to Google that one.

Let's say you start out selling really honest to goodness, rugged, rough, red hot outdoor clothing. It is good stuff and you make money and pretty soon you start to see it being worn in casual, non outdoor settings. It will appeal to many more people, who will buy more of your stuff and then it is trendy.

Realizing this larger market, you start selling not so rugged items with a larger audience. Before long you are selling swimsuits, blazers, skirts, and all sorts of other things. It seems to be inevitable, because it isn't just REI. Patagonia peddles a lot of casual, resort wear right alongside their serious outdoor stuff. LL Bean is mostly boutique items now. Even Duluth Trading is drinking the koolaid....

I don't recognize "virtue signalling," either, Phaedrus. But I don't think it is a compliment....

My understanding is that REI is working in a similar fashion to Patagonia to reduce their environmental impact and improve their supply chain.

Patagonia is by far the leader in these efforts, but REI is far ahead of most other companies.

I’m a huge fan of both!

From wikipedia:

"Virtue signalling, spelled virtue signaling in the United States, is the conspicuous expression of moral values. The term was first used in signalling theory, to describe any behavior that could be used to signal virtue—especially piety among the religious In recent years, the term has become more commonly used as a pejorative by commentators to criticize what they regard as empty or superficial support of certain political views, and also used within groups to criticize their own members for valuing appearance over action."

"In the mid-2010s, many users on internet forums and social media gave 'virtue-signalling' a pejorative sense when they denounced such empty acts of public commitment to unexceptionable good causes such as changing Facebook profile pictures to support a cause, participating in the Ice Bucket Challenge, offering thoughts and prayers after a tragedy, celebrity speeches during award shows, and politicians pandering to constituents on ideological issues."

Sounds interesting, thanks. Will check it out.

Has anyone taken this? Any reviews?

Signed up for one next week - will give a report.

Oh crud ... now I have to look up what "pejorative" means.

Aside from online retail sources and some amazing truly local retail stores I do think REI is still one of the better sources for outdoor gear. Online buying has made it VERY tough on local brick & mortar retail stores (though I guess REI is kind of a hybrid).

Kudos to REI for going outside their traditional focus.

Eager to hear what they teach and how well.

Attended last night and it was two hours well spent, although a lot of what was presented is already well known to frequenters of this forum.

Began with a discussion of likely local disaster events. This is Ventura County, so fire and earthquakes topped the list. Prior planning and preparation was heavily emphasized and the presenter discussed her own efforts in this regard. She lives in a mandatory evacuation zone for the recent Hill Fire and shared interesting experiences from the 94 Northridge quake.

Many, if not most, of us attendees had been in similar situations over the past year, so the discussion was not theoretical. Audience participation was encouraged and was beneficial.

Our instructor went through the contents of her GO bag. Not surprisingly, many of the contents were items for sale by REI, and this was mentioned, but not as a sales pitch. The need to build fire, or light a stove safely, was emphasized.

The need for first aid training and basic equipment was also encouraged.

Plentiful hand outs were available, including a listing of internet sources like READY.gov. The book, Deep Survival, by Laurence Gonzales, was touted as a good source.

A lot of the discussion bled over into what might be termed wilderness survival situations, but this is inevitable, being that undeveloped country is close at hand in Ventura County and that many of the attendees were familiar with the outdoors.

Refreshingly absent was any discussion of caliber of your bug out weapon and the number of rounds you would need to fend off the thieving, rioting hordes from the inner city. Some survival discussions turn distinctly anti-social, and I am glad that was totally absent last night. Not that such events can never happen, but their likelihood is way down the list of probabilities.

The discussion was locally oriented, so I imagine an REI presentation in other parts would be altered accordingly.

A main stream outdoor retailer, REI stocks a lot of stuff which is useful in any kind of disaster. When situation go topsy-turvy, outdoor gear is surprisingly workable.

I'm near an REI, should see if they do the class here in Bozeman.