I am going to be out in the MA-ME-NH-VT area for about 10 days and I was wondering if there were any gears shops, cottage makers or brands I should check out since I live in a gear desert in Illinois. Thanks.

EMS and the Mountain Goat. Both excellent places.

Worcester: New England Backpacker, knowledgeable staff; this is where I buy when I need gear recommendations.
Boston: Hilton's tent city.
EMS: quite a few stores around New England, see EMS.com for locations. Their hq and warehouse is Peterborough, NH; they have lots of stuff online that's not in stores, but you can often pick it up in pboro if you call ahead.
REI: West Hartford, Boston, Reading (MA), Framingham (MA).

Edited by Snowleopard on 04/28/2012 09:37:14 MDT.

patagucci outlet/ freeport, me
arcadian shop/ lenox, ma (pricey, but if you hit it right...)
IME (international mt equipment)/ north conway, nh
ragged mt equipment/ intervale, nh
each are about 10 min drive apart.
both have nice consignment basement!
though IME more selection.
and farmway/ bradford, vt

best!

Outdoor Gear Exhchange is a sweet shop in Burlington, Vt; right on church Street.

HMG has an unofficial outlet. Search around and find the shop where a bunch of protos were being sold. The thread about it was fairly recent.

If you want a pack, Randy @ CCW might take appointments. He'll make you anything, and has decades of chops.

Wild Things runs a pretty cool shop. A lot of their stuff is overbuilt for BPL, but they make everything and you might be able to swing a factory visit.

They often have stuff on sale, extras from short run projects that were made for *special* clients and the funky stuff they make for consumption in japan.

Plus one for Mountain Goat (it's a pretty real outfitter with many cottage brands western mountaineering etc.) if you're in Manchester VT, there's also an EMS there.

Oh and don't forget to stop by Sams in Brattleboro it's NUTS

The HMG packs were at IME in N Conway. 3 weeks ago or so they still had several. I would also add the Wild Things outlet to Leslie's gear store cluster you can often find great deals on their stuff which translates well to UL. You can't beat the Mount Washington Valley for a concentration of great gear stores and some of NE's best eye candy.

Totally forgot about IME and the Consignment basement!!

oops

Edited by gvolpe on 04/28/2012 16:09:53 MDT.

The selection at the retail stores may lean a bit toward outdoor "fashion" clothing.

However, at least the one near me still has an okay selection of gear, including some climbing stuff that my local REI does not carry.

ode to the goat!

there's one in han(g)over , nh as well.
same affiliation as the goat in manch. center?
anyone know?

and if you land in north conway, DO check the local thrift
(church in center of town)
i've found some s-w-e-e-t! gear there-- hit or miss of course.
get there early though...

forgot to mention kittery trading post in kittery, me.

(used to be a goodie anyways)

Where is the Wild Things Outlet?

Wild Things is on rt. sixteen, I believe it is still technically in N Conway NH(could be wrong) but it is south of the N. Conway downtown on the west side of the road(right going south from town left heading north from Conway).

when at the wild things store make sure to say hello to Leanne. she has to be one of the most helpful sales people i've ever had the pleasure of dealing with in the outdoor equipment/clothing industry.

yup, WT is on "16". EMS just a stone's throw away and IME north on 16, about 4 or so miles from WT. ragged mt equipment another 3 miles or so north of IME.

Hilton's tent city

EDIT FOR FULL DISCLOSURE: I work there.

Edited by benjammin21 on 05/01/2012 11:10:21 MDT.

Thanks. I am going to try to hit the Conway segment on the way to Arcadia NP and some of the easier ones.