Mountain Equipment Co-op — Canada’s Best Outdoor Adventure Store

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?