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Me and the Cisco Kid

Equipment: REI vs Amazon

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My local hiking club (Louisiana Hiking Club) had their Camp Fest this weekend so it gave me a good opportunity to get out into the woods and try out some of my new equipment. I learned a lot.

My home is getting overrun with boxes as equipment from (mostly) REI and Amazon.com have been getting shipped to me. There are local outfitters in my area, but nothing like an REI. It is a pain to try out things via online shopping. Somethings I thought I would really like only to discover the item was really not right for me, or the wrong color, or the wrong size. The Frogg Toggs Women's Rain Suit sounded ideal, but I really didn't like it; I felt like the Pillsbury Dough Boy wearing it. Love my Exped SynMat UL 7 Air Pad, a vast improvement over my old Thermarest pad. Not so happy with my Big Agnes Fly Creek UL 2 Tent (the walls slant in too much). Turned out the rain fly had a small hole in it, so I'll be shipping it back. Initially thought I'd replace it with the same thing, but now I don't think I will. The Darn Tough Socks sound wonderful, but the tops are too constrictive on my leg for my liking.

Just four weeks away from departure, so the time to acquire-evaluate-return/keep items is getting short. Some comparisons of REI and Amazon are in order.

Customer reviews. REI and Amazo often carry the same equipment and their customer reviews have been invaluable.

Dividends. Since I've been spending a significant amount on equipment, I'm looking forward to the dividends I'll receive next year from REI. Amazon has no such dividends.

Shipping. I've qualified for free shipping with REI and they've been really prompt at shipping most things to me same day/next day priority mail. I also qualify for free shipping from Amazon, but if I use that free shipping, often it's several days before items get shipped to me. If I want something in a hurry, it's REI. I'll get that same service from Amazon only if I pay for the shipping, despite qualifying for free shipping.

Returns. If I have to return something, far and away, Amazon is the best. I select what item(s) from my order I want to return, Amazon generates a return shipping label (at no extra charge), and a short time after I drop off the item at UPS, I get my refund, which includes the price of the item plus any shipping cost for it! Wow! It's awesome. With REI, I have to pay for the return shipment, and after they receive it, and a couple days processing, then I get my money refunded. This can be a week or more. In the case of returning my damaged tent, this is a problem. I don't have the funds to order another tent. So, there will be at least a week's delay before I can purchase a replacement tent and have it shipped to me. With time before my departure getting short, this is worrisome.

UPDATE: Hereafter continuing journal entries at http://www.trailjournals.com/CatnCisco/

Updated 04-08-2015 at 19:38 by CCCCAT

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