When I spent more time outdoors in the Sierra Nevada mountain ranger, I probably spent an equal amount of time in this store asking questions. And guess what...you will get ANSWERS from knowledgeable staff who are friendly, helpful and really do know their stuff. Get the REI card and receive dividend $ at the end of year -- check out their sales and well -- it's a great place for gifts for your outdoorsy friends who have everything already. read more

I love this place, for those that know me this is a HUGE thing for me to state as I do not like to shop...I find it really hard to wonder in and out of different building trying to find things to spend money on....it's just an odd thing to me.... REI is one of those places that I could walk in and just browse through every rack in every department and find things that I truly feel I need - it's amazing to me, not sure what it is about REI but I can find things that I think are useful to my lifestyle and their staff are always knowledgeable if you have a question. As stated before, their return policy is pretty kick ass, no questions asked and easy! I do belong to their little club and get my dividend dollars at the end of each year which is nice. I must say that it can be a little costly to shop there BUT they do have sales on a regular basis so if you plan things right and look for those sales you can get quality merchandise for a really great deal. It's helpful to buy for next years season rather than the current one. Great products, knowledgeable staff, kick ass return policy....overall the only place to but your outdoor gear. read more

This is a nice place to go shopping for outdoors. i am fully satisfied with their customer service and I feel safe buying things from them. We go this place often. Recommended. read more

Most of these reviews are right-on. It's a huge store filled with tons of merchandise for all sorts of gear for outdoor adventures. It's also filled with employees who generally speaking are not very knowledgeable. If you need advice on gear, go to a shop that specializes in that activity or sport. I'm only giving them 3 stars because, although they have tons of cool stuff I want to buy, they are quite expensive. The mark-up on a lot of their stuff is bothersome for me. If you go in here and have a smart phone, you can make price comparisons and be an informed shopper in real time. So that's what I would suggest. read more

I can't comment on the prices because I don't know any better. Seems expensive, but with coupons and dividends, you rarely pay full price, anyway (Disclosure: I am an REI co-op member, and the membership pays for itself because you save $20 pretty quickly...) I recently went in to pick out a backpack for upcoming travel (yay!), and the guy who helped me was super knowledgable and helped me pick out the right pack. Though they didn't have it in stock, I was able to order it from another REI (Brentwood), and when I brought it in to be fitted, another staff member got me all set to go, despite being a complete backpack n00b. Jury is still out on how good of a product the Mars 80 backpack is...we'll see how the next trip goes! I'm confident, though! read more

Main review for the really patient guy in the shoe department who spent a lot of time helping me find new hiking shoes. I had a lot of special request and needs. He was kind, friendly and determined to find something to work for me. We finally did. Whew. The store is nice and clean. People are friendly and helpful overall. read more

Called them last night and the guy I spoke with was EXTREMELY helpful. He was not bothered by my questions and went above an beyond to give me more options of items they had in stock when looking for a Kayak rack! I called their Customer service this morning to research coupons due to the upcoming holiday and because I was a day early they honored the discount to help me for my vacation! They are the nicest people! Highly recommended REI as a company read more

I love REI. The one thing that this REI has that the other REI's that I have been to is the automatic door opener. OMG solid wooden REI doors with the hiking stick are super heavy. read more

Not a very knowledgeable staff about snowboarding and very high prices keep me away from this place. I bought three products there and returned them because of deficiencies and/or I found better prices at any mountain or online. The customer service is superb though! That is why I give them three stars and not less. read more

I love shopping at REI!!! The staff always takes the time to get it right. I have been in here literally hundreds of times and I always walk away pleased with my experience and purchase albeit a few dollars lighter in the wallet. Key reasons to shop at REI: 1. Excellent staff always willing to spend the time to help you select the right item. 2. Great return policy, 3. Fun and interesting lecture series 4. Dividend read more

When you first walk in, there's a rock climbing station that towers up about 20 ft. When I went here, they had kayaks on display on it. The store has a hexagonal shape. The outer part has bikes, , ski stuff and water related things. The center of the hexagon has trinkets like sun tan, bug repellent and water bottles. There's also a second story within the hexagon where they keep shoes, coats and rock climbing gear. It has a cool outdoor feel to the place. I went here to take a look at their thule roof racks. I had the pleasant opportunity to meet Jennifer who was helpful in explaining which ones were best for our new 2015 dodge journey. I had no idea what I was looking for and by the end of our conversation she suggested that I contact Thule or yakama for the best cargo solution because their booklets didn't have one that was recommended for our dodge. read more

I love coming here. The staff is always super friendly, and offer good advice. I need to stop by when they have the sales but I am always busy when the time comes to it. If I had the money I would buy everything from REI. But Sadly I only buy things I need quickly like last minute items that I think I need. read more

