Orvis

Full review
Orvis is a high end retailer specializing in hunting and fishing gear as well as men's and women's clothing. The web site is organized into various stores with a lot of crossover items between stores. For instance, in the fly fishing store you will find fishing clothing and you will also find that clothing in the men's and women's stores respectively. Orvis is not a low cost alternative. They are pricey but you are paying for quality and the fact that they stand behind their items.

FLY FISHING STORE
The fly fishing store is what caused me to visit the Orvis site for the first time. I was getting into fly fishing and researching all the expensive gear you need to start off. My friend suggested I try Orvis since they are one of the major fly fishing labels. One reason to pay more for the Orvis brand is how they stand behind their gear. Could you imagine paying $300 for a fishing rod only to see someone step on it and have it snap? If that happens Orvis will replace it, no questions asked. Fishing waders are one expensive piece of gear that is prone to failing. I went with Orvis for my waders because I know they will stand behind them. As far as the selection, and I am saying this honestly, I don't think there is anything you are going to need for fly fishing that they don't carry. If you are so inclined you can outfit yourself from head to toe in Orvis gear and then some. Orvis sells fly tying kits and patterns or you can just buy the flies directly from them. You can also arrange for fishing trips through Orvis (trips can also be arranged through the travel section of the site) as well as guides or lessons.

HUNTING
I don't really hunt myself but the hunting store has the same general idea as the fly fishing store. You can get all the high quality, but pricey gear you need to hunt. Here also you will find clothing including some with insect repellent technology. If you choose to buy your shotgun through Orvis then it will be hand crafted and custom fitted. That is going to be part of a running theme in my review. You can pretty much always find a more value oriented solution elsewhere. Through the hunting store you can also get set up for schools or trips.

MEN'S and WOMEN'S CLOTHING
The men's and women's clothing tabs will have the hunting and fishing clothing mentioned in the sections above but will also have a lot more. You will find shirts, pants, underwear, sport coats, hats, fleeces, vests, and on and on. It is all expensive and of the highest quality. I have bought several men's clothing items from Orvis and have been very pleased. My rain jacket is packable with a foldaway hood and performed perfectly while fishing in two days of HEAVY rain. Orvis does not feature only outdoor clothing though. The Orvis sight can dress you all the way up to nice casual clothing including a cashmere sweater or a sport coat. As far as the women's clothing, well I have never shopped for any. I think you can expect pretty much the same story as the men's section.

KIDS
In the kids section you can find a lot of unique toys for multiple age ranges. When I say unique, I mean that I don't think you are going to see them at a Toys R Us or other major chain. I don't know for a fact but I would doubt that Orvis is the manufacturer for all of these items. If you care to shop you may be able to beat the price on some of these. On the flip side, Orvis can save you a lot of trouble by grouping hard to find, high quality items in one place for you at a healthy markup. Some of the types of items include, traditional toys, outdoor toys, books and playmats, and plush toys (also known as stuffed animals).

DOGS
I love to spoil my dog so I have bought a couple of things from the dog section at Orvis. The dog tab heavily emphasizes dog nests or beds. I just caved in and dropped $95 on one (does that seem outrageous to you too?). Now $95 seems like a more than healthy markup on what is essentially a big pillow, but I consider the $30 I spent on the last bed a total waste since my dog constantly got up in the night to dig around or "fluff" her pillow. When I stepped on her last bed and felt hard floor under my foot I decided to splurge. I know for a fact that Orvis carries items in this section that you can find elsewhere for less because I have done it (which is why I suspect you could do the same with some of the kid's items). So here you have some unique items grouped with other high quality items that are not exclusive to Orvis. For example the large "chuck a duck" throw and retrieve toy is $15 at Orvis and I bought it at Petsmart for $10. They carry a lot of neat things for pets including training items. If you are a dog lover I would give it a look, but don't expect bottom dollar prices.

COUNTRY HOME
I have spent time browsing the country home section at Orvis but I have not bought anything. For one thing it is pricey and for another the stuff is very country, just like the name implies. For instance, if you are looking for a rug and check out the country home at Orvis I think you will find that most of the rugs have a country or hunting theme, like a picture of a dog on them. I don't have a country home, or fishing cabin or anything else so I don't have too much interest in their country home merchandise. They have plenty of items that aren't specifically country like bedding or furniture but I don't think the selection or prices are all that great. For the same amount of money or less you could shop at say L.L. Bean and have way more to choose from.

TRAVEL
Well I have never booked a trip through Orvis but the site sure makes the trips look nice. They have destinations for hunting, fishing, hiking, cruises, or just enjoying nature. You can also arrange to visit Orvis schools around the world as well as get geared up for your trips with travel clothing and luggage (also cross sold through other tabs on the site). Again, I think they are offering great products at premium prices.

SALE ROOM
The sale room is a chance for you to get some of the stuff you liked at a little bit better price. Just like most sales expect a smaller selection and a lot of less popular sizes. I have bought one dress shirt from the sale tab and have been very happy with it. I have actually gotten random compliments on what a nice crisp looking shirt it was. I think I paid $50 down from a regular price of $70.

NAVIGATING THE SITE
I would rate the site layout and ease of navigation as above average. You can search for individual items with the search function or drill down through the various tabs and sub sections. There are multiple ways to find the same item and the tiers are very well organized into sub departments. For instance.... the DOGS tab will have sub headings of dog nests, travel and outdoors, collars and leashes, toys and treats, feeding supplies, gifts for dog lovers, training and hunting, collections, and gift cards. The organizations is very logical and intuitive. Another example, once you have drilled down to shirts you aren't on your own. Within shirts you have short sleeve, long sleeve, outdoor, etc.

ORDERING AND SHIPPING
Ordering is easy. Fill a cart and check out when you are ready. This is really the standard process. The shipping policy is a common one but also one I don't like. You are charged for shipping based on the value of your item instead of cost to ship. I heard the argument that the extra is for insurance but I suspect you could replace insurance with profit and be more accurate. When ordering a $100 gift card I noticed that the shipping charge was $8.95. On a later screen that amount was credited back to me (thank God) but that would not be the case for another small but expensive item. After 6 orders in the last 12 months my items always arrive in a timely manner and undamaged.

SATISFACTION GUARANTEE
Are you trying to justify spending this much for say a shirt or fly rod. Here is one reason why it might be worth it... the Orvis satisfaction guarantee states "We will refund your money on any purchase that isn't 100% satisfactory. Anytime, for any reason."

CONSERVATION EFFORTS
Do you love the outdoors? Perhaps you will like their policy toward conservation. Orvis donates 5% of pretax profits to various conservation initiatives including saving California's Golden Trout and Rapid River Brook Trout. You can also sign up for an Orvis Conservation Visa which earns you 5% Orvis rebates on Orvis purchases and 1% on all other purchases. A percentage of purchases form this card also get donated to the conservation initiatives.

The bottom line? I like the site and you are getting good quality merchandise. I would recommend it to anyone interested in these types of items. One word of warning, don't come here expecting it to be cheap.