Now located in the Metro Mall, SkiAK is one of my favorite local businesses to visit. This shop is not only a local, family business but everybody is super knowledgeable. I don't think I've ever had a "quick trip" to SkiAK because my husband or I always find something to talk to the owner or the employees about. If you want to add something to your quiver (Ultralighting touring skis? Park skis? Pow skis? Racing skis? They've got 'em all) I'd recommend you give this shop a visit. My husband recently visited for a Treat Yo Self splurge and the owner actually told him that there was going to be a big sale coming up & took his number to call him when the sale started. SkiAK helped him get new skis, bindings, and boots that he loves for less than it would have cost online! I love that this new location has allowed them to expand to more/varied stock and to start renting fun stuff like paddleboards in the summer. As an added bonus, they're now next to the new Wild Scoops location! Their service is great and we'll be back after the snow starts to get husband's boots custom fitted. read more

I will not be returning. Terrible customer service. The older gentleman that runs the store isn't a gentleman at all, he's very rude. I dropped some skis off a week ago to have the bindings mounted. In doing so at the time I was treated like I was an annoyance rather than a customer, but I was willing to ignore that as long as the job got done. I was promised the job would be done in 2-3 days. A full week later I have heard no word, so I called them and asked if my skis were ready. The older [gentle]man responded with hostility and demanded "well did you receive a phone call or text? No? Then no your skis aren't ready" I will not be returning to this store and I will be sure to steer anyone else I know looking for a ski shop to find ANYWHERE else. This place is terrible, do not give this man your business. You will regret it. read more

Popped in here looking for some Nordic skis, which they don't have. If you are looking for downhill skis however, this small shop in a shopping center off Benson is a good place to look if you want personalized assistance. Service was great. The staff are very knowledgeable and don't try to upswell you on stuff you don't need. They are also happy to point you elsewhere if they don't have what you need. read more

Love this shop. If you are looking for good info with good advice it is the place to go. Staff is up to date with new trends and they have a lot of knowledge specific to backcountry, racing, and or novice skiing. If you do t know exactly what you want they are great for helping you navigate through gear. Highly recommended. read more

I like this place. It's gotten much nicer since they moved into the new building! And the customer service has improved. I've purchased maybe 2-3 set-ups from these guys now and a couple of the ski dudes are really freaking helpful. My only recommendation would be to keep working on customer service. Customers don't care how good of a backcountry skier the sales associate is so acting snooty to customers just sends people right on down to PowderHound in Girdwood or encourages them buy online (which is already cheaper). I shop locally for outdoor gear because I like to employ my fellow outdoorsmen and support my local economy. All around a good experience, though. read more

I'm so surprised by the Ski AK hate. They're the only downhill ski experts in Anchorage and their customer service has always been lovely. I made about 3 trips, probably over 30 minutes each, before I bit the bullet and bought my skis. All the guys were so relaxed, helpful, and never pressured me to buy. They did always recognize me and say hi. Fred, the owner, is such a cool guy who is willing to be patient as you try on ski boot after boot. After examining the competition, this is where I finally bought my gear (same skis were not available at REI or AMH) and they were also a fair price - in fact better than similar skis at REI. Just because it's a small business does not mean they will rip you off. True they are no longer affiliated with World Cup in Girdwood, but I think their quality hasn't dropped a bit. This is a great place to buy ski essentials, as long as you are okay only buying ski gear and not also granola bars, bug spray, candy stocking stuffers, scuba gear, yoga mats, carabiners, climbing shoes, and sleeping bags. If you "want it all in one place", I may recommend going somewhere else. But if you want DOWNHILL skiing experts, come to Ski AK. You don't have to fight off other customers for service and you'll enjoy the experience of buying your gear. By the way, Ski AK (before World Cup) has been around a very long time. They are not new at this. read more

This place sucks ski wax. The place is filled with pretentious, overbearing, ripoffs. Want quality knowledgable skiiers working in customer service? Head to 3 blocks north on Spenard to AMH. I give this place less than a year before it has to close due to it's suckiness. read more

My family and I were visiting from Fairbanks where I am posted and I wanted to look at some new ski boots for this coming season. Fred immediately greeted me and started the fitting process right away. He was professional, friendly and courteous. He put me through my paces on three different sets of boots. When my little girls came into the shop he immediately gave them stickers and showed them his electric ski lift model. When I left the store I felt like I had the best pair of boots for my ability and price range. You will not get this level of service at an REI or Sports Authority. read more

Worst customer service I've ever received anywhere. The owner, Russell, is very rude and unprofessional. Do not trust this place to buy your gear. read more

For a state known for just plain bad customer service; Ski AK was a breath of fresh air. We should all support local small business in Alaska. Don't listen to the negative posts give them a visit and decide yourself. read more

SkiAK - Outdoor Gear Near Me - Anchorage, Alaska

Non existent customer service. Walked in 15 minutes before closing because I drove from far away to shop here for some down hill ski boots. The drive took longer than expected. I knew exactly what I wanted but, apparently I was invisible to the guy at the counter staring at his phone and the other guy was busy chitchatting with someone else. I did everything to make it obvious I wanted to buy boots. After waiting 15 minutes to get noticed, I told my son if someone doesn't help me in 30 seconds we're leaving. Finally a man came up to me and said what did you need? I said I want to buy these ski boots. He looks at his watch and says oh I'm sorry we are going to have to close right now, you'll have to come back. I said, well I drove from really far away (over one hour drive) from out of town just to come here and won't be able to come back. He's says well we have to close right now so you'll have to. Sorry SkiAk, wanted to support local but I won't be coming back. read more

