Decathlon is unknown to US customers as they only recently opened in California, but it's a huge…read moresportswear and sports gear store with locations in Europe and Asia. Much bigger than Sports Authority, kind of like REI but with a better price. The place is very spacious, people can test out their bicycles up and down the aisles! They boost that they have products for over 80 sports, and they are all private labels. That said, they will have something for many sports, but not necessarily a lot of selection for each. There are some lose-leader items worth checking out, like bag pack for 3€, or some other items for ridiculously low price. Some seems to be cheap for a reason - the stitching and material is just not that great, but they do have some nicer, higher end products that are thoughtfully designed and while not cheap, a good price compared to competition.

We went to bought bikes for me and my wifecin Decathlon Wilmersdorfer, Berlin. Along-with this, we…read morealso bought other stuff. We really liked the way how Vladimir at Decathlon helped us in everything, started from deciding the bike and finally, fixing the stuff. We really liked the Vladimir's professional skills of handling customer. It was really helpful for us to visit Decathlon at Wilmersdorfer Str. Berlin. Thanks Vladimir for all the help.

The selection seems okay, but the staff was not very helpful…read more I was looking for hiking books last week for an upcoming trip to the mountains and narrowed it down to two pairs on sale. I finally decided to interrupt the sales woman/man from their ongoing conversation to ask (in German) if they happened to have a recommendation. I was answered (by him) that neither pair was good for mountains, they were basically sneakers which went up high, and that I would slip going downhill. She then told me that Merrell is an American company (I guess this is useful because I'm American...?) I went back to my shoe boxes confused and discouraged. When I texted my friend in France (who is a mountain guide I'm visiting) about the unhelpful staff, he asked how often I hike (2x/year) and for how long (tops three hours). He looked at a picture of the boots and said they were fine for me and perhaps more than what I needed. I generally don't expect much from German customer service, but not being completely discouraging would be a good start. I ordered the boots elsewhere.

While visiting Germany from San Francisco, I found that a week's worth of hopping trains and…read morewalking on cobblestone streets left my feet an aching mess. A long morning run in Berlin's beautiful Tiergarten exacerbated the situation, but I had neglected to throw my trusty little spiky massage ball into my suitcase this time! So I went in search of some local running and sports stores. No luck there--they seemed only to carry clothes and shoes for male runners. By chance, however, I passed by Karstadt Sports on my way back to my hotel from the S Bahn. It was a chilly, rainy and very windy day, and I limped into the store as a windswept mess with low expectations. To my pleasant surprise, Karstadt Sports was well-stocked, and I found a 2-pack of the very same spiky yellow massage ball I have back home in San Francisco! Only €6 later, my feet were on the way to pain relief so I could continue exploring and enjoying the city. Best of all, the staff was so warm and lovely and made me feel very welcome in Berlin, as did most of the Berliners I encountered. Thank you so much for saving my feet and the rest of my vacation, Karstadt!