Next Adventure Portland Outdoor Store — Attraction in Portland

You are better off just going to the REI outlet in Clackamas.

The selection of new products in the retail part of the store has akqways been its biggest downfall. With other outdoor recreation stores in Portland closing their doors, NA might be the only place to find certain things you need for your weekend getaways. But just because they have a raincoat doesn’t mean it will be your size nor will it be in something obvious like black or a neutral color. And although they have a lot of packs, there is little to no variety within that. Same for shoes, apparel, gear. Statistixalky I would say you have about a 7/10 chance of finding a lot of what you don’t need here.

I accepted this fact when I first went there in 2017. The store began to go dramatically downhill though around 2022 when the stress of theft clearly started to take its toll on the management and staff. The majority of the employees there just became rude, wherein they would follow you around suspiciously long before offering actual assistance. Their eyes will dart around but often they don’t even lift up their heads or say hello. Particularly the male staff members who would work the main floor. I just wanna say, “You don’t have to treat everyone like they’re wanted criminals just because some kid just ran off with an overpriced Hydroflask on your shift, Chad.”

Lastly, and the reason I decided to write a review today, the consignment department of NA has taken the hardest hit as of late. It was for years what kept me coming back. It had a wide variety of everything you wanted and more at an appropriate price for used goods. Also staff of that bottom floor way more friendly and helpful than anywhere else in the store. As of late, the store has changed its policy for selling your slightly used outdoor equipment. You are now offered a third of the selling price and only in trade. Before it was closer to half of the price of what they would sell your stuff for which seemed fair because it was only offered to trade, not in cash. Also, the selection in the assignment department was outstanding with the change in policy, you are better off, just planning ahead and taking the time and trying to sell yourself online. Today I took a practically brand new Northface Basecamp duffel, also practically brand new Carhartt jacket, heavy duty rain coat by Converse, 2 Eagle Creek toiletry bags and a vintage REI bag to the consignment department and I wasn’t even able to walk away with enough in trade to get the smallest Cotopaxti travel bag.

And that ends my long running relationship with...

TL;DR: If you're looking to demo gear, I'd recommend checking out Evo instead of Next Adventure.

Huge fan of Next Adventure! Bought my first skis there and have been a long time customer, especially of the bargain basement. Great place to check out if you're just getting into certain outdoor activities, or looking for new or used gear at great prices.

I had a negative experience with a recent demo rental that has really turned me off from demo rentals specifically. I've rented from them loads of times, so I don't want to knock regular gear rentals. But the process for demo rentals feels super archaic and doesn't guarantee you actually get what you want to demo, which totally defeats their "try before you buy" offering. Instead of showing you a list of all of the gear currently available to demo on the reservation site, you have to type in the exact gear you're looking to demo in a notes box and just hope it's available for your reservation.

I submitted a reservation over a week in advance for a pair of skis a store associate told me was available for demo (she showed me those skis on a list of available demos, and the skis had a "demo me!" sticker on them). I received a rental confirmation immediately after submitting, but I never got any follow-up email or call to confirm that the skis I requested were available. I called the store twice in the days leading up to inquire about this, and both times ended up leaving a voicemail; I was never able to connect with someone prior to my pick-up. When I went to pick up my skis, an associate walked out with a totally different brand that were vastly different from the ones I requested. They were not comparable in any way to the pair I wanted to demo (waist, length, stiffness-- all very different). There was a note in the system attached to my reservation that the skis I requested were unavailable, so they had pulled a different pair, but they never called or emailed me to let me know. Another store associate then told me the pair I requested wasn't even available to demo, which contradicted the information I initially received when I made the reservation. It was an extremely messy process, and I ultimately cancelled the reservation.

I ended up checking out Evo's demo rentals, and the process was totally seamless. Their website lists all of the models that are available for the rental date you've inputted, so you know exactly what you're getting. If anyone from Next Adventure is reading this, pleeeeease update your website to include an inventory list!! The current system is...

In an age where you can order most things you need online, I still consider Outdoor Adventure worth the trek for the Bargain Basement. The Bargain Basement is hit or miss in terms of finding items at the right price in your size, but if you do find something, the item's quality tends to be significantly better than say, something at Goodwill, at prices comparable to Goodwill. As an example, I found Keen's sandals, which are $110 new for $16 in the bargain basement & they lasted me 3 years. I also found some great cargo pants for about $5-25 range & the new pair would be $80+. The reason why I'm not marking this 5 stars is because of a few reasons & these are suggestions to the owner(s) for improvements:

1. Finding staff in the bargain basement can be a challenge. I'm not sure if I'm to be looking for something to indicate they're a staff - like a name tag? A uniform? A specific location? I tend not to be able to find people to ask for help.

2. If you have mobility issues, like say bad knees, then getting to the bargain basement part of the store can be a challenge because you have to walk down a considerable amount of steps. Now I could be missing the incredibly obvious accessible entrance to the basement, but there wasn't an obvious elevator or other method for getting to the basement then the stairs.

3. I feel exposed with the changing rooms in the bargain basement, meaning that there's a gap at the bottom of the changing rooms (if I'm remembering right). So I go upstairs to the changing rooms there just because I don't like the feeling that people can watch me changing to some extent.

4. This is minor, but for me it's a significant trek to get to the store living on the West-side of the suburbs, and I don't think there's parking (I don't own a car though). So I have to reserve visiting to once a...