A few observations on several recent purchases/store reviews/camping trip.
First off my experience with Bass Pro Shops, Cabelas, Gander and REI. All the store visits were within the last 30 days in and around the Detroit Michigan area.
1. Bass Pro. Nice store with plenty of Nature Scenes built into the displays. Good selection of supplies with several of the staple items (lanterns, tents etc) to compare. Pricing was all over the board. Some items were reasonable (good tent cots @ $50 on sale) to outrageous (Coleman griddle for the stove/grill combo @ $52 !!).
Purchased
5 cots
Coleman propane lantern
Coleman Expo Kitchen
2. Cabelas turned me right off. While the store displays were great. The selection of equipment good. The prices were high and often in contrast to what was offered online. An example is the Antarctic Chair. Online was 30 bucks. In store was on sale for 45. Same for the Coleman stove. Online 34 in store on sale for 49. Used the ship to store option so was really looking to pick up the ordered items. But could not help but notice the price switching.
Purchased
4 Antarctic chairs
2 loungers
Coleman stove
3. The Gander in my area is a joke. Dirty, mixed up stock, poorly organized. Joe 6 pack at it`s finest.
4. REI has a great website, decent prices (sale items) and a good selection online. The store was a huge disappointment. Clean and well organized it was very small compared to the others. While what they had was decent quality. If you wanted to compare one item to another it simply could not be done. They simply did not have the space in the store.
Purchased
ALPS Mountain folding table
The Kodiak 6055 tent (10x10) is simply awesome. Easy to set up, great quality and very comfortable.
Coleman stove/grill, lantern stand and Expo kitchen worked well.
The grill was touchy on heat adjustment but worked OK.
Lantern stand is worth every penney. Decent quality but the stakes could be better.
Expo kitchen was great. A little low in height but the combined work surfaces, utensil holders and sink made up for the height. With the battery powered water bottle pump (thanks Corey) and a bucket to drain the sink. Everything from washing hands to making meals was much easier. Seemed to be much better quality then the Cabelas kitchen(s).
ALPS table was sturdy, easy to set up and worked fine.
Little Buddy heater was another good working item. Kept our tent warm in low 30* temps. Need to convert the 1 lb tank to a multi pound so it doesn't run out of gas halfway through the night.
FWIW/YMMV.
First off my experience with Bass Pro Shops, Cabelas, Gander and REI. All the store visits were within the last 30 days in and around the Detroit Michigan area.
1. Bass Pro. Nice store with plenty of Nature Scenes built into the displays. Good selection of supplies with several of the staple items (lanterns, tents etc) to compare. Pricing was all over the board. Some items were reasonable (good tent cots @ $50 on sale) to outrageous (Coleman griddle for the stove/grill combo @ $52 !!).
Purchased
5 cots
Coleman propane lantern
Coleman Expo Kitchen
2. Cabelas turned me right off. While the store displays were great. The selection of equipment good. The prices were high and often in contrast to what was offered online. An example is the Antarctic Chair. Online was 30 bucks. In store was on sale for 45. Same for the Coleman stove. Online 34 in store on sale for 49. Used the ship to store option so was really looking to pick up the ordered items. But could not help but notice the price switching.
Purchased
4 Antarctic chairs
2 loungers
Coleman stove
3. The Gander in my area is a joke. Dirty, mixed up stock, poorly organized. Joe 6 pack at it`s finest.
4. REI has a great website, decent prices (sale items) and a good selection online. The store was a huge disappointment. Clean and well organized it was very small compared to the others. While what they had was decent quality. If you wanted to compare one item to another it simply could not be done. They simply did not have the space in the store.
Purchased
ALPS Mountain folding table
The Kodiak 6055 tent (10x10) is simply awesome. Easy to set up, great quality and very comfortable.
Coleman stove/grill, lantern stand and Expo kitchen worked well.
The grill was touchy on heat adjustment but worked OK.
Lantern stand is worth every penney. Decent quality but the stakes could be better.
Expo kitchen was great. A little low in height but the combined work surfaces, utensil holders and sink made up for the height. With the battery powered water bottle pump (thanks Corey) and a bucket to drain the sink. Everything from washing hands to making meals was much easier. Seemed to be much better quality then the Cabelas kitchen(s).
ALPS table was sturdy, easy to set up and worked fine.
Little Buddy heater was another good working item. Kept our tent warm in low 30* temps. Need to convert the 1 lb tank to a multi pound so it doesn't run out of gas halfway through the night.
FWIW/YMMV.