Greetings all!

Quick intro:
I'm a mid-forties guy who has been day hiking off and on for about ten years but never really taken extended trips in the wilderness.

I have been paying a lot more attention to gear and what to buy over the last few months as I have been a lot more active during this time period but have an issue with purchasing gear in general.

I have read multiple reviews on multiple products and want to make some improvements to the gear I have but simply do not have the access to anything more than generic stores with limited brands close to home. I just came back from a trip to the Cape Cod area and went to a couple of different places (Eastern Mountain Sports, Dick's, etc.) but even there the brands I was interested in were not carried. I picked up some clothing at the Columbia outlet based on reviews I read with the addition of being able to physically touch the items.

My question is where can I go to find the products I am interested in? For example, I want to buy a new pack but will not purchase one without checking it out in person, but with the limited selection where I live, haven't been able to feel comfortable about making a purchase. And even after going to the stores mentioned above, the selection was underwhelming.