WalMart

[b d]

I get a lot of ideas at WalMart … actually in the hardware and cooking section, sometimes in the clothing section. But, the staff do not know the goods sold there. Incuding the camping gear.

What is good is to see the kind of thing that costs a lot when it is provided by a retailer or wholesaler who specializes in a particular kind of item, like waterproof pants.

On that level I would give them a 5, but the risk of buying a poor product (considering longevity and service later) and the fact that they don't have service staff who use the stuff they sell is a 3.

[Mike Barney]

Walmart really does have nice people in their outdoors department at our local establishment, who know a lot about the Coleman lanterns and stoves and shotguns / rifles and ammo and really try to help, but realistically don't have much training on the rest of their gear. Further, lightweight doesn't really exist there.

What they do have is certainly among the lowest prices around, and they have a good return policy. But, you have to really know what you want. If you need general non-lightweight gear (then why are you at bpl.com?), it's a good place to go.

I'd like to give them a 3.5, but they really don't deserve a 4, so we're at the 3 level.

[James Pitts]

What is there to review? Be careful driving in the parking lot because people seem to switch off their brains when they walk about outside the store.

Seriously, they take anything back and there are a lot of "raw materials" for the lightweight backpacker that wants light gear on a tight budget.

My mom works at Wal*Mart so I have nothing bad to say about the place!

[Sam Haraldson]

I quit shopping at Walm$rt a few years ago. If you can't find it someplace else then you don't need it. It is an un-arguable fact that this giant company is reaching into the pockets of millions and sucking that wealth into the bank accounts of dozens.

Their prices are only a small margin better than dozens of other local businesses but their products are ultimately of a far lower grade.

I give Walm$rt a rating of 1 out of 5 because zero isn't an option.

[kevin davidson]

Target has more cachet and helps to keep design professionals off the street. One can almost always find analagous items to what can be found in Walmart.

Better yet, shop in some of the more regional Bigboxes. In Oregon we have Fred Meyers and BiMart. Parking is easier and are perhaps a little bit more friendly to the local economy. I often can find the same things for similar prices.

Employment practices of all of the Big Box stores should be under scrutiny by the consumer with a conscience. The entry of these mega shopping entities into a local community often have a corrupting influence on local planning depts. and politicos and are often very divisive to the community, as well.

Thank goodness we kept Walmart out of our town, a few years back—-an act that united our community in a way nothing else does (except when our high school takes the state championship).

A rating of "1" with extreme prejudice.

[Derek Cox]

walmart is great for those cheap generic items needed for each trip. i.e. snacks, travel toiletries, odds and ends. who cares where the money goes or how wealthy Walmart is? i get what i need at a great price and that's what matters to me. plus most are open 24 hours and there's one in almost every town.

[Marty Coatney]

I've watched WalMart destroy our little town. It's worth the extra cost to me to shop at local businesses.

[john braun]

This is funny. Wal-mart customer service has plummeted to the ground over the last decade after Sam died.

I avoid Wal-mart when possible, but every now and then you gotta stop by.

[Jacob D]

Yearly bump to bring the Wally World rating down where it should be :)

[Greg F]

Walmart saved my trip. I was packing up the night before I was to leave and went to grab what i thought was a full butane canister and it was empty. It was 10pm and i was leaving at 5 the next morning and after a few phone calls no one else had any. So i went to the only store tgat was open. WALMART Whike they didnt have butane they did have a colman single burner backpacking stove that weighed 3lbs. So i bought it and began my hike the next day with a 10lb baseweight and 5lbs of stove and fuel. The best part is after the trip i took the stove back to walmart for a refund

[Randall Raziano]

Certainly they don't have the high-tech ultralight tents, etc that you might find elsewhere….but for basic supplies, and some food options (NIDO milk, dehydrated foods)they do a fine job.

[David Moreno]

There's so much ranting I could do here that I'd sound like a lunatic.

Once when I was in dire straights financially, I worked briefly in a Walmart Photo Center. Never again.

Slightly cheaper prices = massively cheaper quality.

I rarely buy $5 bin movies there and cans of Gatorade for dayhiking. That's about it.

Crap quality products, horrible customer service, price scanners that never work (yet are needed because they rarely change the price stickers below items), items in store and online that are supposedly in stock yet aren't. Not to mention the rude customers. And the list goes on and on.

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