Dave is an ANGRY person. They will charge premium prices and half the stuff on the pontoons doesn't work right. Be careful going here!! Once you bring up anything that's wrong, he will tell you to get out and never come back. Too bad because it's a convenient location, which is most likely the only reason he can survive since based on his customers experience, he would be out of business real quick. read more

Here's the deal; I understand & believe the reviews. I have been renting Waverunners from them for about 6 years in a row! The waverunners are almost new and always ready to go. They are very organized in this sense. Just don't make one of them mad. That's all I'm going to say. Otherwise, here are some simple but important suggestions I quickly learned: Three rules!!! STAY AWAY FROM THE DOCK! STAY AWAY FROM THE DOCK! STAY AWAY FROM THE DOCK! (I bet they make more money for paint chips on the Waverunners than for the rental itself! lol Trust me, they have my "paint chip" money!) Don't get rocks in the propeller or it won't go over 20 mph!! (Not fun!!!) Don't forget to put the drain plugs in BEFORE you drop it in the water!!! (I have never jumped in a lake so fast!!) Don't forget your trailer hitch! read more

Worst experience ever. The Premier pontoon we expected to rent was garbage. It leaked gas, the propeller was so out of balance it vibrated the pontoon and the power steering steering did not work. The pontoon was so dangerous to drive I would not let my adult children drive it. Complete safety hazard. Upon returning the pontoon, I reported the problem to Dave the owner. Not only did he not offer any discount, he didn't even apologize. He actually was offended I reported the problem. He was arrogant and rude. I have lived in the Brainerd lakes are for 30 years. I have never been treated so poorly by anybody, especially in this area. I should have read the reviews before I rented. read more

I am disabled. I went in with all the proper stuff to get my free fishing license like I do every year and he straight up, refused me act very childish, smug, smart Alec, like I walked out, crying my eyes out I've never been treated like this ever before Dave I assume he called it his place he was extremely rude and again he was being a very smart Alec jerk to me denied me my fishing license stating I didn't have the proper paperwork, even though I walked right over across to the holiday gas station the there printed out my fishing license in two minutes I am a local I have given in that business so much money throughout the years and to be treated the way I was ridiculous. I showed up at holiday gas station crying and the manager asked me what happened. I explained to her she took all of my proofs. She printed out my fishing license within two minutes. I do not recommend anybody to go here.. I also contacted the DNR , and the ADA. As a DNR stated this is not the DNR way! The only enjoyment I have right now in this world due to my disability is I enjoy fishing, always have and always will until I am unable. read more

Here at 9 am check out at 10am 3 employees standing around was told check out at 10. So here we all stand watching each other. Paperwork all layer out ready to go. Dave has looked over paperwork 3 times so far yet here I stand. read more

Wow! I have read several of the reviews on Yelp. Perhaps,I will be in the minority, but my experience with Dave and Sportland has always been excellent. We moved back to the Brainerd Lakes area in 2015 and one of our first stops was Sportland for a fishing license. Because we had CA Driver's licenses at the time, Dave playfully joked around with us saying he didn't know people from CA even knew how to fish etc. We have made frequent visits to purchase bait and had several fishing poles set up there. Our family visits each year and ALWAYS makes a stop at Sportland...often to buy a new hat. This past season, I stored my pontoon through Sportland. It was easy to reserve a spot online. There was immediate follow up to my online inquiry. On the day the boat was picked up; it was timely, friendly and efficient. When it was time to have it delivered this Spring, I scheduled a week in advance. On the scheduled day, we had 27 mph winds. I was extremely nervous, not only about going across the lake alone, but, also, getting the boat on the lift. I called Dave and he immediately understood my concerns and worked with me. Our relationship has always been easy but the joking and sarcasm may be misunderstood by others. When we arrived at the landing, Dave was there. We exchanged jokes and jabs during the time he put the boat in the water. The boat looked brand new-it had obviously been well cared for. I also asked them to fill it with gas before delivery. They charged a minimal expected fee but now we are off to a worry free boating summer. We will be visiting Sportland often again this summer....and, I expect nothing less than Dave playing the role of a grumpy old guy who loves to tease.....the same guy we have come to enjoy! read more