I attended the REI garage sale this Saturday 11/8 as I have several times in the past. In order to manage the crowds the store chooses to give out tickets limiting the number of people in the garage sale room. they give out about 20 tickets per group and give each group 20 minutes in the sale room . Tickets are handed out at 8 a.m. store opens at 10 a.m. what amazes all of us after the first group was that they only gave out the tickets for the first group. They then made people wait a half an hour just to give out the next group of tickets. They're making their members wait, with their children in some cases in the cold for no good reason. It seems their intention is to make it as painful as possible. I happened to ask the person handing out tickets why we are waiting, his comment was that he was so busy inside. If making people, no their members, uncomfortable and angry by making them wait unnecessarily they've done a great job. read more

I came in to the REI in concord on a Thursday afternoon with my neglected bike. I was given a nice welcome by the cashier and directed to the bike shop. The man that helped me there was very nice. I was a little embarrassed going in because I had been a bad owner to my sweet rode bike. It was truly a mess, but the man at the bike shop very kindly and professionally looked over my bike and gave me the low down of what needed to be done. He even went out of his way to help me pick out new handle grips. I picked up my bike a few days later. It was like a brand new bike! He had shined it up and even decked it out with a complimentary bell :) The only reason I gave REI four stars instead of five was because the wait was a bit ridiculous when I went to pick it up even though there was only one person in front of me. My suggestion, if you can, go on a weekday in the day. No wait :) read more

Really clean, well organized, friendly staff. The plaza the REI is great too! This is smaller of the REI stores I've visited. They didn't have the item I needed (dark sock liners for a backpacking trip) in the color I wanted (anything but white). At last, I ended up getting the white sock liners since I needed to protect my feet (ah, priorities). The socks worked great, but it was stained after a 30+mile hike. The staff even felt my dilemma when I was grabbing these socks. REI - why make white sock liners? I also needed to get a water bladder / hydration pack for the trip because I lost the cap of my old one (doh!). While I'm not being picky about which hydration pack to get (since it was a last minute pick up right before my trip), I was surprised to see that no hydration pack was on sale or at least have a budget brand for those who are cost sensitive. How can you have so many types of packs on display, nothing on sales, and nothing below $31 for a standard 3L pack? I genuinely wish they had wider selection and wish they had more items on sale. Other than that, the experience was great. read more

I been shopping at REI for more than 30 yrs.But yesterday I had the worst service.I received a shirt for Christmas from my Son,but since was a present I did not have the receive,so no receive no exchange even I just want same item and a different size.I been a member since 1994 .I felt really humiliated the way the staff approach my situation.I went to another store in a more worthy neighborhood and guess what? not a problem for an exchange .What does it this tell you?.I will cancel my long time membership and shop at another store.For the prices they charge customer service should be the same at all locations and equally. read more

Every time I go to this REI I get great customer service. They helped me with getting the right hiking boots, hiking poles, backpack, sleeping bags, sleeping pads, food, etc. Most of the time Darian has given me great advice about the things I was looking for. So far, all the products he recommended worked well during my trips. Thank you Darian and REI for being so helpful! read more

Easy to find location off the freeway, good parking. Nice clean store, seemed to have a little of everything for the outdoorsy type. I was shopping for hiking boots and I'm not sure if they're in the middle of a 'season change' but they didn't offer any of the boots I wanted in size 9/9.5. Is it really that common of a size? I also wanted a wide size, not even one choice was available. It was suggested that I drive to Berkley where they have a larger selection....ummm, dear sales girl, if you continue to send customers to other stores or on line you may be out of a job in the near future. I ended up purchasing a pair of men's hiking boots which hopefully will work out. Higher end quality boots, not made in the US but also not made in China. They just need to keep fully stocked. read more

I took my bike to get it fixed there after speaking with a Rep there. He said it would only take 10 mins, but more like 40 mins instead. As I was riding the bike home, I realized that my breaks were working and I almost got into an accident. I have been trying to call REI and see what they did to the breaks when they put the wheel back. It might have just a honest mistake. Somehow looks like it's closed today, so I will try again tomorrow. UPDATE on 6/20/17: REI called me back and offered to fix my bike without charge. Rob, the bike mechanic, is professional and super nice. I was able to help a little to get the break fixed. Not only he fixe the front wheel that they messed up at the first place, but he also adjusted the break of the rear wheel. Now, all the breaks are working and I absolutely love it. Thank you REI. you are awesome. read more

Went here for my first pair of hiking boots and the guy in the shoe department asked me all the traits I was looking for in a boot and brought me exactly what I had in mind, first try! But let's not forget Dan the manager who I got ahold of when I thought I lost my phone there, it was after closing and he did a through search while on the line with my boyfriend (we found it at the next store we were at) the effort and customer care was above and beyond. Thanks REI staff! read more

