3 Rivers Outdoor Co. — Local services in Swissvale

A little story in case you need even more reason to shop there: I bought a kayak this fall there after getting great advice from Chris. Shortly after getting it, a small plastic piece broke off the boat (due to no one's fault). I happened to mention it to Chris one day and he made it his mission to get it fixed. I would have probably not done anything about it because I didn't want to deal with the company and the kayak was still fully useable. Chris contacted the manufacturer and got a repair kit. He welded it back together but figured out it wasn't going to hold. Then, he contacted the company again, and in the end, he got them to agree to get me a new boat since there was no way to fully fix it. Until I get the new boat in, Chris made a temporary fix on it that will hold. The conclusion of this story is that you wouldn't get that kind of service at a big store. Three Rivers Outdoors carries brands that they trust and will provide excellent...

This outdoor shop is SO GREAT. I wanted to buy a Garmin watch, but was hesitant to make such a big purchase without seeing one in person first. I noticed 3ROC is a Garmin dealer, so I stopped by the shop to take a look at their watches. The store manager, Eli, was so incredibly helpful and even reached out to their Garmin sales rep to get some answers for me about the two watches I was considering.

After purchasing my watch, I noticed a problem with one of the features and contacted Eli for help. He immediately reached back out to Garmin on my behalf, coordinated a return, and got a new watch shipped to me -- even though I'm currently traveling across the country.

In a society full of Amazon and other faceless corporations, I honestly treasure shops like 3ROC more than ever. I can't even remember the last time I had a customer service experience that was this easy and personable. I'm excited to continue shopping here...

STOP HERE BEFORE GOING TO REI. This place is amazing. A gem of an outdoor store in the middle of the city. If you aren't used to the price tag of quality outdoor gear, you might be shocked at first but they only carry brands that make quality goods (Rab, Patagonia, Kavu, Danner, Black Diamond, Cotopaxi, etc) The selection is great considering how small the store looks on the outside. SURPRISE! They have a whole extention on the back that makes it even bigger, plus that's where the consignment shop is.

I highly suggest stopping in regularly to check out the consignment section. They get new stuff every day and the inventory changes quickly. Found some ASTONISHING deals in the consignment area on jackets, camp pads, a backpack, dog harnesses, and even some sweet shorts. My roommate even found a crash pad in the consignment section once! Lots of shoes too, so if you need boots for a trip, definitely...