The Benchmark Outdoor Outfitter

This store has such a great variety of product. They offer Marmot, The North Face, Arcteryx, Patagonia, & lots more. The store staff is very knowledgeable and can help you find what you need for any outdoor activity. This store is great for hiking, climbing, and snow sports essentials. An associate by the name of Alexa Grau works there and she does such a fantastic job of effectively promoting the store! This is one place you need to stop at before taking that next adventure.

Expertise is worth the premium prices. These guys know their stuff. Always willing to help and never pushy. They staff well

I have shopped here for a hiking trip in New Mexico and some safari time in Africa. Great products, knowledgeable staff, and a pleasant place to shop.

I’ve been coming here for 20 years. It’s the best outdoor store in Cincinnati. There are bigger places, but none with the high quality items they carry. The staff is helpful and friendly. I like REI as much as the next guy, but this is always where I start when I am looking for something in particular. They’re first rate.

The customer service was wonderful and they directly ordered a size in a particular item for them that they did not have in the store. I would highly recommend shopping here! Much better than the mall stores.

Great selection of outdoor gear and knowledgable staff. I probably buy 4 or 5 items a year there, which doesn’t sound like a lot, but the quality of the merchandise is very good that the items last me for ages. I also think it’s important to support my local businesses as much as possible.
Additionally, they offer hiking, backpacking, and camping classes for Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. We recently had an outing there with our Brownie troop and the outreach coordinator set up a program for the girls. It was really informative and interesting. The girls loved it!
I saw a bad review earlier about the customer service. I’ve never personally experienced bad service at Benchmark, but I would encourage the person who had the problem to contact store management instead of complaining to everyone she knows. Having worked in the customer service industry for 20 years, I can tell you firsthand that small businesses depend on word of mouth and care about their customers. Contacting store management and reporting the bad service, will be much more effective at correcting the problem than blasting them on social media.

My family has been going to benchmark for years. We buy all of our gear there as well as shoes, clothes, and everything in between! Compared to REI, they have plenty of selection in brands such as Patagonia, Chaco, and north face! (Some of our favorites). The service is much friendlier as well! It’s a great local business I recommend to all!

Great service! They helped us with refitting our roof rack in the scorching heat! So friendly! Love their personal touch.
Highly recommend them for all of your outdoor needs.

I just had the rudest experience ever. I went in, asked half of a question, and the employee interrupted me and began to essentially mock me. I didn’t even get to finish my question before I told him I was going to go back to REI. I’m completely floored. I’ve NEVER been treated that rude ANYWHERE. I would not recommend this store to anyone, and I will be actively dissuading people from ever coming here.

Overall this is a very nice outfitters for backpacking gear. They have eagles nest hammocks (the best hammock on this planet) and a good selection of packs, clothing and gear. The prices are a little on the high side (what do you expect, it’s kenwood) but the people here really know what they’re talking about and they are very helpful and friendly.

The employees don’t work on commission. They’re just helpful and informative! They aren’t pushy. They have great tips and make a great effort to get us the gear we need for our adventures. We’ve had impromptu demonstrations of camp stoves, water filtration system, proper boot fit, anything we have a question about they are there to answer! (even when it comes to places to go and things to see)
I am we’ll aware that I can save a few bucks ordering some things online or going to rei but nothing comes close to the service, guarantee, and personal shopping assistance that I get shopping here. I can only imagine the number of boots I would have shipped back and reordered before I found the more narrow fit that I needed. They have helped us make a few important decisions when we were unsure about a gear purchase and they’ve been right on every time. My favorite place to shop.

I didn’t expect to hear back on my complaint about their returns policy, but I was very grateful that someone contacted me to discuss my concerns. This was months ago, and I feel a bit bad for not updating my review earlier, but I’ve had a slipped disc and the last thing on my mind has been footwear for hiking that hurts too much to do.
I was planning on returning the boots per their updated returns policy, but before they contacted me, I had already figured out a cheap fix for my numbness problem, which was just to unlace the boots and re-​lace them a bit further up. This solved my problem, and made me feel somewhat of a jerk for complaining when there was a simple alternate fix for my issue. I actually am pretty happy with the boots now that the laces aren’t cutting off my circulation.
Hopefully, I’ll get my back issues under control before springtime, so once I wear these out, I might actually return to Benchmark for replacements (and have an even better update than 1 additional star). In the meantime, I am really grateful that my customer concerns were addressed. For me, that was an unexpected reaction, and I really appreciate that level of good customer service.

