Had exactly what I wanted, huge selection and super friendly. Reasonable priced to top off the…read moretrifecta

As a bargain fiend, I usually purchase most outdoor gear online, but I was recently in search of…read moresome hiking shoes, and decided to hit up this shop on Banff Avenue. It can be quite mobbed, but I was still impressed with the personalized service from the staff member who patiently brought out different sizes and varieties of shoes. The people who work here seem to own a lot of the gear that they sell, so I felt like I was getting helpful insider knowledge about the products I was looking at (i.e. this style of Salomon shoe tends to run large, etc). In general the staff are really well informed and friendly, and I never felt pressured into making a purchase. Prices aren't bargain basement, but they do run some decent sales. I also regularly consult several independent gear review sites, and this store seemed to stock many of the top ranking styles and brands. Atmosphere is actually a chain, with an online shop as well, so apparently you can even make purchases on their website and return them to the store. I ended up with some killer shoes, and would happily shop here again.

FUN store with the neatest display of backpacks I had ever seen. I was drawn in from the street…read morelike a kid in a candy store while walking along Banff Avenue. Yeah, the prices are high - but it's a boutique store and you're in a touristy town so what do you expect? They sell mens, womens, and kiddo outdoor gear ranging from your daily wear to an ultra warm and expensive parka in the $700 price range (no, that's not a typo). The quality appears second to none and the staff are knowledgeable and friendly. I had to google their company after returning home to learn the origin of their name. "Fjällräven means Arctic Fox in Swedish, honoring the small and highly adaptable predator that lives in the Swedish mountains under the harshest conditions." Cool, I totally dig this. A company committed to giving the best to their customers while protecting wildlife and nature - Yes, yes, I can get behind you Fjällräven. I am sooooooooooooo coming back here on my next visit to Banff and I think I will get myself one of their signature Kånken backpacks as a treat! But which one? They now have 9 styles from the Mini to the Big to the Laptop to the original Kånken to the Kids. There's some pretty neat history behind it as well - being created in the late 1970's to help alleviate the problem of an increasing number of kiddos with back/shoulder pain from over the shoulder bags which was the dominate fashion at the time.

Great quality clothing, super helpful staff. Had a beer while shopping. The clothing here is pricy…read morebut is super durable. Really cool atmosphere!

The top sheet of my snowboard was chipped and peeling off. It was recommended that we come here to…read moreget it fixed. After 24 hours, I picked it up and I was able to use it for the next day. At the end of our trip, we brought our boards to get waxed. It was done timely and at a reasonable price. Overall, wonderful service and helpful staff.

Bear Street Outfitters is awesome. Marshall helped me navigate the enormous selection of downhill…read moreskis. Every day I rented demo skis, he listened to my feedback and recommended a better ski for the next day. A wonderful selection for anyone, top line brands and master advice. I can't recommend Bear Street Outfitters enough. It's fantastic. The best advice I can give: if you are in the market for new skis, demo here and buy.

Tons of great gear here. And by gear I mean apparel…read more And bear spray. They have bear spray. I guess that's a big deal in Banff and all the stores that sell it, advertise it hardcore. So yea. Clothes and bear spray. And they do have a good selection of colder weather clothing. Lots of hoodies, and jackets. Vests and beanies. The staff were perfectly helpful and distant when I wanted them to be. The store was clean and well kept, and also well lit. The items here were not nearly as plentiful as I had expected and while everyone in town carries North Face, I was surprised that some of the stores nearby actually had stuff these guys didn't. I'm sure that's by design and I like it. But yea, this store is legit and I liked it.

Found some really good clearance deals, like 50% off. Size selection limited though since they're…read moreclearance deals.

Our first full day in Banff we were planning on taking a little hike up to the gondolas…read more My roommate is looking at the map at the trailhead and I walk a little ahead on the trail to get a head start because I'm slow. All of a sudden I see these two little dogs racing down the trail and they look so funny running so fast. Then over the hill I see they're actually attached to a dog sled and there's a woman on back riding or whatever you call it when you're at the helm of a dogsled. It was super cute and I couldn't help but smile and laugh at these two relatively small dogs pulling her. The woman was waving so I smiled and waved back until she got closer and it became clear that she wasn't waving hello but waving for help... because there was *allegedly* a f*cking bear chasing after her (dogs). I never saw the bear and later we questioned whether she'd exaggerated it but it was still enough to scare the shit out of me and later when we were hiking we saw the roped off bear area in the forest but some had been destroyed and it was in that same area so I took her word for it and spent the rest of the night googling every fatal bear attack that's ever been recorded. Woof. So before going on a hike the next day (Easter Sunday), I got up early and got my ass down to this shop located inside the Fairmont Hotel. They sold me bear spray ($44) and a bear bell and I left feeling slightly safer than I would have without. I thought it was impressive that I didn't even need to leave my hotel to get those items and also took note of all the other really nice sporting goods stuff they had on hand like swimsuit, gloves, hats, parkas, etc. It wasn't cheap but considering its basically a convenience store for specialty goods AND it was open on a holiday, I think it's all pretty fair.

