Last week I ended up going to Mountain Equipment Co-op with my brother. He needed something and asked if I wanted to go. I of course said yes! It’s one of my favorite outdoor sports stores. They have just about everything you’d need to spend time in the mountains – from tents to bikes to clothes.
I ended up getting a jacket and a bladder. The last waterproof jacket I got was also from MEC and I loved it. It spent a month in Europe with me and three summers of working outside. Needless to say it’s waterproof capabilities weren’t quite what they were when it was new, so I got a new one. I’m pretty sure it’s the exact same model as my last one – just a bright green, which I love.
I also got a new bladder for hiking. My old one leaked. That’s never fun, especially when you go into your backpack half way up a mountain to find your jacket wet. Yeah, I wasn’t impressed. The one I decided on was a Platypus. It has a 1.8 litre capacity, which I’m pretty sure will suffice for just about any hike I’ll do. They had bigger ones, but you’d figure they would weigh a ton when they were full. I also like that it has a big opening so I can add ice cubes to keep it cold if I want.
I could have found a bunch more things that I would have liked to get, but I decided to play it safe and only get essentials.
Do you have any favorite stores for outdoor gear?