REI is known for the diversity of their goods for sale--nearly everything outdoorsy you need, except for hunting-oriented things--and their helpful staff. This store in Northlake is like most others: large, appealing, neat and well-organized. They have a bike shop, which not all REI stores have, and the expected camping, kayaking, climbing, and hiking goods including a decent but not extensive selection of clothing. Indeed, this is why I rate them four instead of five stars: they are heavy on their own REI brand, have some North Face, Patagonia, and other well-known brands, but not nearly enough--their Arc'teryx selection was weak and beyond clothing their backpacks seemed lacking in some sizes and brands, too.
On to the staff: I was helped by two staff members, the first was very sweet but she made a startling comment (in my view), when we were comparing North Face and Arc'teryx jackets, she stated "well, you know, Arc'teryx they have some $800 jackets so you're wearing that and you have major swag, here people think they're all that in their North Face but come on". Really? At REI? Yes, Arc'teryx is great but the swag factor isn't what sells it to the demographic who buys it here, it's the quality. I told her all things being equal, I'd rather not wear a $500-800 jacket in the woods where I know sooner or later it will get dirty and maybe torn even. I was just surprised at her attitude about what makes this gear "important" considering the REI ethos. Second employee was better as I asked him about a couple different folding knives and he was very informed and on-point.
Something that really impressed me was their rock climbing gear selection and its presentation (see the photo I posted) which was great. Here's the thing with climbing gear: much of it is small, almost all is expensive, and you don't need to have it cluttered as some shops do--REI had it very neatly laid out so you could see everything, all the rope was on nice spools, most everything else on shelves or in a glass case--this is how it's done. Their small book section also was very neat as was most of the store. So really, the only complaint is that they could expand the clothing some and also maybe encourage their staff to extoll the real merits of their brands instead of hype. Overall, very cool store though.