Eastern Mountain Sports

Everyone is so nice and friendly. I actually feel valued and the sales staff are eager to help. I am definitely not an outdoorsy person but needed snowboots. I bought a pair of North Face boots at a steal plus the student discount. I have since gone back to buy workout clothes of good quality at an affordable price. I still can’t get over how friendly they are.

Knowledgeable and committed staff. Everything you could hope for! The reasons you keep going back.
Almost two years ago, I purchased climbing shoes from the EMS store in Soho. In summary, the store associate had little knowledge about climbing, was not able to help me find the right shoe, but left me reassured that there was a very flexible return policy. Life quickly changed and fast forward to three weeks ago, I was only just opening the box and going climbing for the first time. The shoes hurt so bad, I could not put weight on my feet. Vaguely recalling the flexible return policy, I headed to my local EMS store in Philly.
This time around, I got the assistance I could have used the first time around in New York. The sales associate spent time testing out several shoes with me until we found a great fit. The store manager worked with my husband to look back in their records to find our Soho purchase. Since the shoes were in perfect condition (minus the one day of climbing chalk), they kindly accepted a return even though the policy has since changed.
I went in thinking I was probably out of luck given the length of time since the original purchase. I’m very grateful to the staff at EMS for hearing my concerns, working with my situation, and making sure I left with the right gear for me.
This staff knows their stuff. If you express what you’re looking for, they make sure you walk out with exactly that.

Talk about customer service!!!
This past Sunday my husband and I went out to EMS so he could treat me to shoes and a harness for our new favorite past time – indoor rock climbing. Parking was relatively easy for a Sunday afternoon in University City (although all of the kiosks on our side of the street weren’t working and I always think it’s a bummer to have to pay on a Sunday – but whatever!)
As we walked in we approached the wall of harnesses. I am brand new to climbing and plan to only do it indoors so I was looking for simple (read: inexpensive) but decent. There were some folks shopping in the area so we decided to review our shoe options first (to give them some space).
I hadn’t been in the store for a few years and it was much larger and cleaner than I remember. When we got over to the show section we were greeted by Andy. When I told him I was a brand new climber he immediately had a ton of advice to offer – including «Don’t spend a lot». I liked him already! Major Points scored for honesty and not taking advantage of the girl who doesn’t know better.
Andy and I discussed the size shoes we were looking for and he went into the back to check his sale stock. He emerged moments later with 3 options for me and one for my husband – who although an experienced climber was looking to go up a size from his existing shoes.
The third pair I put on were perfection! They fit great and looked good too (if that’s possible for rock climbing shoes). The best part though – they were on sale for $ 20!!! I just about fell on the floor. Happy Valentine’s Day to me!
My husband was also successful in finding the perfect shoes with Andy’s help. They were on sale too – originally $ 85 on sale for $ 60. This guy was my new favorite person ever!
The best part came when checking out. I had (like an inexperienced girl) grabbed the harness that matched my shoes. Price tag? $ 54.95. A little more than the least expensive one but… it matched…:)
When I got to the register I decide to ask Andy’s advice yet again… was it stupid to buy a harness just because it matched my shoes or should I get the more economical one. He explained the difference between the two and I was sold on the purple one. Then he asked if I tried it on – to which the answer was a big dumb «no».
He refused to sell it to me without trying it on – and I am SO glad he did! Because it was too small. The best part came when he went to grab me the right size – and found the same harness but in last years’ model – which was on sale for $ 24!!! I struggled for a moment – because it was a slightly different purple/​red than the original harness… but when he told me that the shoes + last years’ model harness would come to $ 44.00 versus $ 55 just for the purple harness I was sold!
Overall, Andy was THE BEST! He has a client in me for life and I will never shop anywhere else for my sporting good needs. It is so nice to know that he wanted to help me out and was honest about his product and didn’t just try to upsell me. Thanks, Andy!!!

The store itself is good, you can find what you need, from good brands. But that’s where the good part ends. I recently had a horrible customer service experience from the «supervisor» (I think her name was Carmella). Went in to return something that I bought online. Initially a very pleasant guy (who’s ID said trainee) started helping me with the return, but soon Ms supervisor stepped in… and her tone could not have been more condescending while asking me «if I owned a phone» smacked of racism… she kept interrupting the guy who was trying to help me and would not stop her rude rant. I could not wait to get out of there.
People need to understand that they work in a service industry and customer service should be top priority– I’m not returning to this store and would advise the same to you.

Nothing like REI! A small box store with small variety. Customer service was mediocre and its selection was over priced.

Love this store.
In terms of the goods, it’s pretty good. EMS carries a good variety of gear (I got stuff for hiking and biking), but doesn’t stock as much variety as I’d like, especially in clothing choices. Some of the colours they carry (which were the only ones left) are kinda hideous. These were store-​brand shirts, so whoever’s choosing the colours for EMS women’s clothing needs to rethink the strategy.
Where EMS really shines is in the staff and customer service department. Staff people are super helpful, extremely knowledgeable, and will help you find the best item for your needs. They also have good discounts and no-​hassle return/​exchange policies, so it’s pretty risk-​free to shop here. EMS also has a rewards program, which is okay.
Good selection. Stellar service.

It’s not the largest sporting goods store out there, so you won’t get the huge selection you sometimes want. But for being conveniently on campus, and having a student discount rate, it does it’s job. I like looking through their sales because as usual sporting goods tend to be on the more luxury item expensive side. $ 50 for a technical shirt? Why??? But you can usually catch a deal in the sales. They had a large camping sale in October and I went in and got great camping pads and headlamps for a steal. I would say if you’re an outdoor junkie then this is a good place to get their weekly emails about specials!

