Hudson Trail Outfitters, Ltd

Review #31
Yes, I know, woe is me – HTO is closed. I still wrote a review on them, since I want to convey my dismay at so many businesses having to close their doors with the horrible economy; not to mention larger chain stores pushing the local stores into a corner and out of business. I just got busy with work and life and forgot to review it when I first started checking into the store via Unilocal years ago. HTO was my favorite store to shop for outdoor clothing and gear since around 2010 when I first discovered it while driving around Fairfax running errands.
HTO decided it was time to sell their merchandise and close down their four Washington DC Metro area stores (Tenleytown, DC; Rockville, MD; Fairfax, VA and Pentagon City, VA) in late August 2015. They put out the sales signs to the stores around 3 September and would close them once the merchandise was gone; and boy did the merchandise move fast. I didn’t see the closing notice email until mid-​September. Then I didn’t make it to the store until the end of September, and the Fairfax location had already sent their electronic items to the DC store to sell them quicker. They still had lots of clothing, coats, socks, backpacks, hats, bikes, shoes, and camping gear left. I was an HTO member so I could get points on purchases towards free dollars for future purchases. Unfortunately with their closing, they weren’t adding any points to closing sale items, so the «bucks» you had earned beforehand were obsolete. I did get great deals on fleece outerwear, a Patagonia down jacket, a flashlight, a water flask, and some bike lights. I went by their sale two times. The first time was 30 minutes to closing, so I only had to wait for one person in front of me, and the second time was during a Saturday afternoon (big mistake), and the line was around the merchandise, so it took an hour to get out of there, since they only had one cash register to check customers out. This store finally shut its doors the end of October 2015.
Location Was: (9488 Fairfax Blvd, Fairfax, VA 22 031). The Fairfax store had plenty of parking outside the store and shared a parking lot with Staples. They had a cool waterfall inside, so it was nice and calming and gave you the feeling of being outdoors while indoors.
Merchandise: What they had before going out of business: Clothing, coats, socks, backpacks, hats, bikes, bike gear, shoes, camping gear, kayaks, canoes, sunglasses, and electronics.
Pricing: Many people said they thought the merchandise was too expensive, but their prices were comparable to REI, Dick’s Sporting Goods, and Under Armour.
Service: I found the staff to be friendly and helpful, even though some had an opposite opinion. The only issue I have is the store had 1 cash register to use, so the lines could get long if you went at the wrong time.
(Posted on 29 Dec 2015)

These folks are going out of business now, and I understand why. My wife and I have been shopping there, and back in the day their mall locations, since the mid 1990s. At first they were very cutting edge. They had the new models of what was hot in the hiking/​biking/​camping/​climbing/​trail running world. Over the years things changed, and when the big locations opened up, and the small mall shops closed, we should have seen it coming. Old stock, sometimes several years old, are sold at full price. Anywhere else, gear that is last season is discounted to clear room for newer products. I kid you not that they often had 4 – 5 year old items selling for full price. The plus side of the shop is that they had a great staff, and a good bike repair shop. I will miss their shop, but I understand why it is going away.

Love this store. Everyone is super helpful and they have great deals. Keep your eyes open for the big member sales!

This place always seems to be more pricey than your REI. Love the heady feel and layout, lots of local stuff and small market items. Kinda pissed they stopped the use of the rain cave which helped you try on and see how useful rain jackets were. Wish they would also go into more fishing and hunting items and apparel. Alas a middle tier outdoors store.

The employees here are friendly and knowledgeable. I’ve bought a bike, (tune-​ups are free!), and more clothes than I can count. Yes, the prices are expensive, but they are selling quality gear, and the company is regional. The membership program is good (roughly $ 5 back per $ 100 spent), and they have a 10% military discount for those serving. This location also has a clearance section. Will return!

Went here on a recommendation from a friend because they were giving an additional 20% off already discounted items. Found a pair of boots that were originally priced $ 200 and I walked out the door with them for $ 80. The staff is helpfull but most things are a little bit steep!

I didn’t purchase my bike from Hudson trail but stopped in for some recommendations because I have a long ride coming in the near future. While there I purchased some new pedals and the service department offered to put them on for me. While they did that they also cleaned and lubed my chain and told me about a free maintenance seminar they would be holding. I attended the clinic and Brian was great in directing the course to be applicable to each of us with our varied styles of riding and experience. This is now my go to shop. Try them.

Ive always had pretty good experiences with the employees here. Most are friendly. Their knowledge is a bit lackluster in some fields. Im not an expert on many activities, but with personal experience and a bit of research im able to answer my own questions rather than hoping someone here might know specifics.
Their sales are fantastic ive found some awesome deals here, and unfortunately passed on many more, all without having to get to the store at 7am, take a number and wait to get into an «attic sale»…;)
I have found that the bike section is hit or miss and seems to be slipping. They have great deals on past season bikes, but the techs are so-​so. I actually had to find the valve on an air fork for the guy on a bike id just picked up. Hed just started going down the «this isnt an air fork…» road, regardless of the big «Air» label on it.
All in all, ill hit HTO before their other acronym’d competition every time.

