I went to my local Cleve's today to get a pair of slacks that I could wear to my physio…read moreappointments. I was very surprised to hear that although Cleve's is Canadian, most (if not all) of the items that they sell are American made. I asked whether they had anything Canadian and was not received well. The young woman who was working there did not appreciate the fact that I would not buy anything American and implied by her body language and eye movements that there was something wrong with me. I will not be entering any Cleve's stores in the foreseeable future. At the very least, the customer should be treated with respect.

Today I went into Cleve's with one mission at hand - to find a good men's baseball glove. I was…read morepleased to discover that they still had a fair selection, seeing as how the baseball season had ended over a month ago. Unsure, of exactly what I was looking for, I asked one of the young sales guys for help. He was more than happy to help and spent about 15 minutes with me trying on each glove, and letting me know, from a guy's perspective, the good and bad of each one. He also took his time to explain to me the difference between a baseball and softball glove, and was very thorough in helping me find the perfect glove. I was grateful for his help and the excellent customer service.

This was my second visit to this location. First time to buy a bike helmet and this time to find a…read moreski helmet that fits my head now that it is the law to wear one while skiing. Soon I am sure I will return to this store to get yet another couple helmet's when required by law to wear one while driving and walking. The best advice I can offer anyone is do not call them just go over. I called twice yesterday and all I got was hang-ups? A CLICK and then the pause and dial tone again. I called another location of the same store and got them to check to see what was on sale and in stock etc... The guy told me at the other location that they never answer the phone when I told him about the hang ups. Showing up at the store as it was last time I visited was a good experience. Lots of helmets to choose from for average size heads. I always have trouble with the fit for mine as I need something large very large. I ended up buying one. Wearing it around the house etc... To see how it fits. This store has or at least yesterday an army of sales people walking the floor. The store called this weekend black Friday sales. It was save the tax across the whole store with a few better sales for certain items. I would return here as the prices are reasonable and the sales staff are helpful. If you find the service was good don't forget to get the sales person's name because they will ask you at the cash who helped you and that person will get commission. Just don't call the store before going over unless you like hang-ups or whatever that is? I don't know of an answering service that hangs up in the callers ear?

I keep thinking Yelp is meant for restaurants and forget that when I have a good (or bad)…read moreexperience at any business establishment I can turn to Yelp and give an honest opinion... I'm not here to talk about food quality or presentation of a particular menu item. I'm not here to talk about how awesome it was to build Legos and dress up like pirates (though that was pretty spectacular)... I'm here to talk about running shoes and my experience at the Halifax Shopping Centre Sport Chek. I'm about to run my first marathon (Crazy yes, but oh so needed for this life changing journey) and for the past couple of weeks I've been on the hunt for a new pair of Saucony running shoes (I'm a die hard fan). After being sorely disappointed in Aerobics first (another review possibly?) and Amazon I turned to the clearance blow-out by Cleve's and found a nice pair of running shoes... The only problem? They didn't "POP". This is going to be my first marathon people. Everything needs to look good, feel good and hey did I mention looking good? Meegan and I happen to stop in at another Sport Chek location earlier this week looking for a new running shirt (remember I need to look good while running 42km). They were having a buy one get one half off sale on shoes... We just looked... A day later we found ourselves at the Halifax Centre location with the intent of purchasing not only another pair of Saucony running shoes for me but another pair of athletic shoes for her. There was only one guy working in the shoe department - Jacob. The review is more about him than anything else. After spending a lot of time in the major "running" stores in the area he is by far the most helpful person I've encountered and he's not even a runner (hockey knees!). For someone that doesn't run he has quite the knowledge background and took the time to explain to me all this new talk about 4mm drop (it's a running thing) and about the difference between a stability / neutral/ minimal shoe. At the other "running" stores I sort of got the evil eye for not knowing all the technical terms (I just run...) He spent quite a bit of time going back and forth between shoes for Meegan and me. In the end we both walked away with a pair of shoes that we fell in love with. The store itself was ginormous. Chock full of all kinds of sports equipment and a pretty large clearance section in the middle (I do love a good clearance section). If you get a chance head to the back where the athletic shoes, look for Jacob and try on a pair of Sauconys!

Now, I haven't been on a board (skate or snow) since folks were all running around with plaid…read moreflannel shirts tied around their waists and Soundgarden blasting from their discmans (and yes, I am aware that I am demonstrating old-fogey-ness to an embarrassing extent with this admission), so I didn't make a beeline for the new, all-in-one location of Pro Skates when it opened. But I just happened to be strolling down Quinpool this weeked, and spotted some sweet chapeaus through the window. The BF and I are both hat fans, so we headed in to browse. I was surprised by what I found inside. At first glance, it didn't really look like a snowboard/skateboard shop. I saw sunglasses and watches, Orphanage clothing, and some bags I had to talk myself out of, along with the aforementioned headgear - stylin' wool and straw fedoras, along with a serious selection of awesome toques. But where was the wax, the wheels, the bindings? Oh yeah, turns out there's a whole other level! Here you'll find everything your boardin' heart might desire ... but if, like me, you don't ride (or even have any idea what "goofyfoot" means) check them out anyway - there's plenty to look at and buy, even if you aren't a "Pro"!

