Chile Forum

I am looking to buy some new pants which are proper for both trekking and hiking. I've tried northface but their trekking pants don't stretch at all and I'm afraid I tear them apart in the hiking parts. Any store recommendation in Santiago would be highly appreciated

rockinchile wrote:I am looking to buy some new pants which are proper for both trekking and hiking. I've tried northface but their trekking pants don't stretch at all and I'm afraid I tear them apart in the hiking parts. Any store recommendation in Santiago would be highly appreciated

You're already tried Andesgear?

Las Condes 13451 - ocal. 216, Las Condes

Salewa?

Gral Holley 186, Oficina C, 2o piso, Providencia

Bring lots of money.

Not yet! Thank you for the info Patagoniax. Then I would also like to ask if you know whether they also sell good hiking shoes, or Merrel in Parque Arauco is a decent choice? I'm new in Chile as well as new in trekking/hiking. I've hiked before of course but with daily pants and shoes.

rockinchile wrote:Not yet! Thank you for the info Patagoniax. Then I would also like to ask if you know whether they also sell good hiking shoes, or Merrel in Parque Arauco is a decent choice? I'm new in Chile as well as new in trekking/hiking. I've hiked before of course but with daily pants and shoes.

You're on your own in Stgo for clothes and boots. Just brought two pairs of Lowas down from North America.

I'm down here with the icebergs in the shadows of Torres del Paine.

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Try these guys as well

Cordada Cinco
Avenida Providencia 2594. Local 424. Providencia.

They tend to have poor stocking of normal boot sizes but see what they might have now (Scarpa trekking boots/vibram soles/Gore-tex). I don't care for Scarpa fit but some people really like them. If they don't have stock they might be able to recommend.

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Also maybe Euroadventure . Supposed to have a new shop at Av Vitacura 6724 , Mod C Local 3 They deal in used equipment as well . Or used to. They have some boots for about double what you would pay in Boulder.

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On the subject of trekking, taking it to climbing.... it may be useful to mention that since the USACH folks are mostly strike or whatever they call it, some of the Univ climbing club members have been hanging out during the week at the climbing wall at the university stadium (Gral Velasquez at Ecuador: Metro: Universidad de Santiago). For expat climbers and mere mortal trekkers, there may be some useful contacts to be made by meeting some of the climbing club members. The club also organises climbs not just in Chile but around the world, but the Chilean climbs might interest some forum people and lead to some interesting amistades.

Image: Px descending summit of Cotopaxi ( 5,897 metres/19,347 ft ). I guided the traverse of the snow bridges over the glacier and the subsequent ascent in January 1992. We had previously climbed inside the crater of volcano Guagua Pichincha (4,784 metres /15,696 ft). There was some fumarole activity inside that crater.

I really like AndesGear, too, on of the few mountain stores in which the sales persons actually know what they´re talking about. You also might want to check out Parafernalia in Barrio Brasil, they have not such a big range of products, but sometimes you can find relatively cheap stuff.

http://parafernaliaoutdoor.cl/

By the way, there´s a mountain club from Universidad de Chile which is open to everyone (independently if (s)he´s part of the University):

http://www.montanauchile.cl/

Great to meet other hikers/climbers etc. and they also offer a training twice a week at the campus Juan Gomez Milla in Ñuñoa...

Down south, I actually came across a fairly good store with real climbing gear in the Puerto Montt mall. I had to stop and compliment the guys when I seen it, as it was the first time in Chile I seen gear that I might really consider literally hanging my life on. A lot of what is sold in the "outdoor" stores here is really little more than tourist junk made in China for day hikers, yet, they often try to sell it as good for the mountain. Looks cool at the cafe in Los condes or whatever, but a lot of it you do not want to take to any place serious. Then also, I guess if you are in a serious place, you better dam well know what to take and what not to take in the first place.

admin wrote:Down south, I actually came across a fairly good store with real climbing gear in the Puerto Montt mall. I had to stop and compliment the guys when I seen it, as it was the first time in Chile I seen gear that I might really consider literally hanging my life on..

That was probably Andesgear. They have a mall shop there. They also have a shop in the mall in Punta Arenas. Expensive stuff but as you say, some of it is decent quality.

I checked out http://parafernaliaoutdoor.cl/ last week before my trekking and was so pleased to find proper (not too baggy) hiking pants and shoes for women. They were not that cheap actually (excepts hiking socks) , but I ended up buying a pair of la sporitva shoes, a backpack and pants (northface) and a hydration water bag (northface). Then on Saturday when I was so prepared, ready and excited to go trekking, on the metro I realized that, gosh! water is leaking from my butt! It was my mistake not letting the water sit in the bag for a while to see if it's leaking or not before actually using it, so I started thinking since nothing comes with a guaranty or return policy in that store, it doesn't take so long to see my pants, backpack and shoes start falling apart, haha. Nothing happened at the end and I was happy with the rest of my purchases at least for the first time using them however, I still wonder if things in that store are real or fake! Why they have discount if you pay with cash and why there is no exchange policy...

Hmmm, didn´t know about this "no exchange policy", seems pretty odd to me! I purchased a sleeping bag there some time ago and never had problems, but if they should really refuse to take back defect items, would be a reason to not buy there anymore...

Have you tried Salomon? My ski pants and jackets are Salomon and they are excellent. They have a store on Avda La Dehesa (across the road from Portal La Dehesa). It is pricey, but imo great quality.

They also sell some of their stuff at the Wilson store on Manquehue Norte across the road from Clinica Alemana, but the La Dehesa store is 100% Salomon gear.