Terrible experience, discriminatory staff. 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. read more

This is the best place in London to come for all your outdoor gear needs. Set over 4 or 5 floors there 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. read more

Snow & Rock - Outdoor Gear Near Me - London, XGL

removed my critical reviews from their website! I've bought several things from here, none worked properly; every time they refused a refund as items were used (but how would i know they didn't work if i didn't try them??). actually, this is unlawful, as trading standards means items have to be suitable for use. SO- tadpole 23 north face tent. not waterproof. fine if the north face want to be weird and make crap tents- but you should warn customers of this pretty glaring flaw in something which is sold as s shelter, in a country where it rains. a lot. i put a review of this on their website, which was removed. did it another couple of times, thinking id not clicked 'save' or whatever- then i twigged they remove anything critical. wow- free speech guys?? fleecing your customers is ok? imagine if someone used it miles from help and got hypothermia- nice attitude!!! i also noticed that they'd charged me double (i checked my bank statement a while later, and saw the amount come up twice, the same day, at the shop)- but they refused to admit their mistake, saying i must have bought two tents; i lost the will to live and didn't pursue them for less than £100. life's too short but ill never, ever spend any money in there again. they also have a price promise, to match any price in any bricks and mortar shop in the uk, but bellyached to me when I've got used this- why have a policy then be rude to customers when they use it?? both times, this was a manager being rude to me. i asked for a head torch to read by, and was sold a £30 one which turned out to be about 3 lumens and was useless. its fine to sell crap, but don't hype it, and say its better than it is. admit its crap. the tent farrago was the final straw, really. I'm sure some of the staff are great, but I've had the hard sell, had money stolen from me, had reviews warning other customers against buying a tent removed from their site; it just can't trust them. i also get the feeling people shop there cos its seen as 'cool', like north face; and like north face, they're not that great after all (and in the case of NF tents, totally crap). read more

Since my climbing partner and I have started nursing fantasies about climbing Kilimanjaro, I've been getting the feeling that I'm going to know this shop very well indeed. I was here, not for the coffee shop at the top of the building (which I hear is exemplary) but to mooch around and work out what gear I would need as a result of making such a derranged decision (I have no excuse folks. I wasn't even drunk!). It's definitely a pracical person's store; none of the sexy schizzle you'll see in Ellis Brigham, which was a shame for me as if I'm going to be splashing out £400 for a specialist technical jacket, that will ensure that I don't turn into an icewoman the minute I hit high altitude, then I wanna be sure that I will also want to wear it for the snowboard season too. Am I asking too much? But it's so darned pricey! Didn't get the Arcteryx jacket in the end. It is literally a one stop shop though; every carabiner and climbing rope type you could hope for, every base layer that has ever been invented; I didn't know that so many different kinds of socks - all for different purposes - could exist! How naive was I. If you're an alpinist, a triathlete, or maybe you just like a touch of wild camping. Come hither my pretties, it's got everything you need. They do loads of supplements too, but I did notice one missing bit though - waterproofing spray for giving the seams of your clothes that extra once over just in case, and the spread of technical climbing shoes was OK but didn't blow my proverbial socks off. Really nice and helpful shop staff though. Just attentive enough, without being stalkerish. Overall it gets my vote. read more

I love this particular Snow and Rock branch. This is probably the one with the largest variety in London. The staffs are very helpful if you need advice from them. I usually shop for my snowboard gears in here as you can try them, feel them, test them out before making decisions really these gears are not the cheapest items in the world and need a little fortune to buy them so be sure is better than be sorry! Just for your information, there is a toilet on the top floor, also very useful when needed! read more

I like Snow and Rock, and their products are great. The staff really know their stuff, and the quality of their gear is reliable. Although I went into this branch with my boyfriend to buy some hiking boots, and the boots expert was called over a young guy who clearly felt he was some kind of footware genius. To his credit, he knew what he was talking about, but what really irked me was the way he talked to me as a female. He actually said, You see girls tend to whine a lot when their boots start to rub. NOT the sort of thing to say to a female customer! I felt like I was buying a car he spoke on equal terms to my boyfriend, but I felt like a dumb girl. Shame, as he did know a lot about boots. I won't be going back to that particular store, but the Snow and Rock brand on the whole is pretty good so I want to emphasis that! read more

I'm extremely lazy and won't be doing any skiing, snowboarding, or hiking any time soon, so you may be wondering what on earth I'd be doing in a branch of Snow+Rock. Well, I'd be drinking coffee. I have no idea what this coffee shop (called Bullet) is doing on the fourth floor of Covent Garden's branch of Snow+Rock (apparently it's their flagship store), but it's doing it very well. They sell an excellent cup of coffee: rich, smooth, and expertly finished with pretty patterns of leaves and ferns in the foam. They claim it was a Time Out London finalist last year. There are big, squishy sofas and the staff seem pretty friendly. If you want a quiet coffee in the middle of Covent Garden, I really recommend it. read more

I went in store looking for a durable ski pants and jacket, and what they sold to me is a delicate material easily susceptible to tear, all at a huge price tag! Within my first wear the pants tore in two places and when I went to return it to the store the Canary Wharf branch manager agreed the material didn't seem durable and took it in saying I will hear back in 2-3 weeks. After three weeks when I chased I only got told by another branch manager that he isn't aware of the status. Finally after 4 weeks, they made out they have stitched the tear free of charge and will not accept return or replacement. They mis-sold the product as durable and I am shocked how such a big company can think they can get away with that. Moreover I had particularly asked them about pricing during my initial purchase and they lied to me that they can't gurantee the prices when they do price match - which I only found out when I went though the painful process of returning. Had they been honest it would have saved me £100. I thought I could rely on their advice but they have have been dishonest and mis-sold product for which they take no accountability therefore I will never buy anything from them in the future - exceptionally bad service and dishonest company!" read more

Last winter snow and rock were taking photos at the ski hill I was visiting. They requested to take photos of my children for the snow and rock catalogue. I agreed on one condition, that I be sent digital copies of the photos. Recently I saw the look book and my son's picture was featured in the publication. I however, never received the photos promised even though I volunteered my family's time to help the publication avoid paying models, I did not even receive a photo. I have complained twice to them online and have received no response. My complaint was passed on to a manager and then nothing. This is unacceptable. read more

Brilliantly stocked and amazingly helpful staff. I came in here a few weeks ago to try on some walking boots for a trip to Kenya and I cannot thank the staff enough (especially Rory) for their help. They really go out of their way to advise and give their personal opinions. I spoke to 2 members of staff and both were experienced trekkers / mountain climbers. Their help made my difficult task of buying my first pair of walking boots for my first major mountaineering trip a breeze and I really cant thank them enough! As a bonus Snow and Rock also have a price matching system so have a look online to see if you can find your item cheaper online, and if so they will honour the price! read more