Don't bring these guys work if you need them to stick to their schedule. After promising a binding mount to be completed on a specific day I intended to pick up my skis on time. They were not done so I gave them 4 more days. Upon returning to pick them up they were still not done and have no indication when they will be completed. This has ruined my ski plans that were made with the intention of having these done when promised. read more

We didn't even know this place existed until the Groupon ad a little while ago. Got the Groupon ($40 for $80 worth of gear) and went in today to find something. My son picked out a set of Oakley replacement lenses listed for $75. When we told the lady (older, skinny one) we wanted to use the Groupon, she sneered at us and said it was not for sales items. We were confused, as nothing was labeled with sales prices. She haughtily tells us that everything in the store under $150 was on sale, 10% off. (A PFD event, of course, through the end of October.) More than once during the conversation she tells us "well, THIS is a high-end ski shop" and the Groupon was "NOT for sales items." Had I known about the smoke-and-mirror advertising, I would not have wasted $40 for the Groupon--it's going to cost me a lot more to use it. We always try to shop local if we can, but with crappy customer service like this place has, I'll gladly spend my money somewhere else. We told the lady we'd wait until the sale was over, but I'm expecting some other type of "sale" after this one's over. Shameful, really. **UPDATE** I received the following message from Groupon regarding SkiAK: "We're writing to let you know that, due to the popularity of this offer, ski AK has a very limited stock of apparel and other items originally offered in this deal. They do have equipment and other items available, but will not be receiving any new merchandise. The majority of items still available are mainly skis, boots, and bindings. Please feel free to contact them directly via phone at (907) 561-2445 to inquire about availability on certain items. We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused." Ran out of merchandise. Yeah right. At least we got our money back. read more

Had the same Groupon issue - except I was planning on getting some skis mounted & maybe some other shop work done in the future. I figured the Groupon was a good way to "test" out their work and see if I'd use them at full price. The "fine print" and questions asked on the Groupon site indicated that tunes & other shop work were specifically included in the deal. After hauling all my gear in and getting my skis on the bench I brought up the coupon. Glad I did - because I was able to stop the work in time to find out they weren't accepting it... I understand that the shop may have meant to limit the validity of the Groupon more specifically but the icy response I received on this front (and when asking about getting some work done on boots bought elsewhere) will keep me from going back. I'd rather give my business to a small local shop, even if it costs a few extra bucks, but you're supposed to get BETTER service for that cost. At least REI smiles at me, I suppose... read more

This is an amazing store! All the staff is really knowledgeable on skis! I have the most complex foot to try and fit in ski boots and all the staff was so patient with me and was able to combine 2 different boots and make it work for me! I so appreciate Russell, Chris and Shannon for not giving up on me and finding me a pair of awesome ski boots I for sure will be returning when I am back in town! read more

I purchased the $40 for $80 worth of gear groupon and Ski AK refused to honor it as well. I would not do business with a company that does not honor their commitments. read more

Great service! I always struggle to find shoes, boots, etc in wide sizes, and Ski AK had several options. Thank you Fred!

I'm new to skiing and found Ski AK on the internet while searching for experienced boot fitters in the Anchorage area. As a ski novice, I had dozens of questions and I was met with nothing but friendly, attentive and incredibly helpful service even though the store was rather crowded. It is a small local shop, so the selection clearly won't rival that of larger stores, but they helped me to find a great boot. I was incredibly pleased with my experience and will definitely return. read more

We bought our daughter skis and bindings at Ski AK for her birthday and the service was great! They helped us immediately upon entering the store. A staff person (sorry, I can't remember his name) showed us all the options with different price ranges. He was very knowledgable. read more

We were told our Ski's would be waxed and edged at opening on Friday since we had a event we needed at alyeska. They had two full days and we were promised they would be ready. We arrived at 10am and were told they wouldn't be ready for at least an hour which didn't work for us. If you need things done on a schedule don't bring your skis here. Not even an apology read more

I had the same experience as Tasha. SkiAK sucks, their staff (except for Mark) didn't seem to know what they were doing. Weak gear selection and bad customer service.The people I dealt were condescending and took over a week to mount my skis when they were supposed to be done in "a couple of days". Take the half-hour trip to Girdwood and support a long standing local business like World Cup. read more

Horrible customer service! Too cool to even help customers and ZERO knowledge of what work was completed on my bindings that I brought in for a fix. But they will take your money! First time trying this place and I will NOT be going back. No thanks. read more

This ski shop is the only one I trust to mount any of my skis! As far as the GROUPON confusion, well it's the internet, and this is a respectable ski shop! You walk in the back door and talk to a ski tech and they are ALL passionate about skiing....not some GROUPON shit! read more

We just left Ski AK and couldn't be more impressed. My husband and I moved to AK recently, and although we are not new to skiing, we have never owned our own ski gear. Noah was amazingly knowledgeable and patient with us. He didn't push us on a certain product, but explained to us what he would recommend after listening to our current ability level and style of skiing. You could tell he was definitely out to make us happy with our purchase, not just trying to sell us the most expensive product and get us out the door (he spent ~3 hours with us!). The prices seemed comparable to what we could find on the internet and they had a 20% off sale on top of that! We had a fantastic experience...I would highly recommend Ski AK if you are in the market for new gear. read more

I just had the best experience buying ski boots and bindings. The gentleman helping with boot fitting knew what he was doing, and I have the right boots after years of having the wrong ones! The customer service was better than any I have had recently, and I am telling EVERYONE to go here for ski gear! Thank you SkiAK!!! read more

These guys did a great job with the custom molding of my Intuition liners. Unlike some other shops in town, SkiAK will mold your liners even if you didn't buy the boots or liners at their shop. I trust these guys with my boots and I will definitely be headed back. read more