REI

This location is smaller than most but has a decent size selection of camping gear, clothing, kayaks etc. Biking area needs a lot of work. They had only a few choices for biking apparel and helmets, which I guess made my selection process a lot easier. Pricing can be a tad steep, but you can expect that from a big name store. Employees are typically helpful and friendly. If you want quality outdoor/​athletic activity store this REI hits the mark.

Exactly a twin of cabela’s or Dicks. So, pricey but, great selection. You can get better prices once you pick out what you want there. Yeah, I did say that! I do not like overpaying. The shoe department sucked. You know how you are trying to look at a car and the salesman is like a shark stalking? Yeah that’s this shoe department. They didn’t have knowledge about shoes. The selection is great but they are awkward. I felt like saying back off dude… let me look, then tellinghim what shoe i wanted and saying back off dude again. If he was knowledgeable i would have been more tolerant. It felt more like being with a teenager on his first date! Just let me try it on instead of awkwardly walking, pacing, jiggling pockets. The check out people were great and helpful. The guy in camping with a beard was great. I bought my Garmin there but, my shoes elsewhere.

This is a smaller REI location — hence the 4 star (only for the selection). I came here to try out some camping great. The staff was wonderful, they showed me tents, sleeping pads, and sleeping bags that were catered to my needs. They spent extra time with me letting me try different combinations of pads and sleeping bags. My boyfriend and I set up a tent in the middle of their floor to make sure it would fit both of us.
Great service, great experience. Will come back in the future.

For all your outdoor adventure needs there is no better place for gear than REI. In my opinion the best return policy available, and they have a staff that truly cares about getting you into the correct gear for your next hiking adventure!

I came here in need of help to prepare for a trip to Iceland. Yes, Iceland. Camping no less, my very first time.
The staff was very helpful and knowledgeable. I have a pair of hiking boots I still love over a year later, and a great variety of items. I needed rain proof gear, base layers, under garments, etc. The saleswoman clearly and expertly explained the difference between brands and fabrics, made recommendations, and encouraged me to try everything on. I walked out fully prepared and I had an awesome time on my trip
They made what could have been a very stressful shopping trip, very enjoyable.

A solid, well-​stocked REI in a boring, slightly-​crowded strip mall outside town. Friendly help (and enough of it), decent selection of most things (including XC skis and kayaks), and ship-​to-​store for weird online-​only stuff.
The location is fine with a car, as long as you don’t mind the traffic from the neighboring Whole Foods; but it’s definitely not the easiest place to get via bike.
For non-​motorized transport, Eisenhower and Ann Arbor-​Saline roads are both fairly terrible, I’d usually approach by sneaking through subdivision playgrounds on S. 7^th St.
It’s not a cute local shop, but the selection and overall quality are great.

EXCELLENT service in the bike shop — I’ve had a few bikes repaired and tuned up.

Besides eating and vacation reviews I want to add my exercise reviews. I love to work out. Depending on my mood I will either join a health club or develop my own work out. REI is best for the latter. If I am doing any type of hiking or outdoor activity, I know that REI has quality gear and very good service. About a quarter of the time that I have been here I haven’t really had any customer service, but I am sure they would help if I ask. Even at some of the other, busier REI locations I’ve always had someone say hello or ask if I need help. They have a good amount of «clearance» options in store and online. What I like about this location is the selection and the knowledge of the staff. REI is pricey but all material that I buy from them is of good quality. I feel like going back today — anyone want to go hiking this weekend :)?

Outstanding service. Carola fit my pack to my frame perfectly as well as taking the time to explain each feature and function it had. She was so knowledgable and took her time to make sure I had exactly what I was looking for. Highly recommend stopping by here before any lengthy hiking trip.

The employees here have been super helpful each time I’m looking for a particular item (usually a jacket). Whether or not they have it in stock at this location, they’d go out of their way to make sure I find what I need. Be that continuously searching their stock or searching for a different location to see if there’s one out there.
Prices wise, it might not be the best. Shopping around online could be better, but if you’re in need, REI is the place to go. Also, their sale section from time to time can have some hidden gems. Good items at reasonable costs.

This is a smaller REI than usual, but still has a decent selection. The staff is helpful and always available. I love the clearance section!

Great place for a good pair of gloves, but their stock is limited and the sales guy helping us kept saying that this store was smaller and doesn’t have all the variety of the Northville or Novi store. Not what you want to hear when looking for something specific.
They don’t carry ANY women’s size 11 winter boots. Which is annoying. Socks are in three different places and about impossible to find someone to help you when needed. Still, this is the only place around with quality gear.

If you need outdoor, camping, or hiking supplies this is one of the easier, better options in A2. Easy access and plenty of parking. One of the pricier options for outdoor goods but you do get what you pay for

Two words:
Garage Sale!!!

