So, Mountain Equipment Co-op (or Mountain Equipment Company, or Maybe Eagerly Consuming-our-paychecks, whatever they’re calling themselves this week)—has anyone else noticed how half the store is just water bottles and various ways to carry water bottles inside of other water bottles? I went in looking for hiking boots and somehow ended up with a titanium coffee press, a collapsible dog bowl (I have no dog), and a $30 carabiner that claims to double as a “portable friendship maker.”
Is this just my lack of self-control, or is MEC slowly transforming into IKEA but for people who own more stuff sacks than actual socks? Discuss: “Essential hiking gear” or “just clever marketing for people who enjoy the idea of going outside”?