At first it was hard to get help from the workers but when I did, I admired the service. I was trying on climbing gear and one of the employees started to talk about Alex Honnold (El Capitan free solo guy) . He was cool, like the weather. read more

Worst customer service experience EVER. It is the holiday season and you can't find a sales person. The cashier failed to give me the receipts for returns & an exchange. Called the store 3 times to speak to a manager, and no one ever answered the phone. Called the 800 customer service number 3 times and no one could help me. At the 3rd call, I asked for a supervisor and the customer service rep would NOT connect me to a supervision until he tried to resolve the issue, which, after an hour on the phone, he could not. Then, and only then, did he connect me to a supervisor. read more

I've always had great service from the staff at REI in Concord. I've purchased clothes, outerwear, bicycles, electronics and camping supplies, and have always had positive experiences. Today, I had a number of items that I purchased on-line that needed to be returned. Graham was super patient, as they were from multiple orders. He was courteous, patient and very efficient. In my experience, this is the standard / culture at REI in Concord. read more

Competent and Friendly Employees I got the help I needed to select bicycle helmets for my kids and accessories for our bikes. The employee was knowledgeable (hard to find nowadays) and he was friendly. My 8 year old daughter went up their climbing wall which was pretty tall. She was really proud of herself I would definitively go back. They are a bit pricey but I would rather give extra $ for good service, good products and for saving my time and energy. read more

It is my fav store.. It has a great customer service. It's like a candy store fore adults, it's not cheap but it has a great return pol. And cuality products.. Don't miss the used gear sale it has lots of good stuff. read more

As an outdoor and gear aficionado, REI is my home away from home. Great gear great staff and quality products. The reason im giving them 2 stars is because they recently changed their return policy so they no longer accept returns after a certain period of lets say 30-60 days. What are these ELECTRONICS HERE OR SOMETHING!? This was why they were so great. Because their return policy was 100% satisfaction. Not any more!!! read more

The Concord REI is great. Their selection is impressive and the staff is friendly and helpful. As with all REI locations, they're happy to special order anything they don't have. Their return policy rivals the best in the business--you can return anything you've ever purchased from them at any time for any reason for a full refund. The membership benefits more than pay for the $20 sign up fee within the first year, and it's a lifetime membership. I also like that REI is privately owned and run essentially as a non-profit, donating millions of dollars each year to conservation and other charitable organizations. REI has been and continues to be my go-to place for backpacking supplies, and as long as they continue to run their business as they have, that isn't likely to change. read more

Me and my cousin got helped out by Darian, this guy had the knowledge on tents and backpacks, he helped me look for a tent when I go camping and backpacking. He did a great job helping my cousin with getting a new backpack since he is doing the pacific Crest Trail, my cousin said." Go to Darian if you want a backpack that is light, he said he leave your back on clouds." Awesome job, and we left with a lot of advice and details on everything for backpacking read more

No questions asked return policy- Stacy, the manager, was amazing! Totally appreciative of her professionalism. Very friendly and knowledgable staff. 5 stars for REI Concord! read more

I came here yesterday to pick up a knife for the boy's excursion to Africa (I know, that was a lot to digest in that statement) and was not at all impressed. Maybe I've been spoiled by Sports Basement (http://www.yelp.com/biz/sports-basement-san-francisco#hrid:mX3jI7BjxSokIAqJUPXwJw) but when I came in here, I was confused since the departments were not labeled too clearly or set up in an orderly fashion. When I finally found the knife department on my own (since there were no employees on floor to point me in the right direction), I was left wandering the store looking for assistance. When I finally found someone, they acted as if it was an inconvenience for them to get the product for me. I was also appalled when another customer asked the sales associate if they carried a specific item and the employee just said "I don't know" without offering to help them look for it or find another employee who could. Overall, not a great experience, but plus 1 star for parking (I will never take parking for granted again after living in SF) and plus 1 star for carrying the knife I needed when Sports Basement didn't. But that's it. read more

I had an absolutely horrible experience with the manager Rebecca she was extremely rude I've never had to deal with such rude customer service she didn't honor my 20 dollar bonus card on a pair of 200 dollar hiking boots. I will never go back to Rei I just want to let people know any mountain is probably a better bet. Rebecca is the worst! My number is 7073324731 if you would like to resolve the issue read more

A little pricey, but well stocked. I feel that the selection in this particular store isn't all that high, but what I do end up finding I end up really liking. I have come here for anything from camping supplies, clothes, shoes and backpacks. read more

I had been using a cheap hiking shoe on several occasions I came here looking to buy my first proper hiking boots. Staffs were very nice and knowledgeable helping me pick the boot that matched my hiking preference. read more

