Bought my first camping gear here in 1981. Been going back ever since. Wonderful old store that's like going to your Grandpa's house. I love the creaked old floors. Knowledgeable personable staff there when you need them, but leave you be when you want to roam. Good prices, extensive gear selection, and they allow you to bring your dog in. What more could you want? read more

JL Waters - Russell and me. - Outdoor Gear Near Me - Bloomington, Indiana

Really awful customer treatment. Manager was rude and there prices are way too much. Check out REI outlet online.

I love this store. It's like a local mom and pop REI. Cool selection of clothes. The staff is great - very friendly. I wish the clothes were more affordable, but the prices are the going rate for these brands of clothes. read more

Went there to buy a quality duffel. They had three lines, and I looked through them all and talked with the sales person. At first, they weren't too busy, but then they got busy and he had to help other people, but he kept coming by to help me, answering my questions, asking his colleagues when he didn't know the answers. It was very thorough and very low pressure/friendly. I appreciated it and ended up buying a Patagonia, that I'm using on my trip now! read more

The guys at this store have all of the firsthand knowledge of feces. That's right. If you need any suggestions, advice, or recommendations on feces or anything feces adjacent, this is the store for you. Does your dog need to walk in the space of green near this store? These guys are ON TOP of all of the local feces news. Seriously, go to them with any questions about where you and/or your dog might need to defecate in the area. This is the cause closest to the heart of this store, and it's an important one. It really shows too! When the employees take the time away from their in-store customers and duties to run out onto the sidewalk and shout about dog poop that isn't on their property and doesn't belong to them (yet), you know their heads and hearts are in the poop game, right where they belong. read more

Good place to get Birkenstocks re-soled. Old venue and good vibe. Cool place to look around.

It was my first time in JL Waters because I was looking for a collapsible water bottle and I believed they had some in stock. They did! And for a competitive price also. The store was a lot bigger than I thought it would be, and there's a basement too. I will have to go back another time to look around some more. read more

A friend purchased a $250.00 jacket, it broke on the 2nd use within a week from purchase. They refuse to refund money and threaten to call cops. Overpriced junk, heavy-handed tactics, unfair business practices. read more

I never called JL Waters staff stupid! I bought a very expensive rain jacket at this store. The zipper stopped working after the second use. I took it back and they said they could not refund my money. First they said it was because I didn't have the tags, but I did have them. Then they said that they would not refund the money because there was dog hair on the jacket. They have a dog that lives in the store and allow anyone to bring one in with them. They have been extremely rude to me. I wrote them to let them know online and then spoke with the owner who attempted to lecture me. I interrupted him in his diatribe and he told me not to interrupt him and hung up on me when I said that I would interrupt him if I had something to say. I got this Facebook message from JL Waters. Owner Mike Gostola... We have very reasonable and commonly accepted return policies. The item she sought to return was dirty and used with a defective zipper and even though she did not present a receipt to show it was purchased here, we offered her a new one - this was not acceptable to her. In a further attempt to assist her, our staff even called the item's manufacturer and they offered to send a new replacement. Instead Ms. Lubarsky began yelling at the staff member calling her "stupid" and loudly using the "F***" word. In my return call to her she repeatedly interrupted me. When I asked her to please not interrupt me while I was attempting to solve her issue she told me "I'll interrupt you all I want". Reasonable attempts were made to assist her, at this point there is nothing we can do for her and the staff has been instructed to dial 911 for police assistance should she reenter the store. read more

We were in today to buy hiking boots for my husband. Luke was extremely friendly and helpful. He took the time to explain all of the different kinds of shoes to us and let us try on as many as we wanted. He also took the time to give us some advice on other hiking gear. We appreciate the customer service! We highly recommend this store! read more

I have an out of body experience every time I come here! Even if I'm not buying every time, I love looking over all of the outdoor clothing and gear! I bought a Patagonia shirt three months ago. I noticed that a little bit of thread was unraveling near the waist. I took it back to see if they had another. They did not, but they did replace the shirt for free! No receipt, no drama, nothing but good service! read more

I was looking for a pair of hiking boots. The staff was attentive, friendly, knowledgeable and not pressuring at all. Its really a nice high quality boutique store. I described my perfect ideal hiking shoe and they were able to get me exactly what I need. I took a quick look around the store, the store has very organized and it has a lot of your outdoorsy equipment for different purposes. I think I would definitely come back for other outdoor activities supplies. I'm really thankful that Bloomington has such a nice store and it looks like it is independently owned as well. So definitely want to support a local business. It is stores like this that makes Bloomington a nice place to live in. read more

Indiana's oldest outdoor store. Excellent service and advice for your next outdoor adventure. They have a great selection of gear and clothing, everything from Snowboarding to Kayaking. J.L. Waters also offers a wide range of rental equipment at a decent price. read more

