Anyone care to share feelings on what they consider to be the best or worst online gear sales site(s)? I'm in the market for a 70m rope and some other things.

Thanks!
Daryl

Mountain Tools. hands down the coolest, most helpful staff who know what they are talking about. Plus DMM offset nuts are shipping soon!

Bent Gate Mountaineering is a company I've had very good experience with. I'd say that even if they weren't a sponsor of this site! Looks like they have several ropes on sale right now.

My dealings with Mountain Gear have also been positive. They often have good sale prices.

JL

gearexpress

I sorta thought the two free issues of Rock and Ice and a 10% off coupon to thank me for my business yesterday was cool.

No phlaiming, no senseless demeaning rhetoric - just useful opinions ...i love this site. :)
Thanks for the suggestions, guys!!

Wilderness Exchange (also a sponsor of this site) has a relatively limited selection, but great prices. I just got a 60m duodess rope from them at 40% off.

Spadout - yet another sponsor - pulls prices on climbing gear from many other sites and gets a commission on the sale. Usually worth a look.

Mountain Gear. Also, the people that manage that company give back A LOT to the climbing community... we should support them for that reason.

Check out http://www.blackdiamondequipment.com and go to their
specials link. Also sign up for their email newsletter--they send out info on extra special deals at times.
the same for http://www.patagonia.com and check their web specials for soft goods--awesome specials, and very helpful on the www also!

i'm a big fan of my local gear powerhouse:

http://backcountrygear.com

they have helpful staff and a huge range of outdoor gear.

i also keep an eye on sierratradingpost.com for occasional great deals on climbing gear.

I third gearxpress for sure as well as mountaintools.

outdoor gear exchange in VT. they have internet sales and are top notch folks. They ran out of the old powercams they were selling for $44 a piece and substituted the new ultralight pc's for the same price for 0-3! great deals and lots of blems/2nds if your looking to shave some $$$$.

Man - who cares. If it's a big purchase, it goes to whoever has the lowest price while searching with Google. Deciding who's cool or who has good customer service over the internet is kind of a joke. With only a few exceptions, which I can usually filter out, they all use the same shippers and all get it out the door within a few days, and all have virtually the same return policies.

I like spadout.com because it compiles a number of sites.
Daryl, As far as looking for a 70 meter rope... considering we both live in Southern AZ, I figured I would share my experience with a 70m with you. I found mine to be more of a pain in the arse than useful. A lot of the stuff I climb at Cochise (same as most people climb out there) can be done with a 60 meter rope. Possibly even a 50, I don't know about that. I ended up hauling around an extra 10 meters for no real reason. Turned out to be much more of a hassle than a benefit. Same goes for Lemmon.
Just my experience...
-Dan

Bent Gate and Wilderness Exchange both are upcoming with on line sales. WildEx is pretty cool and usally all closeout and sale stuff.
Bent Gate is just darn cool.
SAL

Bentgate is a local shop to me. My point is exactly the same in that rallying behind some far off company based on criteria they all share anyway is sort of silly to me. If it's not local, then it's going to be pretty much a price or what color is in stock based decision, for me and most others as well, I think.

I also like to give a good word to gearexpress. The mistakes I have made with orders were always fixed by their staff with no penalty to me. The staff is quite helpful via email and internet. Mountaingear has some good sales and if you sign up for their newsletter you get the most current updates on promotions. (Which I believe you will find the case with any retailer). Also, if you are looking for generic items, REI is having their big week long sale starting tomorrow. You can check that out.

I've found gearexpress to have spectacular customer service, down to calling me to see if I wanted to wait on a pair of crampons or just cancel my order.

Mountain Gear I've had mixed experiences with, as they don't update their web page as often as would be useful, and the times I've contacted them, they've been a little obtuse with their assistance. Still, really good selection, really good sales.

Black Diamond's web store has been good to me too, although I don't use it that often.

Another vote for BentGate and WildyX but especially BentGate. They're my local shop too and they're pretty great. Good folks.

I've had good experiences so far ordering on-line with Bent Gate, Mountain Gear, Everest Gear, REI, Mountain Tools, and Backcountry (haven't yet utilized the other sites people have mentioned). Steepandcheap.com is a nice little distraction while you're at your desk during the work day; the deal of the moment changes every so often. The items are often boring (sandals, ugly shirts, overpriced sunglasses) but every now and then you can score some Smartwool socks for cheap, or nice merino wool long underwear for less than half retail price. Admittedly, I have a slight problem with internet shopping for gear and outdoor clothing, but I compensate by buying cheap street clothes from Target...

I like Moosejaw.

I've picked up a freee harness from their frequent buyer rewards program. They have pretty good specials on a lot of their gear, and their customer service is good. Also, their models are hot.

Backcountry.com

Another good site. Fast shipping, decent selection of gear, including a fairly good selection of backcountry ski stuff.


Sierratradingpost.com

Best deals on the internet. I always check STP first. If they have it, it's going to be at a good price.

BC.COM is also a great place to shop. They also have an outlet store for closeouts.

STP is pretty much a closeout business. You wont find new for the year product there. Good place to keep an eye on though towards the end of the seasons for screaming deals on the stuff that will not be carrying through the next year.

Also Check out Steepandcheap.com
They run closeout inventory at super low prices. they sell one thing at a time and once it is gone they move on to another.
I have scored sweet gear there. Most memorable recently was the MOuntainsmith Edge 3man tent for a nice cost of 50 bucks.
Cannot beat it.
SAL

I spend quite a bit of time drooling over gear, and often search every site before buying a new piece of gear. GearExpress seems to either have the same price as everyone else, or a much lower price. Their customer service is a real person who answers the phone when you call and has used the climbing gear. They also will often beat other internet prices if you let them now. GearExpress is the number 1 place to shop for gear.