Went here a couple of times while staying at the Fairmont. The employees know nothing about the…read morearea and were generally unhelpful. Was asking for directions to walk to Tunnel Mountain, and they gave me completely wrong information. When renting ski boots another employee seemed generally unhappy that I was there. Another time while asking for information about local hiking trails the employee didn't even make eye contact because he was busy playing a game on his phone. Banff is amazing. The Fairmont is amazing. But almost all the employees I encountered at Chateau mountain sports were rude and unhelpful.

Located in the main downtown Banff mall as one of the flagship stores. It's got a normal selection…read morefocusing on winter and hiking gear. It was a bit short on the fishing gear but looking at the selection, prices look somewhat comparable to its American counterpart. Stores like these in the resort / tourist towns seem to be more like an advertisement storefront than actually focusing on product sales to stay afloat (looking at Banff, Boulder Pearl Street, etc).

The Fairmont concierge recommended the ebike to Johnston Canyon with White Mountain Adventures…read more I've never been on an ebike and always wanted to try one so I was game. There were 6 members of our group and we meet at the White Mountain Adventures office in town. Four of us started off on the ebikes while the other 2 drove to Johnston Canyon and hiked first...and then rode the bikes home. Luke from Australia was the guide for the 4 of us who started off on the ebikes. We did a little test run around a nearby parking lot to make sure we could handle the bikes, although he assured us if we could ride a bike we could be OK. At first i found it a little tricky because it was a little scary how the bike would just take off, but as the ride went on I got more comfortable. I found myself lagging behind the group at first and Luke would nicely come join me. Once I asked what gear everyone was on (6) and adjusted min to be the same I was keeping up with no issues. I actually loved the bike ride. You definitely don't get as much exercise as you do on a normal bike, but i think this 15 mile hilly trip would have been too much for me on normal bike...and it was perfectly enjoyable on a ebike. We also stopped about every 10-15 minutes to take in the beautiful scenery and get some pics. It took about 90 minutes to get to Johnston Canyon and I was a little bummed when the ebike adventure was over. My husband and I were such fans that we talked about buying them for our annual vacations in Sun Valley, Idaho- another place where it is so fun to bike, but can be difficult with all the hilly terrain. The hike itself was probably my least favorite hike that we did in Lake Louise and Banff. Luke was a great guide and the canyon itself was beautiful, but it was sooo crowded which made it less enjoyable. It was also pretty easy in comparison to some of the other hikes we did on the trip (tunnel mountain, agnes tea house). But if you're looking for an easy hike with little incline and don't mind the crowds this is recommended. I don't recommend parking though since it's super crowded so rent a ebike to get there! We were lucky enough to be with White Mountain Adventures so they had a van waiting for us after our hike to get us back to town. I would have loved to e-bike back, but we had our next adventure waiting (a trip up the gondola) so driving back was super convenient. While we could have easily rented an ebike on our own I do think it was helpful to have Luke get us there safely, especially since we were riding along the highway for quite a bit of it. It was also great to hear about Luke's adventures living in Banff and learn a little more about the area from him. While I didn't love the hike itself I thought the company did a great job and it was one of my favorite activities of our trip.

From the owner: With over 30 years of experience, White Mountain Adventures is Banff’s premier guided outdoor…read moreadventure specialist. We provide our clients with lasting connection to nature through innovative, tailored active-adventure experiences. White Mountain Adventures offers activities in Banff, Lake Louise, Canmore/Kananaskis and beyond, including guided public and private hiking, larch hiking, heli-hiking, guided e-bike tours, multiday hiking programs, snowshoeing activities, nature tours, walking tours, as well as custom events for individuals, families, and corporate groups. If you are looking for things to do in Banff, give us a call!

Went here to rent some backcountry equipment. The guy was under-staffed and busy and after 6 days…read moreof skiing I was falling asleep waiting but wow! he bent over backwards to make it up to us with great service, great price and the equipment worked flawlessly. Couldn't recommend them strong enough.

I want three things from a business where I take my bike to be worked on: Friendly people,…read morereasonable prices, quality work. At Magic Mountain, I got all three. What else can I say?