The staff is so helpful here. They are always willing to make sure you get what you need, and even if they don't have it, they will order it. They prices are a little bit more expensive, but its a small business and the customer service is excellent. Also the staff is experienced. They've been places around the country and have tips to help you on your trek. Highly recommend. read more

$70 *gloves*?! That's just not ok. I think their business strategy is, just make everything so expensive that they only need to sell one item per day. I keep forgetting just how expensive this place is, coming back months or years later, and being shocked all over again. read more

Pretty underrated on Yelp, if you ask me. Four stars is what it deserves; four stars is what I'll give. Very good selection and good location on the Courthouse Square. Store is laid out cutely and intelligently. The selection is limited, but they sell very high quality gear and apparel. Therein lies the issue--it's pricey, especially for a town like Bloomington. You can get much of what they sell at Dick's for cheaper. Nevertheless, I'm happy that they exist, and I want them to succeed. Definite kudos for carrying Good-To-Go freeze-dried food--they're excellent. Excellent place to go for information about Southern Indiana's celebrated caving scene. read more

Brandon (and the entire staff) at JL Waters were absolutely fantastic today. We needed some help with a bike rack and no one else in town was able to help. Brandon went above (and above and above and above) and beyond to help us make it work. Thank you!!!!! HIGHLY recommend this shop for all your outdoor needs!!! read more

Great place to explore outdoor products and gather information since the staff is really knowledgeable and easy to converse with. The store is essentially a local REI/outdoor type of store - so you get more of a smaller scale, intimate feel than you would get at a big box store. Their location is very convenient, easy parking options on the street (meters) or nearby garages. Also pretty easy to walk or bike to depending on where you're coming from! read more

OK, so I really want to like JL Waters. I want to support a local outdoors store. But, they really blew it recently, and I'm not sure when I'll be able to forgive them. My husband went into JL Waters just before Christmas and had a lengthy discussion with a salesperson there about how he wanted to buy me a climbing harness as a Christmas present. The salesperson gave some advice on choosing a size, and my husband bought a pretty expensive fancy climbing harness based on that advice. It didn't fit. So we tried to return it and/or exchange it for a larger size. They told us they can't take returns on climbing gear due to liability. They basically told us to eat the $150 expense and get lost. It makes sense that they can't take returned climbing gear (although apparently that policy also extends to climbing shoes, which it really shouldn't). They should have done several things differently: 1. Any salesperson assisting people in choosing climbing harnesses should insist that a person tries it on before purchasing, and should emphasize that it's not returnable. Proper fit is also a serious safety and liability issue, so this should be at least as big a deal as refusing to take returns. A person can fall out of a harness that is too big, and die. The salesperson made a really serious error here. 2. The person at the register should make sure the buyer is aware of the return policy. This should be standard practice. 3. When I tried to return the harness, they could probably have come up with some way to make the situation seem a little less shitty for me. Basically all they could come up with was that I should try to sell it on ebay. read more

A very nice outfitter store with a friendly staff. This is probably the best store of it's type in Bloomington. The prices are a little high but it's a nice place and that carries good brands. read more

I used to shop here pretty often, and surely have spent a couple grand over the years. Today I was treated like petty criminal, asked to hand my backpack over as I entered. Staff was condescending, saying, "don't worry, we won't look through your stuff." Frankly, I don't trust them with my personal property, so I took my bag and abruptly left. I don't know why companies do this; treating customers as criminals. Must be falling upon hard times to be so desperate. Just get a theft detection system or cctv like everyone else, rather than insult the customers on whom you depend. I'll be going to REI in Castleton from now on. Better experience all around. Otherwise, JL Waters is an ordinary outdoors store selling high end brands at suggested retail prices. 2 stars. read more

A hometown REI. Very knowledgeable staff.

Love this place!! It's staff is very friendly, helpful. It's fun just walking around this store as the merchandise is so unique and varied. I bought a very cool bag from Sweden that converts to back pack--never seen anything like it in other stores. This is the "anti-chain" store! read more

Super helpful staff! I spent probably 20 minutes discussing the pros and cons of different backpacking stoves and the woman helping me was very patient. Oh, and they are dog friendly!! read more

Great local outdoor shop. Knowledgeable staff, and great inventory from the top brands. Always make a stop in before any trip I take. They always have something new or helpful. Highly recommend to anyone else read more

Had a great experience shopping at JL Waters, thanks particularly to employee Michael Waterford's thoughtful and friendly help. His great advice informed our gear selection and we enjoyed our conversation about adventures past and future. What a markedly better shopping experience than an anonymous online purchase. Great selection and the best service! read more