[pct-l] Gear shops San Fran

[Jim Keener]

Hi Andrew, 

Welcome to Paradise! There are many options in San
Francisco and the Bay Area. Yes, the mother of all
outdoors retailers has an outlet in San Francisco, but
even better, the first store other than the original
REI, is located in Berkeley and there are some great
people working there. In San Francisco, ask for
Joshua. Big guy, very smart; very helpful. In
Berkeley, there's Gary and, if you can find him, Brad
Bosrum.

For high end clothing, Patagonia has a fine store near
Fisherman's Wharf. The North Face has a store on Post
Street and they usually have that great expedition
tent - VE25 on sale. It's not far from a big New
Balance retail outlet. Owner Michael Regan is an
expert on footwear.

One of the great places in the Bay Area is Narain's,
near the Berkeley REI. They are outdoors equipment
repair specialists and the people to go to if you want
someone to clean your sleeping bag.

The Sports Basement is a big store with some low cost
items. And one of the best things about it is its
location - on The Presidio of San Francisco. So you
could plan a training hike through The Presidio and
combine it some some fun shopping.

An old, family-owned store in San Francisco, G&M
sales, might be a bit short on the latest ultralight
items, but they are long on nostalgia and local
hiking/backpacking information.

The Wilderness Exchange, near the Berkeley REI, has
some really neat stuff, including used tents. Some
tent manufacturers send WE their prototype tents and
it's neat to see some of the designs. They also rent
old, hard-to-find outdoors VHS tapes.

Western Moutaineering in Berkeley sells high-end
equipment and is primarily staffed by rock climbers.
They are a great source for climbing and skiing
equipment for sale or rental. Very well informed
staff.

This is all I can think of now. Let me know if you
want some ideas for massively wonderful local hikes.

Best,
J J

--- Andrew Picolorich <pclrch2 at yahoo.com> wrote:

> Just moved from to San Fran from SoCal and know
> absolutely nothing about the place. Can  anyone 
> tell me where I might find some quality gear shops
> in the city/Bay area other than REI?
>    
>   MONOCONE Andy
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