I became a member because of this REI's proximity to my home. I won't be renewing my membership, however, and for those considering it, good luck trying to find someone to help you. The only sales people on the floor seem to be lined up at the checkout counter. There is a paging system but in my experience help rarely makes it to you since other customers, also desperate for assistance, often intercept it. If a salesperson does reach you, they can be condescending or dismissive. Staff seems trained to make customers feel that no matter how often they frequent the store or make purchases, if they aren't looking to buy a $1500 kayak or Burley jogger, they won't get the attention they deserve. It's like at the old Studio 54 where, if you're not rich and famous, you either get turned away at the door or don't get much attention once inside. read more

I've been a fan of REI for quite some time. My rock climbing and hiking stuff are from here, as well as some outdoor clothing and shoes. The staff is very nice (although hard to find when it's really busy). The store is well organized and clean and they always have a good inventory on everything. I've also discovered they have the best turkey jerk (5 star jerky). read more

Recently made my first REI purchase! I'm hoping to do an extremely long hike soon so I came here to seek the employees knowledge on which hiking boots to get. The staff member who helped me was super helpful and even hiked the same hike I will be doing. He was very patient as I tried on several boots and gave me great advice. The high price of the boots were well worth it, and I even became an REI member. read more

Just like advertised! I returned an item and received a full refund. Quick, helpful service and no hassle. Thanks REI (I neglected to get my cashier's name but his # is 126851 - just in case the manager is reading this) read more

I find it amazing that I haven't yet done a review on REI! After yesterdays virtual crime spree during the Used Gear Sale I felt that it was time. I can literally browse my way through an afternoon perusing the hat and glove aisle. Sometimes I get lost meandering through the maze of pots, pan, and stoves or find my stomach growling upon noting all the Mountain House options. Please don't ever leave a comfy sleeping bag or open tent on the floor as I just have to climb in and check out the view, warmth, and general coziness of the situation. This week-end was the used gear sale which I didn't know but on happenstance was on location to return the RuffWear Dog Boots that were too small for my hiking snow loving pup. I looked at the items on sale, some of which were gently used, some 'I'm embarrassed for the original owner who thought their item was okay to return used', and some brand new items that were out of season all of which were actually quite plentiful on the second day and had been replenished. I selected a few thinking I had scored some major deals. Upon exiting the area my friend Erin S asked if the 50% off marked price applied to everything. YES! We almost tripped over each other to run back ransack the bins for more booty that we originally passed over as too expensive ($10.31 is too expensive for a titanium cup?) Anyway, not to boar you with the list of the ill gotten gains, but I did get a new $150 pair of Native shades for, get this, $15! What about the Big Agnes Insulated Air Pad normally $85 for $12 bucks! Scandalous but at the same time awe inspiring. To all you self proclaimed posting non sporty spices & non outdoorsy girly girls out there, stop complaining about the boyish styles and colors, get out of REI and get thine self to the nearest Needless Markup or Forever 21 store and buy something frivolous and leave the backpacking, hiking, climbing gear to me! I appreciate the boring colors, styles, and even the prices as I use this stuff for the purpose it was made. read more

When you walk in the store is dark and not particularly well displayed. Definitely have to find someone to help you figure out where to go. I went to look for a bicycle on a Sunday afternoon. There was 1 - that's right 1 person working the floor for bikes. Someone from the bike shop had come over to cover him but as soon as he showed up, she disappeared back to the shop. There were at least 4 people waiting to talk about or purchase bikes. Arrgh! Seriously understaffed. The guy was nice enough, but his knowledge of bikes was only so-so. After waiting for at least 30 minutes to talk to him, they didn't have the bike I came to try in my size. On the sales guy's recommendation I said I'd try a similar bike - now here's the bad part - it took them at least 40 minutes to get the bike prepped to test ride! I waited because I'm on a mission to try to find a bike, but that is ridiculous - the shop essentially had to tune the bike to make it safe to test. When they finally got it to me, one of the brakes squeaked horribly when used - so guess the mechanic was not so attuned. Rode it for about 5 minutes and was so thoroughly annoyed I just couldn't even think that this bike might remotely be of interest. What's even more odd is that the bike cost close to $1,000 so you think they'd be a bit motivated to see how I liked it, etc, but when I brought it back in & asked for my license back they barely remembered to ask how I liked it. As a VERY long time member I can attest that not all REI's the same - this one is definitely to be avoided. In general though, I find the quality of REI stores becoming more generic (expensive yoga pants and ex officio clothing) and less supportive of outdoors oriented folks. bummer - it used to be such a great resource. read more

Hate this place. Yes they have everything you would want but watching the help make themselves scarce is not helpful. The prices made the experience even worse. read more