Best Place to Get Fleeced 2002 | Ouray Sportswear Factory Outlet | Best of Denver® | Best Restaurants, Bars, Clubs, Music and Stores in Denver | Westword
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Best Place to Get Fleeced

Ouray Sportswear Factory Outlet

If you don't mind being a walking advertisement for a ski resort, the Ouray Sportswear Factory Outlet is the place to find a fleece jacket or vest that won't set you back the price of a lift ticket. The South Broadway store gets all of the surplus merchandise that its parent company, SCI (Ski Country Imports) produces for resorts all over the country, as well as carrying its own Ouray brand sportswear for those willing to spend a little more to avoid feeling like a billboard. The fleeces are thinner than the big-name brands, but since dressing in layers is the key to outdoor comfort, who cares? You'll also find good deals on shirts, pants and baseball caps, which are embroidered with corporate or recreation-area logos. But whatever you go there for, don't miss the dollar bin, which often contains must-have gear like neck gaiters, face masks and gloves. After outfitting here, you might actually be able to afford to go skiing.

Best Outdoor Gear Kits

Frostline Kits

Frostline Kits in Grand Junction manufactures high-quality, unassembled, winter gear kits. These kits include an instruction manual, cut-to-size fabric, down or other fill materials, and all the thread and finishing items needed to create a top-notch jacket. The only thing you have to do is provide the sewing machine and some time and labor. Because they do not sew your outdoor gear themselves, the savings trickle down to you. You can purchase a ladies' polar fleece jacket kit for $38 or a tundra jacket kit (a down-filled coat that is unbelievably warm) for $115. So sew.

Best Fishnet Long Underwear

Wiggy's Inc.

The sight of a brawny outdoorsman in fishnets may not turn you on, but it makes sense. Wiggy's Inc., a Grand Junction outdoor-outfitting company, has been making traditional supplies since 1986, and it sells some of the best long underwear in the world. The black or white nylon fishnet material is the best for wicking away moisture and keeping wearers warm. And if you buy these undies at their Grand Junction store, you can get 40 percent off. That's underwear, nearly half off.

Best Cleaned-Up Videos

CleanFlicks

These days, gratuitous sex scenes, foul language and violent extravaganzas are a given in the world of movies. Understandably, most parents are concerned with the effect such raw stuff has on their children. That's where www.cleanflicks.com, a video-editing company, and its rental outlets, CleanFlicks, come in. CleanFlicks stores rent hundreds of videos that have been edited to make films more "family-friendly." Jason Smith, manager of the Englewood store, likens the finished product to edited network-TV flicks: not much nudity or cussing, maybe a little violence. The stores, which are adding edited DVDs to their rental stock, receive about 25 new titles every month. Move over, Disney.

Best VHS Store

The Video Station

The best-stocked video store in the Western states, Boulder's Video Station carries some 60,000 titles in VHS and DVD format, including the rarest and most exotic items extant. Want to see Larry Clark's seething Bully (rated NC-17 and thus unavailable at the chains) or revisit the collected works of Ingmar Bergman, Orson Welles, Satyajit Ray or Werner Herzog? This is your source. Need to watch Johnny Got His Gun and The Fencing Master for your film-history class? The Station has the tapes. There are discount weekend rental rates for out-of-towners to ease the pain of that Boulder drive, and the store's film-crazy staff will enthusiastically guide you through any cinematic thicket.

Best DVD Store

Theatre Video

Chain stores generally have enormous stacks of DVDs, but they're often short on personalized service or employees who know the difference between The Sorrow and the Pity and The Sound and the Fury. Theatre Video, for its part, has a much better selection than most independent outlets, with tons of animation and music-oriented packages, and staffers will gladly special-order even the most obscure flick. As an added bonus, they know and love movies every bit as much as their customers do. Give yourself plenty of time here, because you won't want to leave.

Best Independent CD Store

Wax Trax

The economy has taken a bite out of Wax Trax: At the end of February, the vinyl store was closed, with its stock being moved into the used store across the street. But the three Wax Trax branches that remain -- a new store, a video store and the aforementioned used store -- are still Denver treasures that need and deserve your support. Even if you don't want an album, rush down there and buy one anyhow. It's the right thing to do, and that's no spin.

Best Mom-and-Pop Music Shop

Universal Music

This store's name says it all. Here you'll find everything from geeky school-band instruments (and a host of instructors expert in their use) to pro gear that would do Van Halen proud. What you won't find is superstore attitude. According to Gary Patterson, who owns the business with four of his family members, "90 percent of our customers walk in and say, 'Man, I went over to such-and-such and couldn't get one person to help me. And when they did, they just wanted to sell me something more expensive than I needed because they work on commission.'" By contrast, Universal focuses on selling what its customers need and sticking to their budgets.

Best Place to Sample Soundbites From Area Artists

Twist & Shout

Though larger than most independents, Twist & Shout is a community-spirited music retailer. Owner Paul Epstein is an active member of the Colorado Music Association and even occasionally appears on cable-access television to talk about his favorite bands. No surprise, then, that Epstein's store would reflect his support of local music. Many of the CDs that are distributed through Twist are placed in the Local Listening Post, where customers can strap on a pair of headphones, click around a digital menu and hear tracks from as many as ten artists. With a roster that changes monthly, the Listening Post is a smart way to keep up with the music being made by the people in your neighborhood.

Best Public Wanking

Guitar Center

Those who despise discordance would be wise to stick to Guitar Center's acoustic room, where the quiet people dwell among the mandolins. Out on the main floor, a dizzying number of guitars and amplifiers are available for the strumming, squealing and soloing pleasures of aspiring wankers from all walks of life. Go on, grab that Gibson and plug away. Instruments are for playing, and no one's going to stop you from trying out whatever ax strikes your fancy. Just remember some simple etiquette -- speed metal is okay, but "Stairway" is verboten -- and you and the Guitar Center staff will get along just fine. As George Harrison once said, "Don't want no wah-wah."

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