Coast Mountain Sports

In all my visits to Coast Mountain I’ve never had an issue with them. The selection at the store tends to be little skint and due to their corporate status (unlike MEC, which as a co-​op has quite different business goals) they tend to focus on the more popular outdoor activities.
But, when I was in need of some bear spray (after being caught on an excursion near Whistler without it) Coast Mountain was oh-​so convenient to drop by and pick up a quick can of the stuff. I was surprised that I had to sign a waiver as I wasn’t aware of that regulation.
I find the store is kept neat — I like clean and organized displays! The staff assistance has been reasonable. Nothing extreme in my experience. Again, where Coast Mountain loses me on the stars is for product selection for camping gear. If they do have the product you’re looking for, they also tend to only have one or two makes and models. This eliminates the nice option of buying top end gear or grabbing something more basic and lower-​cost that you perhaps will use less.

This store is another one of Vancouver’s outdoor apparel emporiums. The selection of gore-​tex, fleece, vibram soled hiking boots, ski socks is really excellent here, and the price compares well with most other similar stores. I would still go to the MEC over Coast Mountain Sports, just because I like the idea of a co-​op and the prices there might be a little better. But, Coast Mountain Sport is a close second, and they really do have all the outdoor equipment that you could imagine. They also recently opened a new store on Burrard, which is really spacious, but the one thing I don’t like about it is that there’s no more men’s and women’s sections. Everything is all together, making it a bit hard to pick out what you’re looking for. Still, a trip to this store will inspire you to get outside.