Atmosphere Calgary Downtown

Great selection, best prices I’ve ever see in an outdoor shop! I’ve never seen equipment, knives, watches, accessories & backpacks ever go on sale in store and this place does it. Book 30mins minimum to look around when going to this store.

Coming here on boxing day was my first time actually making a purchase at an Atmosphere store.
I’ve been needing some snowshoes for a while and thought that I would probably just wait until the end of the season to take advantage of an inventory clearance sale or maybe some used rental shoes. Seeing Atmosphere’s Boxing Day flyer a few days prior, they seemed to have some good deals and I went to check them out.
My fiancée and decided that our best bet was to head downtown thinking that this location would be easier to get into and less busy than the one in Deerfoot Meadows. We were right. There wasn’t any street parking out front but a camera store behind them was closed for the day and had parking available. Once in the store we found it to be pretty manageable as it was busy but not crammed full of people.
While browsing the snowshoe wall a couple of employees asked if we needed help. One employee gave us the rundown of the different types of shoes and asked us what type of trekking we would be doing, gave us some suggestions, then left us to shop. I didn’t end up purchasing any of the shoes that had the 50%+ discounts advertised in the flyer but all of the snowshoes were on sale and I got something that was going to suit me properly for what I was doing, which is the most important thing. What’s the point in getting a great deal if its on something that isn’t the right product?
I hadn’t planned on buying poles, but taking a quick look around they had a set that was regular $ 135 for 60% off. They seemed like they would do the trick and were much nicer than the ones near the sales price so I nabbed that deal.
The only thing I didn’t find was a bag for the snowshoes. They only seemed to have one option. I guess a trip to MEC on another day will fix that problem.

I had a bad experience at Atmosphere. The short version of the story goes like this:
I needed a piece of paddling equipment. They didn’t have it. The staff were condescending.
Now for the full version:
I am a dragon boat paddler. During practice I prefer to wear an inflatable belt pack PFD instead of a life vest. I went in search for one at Atmosphere. I walk past the store every day on my way to work, and since I was new to Calgary I was unsure of where else to go (I had already tried MEC).
There were two employees there, so I asked them if they had what I was looking for. They didn’t know what I was talking about, then when I went on to explain, one employee cut me off to tell me that paddlers don’t use that type of PFD, and that I should try a fishing store. (cue sarcasm) I’m so glad that kid was there to tell me what paddlers do and don’t use! So helpful! (end sarcasm)
It was such an uncomfortable experience that I won’t be back. Especially with MEC right across the street.

My first visit to Atmosphere was after a failed attempt at MEC to find a winter jacket that wasn’t down to my toes or cost $ 500.
It was a Monday so there weren’t tons of staff around but for some reason there were quite number of customers shopping at 11am. A lady named Kristin was helping me, and despite being swamped, she helped me with many coats of various sizing, and told me the differences between each product. She ha crazy product knowledge, and I walked away with an awesome new coat for less than $ 300. Just so happens that every year around this time, they have a promo for a $ 50 gift card, if you spend over $ 250. Atmosphere is linked with sport check so the gc can be used in their stores as well.
Most of Atmosphere’s selection is of outerwear, footwear and a sprinkling of socks, gloves and those kind of accoutrements. Would definitely recommend checking them out for your winter apparel needs.

Atmosphere might be what MEC used to be in terms of its young, hip, and hungry edge. It’s a smaller store, features mostly brand names, and perhaps has more limited choices in some areas. However, for me and my US-​based credit card, it’s all about the sales to selection ratio. On a recent Saturday, I went back and forth across the street comparing styles and pricing of hiking shoes and jackets. The folks here were friendly, helpful, and totally cool to comparative shopping game I was playing.