Just FYI: there is s VERY limited selection of rock climbing shoes here. I came here for shoes, so that is my main comment. The location was strange - as this is located in what looks like an "office park". If not for the signs I would have assumed I was lost. The store is located in the bottom level of the building. I am guessing the rest of this building must be for corporate offices. I visited in the evening so it was harder to tell. The store itself was fine overall. It's actually a really large store. There was a clearance/sale room in the back with marked down items (shoes and clothes). read more

Super helpful staff, my fiancé and I went in looking to buy some skis in late February so we knew it was going to be a long shot. Charlotte was very knowledgeable and helped us out with finding the right boots and we ended up renting some skis. The entire staff there works collectively to help customers who are shopping around which was helpful. We had Chris help us find some good trekking poles and checked us out. Before we left, Charlotte offered up some maps of local trails to go skiing which was really appreciated. Thank you!! read more

My mom and I were going on a three day backpacking trip. We are new to backpacking, so we were a bit anxious about getting all the right supplies. When we walked in, a nice man greeted us and took us right to the camping section. He was so knowledgeable and gave us great tips and we started to feel relaxed about it. We got warm comfy, light weight sleeping bags, backpacks that fitted us perfectly, delicious dehydrated meals,oh and not to mention the amazing hiking boots:) we had a blast on our backpacking trip and we had everything we needed. I definitely recommend eastern mountain sports. read more

I always feel guilty giving a store a 2 or 3 stars when I didn't buy anything but come on, the prices here are so bad, it is almost embarassing. Very decent selection, they sort of look like they have gone out of business from the outside. Lot of cars in the parking lot but no one inside. There is a 4 to 1 ratio of employees working here but probably not for long unless they lower their prices so that someone starts buyings something. read more

We had excellent service here, and had multiple people help us out depending on which department we were in. The guy in tents/stoves was especially friendly. The tents are not on display, but you can take it outside and assemble it before purchasing. The variety was decent. Prices were a bit high but I guess that's what you get with luxury goods. read more

I love this store. I have gotten great deals both on cross country ski equipment and a mountain bike. Super friendly help.

It's almost bad that I live near here because there is too much temptation to buy. Especially when they have sales, which happens often. High quality name brand outdoor gear here, which I do think is worth the money but only buy on sale anyway. The staff is amazingly helpful. One guy gave us at least a half hour lesson on what to look for in show shoes and skis, even though we weren't buying them at that moment. read more

If you walk into the store needing help & are clearly looking around for something, don't expect anyone to help you. Not only will no one ever greet you, they never ask if you need help finding anything - 100% of the times I've been there, not once has anyone come up to me & asked if I need help finding anything. Once you do nail someone down & tell them you need help, they will help you & are helpful & friendly, but they never go out of their way to offer assistance. I have bought full-priced items here but I'd rather not as they seem over-priced. They have a woefully sad selection of clothing, especially considering this retail store is next to their headquarters. I'd gone in specifically looking for long-sleeved women's tops (in season!) that provide great wicking capabilities & only found one style that wasn't merino wool so I ended up ordering online from two other retailers. They do seem to have a better selection of gear than clothing. They have a GREAT selection of Moving Comfort women's sports bras, which are, without a doubt, the best sports bra ever! Be prepared to spend at least $46 from here though. If you're looking for shoes, to be professionally fitted, go to Ted's in Keene. If you sign up for rewards, they email coupons to you. read more

I grew up going to this store when they had the summer tent sales. I happened to be in there today and raised an issue that someone had bought us a pair of socks from this store that literally had a hole in them. We don't live close by and we want to be bothered with shipping them back, but it's pretty bad when you buy a pair of smartwool socks from EMS that have this issue. The sales rep couldn't have done less other then "well we need the socks". if you are a six hour plane flight away and the socks were a gift, you're not going to send them back. We spent over $100 there today, but I was inclined to not buy anything after that sales rep's response. Normally you go to a place like EMS because you expect very knowledgeable sales staff and great customer service. Not so much this time. read more

I have made fairly significant purchases (kayaks packages, snowshoes, outfitting a trip to Australia) and EMS is the place I would go every time. The staff is extremely knowledgable and never oversells. They truly match their product to your skill level, such as not selling me more expensive kayaks when I would have otherwise, suggesting I use my ski poles rather than purchase snowshoe poles. They installed the kayak racks on my car, giving me a tutorial in the process, and telling me to call the following year if I needed help. The Peterborough store is my go-to EMS location. read more

I went to this EMS after a weird experience with EMS online buying a bike (but this review is specific to this location). They were awesome! super helpful, not trying to oversell me, really trying to help me. I understand there are a lot of complaints about expense...but I guess from my point (coming from Boston) there were plenty of deals to be had! and way more help then I get from a local bike store who was trying to up-sell me on a bike. I will have no issues going back here for additional gear/clothing - and in fact, I may decide to go there instead of my local EMS. read more

My granddaughter did not realize, when using the Eastern Mountain Sports website, that she had inadvertently clicked on a service called "Shoprunner" that then charged her credit card for a membership. The charge was $79. I know that everyone needs to be careful about what he or she clicks on, but it is also true that many of the people who know and love EMS (as we do) are young college students, who might make a mistake like this. So clicker BEWARE! I would think that most people ordering camping equipment do not want to become Shoprunner's customers. read more

Peterborough location hosts a semiannual 5K trail fun run starting right in the parking lot in which they give away socks to each participant (good ones! Darn Toughs the last few runs) and have food and raffle after. They also do bike and boat events. This location has a good sale section and the "as-is" section where I recently scored an $80 Brooks jacket for $40 due to some messy stitching (no hole, no oddly shaped seam, just messy threads around a surged seam...). Sadly, EMS's in-store stock of trail running shoes has decreased in variety in recent years, but I guess you gotta stock what sells. read more

At what point would anyone want to shop in a place with outrageously expensive stuff, disinterested sales staff, and limited selection? Never? Well, avoid ems like the plague. A shadow of its former self and not worth the time. read more

As another reviewer has already noted, don't be surprised if you go in here and nobody offers to help you. I just spent about 15 minutes looking at backpacking stoves. I had a couple of questions about various models and stood in the aisle holding a demo stove in my hand as 2 associates talked to one another less than 10 feet away. Despite my effort to make eye contact and look at them both in a questioning fashion, I was completely ignored. To add insult to injury, there was only 1 other customer in the store at the time. It's not like they were too busy helping others to get to me, they just don't care. I walked out in disgust and passed another 2 associates standing on the sidewalk talking just outside the front door. Neither one made any attempt to acknowledge me or ask if I had found what I was looking for inside. I've shopped at other store locations and had great service in the past, so it's a mystery to me why the store that is in the same building as the company headquarters would be so poorly managed. Needless to say I won't be visiting this location again. read more

Bait & Switch! Tried to purchase a Suunto Vector watch online. They advertised it at a great price of $119.98, but it was too good to be true! They cancelled my order and told me it was no longer in stock, but offered to sell me a higher priced item. Spoke to cust service manager Mark B. in NH and was told he would check into the issue. He did nothing and emailed 2 hours later saying the item no longer exists in their stores or wharehouse inventory. Well, I called around to some of their stores and found the item they claimed was unavailable and it was in stock. Avoid this business, they are scammmers. I have complaints pending with the BBB and the FTC. read more

This is by far my favorite place to get gear as it is very close to many of the hiking trails I frequent. Very attentive and knowledgable staff. The weather changed for the worse before our hike one day and I did not have the proper attire. Thankfully I was able to go here and buy a better set of hiking boots and an all-weather coat. I will definitely shop here again! read more