We are a large family that has been enjoying lake like on Gull Lake for over 5 years and have had the opportunity to rent from different places for jetskis/pontoons on the lake. We have family on the lake with a surf boat and are always short on being able to accommodate everyone (specifically our aging parents who prefer a smoother ride with the pontoon). We always rent a pontoon/ jet skis when we come to visit and be together as a family. We had heard about Dave's Sportland store so we thought we would try something new...NEVER AGAIN. When we did the final return (yes, we had to return a JetSki a few days earlier due to landing on a sandbar and said we would absolutely cover damage costs)....I have never been treated so disrespectfully or yelled at as a customer than by Elizabeth. To be clear we NEVER disputed damages or paying for what needed to be fixed. This is a family business that rents jetskis, pontoons etc. it is a rental business where things will go wrong and It is how you handle it and engage with your customers that matters. We had not once disputed paying for damages and what needs to be fixed. WHAT did happen is I was yelled at in the boat landing by Elizabeth about the jet skis, and in the store when I went to return the rest of the ropes. I was told by Elizabeth that I couldn't be trusted to leave the store (fyi...I am in my late 40's) and she was scolding me in front of customers at the store and said I had to stay there while My husband made his way to the store with the credit card...even though Dave's Sportland had all of our information and we had paid in full at this point (over $12k) for what we needed to. Elizabeth told me I couldn't be trusted and "we were just getting started at applying $5k to the credit card." Again, we NEVER EVER said we wouldn't pay for damages (The actual damages incurred ending up being less than $3,500). Jason and Dave were calm and knew we would cover the damages. Elizabeth, You had me leave your store in tears for the way you spoke to me and more importantly how you made me feel as a Customer especially when you said "do we trust her that her husband will show up with a credit card." In my communication in reaching out to Dave's Sportland to discuss my concerns, they didn't even have the attention to detail to call me by my first name and called me Jessica when my name is Rebecca. We have many friends who are on Gull Lake and surrounding lakes who have rented JetSkis/pontoons/surf boats and have never experienced the poor Customer experience we did. We will be sure to inform our friends and relatives to not do business with your operation. read more

extremely rude, yelling, getting in our face. have seen multiple reviews saying the same thing. our jet ski ran for not even 5 minutes before it stopped working, and there's no refund?? unacceptable. read more

Sloppy business and a dishonest owner. Doesn't stand by their word. Lazy. Doesn't know the meaning of 'winterize' and hides behind their insurance company. read more

I called from California to set up a jet ski rental about 2 months ahead of a big family reunion on Bertha Lake. Elizabeth, in the office, couldn't be nicer and most helpful. The week-long rental was a good value - they were able to deliver to the public access right by the property we were renting. Lo and behold, it was Dave himself who brought the jet ski - explaining all the important stuff about the machine's use and things to watch out for. Dave also came for the pick up and it was fun to chat with a guy who has run a great business for around 40 years! Thanks to all of you - I will definitely be using Dave's rentals again! read more

I found out recently that the man who treated us so poorly was named Jason. He is a co-owner of the business. In my original review I said I thought he might have been Dave himself, but this turned out to not be the case. read more

We rented a jet ski from these people and drove out to a lake to have a fun day in the sun. However, after leaving one of our group to drive it back to our dock while we drove back in the car they ended up stranded in the lake when the jet ski engine stopped working after a couple minutes of driving. Luckily, they had their phone on them so we were able to drive a boat out there and tow them back to the docking area and push the jet ski back onto the trailer. Meanwhile, our attempts to get help from these people over the phone were pretty useless. "It might have a rock in it" was the most help that we got. Even though it was an exhaustive journey of dragging a dead jet ski through and entire lake, it was even more exhausting dealing with the employees. More specifically, one employee. From reading the other reviews, we believe it may be the Jason character that other reviews have mentioned (For simplicity, I'll refer to him as Jason for the rest of the review) Before even talking about a refund, Jason ignored us and immediately went to examine the jet ski trying to find what caused the engine to fail. We went inside to get some help with a refund for some other employees or to arrange getting a new jet ski a different day. However, before we could figure something out Jason came crashing into the store screaming "I found a rock I found a rock!!!" We asked if we were still getting our refund but Jason went off about how we wouldn't get anything. Before we even said anything he started interrogating us saying "Do you wanna see the rock?! I didn't put the rock in there so it must have been from you guys in the lake do you wanna see the rock I didn't put it in there!!" While doing this, he got up in our face and continued to scream at us for no reason until we had to leave the store because he was getting so aggressive. We are still working towards getting our money back, but it's safe to say that we will never be back. They need to take Jason away from the customers until he learns how to control his emotions and can talk to people like an adult instead of reacting like a child throwing a temper tantrum. read more