WOW!!! What a find this morning; The Great Outdoors: Junior Outfitters (see pics). I went there to get my grandson a pair of Sorel winter boots. To my amazement the store was huge and the store had way more than I expected. Anything you need in outdoor gear and clothing this is the place to shop. Great Christmas items here. Lots of free parking. Be it gloves, head gear, scarves, jackets, backpacks, outdoor wear, boots, shoes, etc they got it all for boys and girls of all ages. The staff was so amazingly knowledgeable and helpful. I would have made serious mistakes in sizing and choice of colour if it wasn't for their attention to detail. My daughter loved what I picked out thanks to the amazing staff member who assisted me. All of them from the owner to staff have a great sense of humour and made my shopping experience not only fun but got the right choice the first go around. Here is a small business we as Calgarians and Albertans should support. Lots of cute stocking stuffer items too. Drop in and look around you won't be disappointed.This I am very sure of. Thanks Great Outdoors for making my shopping experience so memorable. Here is few extra starsyou deserve it . read more

I have shopped at the Great Outdoors for several years now. I cannot believe the selection of kids outdoor gear. The place is massive. All the big brands are there, for kids like mine who truly play in the outdoors...hiking, camping in the mountains etc. There is no other place to compare to it without ordering from the U.S. I have particularly liked the Columbia, North Face and Merrell Lines. My son is actually on his third year with his Columbia Shorts and they have held up amazingly well. I grudginly had to make him stop wearing them as they are now too tight and no pre-teen boy should wear shorts that fitted! Since my one child outgrew their sizes, I have shopped there less often until recently when I started picking out items for my nephews and nieces too. It is a little far away from me, but worth the trip. While the brands they carry are a little more expensive than your regular box store brands they are worth it as they are technical gear and hold up better under most conditions. They have racks of sale items and other sales periodically, so they are worth watching out for. read more

We purchased an "extendable" North Face jacket and snow pants a couple years ago and I'm certain that we were told that they'd let these out when it came time... so, my wife called earlier today to confirm and was told that, yes, they'd do it. So we took them in and was told that they DO NOT do this because it "takes time" and "they were busy" even though it did not appear to be the case. We chose to purchase from this store under the assumption that the higher price would result in "better service" than a big box store, but clearly this is not the case... next time, we'll just buy from Sport Chek/Atmosphere and get a much better price. read more

My go to place to buy the best outdoor wear for my kiddos! They're extremely helpful and will hold items that they're expecting to receive and call you when they come in. They have a huge inventory and large selection of brands from The North Face, Patagonia, Helly Hansen, etc. Unfortunately they won't price match. read more

Once in a while, we have a shopping experience that is so startlingly bad it leaves us, and anyone we share the story with, speechless. The process of keeping our kids outfitted in warm, durable winter gear never ends and as we all know, is expensive. With that in mind we learn to pay a premium for gear if the quality is there and the retailer stands behind their customer. We recently had that experience with the Great Outdoors Junior Outfitters where we purchased an expensive snowsuit for out toddler. Within weeks, the outfit was coming apart everywhere. As parents we know what wear and tear is and this was simply very shoddy material. In fact, repairing the snowsuit would not have helped as it would all have to be repaired again very soon. This was simply an expensive, bad product. An opinion backed up by another retailer. So, one would think the solution would be simple; seek help from the retailer and hopefully they will step up. What followed was the rudest and most disrespectful response I have seen in a very long time, and this from the owner. That is the speechless part, not the poor quality product. In this day and age, where standing behind a product and a customer is the way business is done, this was a truly disappointing experience. read more

I had purchased a pair of hiking boots for my son last summer. He has worn the boots on two separate backcountry outings for a grand total of 5 days of wear. When he returned from his trip a few weeks ago I noticed that one of the grommets had become damaged. Given the limited wear as well as the fact that the receipt I have mentions warranty items will be fixed at the store's discretion. I decided to take the boots in to see if they could assist with the repair as I thought the boots might still be covered by warranty. The store owner was rude and dismissive. She offered no assistance with repair of the grommet despite the very limited wear the boot had received nor did she explain the warranty policy. Instead she told me to take the boot to a shoe repair in Kensington and told me to clean the boots first as they would not handle the boots as they were too dirty. I was shocked at the lack of professionalism. I will not recommend this store to others as the prices deserve a better quality service experience than the owner can deliver. read more

This store has a wonderful selection but if you buy something and it is defective, don't bank on getting your money back or even the small satisfaction of an exchange. I bought a pair of kids sandals that were worn inside the house for an hour before they broke and was told 'tough luck' when I tried to return them. The six year old loves shoes and was heartbroken on her birthday that they broke so quickly so thanks Great Outdoors for killing kid's dreams. I will never shop here again no matter how badly I need a tiny puffy jacket. read more

I am a 46 year old mom and I just wanted to share a really stressful experience that I had at this store today. I have shopped at this store for the last six years. A faithful customer. Not any more. I purchased a winter jacket last year for my eight year old daughter to wear this winter. She wore it sporadically. She had another coat she liked better. I washed the coat I purchased today for the first time according to the wash instructions. When the jacket came out of the washer it had four small holes that looked like the fabric was falling apart. It also did not really come clean. I called the store and spoke to the owner. She said bring it in and I did. When she saw the jacket, she was really aggressively telling me that the holes could not have come from the washer. I thought fine. I then asked her why it didn't come clean. She said that I had not used my common sense and washed it enough. It was not really dirty and it can be hard on coats to wash them too frequently. At that point I was in shock. I told her that I thought she was rude and that I would not be shopping there again. She got really angry and threw me out of her store. She followed me to the door. I stopped in the doorway to wait for my eight year old daughter who sadly witnessed all this. As I stood in the doorway, she put her hands up as if she was going to push me. I said are you really going to lay your hands on me. She then proceeded to follow us yelling out into the parking lot all the way to our car. I got us in and locked the doors. I considered calling the police. Finally she went back into her store. I really thought she was going to physically assault me. I just thought other potential customers should know about the experience I had and be careful if they shop there. A very concerned mom. read more

I had a very poor experience with this store when I purchased a ski coat for my daughter. Jacket was washed once according to the label and came out with holes in the fabric. Took it into the store and the owner was quite rude and aggressive with us. Especially when I had my young daughter with me. Will never return to this store. read more

I love this store! I am a mother of three small children. anytime they need new shoes or outdoor gear I take them here. The minute you walk in the door, there is a friendly salesperson there to help you. They introduce themselves to your kid, size them up, ask what you need and then bring you tons of selections in your kids size. Our ski suits and boots usually last two + seasons and are passed down to siblings. What would take me hours in a mall and with a lot of frustration I can get done here in an hours time. Quality name brand stuff here too read more

We loved the store and the great selection but since the store is not open Sundays we rarely shop there. We are in the SW and Sunday is really the only day we can get up North to shop for our daughter. So generally we deal with smaller selections at stores that are open on Sunday. read more

The store has a decent selection of higher end children's clothing, but their customer service is not a strong point. My wife purchased many misc. items for our kids. We then decided to return one of the coats that didn't fit our daughter, with the purchase receipt in hand that was only 5 days old and the retail clerk would not accept it stating that it was missing the sales tags! Are you kidding me? Brand new coat? Never worn? With receipt? My wife said that the sales clerk was the one to cut the tags off in the first place and the tags were never left in the shopping bag. We will never shop at The Great Outdoors Junior Outfitter's again and have told many people to stay clear of this retailer. Red flags all over the place for customer service. read more