Adventure 16 Outdoor & Travel Outfitters

Read the other reviews. This is what retail salespeople deal with-​complaining whiners. Its Phillip the customer thats the problem. The stuff is high end and expensive. North Face is the same price at A16, Sport Chalet or REI. Top quality stuff is 2 – 3 times the price of store brand/​Columbia and lasts 3 times as long. Big 5 is cheap buy sells marginal gear. If youre a fair weather weekend wanker shop at Big 5. Unfortunately A16 sells almost no climbing gear these days. For that go to Nomad Ventures or REI.
As a 20+ year customer at all the A16 stores, I can say that they have the friendliest and most knowledgeable customers service of outdoor clothing shops. REI gets a few good ones. Sport Chalet has one that knows anything about product. A16’s shoe and boot policy is good-​if they arent comfy bring em back.
The only jerk A16 sales guy Ive met was at the old Costa Mesa Store on Harbor drive in the 1990’s. The San Diego workers are friendlier then LA workers. «Cyan» claims this store is going out of business. Can she post her evidence of that other then gossip and rumors?

Jeremiah deserves a raise! He knows his jackets and sleeping bags. Those were the only things I tested him on. Makes me want to go back and buy something and use it…

I love REI, but I am also a huge fan of Adventure 16! Adventure 16 always has free classes on backpacking. A lot of times at the classes they give out adventure bucks for discounts on store items (25% off a $ 40 purchase). The staff is very friendly and a lot of the stuff they carry is different than REI. Give this place a shot!

Great little mini-​chain, and a nice local alternative to REI. My wife and I stopped in today just to look around and ended up walking out with a few items. First thing I noticed was that the kayak rental shop is finally gone. It seemed really out of place and that guy had been trying to sell it for years. The customer service is the next thing I enjoy there. Once we said we were just having a look at stuff, they left us alone. I did notice how helpful they were to other shoppers. Great clearance room, and good selection on their sales and clearance racks. I’ll be back!

If you do most anything outdoors then this is your spot! They are the guru’s at everything from hiking and climbing to kayaking and sledding. The staff was really knowledgable on the shoes I wanted and I plan to head back to rent a kayak some time soon.
Come on in and get familiar with the outdoors!

Customer service here is top notch. Friendly people who assist newbies. Great outdoor items too.

Snooty salespeople, small inventory, and high prices. It’s a yuppie’s dream!
I’m not sure how it got to the point where the mini-​wage losers who work in places like this, see themselves as somehow superior to the customers.
Sadly, I’m old enough (and San Diego native enough) to remember when A16 was Mic Mead’s and Ralph Drollinger’s proto-​granola, post-​hippie labour of love out in Alvarado Canyon.
The steep tailspin of A16 into its current status as an overpriced love affair with owning outdoors crap instead of doing things outdoors, is a microcosm of what’s gone wrong in America is this depressing age of über-​consumerism. Ditto North Face and Patagonia. Ditto all those road bike riders with their cheesy little faux-​racer costumes.
Ah, Saturday morning! The coffee’s bitter, and so am I. ;-)

Customer service here is why I would stop in!
I came here looking for a specific type of Patagonia jacket, and when they didn’t have it at the store, the clerk looked it up in the computer, and had it delivered from a store in LA in just a few days. They were extremely helpful and willing to answer questions.
I went to the store in San Diego and they were not nearly as good. I’ve also been to the location in Solana Beach and had a great experience.
They occasionally have some great sales too! I think the last time I was there all Patagonia clothing was 30% off, that’s awesome!

On my last stop into this A16, I attended a free seminar on hiking Mt. Whitney hosted by Jack and Betsy Evans. The Evans’ are San Diegans and have summited the mountain numerous times so the talk was very informative as expected. Among the tips that they gave us were about which local hikes to go on in order to better train for Whitney. This seminar was one of a handful that A16 offers throughout the year gratis. A list of these can be found here:
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After the seminar I was able to do a little shopping and came to the conclusion that this location was pretty similar to the one in Solana Beach. The few differences that I did happen to notice were pretty significant however. The backpack selection in Oceanside is huge. Don’t quote me on this (I don’t want the fact police to hunt me down), but I’m positive that Oside’s selection is three times larger. The other things are that different are the exclusive in-​house kayak and surf shops that are housed within the Oceanside store.

I wish I could afford all that I needed from this store. I’d go broke here if I’d allow myself too. I came looking for an Eagle Creek Bohemian purse that my mother in law turned me onto. Its the greatest purse and is like the one I have now but on a bigger and safer scale.
We walked in and were greeted and my mom, son and I got diverted by the luggage that Eagle Creek also makes my husband and I are in need of a bigger luggage to stuff all our stuff into one suitcase and not to have to keep carrying 3 separate ones. I found one but its pricey so I passed and kept my eye out for my new purse which I never found. This store is so clean and organized I hope it never goes out of biz cause ill definitely go here when I save up the money to afford that luggage!
We kept looking around and I found some great camping stuff for our next camping trip I can’t wait to go back and get it all once we figure out where we are going camping!!!
The next time you need anything from camping, hiking, rock climbing or just hiking clothes and such go check this store out you won’t be disappointed oh and yeah they have shoes there too how cool is that they have it all for the adventurous person!