The staff has been terrifically helpful to us as we prepare to go on a hike in Africa. I would give this EMA five stars because of that, but it is hard to do so given the competition nearby. (See my review of REI in Plymouth Meeting).
As I mentioned, the staff is great. They are knowledgeable and helpful. The selection is slight, and the return policy is not as good as some stores offer. On the other hand, my daughter wanted something that they ordered from another store for her, so the limited selection may not always be a problem. However, the return policy does not compete with other stores. That always makes me worried when purchasing expensive speciality items. Parking is an issue, and it opens a little later than I like. Prices are a little higher than most.

The folks at ems are highly knowledgable, a very kind tall man helped me choose the right sleeping pad, and waterproof sac and just seemed to have a lot of first hand knowledge about each of the products he presented. They also have a great student discount!

This place has a great selection and tons of different stuff (they even have a bike shop in the back) but it’s hard to get past the mark-​up. I like to peruse this place and then buy whatever I need online – pretty much anything in-​store at EMS is 10−20% more than you need to pay. Their sales are pretty good though, and I think you get a discount if you’re a Penn student/​faculty/​staff.

They have quality products (a long underwear top I bought at EMS in 1995 is still doing great), but the service at the University City locations is lacking at best. Have been in there multiple times without having a really good experience. Once they were friendly and tried to help but the employees weren’t very knowledgeable (totally fine – no one expects everyone to know everything). Once I got completely ignored, even though I was wandering around, pretty clearly trying to get some advice and the store was not busy, and once I got greeted and told «I’ll be right back,» except that no one came back and the employees were all hanging out talking to each other when I left.
Service has never been malicious or rude or anything – but I haven’t gotten any help either, and I get the sense a little bit that the employees maybe work there for the discount or the hang out time. But there’s a more convenient place to buy stuff and expect zero customer service in return: the internet.
even!

I went to get a backpack a few days ago (don’t know anything about backpacks) and they were very helpful and spent 30 minutes explaining everything to me and trying things on and measuring fit. It was more expensive than the suburbs, but it’s the only place in the city to get that kind of gear, as far as I know.
I had a great experience and I’d go back for any other outdoor needs.

Personal service, great selection and convenient location. They did not have what I wanted, and ordered & shipped it from another store in time for my trip.
They remembered me when I came back. Personable team here. Prices are a little high but the quality is good.

I was really happy with my experience here. I was greeted as soon as I walked into the store. I headed over to the shoes, and within a minute I had someone helping me. She was friendly and knowledgeable, and not pushy at all about making a sale. A lot of the hiking shoes and boots were a bit on the pricey side, but you get what you pay for.
I was skeptical about shopping here after reading some reviews, but I found the service and selection to be great. They had a good bit of items on sale, and college students always get a 15% discount on full priced items. I will happily shop here again.

I found a pair of RuffWear’s hiking boots for our Doberman here. So I was happy (I searched for it online first to make sure they had it in-​stock). They’re impossible to find anywhere near here, though I’m sad that it appears that EMT will no longer carry RuffWear’s lines.
Back to paying for shipping costs.

This review is more about their service than anything else. Every time I’ve gone, the staff has been super friendly and willing to help out with anything — whether it’s me choosing which gloves to buy or me looking quizzically at my broken bicycle. They’re always really patient and willing to teach/​offer advice. I popped my tube on my old bike like 3 times in a month, so I went there a lot…
They don’t have a huge selection but they do have some pretty sweet sales sometimes (which never happens at North Face).

This is a small place for people to pick up basics — water bottles, some winter gear for boarding or skiing, or passes to go to various trips to ski and such.
They don’t have a huge selection but you have access to their catalog and they can order anything out of there for you.
Very friendly staff that seem to be very active, too, although they can sometimes talk too much amongst themselves. They can give you great suggestions for everything from biking to spelunking.

I was doubly disappointed at this EMS location. We went there on Sunday afternoon, there were several employees carrying on an animated conversation. Not a peep to folks entering the store. After a long wait, finally one of the attendants came over and asked if I needed something.
I’m a fan of EMS, and hope this event is the exception. rather than the rule.

Clean and somewhat desolate inside. I don’t think I was acknowledged by another human being for at least 20 minutes there. When a worker finally strolled by and asked me if I needed any help, I didn’t — but I made up an excuse and asked him if they had the black reef flip-​flops in my size because he was really f*cking cute. He replied he «knew they didn’t because another woman had asked him the same question a week or two ago.» (Red alert: why would they still not have ordered the flip-​flops in two weeks?)
But the real reason I didn’t need help was because I had gone in to look for a new pair of running shoes — only to be met with a paltry selection and not a single pair to be found for less than $ 80. I was expecting to be overcharged since I was shopping in UCity, but I was expecting to at least find a «sale» section. No dice.
So if you have an immediate need for sporting apparel, cash to burn, and an affinity for clean-​yet-​edgy eyecandy, stop in. It’s certainly worth a visit, even if it doesn’t warrant your cash.

On my quest for a plain old black fleece, I swung through EMS after striking out with the uninterested City Sports people. These guys were totally friendly and helpful, despite the fact that I apparently am a little late in the season for a black fleece and the only ones left had thumb holes or were eeetty bitty. But there were a variety of options, at a variety of prices. So big ups the guys at EMS.