Obviously, it's important to support your local economy, but there's got to be a better reason to shop in town than just feeling obligated. At Far-North Outfitters, we also have to be competitive price-wise, we have to be service oriented and knowledgeable about not only the products we sell but about the area in which we live, and we have to have a diversified inventory.

As far as our prices, we are constantly comparing to make sure that our prices are in line with Black Sheep, Cabela's, REI and Sportsman's Warehouse. Being competitive is crucial for us. We work on a smaller profit margin than big chain stores, which is why we are so competitive. Because many people do so much online shopping now, we also stay conscious of online prices as well. We have a lot of Cabela's flyers posted around the store to show customers that we consistently meet or beat their prices and we call the other sporting goods stores to make sure that we are comparable price-wise or are even cheaper. We have customers that come from Calgary, Spokane, Missoula and Libby because they can get a better deal on their rifles, kayaks, bikes and other sporting goods with us.

'Get Outside' isn't just our slogan, it's also our lifestyle. If you have a question about your bike or what hatch is on the Moyie or what kind of camo works best in our area or what kind of kayak works best for our local rivers, we know what we are talking about. Butch, Jack, Robert, Michael and I have been hunting and fishing in Boundary County most of our lives in, so we can answer any questions you may have from elk hunting, to which flies to use on the Moyie in the fall, to which spinners to use on the Kootenai in summer. We are all hikers, snowboarders, kayakers, mountain bikers, hunters and fishermen who love and know this area. We all have a passion for what we're doing here. We all try to get out and be as active outdoors as we can, so we really know what we are talking about. That's why we live here.

Far-North Outfitters has been around for almost 15 years because we are so diversified. We have literally everything you need to enjoy any kind of outdoor sport including skateboarding, biking, hunting, fishing, kayaking, backpacking and camping. We just completed a small remodel to add 200 shoppable feet to almost triple our fishing inventory. We feel it's important to stay current and relevant.

The whole point of our remodel was to carry more products so you don't have to go out of town to find what you need.

We try to focus on what works here in our specific region. A lot of the big box stores carry the same items and there is a lot of stuff that just doesn't work up here. We focus on what works here, not somewhere back east or down south.

Not only do we sell a huge variety of sporting goods, but we also roast and sell our own coffee. We have six different blends and ship it all over the country. Last month we shipped coffee to a customer's son in Afghanistan. That is just one more product that is unique to our business.

In addition, we do custom screen printing on shirts for sports teams, local companies, camps, schools or family groups. We can print a large amount for a team or single shirts with special designs such as "World's Greatest Grandpa" with a picture of the grandkids. We can screen print pretty much anything you want. Even if you don't have a logo or know exactly what you want, we can help design the logo and lettering.

We know that without our customers, we wouldn't be here and we really appreciate our customers and we will continue to do everything we can to make sure you have everything you need to "Get Outside."