Black Dome Mountain Sports

My favorite gear shop and I’ve seen shops all over the country. Their selection, staff and laid back nature make the place. Their library is amazing. Their consignment shop is packed with great deals. Their climbing selection is among the best in the country for general gear shops. And they have a bar with cheap drinks! What more could you ask for. I really like this place and you’ll find me there often.

Just stopped in to grab a map. Besides a great selection of maps they have an excellent array of quality equipment, and extremely helpful and friendly staff.

Not very dog friendly… or people friendly in my experience. Granted this is based on one, short-​lived experience… after running in ahead to make sure they allowed dogs (I was told yes, ‘as long as our dog is nice’) we walked in with our mild mannered boxer and we were greeted by a snarling and growling standard poodle. Our dog was avoiding eye contact and being submissive and the poodle stood its ground, blocking our way into the store just inside the doorway. Instead of apologizing or making any effort to get their dog, a woman behind the counter proceeded to tell me to just take my dog off leash. I’ve been involved in dog training so I already had zero tension on the leash to avoid adding to the possible dog fight that could happen at any second at this point. And I tried to explain that I’m not letting my dog off leash in this situation. After about 10 seconds of the uncomfortable situation, with her never offering any solution to get control of the dog, we turned around and left with the dog following us all the way to the door, and nearly walking out after us. Sad to say that this lack of basic consideration (and their lack of knowledge about basic dog behavior apparently) sent us elsewhere to spend our money on camping supplies, most likely for good. There are some good aspects to the place, just not worth going back for us with or without our dog.

Incredible selection with top of the line gear, a map room, and get this… beer bar with local brews! NO JOKE. The are also a great job with service and have a fantastic commitment to getting stuff made nearby. They make hammocks for instance!
Ill shop here first.

These guys are great! They have an awesome, knowledgeable and friendly staff and carry top of the line gear for your backpacking and climbing needs. They have some snowboarding and skiing gear along with a consignment section! Best gear shop in Asheville by far!

I use to get my rock climbing on and these guys were the go to place for serious gear… now I only get my hiking and camping on… and these guys are STILL the go to store for my gear. Technical, expensive, because you get what you pay for in high tech, light weight materials that make all the difference in the world when you are traveling around the world.
I’ve shopped with them for trips to Europe and New Zealand and both times both the advice and products pitched were dead on when it came to meeting my needs and going beyond my expectations regarding performance. Go big or go home is a mantra with some outdoor folks… I say when it comes to gear, go technical and expensive or suffer paying too little for too little.
This place and the folks that work there have always helped me in a way that makes me give them 5 stars.

Black Dome has been around Asheville for years and for years it has been the best outdoor equipment store in town. It is one of those places where you can find just what you are looking for just when you need it. Although still good, it’s not what it used to be. It seems to be giving in more to the tourist business then the actual outdoor community it once served so well. Sometimes it seems to becoming more of an outdoor Boutique rather then an actual outdoor equipment store.
As far as prices go, they have always been on the pricey side but I feel okay with it because of the quality of the equipment I can buy there. Plus I’d rather pay a little more and support the local economy. The staff is always helpful and polite unlike being overbearing with their knowledge the way some of the other stores in the area can be like Diamond Brand or completely unknowledgeable like REI. I am more into camping and hiking so I can’t speak for the climbing department which I’ve heard is actually quite good for the area.

This is one of those stores I drool over when I travel down south and shop for camping gear. They have a little bit of everything from ski/​snow equipment, climbing gear, to camping gear. However this store is pricey and I left without opening my wallet. I did venture around the store for a few minutes before any of the staff noticed me as well.

Super comprehensive climbing gear shop. Ample snowboard gear, plus all the other outdoor gear you’d expect. Only negative is the staff has never been super friendly.

I visited Black Dome several times while on vacation in the area. If you are vacationing here to do some hiking or other outdoors activities, this should be your first stop. Sure, they have all kinds of the top brands and great outdoors gear for most outdoor activities (I don’t recall seeing paddling gear there). But, the reason you need to stop here is because they have an entire room dedicated to maps. Armed with all types of maps of the surrounding area, their staff can help you make the most of your outdoor adventures in this awesome part of the country.
Their full prices are what you would expect on top brands like Patagonia and Osprey. However, when we went there they had tons of great stuff in normal sizes marked down for a summer sale, so I would say their prices are really competitive.
Support a great local business and check out Black Dome!