For Hokie fans and followers, Rally House appears to be the most complete fan store in the area…read more Rally House took over what used to be the Tech Bookstore - it's located on Main St in the downtown portion of Blacksburg. Rally House will definitely be busy during football gamedays, so it was a relief to visit them on a chill Saturday evening (and Sunday morning). They have a big (but not too big) showroom, and they offer anything and everything you could imagine. If you can think of it (and you if you want it to display Virginia Tech), they have it. Being a huge basketball and football fan, I came in looking for clothes. When I came across their website a few weeks ago, I noticed they offered Nike gear that the other local Hokie-centric stores simply don't have. I kept a mental note of the items I was interested in and picked them up during my recent Blacksburg visit. Rally House's main entrance is actually on the second floor. This building was built on an incline (i.e., hill), so their showroom is technically downstairs. Once you've gone down the stairs, you will find a clean and organized showroom full of Virginia Tech clothing and various other items. They also offer gear for the Washington professional sports teams - Commanders, Capitals, Nationals (hmm, now that I'm thinking about it, I don't think I saw any Wizards gear). There is one wall that offers Blacksburg tourist-type clothing, which I thought was pretty cool. The staff is made up of mostly college students. They were all friendly and helpful. My purchase transaction was quick and easy. I obviously spent way more time looking, but I was comfortable throughout my visit and wasn't pressured to buy anything. Finally, their price points matched (relatively) with other local Hokie shops. Some items were a bit more expensive, but from what I could tell, the more expensive items were the items that weren't available anywhere else. Thank you, Rally House! JV

The staff were super accommodating to any questions I had abd showed excellent customer service…read more Highly recommend Rally House to anyone looking for the highest quality apparel in Blacksburg.

Went to the Christiansburg location to buy an in-stock bike. I was told they could not sell it to…read moreme in the box. I explained I was from out of town. Didn't matter. I explained that my wife bought a bike in the box in the Roanoke store the previous week. Didn't matter. It's listed in stock and available for pick up. Didn't matter. It's right there. Didn't matter. Is this the policy because Roanoke did it. Not a policy... it's our "preference". Great, please sell me the bike. Didn't matter. Manager intimated that I wasn't being "professional" (not cursing or yelling on my part... just flabbergasted that it's this hard to hand Dicks money), and threw his staff under the bus -"I thought my employee could handle this" (I wasn't looking to be "handled" just wanted to buy a bike). He also said " I was going to offer you a discount". I explained I do not want a discount... I just want the bike so I can go riding with my wife this weekend. Didn't matter. I asked if it could be transferred to Roanoke in the box. He said that if Roanoke "wanted to get in trouble they could" and announced he had to go pick up his brother. Told him to drive safely. OK, is there another manager? 2nd manager refused to sell me the bike. Can you transfer to Roanoke? 2nd Manager (Ryan... although I don't believe this is how he spells it) said he would if it was OK with the Roanoke manager and even offered to drive it down in his personal vehicle after his shift (well done Ryan). Didn't matter because the manager in Roanoke would only do this if I picked it up at closing time. Can't I pick it up tomorrow? Only if it's "9AM sharp". But I'm out of town. Didn't matter. Roanoke manager "didn't want it on their floor". So I have to pick it up by appointment at your convenience rather than tomorrow afternoon? Didn't matter. What gives? Obviously not a liability thing- they were happy to sell me the bike in the box as long as I was willing to wait a day, go to a different city, and show up precisely when they preferred (when I was out of town). As they had told me the regional manager was coming into town and the communication seemed to oddly revolve around winning rather than selling me the bike I told the 2nd manager to give my number to the regional manager and that we could either work the issue out (wherein I simply hand someone a credit card and receive a bike) or I would just return the items purchased last week (incl. helmet, gloves, chain, vehicle rack, etc ). If I could have returned the first bike I would have (although it wasn't ridden it had been purchased over 24 hours ago). Interestingly, I was told that 24 hours was the policy but the store manager could override the policy. So the manager can override policy? Uh... OK. Having spent an hour and a half of my life attempting to buy an in-stock item, my desire to attempt to assist a third manager in a second store to understand this incredibly flawed internal logic had vanished. No call from the district manager yet so in the end I returned the above items to the Roanoke store as bike accessories do me no good without a bike. Despite my best efforts, and an hour and a half of my life, I could not hand anyone at Dicks my money today. Weird.

They don't sell ammo or guns anymore so this place is just an overpriced clothing store. If I need…read more$80 sweatpants I know where to come. Besides the customer service here always sucked but I sucked it up cuz they sold guns and ammo. Waste of time!

This is my go to place for hokie merchandise. Prices are better then book store and quality is…read morebetter. They have a lot of name brand stuff including tommy Bahama.

I'm the first to review Alumni Hall and rate it 5 stars, but I sure won't be the last! I used to be…read morean evangelical Campus Emporium follower (and CE is awesome) but now I'm a born-again Alumni Hall follower. They have several Hokie unique shirts that the other shops don't have. The prices are very reasonable too. Will be back!

Great local kayak shop. Good product offering at fair prices. The guy working there is very…read morehelpful and knowledgeable.

I bought My first 2 vibe kayaks from bobs up the creek outfitters and Bob was just awesome to deal…read morewith. he was very helpful and knowledgeable about the kayaks and after telling him what I was looking for there was no doubt I was getting a vibe kayak. I liked the Vibe seaghost 130 and 110 so much I ended up buying both! These are amazing kayaks and I could not have asked for better kayaks and service! thanks to Bob and up the creek outfitters and vibe for a great product and great service. bravobassin@yahoo.com

Campus Emporium is one of the more well-known Hokie spots in Blacksburg. They're popular enough to…read morehave two locations, both on Main St. This particular location is the one on N. Main, just off campus. This venue is small, but it boasts a LOT of Hokie stuff. Going back to its size - this place is packed on football gamedays, so be ready to squeeze your way through the aisles. Also, since it's downtown, parking isn't readily available. You'll have to park at a nearby garage (or maybe be lucky enough to find street parking) and walk. Emporium's employees are nice. From what I can tell, their staff is mostly adults (i.e, non-students) - I didn't see any students working during my most recent visit. But all the employees I've encountered are friendly, helpful and professional. Their prices are competitive, based on like items (items that I also saw at Rally House), and Emporium boasts products that are bit more exclusive (locally made t-shirts, VT-specific shirts, things of that variety) and unique. Thank you, Campus Emporium! You're awesome! JV

We have been going to both locations for years. The variety of Virginia Tech merchandise is…read moreamazing, and new stuff comes in all the time. They even have Corps of Cadet gear! The prices are reasonable, and the people are nice. Once when I ordered something around Christmastime, they called me to tell me that the package would be one day late. Who does that!? A customer-focused business, that's who!

Workers more kid clothes less confusing and it honestly just sucks terrible balls.iiiread more

Amazing!! Great outfitter to work with and the campground on the river along the way is great with…read moreporta potties! We were given a thorough safety briefing before they drove us to our launch area. This is a well run operation!

My son and I just wrapped up our first overnight kayaking trip together--two beautiful days…read morefloating (and occasionally paddling) down the James River! As a dad, planning this kind of trip comes with a lot of moving parts... and a little bit of overthinking. Thankfully, Twin River Outfitters made it all easy. Robert gave us a great orientation and walked us through the whole course like seasoned river guides (which we definitely are not). We booked the glamping tents and took full advantage of their kitchen box, firewood, and luggage service--which meant we could have an awesome adventure without needing a crash course in ultralight backpacking. It was a perfect balance of the outdoors and just enough comfort to keep everyone smiling.