text: If you are an outdoorsy gear head you already know of REI For you Canucks it is like MEC I go to the Charleston REI a lot yesterday was one of my rare trips to the Henderson REI One thing I appreciate about both locations is the staff I have only ever experienced friendly and knowledgeable staff They love the outdoors and they want to help you I also appreciate the saleclearance racks even though some of the stuff may not be priced at sale prices It is always fun to wander around and look at all the cool gear one can get for such complicated activities as sleeping outside on the ground walking outside up a big hill biking around town or eating pasta outside