Pro Skateboards - they pretty much have the monopoly on the Halifax scene, which is ok. This…read morelocation will help you and have great customer service. The young guy who helped us was Jermaine,( I am sorry if this is not how to spell your name), thank goodness he was working that day. He gave us the whole rundown on all the boards. Not all boards are created equal, and not all boards are for each rider. It does come down to a personal preference, but if you have never bought a board before, then you are at their mercy. Fortunate for us, he did not lead us astray. The board was pieced together with Spitfire wheels, Bones Redz bearings, Independent trucks and a classic Toy Machine board. I have to say, it looks pretty awesome. Now, I know there might be some people reading this who are saying , why in the heck did you get that board, etc. Well as we were told, it is all personal preference and you can get brain exhaustion from researching all the different boards out there and the biggest thing to remember is , some people get paid to promote certain brands. So this was a great experience, and not too much of a headache. I would recommend this skate shop over any other. Thank you!

Did I mention Dartmouth and I have been supa-friends lately? Another drive across the waters, I…read morestopped into Spirit Martial Arts Supplies sheerly out of curiosity. This is a bountiful arena for all those noble fighters. Not exactly sure of the equipment run-though of Martial Arts, but I'm fairly certain this place will have you covered. Punching bags, gloves, proper shoes and apparel... its all legit fighting gear! The store offers the resources to those who are interested in the "fighting community" as well. Staffers seem well versed (as I eavesdropped on nearby clientele service) Those in the market should pop by!

I stopped by this place on the weekend to have a look at their store. I heard great things from…read morefriends so I wanted to see what they had and I wasn't disappointed! The cleanliness and organization of the store is very nice! Everything is well laid out and easy to see. Their selection of gear and equipment is nice as well, I noticed they carried most of the top brands available for my discipline. The staff are welcoming too. Quick to strike up a conversation, let you look, suggest some items for what your looking for and show you some things you may be interested in. Bottom line, this place is the place to go. You'd be hard pressed to find a better spot to shop for your martial arts needs!

I was on Quinpool yesterday when I realized it had been over a year since I'd been into The Trail…read moreShop. Well, I had to fix that mistake! I stuck to the main floor with the clothes, though they do have a second floor with bigger items like tents. I love the set up of the store, though it doesn't seem very friendly for folks who aren't able-bodied with the stairs right at the front entrance. Not super great. The product selection is pretty good, with tons of backpacks and water bottles greeting you as you walk up the stairs to the main floor. The clothing is split between men and women and they seemed to have some pretty decent sales going on. Not going to lie though, I was drawn to the huge selection of socks. A bit weird? Maybe. But there's something so wonderful about a great pair of socks, y'know? Anyway, the Trail Shop is a great independently owned sporting good stores, and if you're in the area I highly recommend checking it out. The staff are friendly and happy to help if you have questions, or to leave you alone if you just want to look around.

The Trail Shop is essentially a mini MEC and for this reason, i'm generally a fan…read more Lots of great camping equipment, rain and winter weather clothing, as well as hiking boots, etc. I'm planning to head backpacking this spring/summer and i'll definitely check out Trail Shop for rain gear and shoes before I leave. Overall, you can expect to find high end brands such as: Arc'teryx, Lolë, North Face and Kuhl.

Went in for a cage repair on a helmet. Was helped out quickly and efficiently at no cost…read more Great service.

After a mad chase through about four other large sports stores, this tried, tested and true…read morelocation of Cleve's in Burnside finally hooked me up with a couple packages of ping pong balls. Or, table tennis balls if you're super classy about your miniature sports. The building looks a bit rundown from the outside but it's nicely done once you get through the main doors. The layout is spread out by sport which makes things easy to find, and while I didn't need any help this time around, most staff seemed pretty enthusiastic when it came to helping other midday shoppers find what they were looking for. The downside? Well, the parking lot is a bit of a minefield. It's a one-way wrap around the building, although plenty of people are oblivious to this fact, and there are gravel sections, potholes galore, and tight squeezes around the staff parking on the far side. Drive carefully!

A nice compact two floor MEC in the heart of downtown Halifax. Typical MEC store layout. Most of…read morethe clothing is on the second floor - accessible by elevator or stairs. All the staff at this location are super friendly and helpful. Doesn't quite have the variety of larger MECs such as in Toronto which is to be expected. Will need to order in less common items.

Bought boots at MEC, a well known and trusted brand. 8 months into wearing them they began to…read moredevelop a rip in the leather. I talked to the manufacturer, the afore mentioned, "trusted brand", they declined to address the rip. So I went back to MEC to check on there guarantee. They agreed that it was a defect, and with zero hassle replaced the boots. Thanks to the staff who were chill and used common sense to determine it was a defect. -Bless up it's 2024 baby!

Stopped in to find some new sneakers for walking, Wow wonderful staff, extremely helpful and…read morepolite. I definitely recommend shopping here and I will absolutely be back! Thank you to all the very helpful staff!

2 of the staff was excellent and you could genuinely tell they cared / we're interested in what…read morethey were selling. There was another set of losers there practically just watching the time go. I'll return once this place has been replaced.