I’ve been going here a few times a year for the last couple of years. Last time I was there, I had been at the new REI looking for an ATC. REI was completely out of stock, and the parking lot was insane in that mall. So, I headed north and went to Benchmark. The keep their climbing pro behind the counter, but when I asked no see one of their ATC’s, they said I could come around the counter and look at them. The sales person was very helpful and I ended up getting an ATC with a locking beener (instead of buying the two separately) I’m not going to say I will buy all my gear from here, as much of it is so much cheaper online, but I am willing to pay the increased prices for that kind of service.

My son and I were in the store yesterday to look at snowboards and Northface pullovers. We had some questions about the different boards and the way my son snowboards. Erin was the sales associate that helped us and we were very impressed with her. She was very relatable and knowledgable. She really knew her stuff. I really appreciated finally having a sales person who actually uses the products they are selling and can give personal endorsements. That’s so valuable to me.
Next, the Northface clothing. My son’s girlfriend remarked how the store’s warm and cozy atmosphere makes it exciting to shop for warm and cozy clothing like Northface pullovers and jackets and she’s exactly right. I found them to have the same pullovers that the other stores have, and comparable prices, but also a few unique items we hadn’t seen before, and those were reasonably priced as well. My 20 year old son tried on a non-​zipping pullover and stated that it was «the most comfortable thing» he’s ever put on in his life!
I would give this store a 10 out of 10. I love the atmosphere, I love the brands the store carries and the different colors, and I mostly love that the staff actually knows their products because they use them!

A comparison with the new REI store in Cincinnati.
Now that REI is open in Cincinnati I’m sure the question will come up — what can Benchmark Outfitters give me that REI doesn’t?
The good news is — a lot. I found that Benchmark is stocked with more higher quality camping gear than REI. For the stuff I was looking for (titanium cook set, lightweight camp fly, and Leki trekking poles) Benchmark had them in stock and REI did not. I’ve found that REI stores typically don’t stock some of this higher end gear (despite it being on their web site). Another huge plus is the staff. I’ve been really impressed with the quality of staff at Benchmark. They are experienced with the gear that they sell. REI is hit-​or-​miss with this quality of staff. For this niche — Benchmark Outfitters is as good as it gets.
The bad — Benchmark Outfitters do not have the variety of clothing that REI does. They also don’t have any biking equipment. This is *not* their niche.
If you want high end backpacking and camping gear — Benchmark Outfitters is the place to start!

Very pleased with a surprise experience with this store. I had ordered many clothing pieces online and when my package confirmation shipment came email, I noticed Benchmark sent the delivery using UPS Carbon Neutral Shipping. I utilize online shopping frequently for purchasing and this was a first! I had to look this up on the UPS website. Basically, it is an option businesses who are concerned with the impact of mass shipping on the environment can take to minimize the effects of CO2.
I am aware of the commitment Benchmark has toward global sustainability and was pleased to see this extra step. Thanks for your commitment.
Update:
My experience here just gets better! I continue to be blown away by the commitment of the staff and their knowledge and expertise. I was needing gear for my son and my boyfriend, who are at opposite ends of the experience spectrum in ability and cold tolerance for snowboarding. My boyfriend loves the Icebreaker components that were suggested he purchase, my son is breaking new barriers with his new equipment. The expertise and knowledge at this store is so appreciated!

The people at benchmark are awesome! They were so patient with me today while trying to figure out which Patagonia hat I was supposed to pick up for my daughter for her boyfriend! We took photos and narrowed it down — meanwhile — the extra time I spent there allowed me to shop for me too, and i purchased two north face zip ups for me! The colors are gorgeous! Thank goodness benchmark is right in my neck of the woods, so to speak, in blue ash! I’ll definitely be attending their ladies night in October!

There is a decent selection of camping supplies and necessities. Things are a bit pricey. Good location when you’re in a pinch.

Went in for a small backpack and a pair of 5 finger shoes. The staff was very helpful and even called multiple locations to see of the backpack I wanted was available in another color. Was blown away when the sales guy matched the amazon price.
With the five finger shoes the sales guy sized me and helped explain the different types. I had him get me a bunch of different sizes and colors to try and I never felt like he was impatient with me at all (I would have been). All in all, their prices are at market or a little higher, but I’ll always go in there first before buying something because of the service.

I’m an REI guy, but since there aren’t any in this neck of the woods I thought I’d swing by.
They did have a nice selection of Vibram running shoes, but the sales associate didn’t really have any experience at all with sizing shoes. He just kept saying «I don’t really know how to do that» in response to finding how far my toes came forward in the shoes (since you can’t bend over and see for yourself).
The sale associate in the tent section was knowledge-​able but too intent on «selling» me and not answering my questions.
The take-​away: lots of stuff to look at, but I wouldn’t rely on help.

They dont even carry a full inventory! All three times I’ve been there they’ve told me they dont carry what they said they did and I had to order it to be shipped to the store and go pick it up a week later. And if you ever get a gift card for their stores, forget using it online.