Grand Opening 5/17 - 5/19! First 250 customers get a free Nalgene water bottle (REI Co-OP Grand Rapids limited edition) and giftcards of $10, $50, or $100
Located in the famous 28th stretch of area with the mall, Trader Joe's etc. , my friends and I swung by around 10:30AM Friday 5/17 but we were ultimately too late for any kind of free swag. The line was super long and we popped in for 5 minutes before bouncing. Determined to come back for the free swag, my friend and I returned Sunday 7:30AM and waited in the rain for 2 hours before the weather brightened up. It was well-worth it as we got our water bottles and giftcards of $10. I ended up buying another Nalgene REI water bottle for a friend. There was a massive Memorial Day sale going on and many things were 20% - 50% off. I was super tempted to buy a backpack or more bottles, but do I reallly need it? Naw. Staff is super nice and even rung cowbells when we walked in during the Grand Opening haha
What was disappointing are the size of the store and the rock climbing selection. The store seems a lot smaller than its sister stores (like in California). For the West Michigan REI Co-Op, REI should've went bigger to accommodate for the huge customer base here. Moosejaw does not compare and Patagonia isn't even around. Definitely sad about the rock climbing area. It was about 3 small displays of limited shoes, ropes, and gear :/ Some REI's have rock climbing walls, what happened?? I won't be buying my climbing stuff here, there's nothing to buy unfortunately :(
Overall, I'll be back if I am in the area and if there's going to be a Garage Sale. Wishing the best to REI. read more