Where do you shop for your camping attire?

Very much agree. I'm not a great supporter of thinsulate anything. Layering for extended outdoor activity has always been the rule. What you wear is determined by what you have - that's the reality of the situation. If you are actually winter camping then selection will be crucial. If you are outside for short periods of time and have access to excellent shelter you don't have to dress like the arctic man. I mentioned the buddy system in another thread - we use the buddy system when involved in winter activity to watch for frostbite.

 

Of course...it is located in Dorset Ontario about 45 minutes from the main entrance to Algonquin Park. It has all the trinkets, gizmos, luxury things you like to have, authentic native leather clothing, statues, carvings, pictures AND groceries at a fair price. It is a tradition to visit. BUT...there is even a bigger store at West Guilford in the Haliburton Highlands. There are several shops in the vicinity and if you don't curb your goodie appetite it's gonna cost you more than bananas.

 

I LOVE Value Village! I have shopped there for years, and my family always teases me that I won't move to any place that doesn't have a VV store somewhere nearby. Years ago, I even worked at a Value Village Store. It was much harder work that you would expect; but also had its perks. Not only did I get an employee discount on everything that I bought; I was right there to see what new items were being put out. They had a rule that employees were not allowed to buy something until it had been on the floor for a length of time (unless you paid full price) to stop the workers from getting all of the best items.

The Value Village where I worked had a $1 day on Mondays; so when I was at work on Sunday, I was also checking where the best items were that would be on sale the next day, and then got there when it opened , so I could go and get the items that I wanted. Since I already knew what and where, I could go straight from one thing to the next and didn't waste any time by having to browse through every thing to look.

 

...me too, I'm a card carrying member. AND I live in a megalopolis which means that there are several stores in easy driving distance. AND there are some stores that are better than others depending on the community they serve.

 

I use the Bulk Barn for dried foods and such and found it to be really helpful. It cuts down the packaging considerably.

 

We have some Goodwill Stores in our area but Value Village has them beat for the kinds of things that I am looking for. Though as I have said I'm not really loyal to any store I like the Value Village stores in upper scale income communities - you can get some really great buys.

 

Ha ha - I was just trying to visualize you wearing stuff that you don't wear anymore. It's not that... Emperor who wore no clothes is it?

 

Agreed - it's not like having a trillion stores in driving/walking distance from your tent/house/apartment/jail cell - whatever. I'm one of those who needs to see, feel, try on. I don't know about you, but there are some so called brand names that I avoid like the plague.

 

First I check to see where they are made - it seems that offshore manufacturers have a bit of trouble with North American legs, necks, and stomachs. Then I try them on, then I look at the price, then I put them back on the shelf and then I leave with credit card in tack.

 

I found that Mexican t-shirts seem to have big necks. I tend to stay away from Bangladesh and places like that. I know, I know...you don't have to say it.

 

My practice (as hard as it is sometimes) is to purchase Canadian first, if not here, then the U.S. and if I can't find it in North America I usually move on. Keeping in mind that a lot of our home town stuff is actually made else where. Oh boy...I'm in trouble now.