What do hikers, climbers, and all outdoor enthusiasts have in common?

They are hardcore.

Hardcore about their gear, that is. Extreme sports call for the best equipment, and you can’t find that just anywhere.

That’s why most maintain loyalty to their favorite brands and stores. If you’ve ever bought skiing pants or a winter jacket, you probably know what I mean. Did you shop at The North Face? Patagonia?

We buy from the same brands because we feel confident in the quality of their products.

But what about the price? With so many retailers selling the same brands, how do you know you’re getting the best deal possible?

Let’s talk about Moosejaw.

About Moosejaw

Moosejaw is retailer that specializes in outdoor recreation apparel as well as gear for hiking, camping, snowboarding, and rock climbing. The company has an online shopping portal as well as brick and mortar locations.

Robert Wolfe and David Jaffe founded the company in 1992 in Keego Harbor, Michigan. The pair chose to start their business selling camping equipment in lieu of becoming wilderness guides.

In 2007, Parallel Investment Partners, a Dallas-based private equity firm acquired a majority stake in Moosejaw. Other previous stakeholders include Glencoe Capital and W Capital Partners.

Walmart acquired Moosejaw on February 15, 2017 for a total of $51 million cash.

Moosejaw has received various recognitions, including a Top 50 Retailer by Bizrate (2006), Top 50 Retailer by Internet Retailer (2007), and Best of the Web for Forbes magazine.

Top Features of Moosejaw

Moosejaw has some great features for new and loyal shoppers. Some of our favorites include their lifetime return policy, price match guarantee, high-quality items, free shipping on orders over $35, and a wide selection of gear and apparel from top-quality brands.

You never have to worry about being dissatisfied with your purchase with Moosejaw’s Lifetime Return & Exchange Policy. As long as your item is still in “sellable condition,” you can return or exchange it at any time.

According to Moosejaw’s policy, “sellable condition” means the item you purchased must be “unworn (aside from trying it on), unwashed, devoid of any stains, scuffs, tears, or mysterious smells, and needs to be in its original packaging with the manufacturer tags.”

This doesn’t apply to electronics, which must be returned within 30 days, and 15 days for drones.

If you find an item for a better price through a competitor, Moosejaw’s Price Match Policy states that they will match the price within 14 days of your purchase. Even if you’ve already bought from Moosejaw, they’ll credit you for the price difference.

When you visit Moosejaw’s website, one of the first things you’ll likely notice is their offer of free shipping on all orders over $35. Many sites set a minimum of $50 or $100. This low threshold makes it easier to qualify for free shipping on all your orders.

You’ll see some familiar names when you do your shopping at Moosejaw. They carry some of the most well-known, highest quality brands in the outdoor apparel. Some of our favorite featured brands include Patagonia, The North Face, Marmot, Black Diamond, Chaco, Roxy, and Billabong.

If your brand loyalty is strong, we’ve got good news for you. You don’t have to scour Moosejaw’s website in search of the items from your favorite brand. Instead, you can hover over the top left menu option to shop only the inventory from one specific brand.

Along with the many widely known brands comes a vast selection of gear and apparel for almost any outdoor activity. From biking to rock climbing, yoga to skiing, Moosejaw’s selection covers it all.

Categories you’ll find on Moosejaw:

While a few of these categories overlap, we believe Moosejaw does have something for just about every outdoor enthusiast.

Our final favorite feature of Moosejaw is their rewards system. The program is called Moosejaw Reward Dollars (MJ$). Like most retail websites, it’s free to join, and you earn points for every purchase you make.

To sign up, you just have to input your email and create an account. You can create an account online or in stores.

Moosejaw tracks your MJ$ under your account, which are available to use as soon as your order ships. That means no waiting around until the end of your statement period to receive your discounts.

Customers earn 10% back in MJ$ for every full-price purchase and 2.5% back for items that have been discounted or are on sale. You even get 2.5% back on orders made with your reward dollars – a unique feature to most other retailers.

You can check your MJ$ any time in your online account. Reward points expire if they are not used within two years after they are earned.

Moosejaw Prices

As we mentioned earlier, Moosejaw has a price match policy stating they will match the price of any exact item sold at a lower price by a competitor.

To receive your price match, you must request it either before or within 14 days of your purchase.

Price match aside, Moosejaw guarantees prices 30-50% off regular priced items.

Sales are displayed at the top of their home page as well as under the “Sale” menu on the far right. Here you’ll find sales available for each of their departments (Jackets, Clothing, Water Sports, Snow, etc.), as well as their current promotions.

Current promotions include sales from the home page and additional featured items and charitable giving opportunities. For example, right now Moosejaw is featuring a Great Lakes Proud Campaign, with 10% of all sales going to Alliance for the Great Lakes.

Since Moosejaw matches prices on all their items, you can feel confident you’ll always receive the best deal.

Downsides of Moosejaw

There are a lot of great features to shopping at Moosejaw. However, there are a few drawbacks to consider as well.

For one, their website leaves something to be desired. It is a bit busy with some overlapping categories in the menu. With so many options, some customers may be put off and opt to purchase from a competitor with a simpler, cleaner website design.

Another downside is that there are not many brick and mortar locations in the United States. There are currently only ten locations, with the majority of them in Michigan.

So if you prefer to try before you buy, you may be out of luck.

Moosejaw has received some criticism online from previous shoppers. The bulk of these claims seem unrelated to product quality. Most of them revolve around unfulfilled orders and delayed shipping.

Though our experiences with Moosejaw thus far have been positive, this is something you may want to keep in mind when doing your online shopping.

Moosejaw Customer Support

Moosejaw offers some pretty solid customer support.

There are three main options for getting your questions answered:

• Call 877-MOOSEJAW
• Chat with Customer Service
• Visit the FAQs

Our experience with the customer service line was positive. Like most other retailers, the number above will direct you to an automated message and ask you to provide information about why you are calling.

Customer service was friendly, polite, and had no trouble answering our questions about the rewards program and refund policy.

The second option is to chat with customer service online. To do this, you just click chat, enter your name, email, and order number (optional). You’ll then get to chat real-time with someone who can help answer your questions or complete your order.

Unfortunately, the chat hours are not 24/7. The chat function is available Monday – Thursday 8 am to 9 pm, Friday 8 am to 7 pm, Saturday 9 am to 5 pm, and Sunday 10 am to 5 pm (all times are EST).

The third and final option is to visit Moosejaw’s FAQ section. The FAQs are laid out in a grid section, which makes it easier to find the right category. Under each category is a list of questions and a detailed answer.

We found the answers to all the questions we thought of here. However, the questions themselves can be confusing.

For example, rather than “What are Moosejaw Reward Dollars?” the appropriate FAQ for this answer was “How do you earn Moosejaw Reward Dollars?”

Maybe we’re being a little picky, but the wording of the questions added a few extra minutes to our search time.

The good news is, You can search the FAQs section to find your answers faster.

Final Thoughts

Moosejaw has a wide selection of outdoor apparel and gear from some of the most widely recognized brands. Their price match and lifetime return policies ensure you are getting the best deal with as little risk as possible.

When it comes to customer service, they’ve got all their bases covered with an online chat feature, friendly phone service, and expansive FAQs. On the other hand, their website design is a little busy and overwhelming for new users.

Overall, our experiences with Moosejaw have been positive. We’ll continue to use them for their free shipping and low prices.