It's very strange when you go past a shop almost on a regular basis but never even really give it…read moretwo looks, then go in, and realise it's really damn good. That's exactly what I did today. I was on the search for a good quality Snowboard kinda jacket, water and wind proof, durable and warm. I had been all over Brighton looking for one of these, and couldn't quite find one that met my specific requirements, which were so specific that I don't think even I knew them. All of this ended though walking into Surf and Ski. The range of proper old person practical skiing gear, as well as cool, fashionable snowboarding stuff is really quality and varied. Bonfire, The North Face and Icepeak are among the labels that I spotted, and whether your looking for something quite garish, or simple, expensive or cheap(er), I could not recommend this place enough. The lady who owns the shop is a really sweet woman, who really helped me out in a genuine and kind way, spending a lot of time with me, explaining the coat I was looking at in great detail, from the little inside pockets, to how they make the lining. She really knew her stuff, and was, as she said a 'Ski Nut'. There is also Hardware upstairs for skiing and snowboarding, for those who can and do,actually use it.

This surf and ski shop looks like it's made of snow, you can't miss it. I recently got into skiing…read moreso now every time I pass one of these stores I can't help but look inside and this one, set over two levels, has a large inventory of every kind of equipment you could need. This includes my favourite ski brand K2, and some really gorgeous ski suits (I really need to update in this department, my snowboarding brother refuses to be seen on the mountain with me). That being said, the only thing I've bought in here is a North Face rucksack. In fact, their whole camping and outdoors section of the shop is definitely worth a visit if you don't frequent the piste and the staff are extremely helpful if you don't know what you're looking for.

I have come in here over the past few years, to get snowboarding equipment and I really recommend…read morethis shop for their selection of products and customer service. I was once after a tent, and one of the staff was nice enough to rig the tent up in the shop for me! They have a really great collection of snowboards, bindings, boots, and camping gadgets. They stock brands including Mountain Harbour, Patagonia, Helly Hanson, Quicksilver, Killy, Isuzu, First Resort, Subaru, Animal and Berghaus.

I'm an outdoor guy and I love browsing here at Ellis Brigham. Every time I'm planning to go on a…read morehiking trip or any kind of vacation really, I come here to check out what kind of clothing or gadgets I could need: a new tent? New hiking boots? Some wooly socks or another function jacket? It's a huge store - for central London - and on three floors they offer everything a true outdoor person needs. The sales people here are also always very friendly and assist you throughout. Once, I wanted to buy a pair of shoes and I had that poor salesman fetch me more than a dozen different shoes in various sizes. In the end, I told the poor guy that I needed to think some more before making a hasty decision. (I did go back a couple hours later though, as I just couldn't stop thinking about that one particular pair ;-) I highly recommend!

*Drool* As a Surfer…read moreGirl, Ocean Sports provides the feed to my addiction. Selling everything one would need to engage in Surfing, Snowboarding and Skateboarding under one roof, Ocean Sports lives true to it's name. Carrying all of the essential labels for Buoys and Gulls (even the little ones) such as Vans, Roxy and Billabong (just to name a few), Ocean Sports supplies water sport fanatics with both fashion and function. With all equipment located in the back of the shop, you can try on the latest Quicksilver Boardies up front to go with your new 6"2 board at the back. Ocean Sports also offers a wide range of Surf DVDs that can be purchased. Why not be a little bit jealous of big barrel surfing in Hawaii when it's -10 in the Channel! With an added bonus of being right beside Woody's Diner you can treat yourself to a tall stack of Pancakes after you purchase a £250 wetsuit.

Ocean Sports is a fantastic shop to go to for extreme sports gear and clothing. I have a passion…read morefor snowboarding and surfing and have to admit that this shop sells an excellent, large range of branded snowboarding jackets, trousers, goggles and boots, branded wetsuits, boots, gloves, rash vests as well as a top selection of snowboards and surfboards themselves. It's always fun to go in and browse even if you have no intention of buying anything (you always come out wishing you had more money!) The staff are very friendly and willing to help and give you knowledge on anything you may be unsure of. As well as gear for outdoor sports they also sell general surfer style clothing for men and women. They always have some lovely little summer dresses! The store is large and right on the seafront with a classic surf-lodge style of shades of light and dark blue. If you're looking to make a serious purchase on a board of some kind or even if you just need some new outdoor clothes like a decent jacket or a new pair of snowboard trousers, Ocean Sports is definitely the place to go.

Splendid customer service with positive energy attitude . Always appreciated the great serviceread more

I love you Decathlon!…read more Decathlon makes me sporty. OK - so I am (was) anything but sporty. But living next to Decathlon has forced me to become a (half) Marathon runner and a regular hiker. Decathlon does a great job of selling. Products are among the most competitively priced and the quality is not too compromised on either. For some reason, I always thought otherwise. Maybe because it's French? They never run out of stock for some reason. Good inventory management. The staff is very friendly. I have almost never had trouble finding what I need. They've always gone that extra mile to make sure I get what I'm looking for. Really glad to have Decathlon for a neighbor.

