SkiBig3 Adventure Hub - Banff, Alberta

Nathalie B.

J'ai utilisé leur navette pour aller à Sunshine Village en janvier 2022 et en revenir.

Comme nous avons été les dernières à embarquer à l'aller, le casier pour mettre les skis était déjà plein. J'ai réussi à mettre mes skis entre deux autres paires mais nous avons dû mettre la planche par-dessus toutes les paires de ski, ce qui a eu pour effet de l'égratigner passablement. Nous avons vu que certains autobus avaient des casiers en bois individuels, mais ce ne fut pas le cas pour le nôtre. Très dommage! Ça aurait protégé notre équipement davantage.

Au retour, l'autobus que nous voulions prendre s'est rempli avec les gens dans la file juste devant nous. Il a donc fallu attendre le bus suivant qui est arrivé 20 minutes plus tard que l'heure initialement prévue. Attendre tout ce temps à -25°C alors que nos vêtements étaient humides ne fut pas la plus agréable expérience.

Cependant, les conducteurs sont prudents, les points d'embarquement sont très bien identifiés, la température à bord est confortable et les autobus le sont aussi.

Judith G.

Lorsque je suis entrée dans la boutique, j'avais omis mon masque. La fille derrière le comptoir qui n'était pas très sympathique, n'a jamais voulu m'offrir un masque. J'ai dû en acheter un dans la boutique. Par contre, le jeune homme qui nous à servi pour une location de skis était vraiment un gentleman et professionnels.

Matt D.

Got very poor equipment and customer service here. We rented 2 inflatable SUPs, and initially had a good experience working with the girls we did in getting the equipment. However, while out paddling on 2 Jack Lake, in the middle of it, the end of my paddle literally just fell off. I hadn’t been rough on it and was barely paddling, it just fell right off. It looks like there was a small crack where it’s attached to the handle.

I was able to paddle myself back down current with just the stick, albeit very slowly. I assumed they’d apologize profusely and maybe refund my rental. I was therefore quite surprised when the guy there told me he’d let me know how much I owe!

He asserted that I’d signed the liability waiver and would therefore be responsible for the equipment no matter what. He also said I should have thoroughly checked the equipment before I left. Let’s just think this through for a minute. The implication here is that I should have stood there in their store and taken out every piece of equipment before heading out. Presumably this includes inflating the SUP there in the store and giving it some time to ensure it doesn’t have a slow leak. This obviously makes no sense.

They gave me a paddle with a tiny crack. It’s not a huge deal and I wasn’t expecting them to do anything grand to make it right. But they at least should be willing to stand behind their equipment that they send folks out with.

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Scrolling through some of their reviews, it’s clear that this is a pattern (please take a look for yourself). The business model is simple. They continue to rent out their beat-up, unsafe equipment until it eventually breaks on someone. If you’re the unlucky person it breaks on, they then charge you for the full replacement cost of the junked gear as if it was brand new. This is criminal behavior ha.

I’m so fortunate that I’m able bodied and an experienced paddler, and that we had great weather that day. I can imagine an inexperienced paddler, or perhaps a parent with a small child, getting stuck in the middle of the lake with no paddle, perhaps with a bad storm rolling in. Things could get bad really quickly.

Just take a look at some of the reviews about the dangerous ski equipment they’ve sent people out on. This is not a safe place with which to do business. You might get lucky and have a fine experience, or you may get very unlucky dealing with this place. If you can find any alternative to them at all, I would do it (if for nothing else, to stand against this kind of behavior).

I’m really shocked that local authorities aren’t looking into this place, and are letting them take advantage of people there in Banff and put lives in danger on a consistent basis. Hopefully some sort of public authority with some decency will step in and make this place operate like an honest, respectable business. It’s a shame that they don’t have the decency to do that on their own.

Jonathan R.

Hired ski equipment for my family of 5, a 7 day ski pass and instructor for 6 days.

Equipment- no issues here, well worn but as 4 out of 5 of us were beginners it made no difference. Staff doing initial fitting were lovely and helpful particularly with the 3 young children.

Instructor - we had the pleasure of Noah for 6 days as our instructor. He is the reason this is a 5 star review. So patient and kind with all and really made learning to ski an amazing experience for the children. He's a star and a great instructor

Shay B.

We rented four e-bikes today to ride on several trails outside of Banff. Evan at Outdoor Hub guided us in terms of trails and bicycles. He was outstanding and left us feeling assured that we were going to be cycling on well paved, safe paths. The e-bikes were of good quality and served us well on our 27 Km ride! We highly recommend this establishment and be sure to ask for Evan!

Cathy C.

We have rented ebikes and an inflatable kayak from SkiBig3. The equipment is great, staff are friendly and once you have your gear you are minutes from a number of exciting adventures: Two Jack Lake, Johnson Lake, biking the 1A, biking the Lake Minnewanka Loop... enjoy our beautiful province!

Oleh M.

So I paid 70$ for 4 hours of ride . This bike (in the photo) was in bad maintenance condition , the brakes were very loud , and there was a creaking sound in the front wheel , also as in the bottom bracket . When you push hard going up a hill, the pedal can quickly roll forward and you can lose control of the bike. If you are still going to take an e-bike from here , it is better to double-check its condition outside with a small ride. Not a reasonable price for this quality at all.

Hannah

Used to be a reasonable company.

However with policy changes, increasing prices once you have agreed them months prior, ticket changes, rentals which are not upgraded regularly enough and poor staff.

You have been warned. Book independently, better prices elsewhere and service.