Join MEC?

The member ship is only $5 and it is a lifetime membership so it's probably not much of a big deal to get one. There are definitely other places in calgary but I can't personally remember them. It's been a long time since I went to Calgary. I don't think you can buy national park passes anywhere buy the gate but I could be wrong. The lineups may not be very long. Everyone who lives in the area generally has annual passes and it's not really camping season or skiing season so I don't think it's very busy right now.

Thanks Thomas. I'll be spending a few days in downtown Calgary before we head into the mountains, and it looks like the MEC is just a 20-minute walk from where I'm staying (somehow I'd thought they were way on the south side of town). I guess I'll just head over there one evening.

Any MEC-branded gear that I don't know I need yet?

Other shops downtown Calgary: Out There and Element/Patagonia. Once at mec, you should go see across the street Atmosphere might be of interest. On your way to Banff, go in Canmore for Valhalla pure and Vertical Addiction. Banff has Monod. Just ideas.

Yeah, the MEC membership is only $5. I've slowly accumulated a big pile of MEC gear. The T-2, and T-3 grid fleece shirts and long underwear are great and much cheaper than Patagonia. The MEC Vega hoody is essentially a cheaper version of the R-1 Hoody. The MEC RD wind shirt has become the most useful layer I own. So useful in fact, that I'm considering buying a few more before they go out of production. And if you are in need of a rain jacket I'd recommend the MEC Alpine Refuge jacket. I've put mine to the test this summer and it's held up great. They also make pretty good winter camp booties.

My only caution would be to stay away from the merino wool. I've bought a few pieces of merino from MEC and they've all shredded right off my body after a couple months of intense use.

Cheers…

Thanks, Pierre and Travis. Very useful information. This is our first trip to the Canadian Rockies (hence dayhiking instead of backpacking) and we're pretty excited about it.

Any ideas what we can do with our (hopefully unused) bear spray before we fly home? We can't be the first to face this…

Buy Discovery Passes here:

http://www.achatsparcs-parksstore.ca/en/ProductCatalog/Section/DiscoveryPasses/

The $5 is definitely worth it for a lifetime membership, even for a foreigner! I live in Chicago but visit my girlfriend in Toronto fairly frequently, and nearly every visit I stop by the MEC there.

I most highly recommend their T2/T3 fleece layers. I find them more comfortable and just as effective as Patagonia's equivalents – at a better value. I also really like the Istrum shorts for hiking, cycling, and every day wear. Under 7oz, very durable, quick drying. I've also heard good things about their RD wind shell, but it didn't fit me well.

Not for backpacking, but I really like their regular duffels. I use several of them for travel, storage, etc. Used to be priced more competitively. In general I've noticed MEC has really stepped up their game in product design over the past several years, but I've watched the prices rise with that.