Trailheads

On a recent trip to Tucson, Trailheads visited Summit Hut, which has two stores in the area. The store owner Dana Davis and store manager Troy Martin gave us a tour of the store and told us about its history.

Summit Hut is a beautiful store with more than 15,000 square feet of selling space, as well as a shipping and distribution area they use for fulfilling mail and internet orders.

The store is merchandised by brand, with large displays from Howler Brothers, Outdoor Research, Patagonia, Kuhl, Osprey, Kelty, MSR, La Sportiva, Keen, Salomon, Mountain Hardware and many brands who will be at the upcoming Switchback show in June. The store carries apparel, footwear, technology, tents, packs, maps and accessories.

Two of the most striking features of the store are a bridge used for testing trail shoes and a replica of an airplane that made from a piece of the booth that luggage company Osprey once used at the Outdoor Retailer show.

Summit Hut still uses Brannock Devices for shoe fitting, according to Martin, because it allows store associates to get a more precise measurement in the forefoot, which he says is critical in hiking boots. The store is a major Lowa dealer and at one time fulfilled internet orders for the brand.

The airplane hull serves as a great display for Osprey luggage as it cleverly demonstrates what can fit into an overhead bin. Many of the other packs are displayed on walls throughout the large, well-lit retail showroom.

Dana Davis started at the store as a part-time sales associate in 1998 and she and her husband Jeremy bought the store from one of the founders in 2011. About 10 years ago, they moved the store we visited to its location on Speedway Boulevard, a commercial strip in Tucson. The second smaller location is in Oro Valley. 

Summit Hut is highly regarded in its hometown of Tucson, but through its web business serves customers in Hong Kong, Belgium, Australia, Japan, Argentina, the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, Sweden, Kuwait, Canada, Ireland, Cyprus, and South Africa.

The store’s merchandising and friendly staff inspired us to do some shopping on this visit.

My wife and daughter purchased The Echo Hoodie in Ultramarine from OR for $45; a Kuhl Blue Aurora Shirtjak for $98.99 and a Mountain Hardware Butter Up Half Zip in Blackberry for $49. They love their purchases.