Missoula's Outdoor Sports Stores

Brady's Sportsmans Surplus

Guns, Guns, Guns, Guns, fishing poles, and some other shit. Are you looking for a LOCAL business that will treat you right and help you supply your next hunting or fishing trip? Look no further. They have everything you'll need to land that big buck or that gigantic mythical pike.
Great advice, new and used selection, and clothing selections for everyone from the little whippersnapper to the trophy wife to the big guy who doesn't stray more then 10 feet from the SUV.

Army Navy

Do you need a good sturdy river-raft-rental, a $19 dome tent, and some used army fatigues? Take a trip down to Army-Navy. Plenty of gear to puruse, including: folf discs, cheap socks, wolverine boots, stun guns, low grade camping gear, motorcycle leather, and a wide array of materials that may have been used to "defend" our oil interests in the middle east. Also, one of the best and most fairly priced paintball gun selections in Montana. Do you like wool and canvas for protection against the elements? How about a tractor tire innertube for floating the river?

Sportsmans Warehouse

Cabelas little brother. This chain store offers you a huge selection of hunting and fishing gear, with an OK selection of backcountry gear. Carhardt and Columbia dominate the clothing selection, with vinyl rain slickers and mossy oak EVERYTHING. Now I know where these guys can still find their fleece vests and shirts with grapics of trophy bucks, howling wolves, and soaring eagles. Every man's dream is realized with a section made up entirely of every single flashlight ever made, from the keychain LED to the battery powered 10 million candlewatt monster with a built in weather radio.

Sports Authority

Big Bear Sports, Gart Sports, or whatever it has been renamed, doesn't change the big-chain-department-store feel of this multi sport location. If you buy your DVD's at Best Buy, then you probably bought your wicked sick soccor shoes at Sports Authority. Huge selection of everything sports. Discount pricing that is questionable. Every price option from the cheapest chinese made to the "one used by the pros". Plenty of NorthFace gear for your trip into the woods and your trip across campus. Mom will easily find everything her child needs to play with others in every youth sport.

Bob Ward's

Montana's favorite sporting goods extravaganza. If you have a heart for the Big Sky state give this a shot before heading over to Sports Authority. Same idea, but way better seasonal clearance and sales. Your 17 year old sales rep has probably read enough about the product to help you choose the more expensive, rather then the "cheap immitation", but they also don't work on commission so they are pretty much just being helpful. Hunting/Fishing/Team Sports/Backcountry Gear/Golfing/Paintball/Water Sports are all represented in varying degrees. Great selection of mountianeering/backcountry gear and during the winter you can find every snowboard and ski setup you desire. This is one of the first places you'll find a Gregory or Arc Teryx backpack. Columbia, UnderArmor, Mountain Hardwear, and NorthFace are represented well, with no shortage of Russell and Wilson not far behind.

The Trailhead

Do you only buy Mountaineering gear that was featured in Outside Magazine? Do you value your NRS catalog more then your children? Are you 5'10, 125 lbs? Answer yes to 2 out of 3 of these questions? Then you already know about The Trailhead. Great selection of highend watersports gear, backcountry swag, and clothing for each. Patagonia, Prana, and Arborwear are available in a selection of sizes that favors the average sized outdoor sports enthusiats. Great seasonal sale racks and helpful staff. Backpacks only available in small and medium. Tough luck big guy.

REI

All the gear your need to complete any sort of backcountry lifestyle. Great COOP style deals and member only specials. All sorts of brands or gear and people to talk to that know what they are talking about. Online sales have instore pick up and sales people are commission free. Prices may seem high, but eventually everything goes on sale. Every wilderness-leave-no-trace-outdoorsman is represented, from the Andes peak bagger to the family car camper.

Pipestone Mountianeering

LOCAL! LOCAL! LOCAL! The sales crew at this shop not only know about the gear, but they have used it and put it through it's paces. The only reason they work here is to support their crazy ass whitewater and mountaineering adventures. Great service and just great conversation. All the major highend backcountry and climbing gear is represented and if you don't see something they will order it and you will be using it after little more then a week. Small Medium and Large hikers supported here.

Northfork (2003)

Enter the dreamscape of a small child and a dark comic reality, all set in a small Montana town. This movie explores the mixture of 2 parallel stories: a Montana town about to be wiped clean and flooded by the building of a dam and the dreams of a small child approaching death. With a couple of big names that let you know that Montana natives, Mark and Micheal Polish, have made a name for themselves and a story line like no other, this movie promises to entertain MOST. Keep in mind you have to have an imagination and an open mind to enjoy this movie.

Arrested Development (Fox)

I have an unhealthy obssesion with any TV series that HBO has to offer. Finally something from another network grabbed my attention and it doesn't exsist anymore. I watched it when it was on TV and have now gone back through the DVDs and can happily say it is one of the best TV shows ever. Every character remains true throughout it's 3 seasons and every peice of dialouge is useful. Even the current events references are still relevent. It is no surprise that FOX didn't continue this show and it was a big mistake, but maybe the show went as far as the story could go. Produce and Narrated by Ron Howard, this show is a must watch for almost anyone.

Rambo (2008)

I went in to this flick thinking I was going to see a 3 out of 5, uber-violent, lame-plot, sequel to 3 awful movies. What did I get? A 1 out of 5, ridiculously-violent, no-plot, sequel. Bad dialogue, obvious plot points, steroidal Stallone, with a corny ending. Bodies being torn in half with high caliber machine guns and bomb blasts involving an explosion of blood and body parts was the only thing that held my attention.

When is someone going to tell Sly that he makes horrible movies?

Demolition Man?
Judge Dredd?
Stop! or my mom will shoot?
Cobra?
Rhinestone?

BBC's Planet Earth (2007)

Pressing play with this DVD in my DVD player instantly made me erect. Never has a documentary about the earth and it's wildlife and wild places made me want to masturbate.

Seriously, do yourself a favor and purchase this for your home. Renting will only wet your appetite and piss you off later that your can't just plug it in and watch it anytime you want. The camera work and the effort these guys went through to get you these images is amazing. The footage is so amazing that even my dog lays on the recliner with me and stares at the TV. They show you all the different climates of the earth and the animals that call them home. With the lights off you will think you have traveled thousands of miles in just a couple of hours.

Where am I?

I'm finally writing my irrational opinions about movies and other shit. Music reviews, gear reviews, and food reviews.

If you want to be like me, now you know the shit you need to buy.