I haven't done the garage sales from either store but need to. I shop REI and River Sports with an emphasis on RS. The people at both are good and helpful yet the ones at River Sports seem more genuine in that they use the gear more where a lot of the ones at REI talk about it but there is that lingering "Well, that sounds more like you picked it up in a training video than actually used it yourself" kind of feel. Frankly, I'd not mind working at REI as I think it would be a lot of fun and there are a few departments that I *can* bring some skill sets to.
River Sports rental programs are tough to beat no matter where you go as ETSU points out. I guess he and I are pretty lucky to live in one of the best parts of the world for outdoor adventures and Knoxville is only looking to make the outdoor destination of this area grow ten times over. I'm looking forward to seeing where they go from here.