This REI location is a little smaller than its Livonia/​Northfield (5 Mile Rd) sibling. However it offers a wide selection (minus the bike section) of typical outdoor clothing and equipment.
If you’ve been to any other REI you know its a great co-​operative and I’m very pleased about the no questions asked 100% satisfaction guarantee. I’ve returned 3 products to date that had faults, and was very pleased to see them replaced.
Great prices on most items, and the ability for hassle free returns makes it a no brainer. Mix in free classes (for surviving the outdoors) and you’ve got a great store!

This location actually differs from the other two on the east side of the state. The AA location has less camping and backpacking gear but much more biking, boating, and winter gear.
Other tips–
You can order online and ship to store and save expensive shipping costs.
If you have an REI membership you can take anything back for a full refund forever. Yes, purchased a pair of shoes that break down after a year and you think they were made poorly take them back.

My snowboarder friend introduced me to REI a while back, and I was happy to see one in Ann Arbor. After perusing around their website for a bit, I decided that a $ 20 membership would be worth it to take advantage of their co-​op membership.
One of the first things I noticed about REI besides it’s vast size was the friendliness of the employees. When I was shopping for a jacket, this chick randomly said «hi» to me with a huge smile. Who does that nowadays?! They have a lot of older employees who look like they’ve been around the outdoorsy block, and gruffy beard-​wearing 130 pound guys who obviously spend a lot of time in the mountains. Nevertheless, they’re very knowledgeable and helpful.
Their women’s shoe section wasn’t too large, but active apparel was. From what I saw, REI had a pretty good selection for most things but it’s reallyyy pricey. I guess you really pay for the customer service, because unless you spend hundreds of dollars a year on gear the 10% max return (on selected items) is pretty negligible.

I just loves me some REI to pieces. This is a small satellite store, with a limited selection of both outdoor gear and performance clothing, in a college town, and muy popular. Therefore, no women’s sizes between XS and L. Unless you luckily pounce within a few days of restocking. (Well, ok, maybe if something runs small, then there will be only XS and S and the extremely rare M.) This hasn’t changed since the store opened so really, don’t bother, unless you want to get ticked off at rampant unavailability. If you see something online, call, don’t assume it’s in the store. Shop at Northville REI until Ann Arbor figures this out.
Otherwise, great, typical highly professional REI expertise you can depend on, in all departments, they can tell you what you need, they have good stuff. REI Ann Arbor has sold me a fabulous backpack that elicited the admiration of an Appalachian o.g., a great nordic boot/​binding combination for old skis to solve my finicky narrow heels problem, and awesome hiking boots that feel light and flexible like cross trainers. They just can’t sell us medium-​sized girl clothes. I’m sorry REI, I want this to work, baby let’s get back together, please?

I first visited this REI before a trip to Africa. I needed new shoes that would withstand heat, slimey urban street water, and still look decent enough to wear to rotary club meetings. To make matters more complicated, I had a lot of food pain and had recently had surgery on my big toe (this little piggy went to market, and this little piggy went to the podiatrist …)
The shoe guy spent about 10 minutes quizzing me what I would be doing exactly, and about my toe surgery and how much walking I do. Then he did a bunch of measuring of my feet. And then, get this… he suggested we call my podiastrist to get his feedback on several different possible types of shoes. I didn’t even realize there were «types» but there are. I got Dr. Cohen on the phone who immediately said, «shoe shopping and they told you to get input from me? Where are you? REI?» He rattled off a couple of technical sounding things to the salesperson who immediately eliminated several pairs of shoes becuse they would stress the wrong parts of my foot.
The salesperson asked Dr. Cohen a couple more things about joints and arches then asked me if I had lower back pain. I said, why yes, as a matter of fact I do. They agreed on an ideal shoe type and two okay alternatives and Dr. Cohen told him what type of insert I needed before signing off. Thirty minutes later I had «the shoe» and the right insert. My salesperson had me walk around the store wearing them for an hour to be sure (and he didn’t mind when I scooted next door to Whole Foods to get a juice, even though I hadn’t paid for the shoes I was wearing yet!).
These shoes are really, the best. I am so happy with them…
And my recent glove buying experience was equally satisfying. After a failed trip to Biviouc (don’t even get me started on that one) I visited REI where a real professional fited me for the perfect pair of gloves which were, incidently, $ 50 more at the «other store.»

When I first started getting active, a friend referred me to REI because he was a member and wanted me to use his card. You don’t have to be a member to shop here, but it helps: you get cut a check at the end of the year with money back depending on the items that you’ve purchased. they say up to 10% on eligible purchases — for me this usually evens out to about 6%.
The store itself is pretty large. Very expansive — quite appropriate for an outdoorsey store, eh? They have a very inclusive selection too. It’s comforting to know I can usually find anything outdoorsey that I need — I recently just bought everything I needed for winter running here. Their section of energy bars, as usual for outdoor places, is a bit of a rip. You can do better at health markets.
Great prices, great sales, great selection (even more comprehensive online), and the quality of service is up there. I’m a fan.