I found the prices very high. There were no basic cargo pants under under $ 75. The clearance items aren’t grouped within the appropriate gender/​size. The clearance rack is hidden back in the corner by the kayaks! The staff was friendly as at least three people asked if we needed help.
Not sure if I would label it locally owned as it is a chain of five stores with at least one in MD. The sales associate tried to use the locally owned connection as why we should pay for the rewards card.
I’ll stick with REI as the prices are more reasonable across the board.

On my first long hike the boots I wore around DC during bad weather didn’t cut it. The bottom of one foot had a huge blood blister. You go to some «outdoors» stores and the kids there know nothing. The people who work here know their stuff. They do the activity, and when I went in the first person I spoke with directed me to someone else who was more knowledgeable and who spent a long time making sure the boots I wore for the next several years did me right.

It’s all good until you have to use the Men’s Room. My son needed to go PP and the stench just hits you in the face. I told him not to touch anything. The urinal is discolored and disgusting. I’m pretty sure the staff «HEAD» is cleaner. Probably even smells better. C’mon HTO.

Stopped into HTO today searching for hip boots. I was disappointed to discover HTO no longer carries fly fishing gear of any kind. FAIL!

No major complaints here. I’ve been a couple times now and found staff to be very helpful, even when we were technically still there after closing. They have a good assortment of items laid out in a pretty logical way and the store itself is very pretty on the inside. I especially appreciated the mock stones and angles used for testing shoes and boots; very helpful. Prices can be pretty high, especially on clothing, but they usually have discount racks and they do give you a discount coupon for your next visit if you spend over a certain amount ($ 50, I think). Checkout tends to take a long time, for some reason I haven’t figured out yet. Overall, I like it and will continue to shop here.

Wanted to get a pair of Merrell Pace Gloves. Went to the shoe department and waited 15 minutes with no one in site. Hunted down a sales lady who said she’d be with me in a sec. Go back to the shoe department and wait another 10 minutes. Then another salesperson appears and gets me the shoes I wanted to try on but then promptly abandons me to talk to a friend/​regular. I stood there with the wrong size and had to wait again for the first salesperson to appear again, only to tell me they didn’t have my shoes in stock.
I wasted a good 40 minutes in their store to leave with nothing but a vow to never shop there again. I went to REI and got exactly what I needed with great service and also joined their member club because they were so helpful.

A decent selection of items. Really rude staff. Except the shoe girl, Caitlin. She was very helpful. The rest of the staff stood around looking lost and confused. When we asked for help we got a look that said «can’t you see we’re having a very important conversation about the new transformers movie?!»
Won’t go there again.

We only went here because the color of shoes that we wanted was in stock here and not REI. There were only two employees in the entire store. One customer waiting for an employee to assist them walked out because it was taking so long to get assistance. Took us about 15 min of waiting to get someone to help us get our shoes. The guy helping us was a bit odd too.
1 star for service
1 star for having it in stock

I like a great majority of the staff members. They’re all very friendly and take initiative when they see you. I’m fairly certain they’re all outdoorsy people and have a decent amount of knowledge about the gear. You just need to find the right associate for the right activity. It’s difficult to compete with the virtual stores’ prices but these brick and mortar stores offer you the opportunity to really feel the products and figure out if you really want it and as I said earlier, the associates here know their stuff. I feel comfortable taking their recommendations– even if I’m on the fence on something (example: clipless pedals on a mountain bike), talking to them at least lets me know what I’m getting into.
The store itself is very nice and has everything you need. I think the store has most of the product brands are mid to mid-​high range gear so things may be a bit too pricey for say… a beginner biker who doesn’t know how serious he/​she will be with the sport.
With all that said, there is a lack of variety in the store. I really would love the place a lot more if I had more selection with the gear they had. I need choices. Whenever I purchase something here, I can’t help but feel like there might be something better somewhere else. That’s just my personal gripe. I think for most other people, this can very well be their all in one, one stop shop.
Even if you walk out without something in hand, talk with the people on the floor and you’ll definitely be able to at least walk out with a better idea of what you’re looking for.

Good outdoor skills. I feel like your experience here is like other reviewers pointed out is largely based on the staff that happens to be working at the time. Some are excellent and really know the ins and out of gear section and choices others really don’t know much.
The biggest difference between REI And HTO is that HTO is too small to have its own inhouse brand of clothing which is a bit of a shame.
The selection is a bit smaller then other outdoor stores but that still being said, I will stop here first before any trip to the outdoors.

It seems your experience here is going to be left up to fate (the employee work schedule).
We had a pretty good experience at the bike shop, my husband found the exact Specialized mountain bike he wanted and the guy working there had all the answers we needed. Which says something because my husband also knows a lot about biking…
Checkout was another story, it took forever! We sat through a strange exchange of bickering /​belittling between what seemed to be an associate and a manager. I left and waiting for my husband outside. I’m not even sure what it was about, but it was awkward and I was hungry.
Such a shame because they do carry a lot of great gear that’s often hard to find elsewhere.

Great outdoors store, I like this place better than REI or Dicks. Dicks has a larger store, but I feel like HTO has higher quality gear (can be on the more expensive side) but the sales staff is also very friendly and knowledgeable and happy to help you pick out the right gear for your needs.