Terrible experience, discriminatory staff…read more I visited the store last week to try on ski boots and was told to come back later as the trained staff were on their breaks, so I returned after a few hours and was denied entry by the security guard. Staff told me the guard had received a picture of me from a CCTV camera at another nearby store - I do not even live in London, and had arrived the previous day. They showed me the photo, and the person in it was obviously not me - this would have been easy for the guard and staff to see if they looked at it properly, but it was apparent to me that I had been profiled and was being discriminated against. None of the staff were interested in what I had to say - the store manager was less than 2 metres away from me throughout this incident, but they had their back turned the whole time, clearly not wanting to be involved. I had heard good things about this store, but I only had my time wasted, and walked out feeling humiliated and upset. I emailed customer service about this over a week ago and my complaint was forwarded to multiple managers of the business straight away. I am only writing this public review now because I am yet to receive a single further response. Unacceptable on all counts.

This is the best place in London to come for all your outdoor gear needs. Set over 4 or 5 floors…read morethere is dedicated floor space to everything you will need for sports ranging from skiing to high altitude mountaineering. For me, nowhere in London has anything like its selection. The only real downside is that all the gear is skewed towards higher end products which is fine if you want to splash the cash but means that you can leave here having spent a worrying amount of money on day glow boots or GoreTex jackets.

For Ski Boot fitting, was blown away by the attention to detail. Excellent service and knowledge…read more Made us try on many boots to get them exactly right. I've been to a few places and this was so much better by a mile. You do need to book for fittings and there is a charge (so worth it). For clothes, not the biggest selection but had what we wanted and seemed to be in line on prices. Maybe just me but seemed to have more choice for women than men. I'll be coming here again. Great service deserves rewarding.

Not a great choice of camping gear or clothing really. Lots of camping hardware that other places…read moredon't have. Staff didn't try to help out at all

The North Face here on Southampton Street in Covent Garden, London is a fairly nice branch of the…read morechain, of course only selling own brand products. The location is in central London, Covent Garden, fairly close to the likes of Honest Burgers and Apple is pretty handy. The store is a decent size, it's average and has a satisfactory selection of most "summer" North Face gear, visiting in April you'd expect to see away with the winter clothing, but for an outdoor store I was surprised and disappointed at how little they had to support the cold, outdoor climates, the jackets they did have tended to be windproof or showerproof, rather than completely waterproof. I understand it's going into winter, but one would expect more of a range especially with this store being an outdoor store, which even the staff member I spoke to agreed with me on. The staff here seemed really friendly, I had a short conversation about football and the in-store product range with a cool guy that worked here. The prices seemed a little higher again, but this is a brand people pay for if you're looking for more of a bargain and perhaps more "outdoorsy" products, perhaps an outlet store is your best bet, yet sadly they are always out of town and hard to get to, the nearest outlet store to this one is at London Designer Outlet opposite Wembley Stadium, even that seems to be a fairly small store. A decent store with helpful, friendly staff yet only a satisfactory, and slightly poor product range. 3*

I'm not a huge fan of North Face, purely for aesthetic reasons, I find in comparison to other Out…read moreDoor clothes, their range is quite plain and dull. However I was happy to find that they had some Bright Green boarding trousers, which seem to brighten the shop up a bit! I went in the winter, and Upstairs was mainly snowboarding/ skiing gear and downstairs, they had a good range of camping gear. The prices, were about average for such products.

I gotta admit I've never done an ollie or a 360 kick-flip…read more I have however, spent a lot of time watching other people practise and perfect these tricks and over the years have developed a strong appreciation for skateboarding as a sport and art form. I'm also a bit partial to buying skateboard gear for my younger, more sporty, little brother and one of the best shops to do this is Route One. As the busy windows and spraypainted doorway suggest, Route One is a santa's grotto for skateboarders, snowboarders and BMX riders. Alongside new boards, wheels, helmets, pads and inline skates, they sell cool hoodies, sweaters, tees, jeans, jackets, beanies and sneakers. Labels include Zoo York, Vonzipper, Emerica, Etnies, Fenchurch, Vans, Addict and Fallen. For those wanting to 'borrow' the whole b-boy look without spraining an ankle or breaking an arm, they also sell fresh headphones and limited edition baseball boots.

As a non-skateboarder, I was more interested in the clothes and shoes in Route One than the…read moreskateboards and supplies. Name brands like Vans, Supra and Dickies are a bit costly, but Route One had several things on offer for the Christmas season. Tops were about £20, or 2 for £35; and accessories were on offer 3 for the price of 2. The front wall displayed several versions of remote control toys: spiders, snakes, modes of transportation...But my favourite was the non-electronic Racing Nuns set! Apparently they run on elastic bands. Quite intriguing. The clothing in Route One wasn't my style, but I'm going to keep those Nuns in mind for a rainy day...