Every great adventure starts with quality equipment — and my favourite place to go to buy outdoor clothing, footwear, and gear is Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC). This retail company is a co-operative where members pay a lifetime membership fee in exchange for being able to purchase products from the store, vote for board members and more. So many of our outdoor adventure gear came from Mountain Equipment Co-op—our current and first tents, our sleeping bags, winter jackets and fleeces, plus all of our camp food related things like our stove and pots. Whenever we decide that we need something for camping or hiking we head to MEC. Most recently, we went to Mountain Equipment Co-op to purchase our Canadian National Parks Pass for a full year of access to Canada’s National Parks. I’m really excited to have that pass, and plan on using it quite a bit this spring/summer/fall!
Above: everything you need to repair and maintain your equipment.
They have all of the best brands and prices at MEC, because it is a not-for-profit company. We forgot to pick up some more camp fuel the last time we were there for the park pass, so I guess we’ll have to go back there again, soon.
They offer equipment for a full range of outdoor adventures—including rock climbing (notice the cool rock wall within the store, which can be used to test out gear before buying it)
The thing I love about Mountain Equipment Co-op (which has stores across Canada) is that I always feel more inspired to go outdoor adventuring, be more active and try something new. Their snack and kitchen section is perfect for stocking up on road-trip essentials, even if you went in the store just to browse and the new things available each season. I have my eyes on a new backpack for backcountry camping. What about you? Do you look forward to spring/summer to check out the new camping and adventure gear?
I wish I was an outdoors girl, I'd like to pretend I am..but give me a hotel and room service any day! 🙂 What about you, do you go camping?
Oh, don't get me wrong! I love my luxury hotel experiences! I love going camping, especially to the Rocky Mountains – where I once again live near. I am looking forward to warmer nights so that I can start camping, soon.
Well said—just in case anyone international is interested, they do ship internationally via regular post.
I know that you can find similar gear prices at REI in the states and a similar range of brands—but MEC is still our favourite, because their house brand gear is AMAZING, designed in Canada made under audited factory conditions internationally, and with the environment in mind. It's always good quality and top value, from bikes to vegan friendly sleeping bags!
I would love to go to a store like this. My mom has been to Cabelas which is an outdoor/camping store but I've never been. I love camping!
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