Why We Pro-Test: Part 2
Jonah, an awesome customer of ours, is on the Appalachian Trail. We emailed him recently to ask if he's got any needs. When he was able to reach a Wi-Fi connection, he responded that while he's pretty well set for the moment, he was able to share some of the Hiker’s Wool he purchased at Yellow Wood with some of his fellow trekkers, and “they LOVE it!!” So what is Hiker’s Wool? To start, it’s a product we learned about from two other wonderful customers and lifelong friends, Rhonda and Larry, who found it in New Zealand while there trekking. Its single-washed wool that you put between your foot and your sock on any ‘hot spot’ (an area where rubbing might take place in a shoe/boot). Magically, the wool takes the rub rather than your skin and the lanolin in the wool soothes the area that was being chaffed.
John comes into our store for his first time proudly wearing a really cool waxed cotton Barbour jacket. The jacket had multiple stitch marks on it where patches were placed and the color was well worn olive green that showed some serious age. You see, John has been wearing this coat since his high school years, some 20+ years ago. He proceeded to share the stories behind each patch and each stitch. He just kept sending it back to Barbour and they just kept fixing it! While we cannot take credit for selling it to him, we would love to sell you one today, hopeful you too will be wearing it 20+ YEARS from now!
We were open a week when a woman came in to buy a pair of shoes. I looked at her feet and saw brand new ones. I asked why she needed a new pair when she had new ones on. She responded that they didn’t fit her. I proceeded to ask what she needed them for and what she felt would be her first choices in style and color. Several attempts later, she found her shoe. It fit her and she was a ‘happy camper’. “One last question? Why would you buy something that didn’t fit you in the first place?” I asked. “The store told me they would be fine”. “Well, when they weren’t fine, what happened?” “They shared that was what they had and couldn’t help me”, was her answer. WOW, was I happy we opened Yellow Wood! Our shoe/boot selection is incomparable in our market and beyond. We carry over a dozen footwear brands from Oboz to LaSportiva, HanWag and Adidas. We carry Hoka as well as Altra, Salewa, Scarpa, Olukai, Blundstone, Pajar, Blackstone, Satorison and Chaco. We can take you from the street to any mountain top, knowing that what you really want is comfort!
Fjallraven, Canada Goose, Garmin, Woolrich, Lole, GoPro and ENO are names you may be familiar with but perhaps don't recognize the depths of awesomeness these brands have. Did you know that ENO now makes an LED hammock or that Canada Goose has lighter weight and weather-ready spring wear? Did you know that Fjallraven has fast become one of our store’s favorite for their quality and design?
Haven’t heard of Mountain Equipment, Kari Traa, Nau, Mystery Ranch, Hyperlite, Nemo, Topo, Boreas, Western Mountaineering, Sherpa, OR, Dish & Duer, Bela Tee, Mountain Khakis, Flowfold, Snowpeak or Dynafit? Come in and let us introduce you to these brands. We'll share all the education and PRO-test results we have about these lesser known but incredibly awesome brands. We're comfortable saying that these lines will compliment what you already own or add dimension to your choices for outerwear or travel wear.
We are working with over 185 vendors to ensure that we have high-quality, reliable and durable products because that’s what inspired us to open our doors. Our goal is exceptional customer service with exceptional products! We are excited to share what we know, what we have to sell and in the end, give back as much as we can along the way (that blog will be written soon…the one about how much and to whom we’ve shared our success)!