Northwoods Review

Love this place! Great people, great gear, great service!

Tom knows about canoes! Great service, selection and a top choice for outfitters if coming to the BWCA for canoe camping!

Great outdoor store, with a good balance of items, from clothing to gear.

Helpful staff. Had everything we needed to complete prepping for our canoeing and camping trip.

Great place for outdoor gear, clothing, books, and souvenirs from Ely. Don't miss the Piragis Outlet around the corner-- you can find really good bargains on used gear and sales on clothes.

Piragis is a great locally ran outfitter in Ely Minnesota. Piragis has all the gear needed for a BWCA trip and also has high end gear available (carbon fiber paddles). Piragis sells Minnesota made gear (ex: Cooke Custom Sewing). Steve Piragis is a great advocate for the BWCA watershed and ensuring that future generations will have clean water to enjoy in the BWCA.

Nice place with decent prices and a very helpful friendly and knowledgeable staff!

Every time we come up from Florida - which has been many since 2005 we only use Piragis. Great outfitter with top notch canoes and gear and a super friendly, hard-working staff to make sure you have what you need and that it is securely tied to your vehicle. They embody the 'Minnesota Nice' phrase.

I ve rented gear for 13 seasons, spring, summer or fall. The staff is wonderful, knowledgeable, and professional. They have worked with me on early and late season trips and do whatever they can to meet my needs. They are also pro-Ely, pro-BWCA.

This is a really nice outfitter and outdoors store. They have the best gear selection in Ely by far, almost a mini-REI.

They have a great selection of gear. I had to rent a single person canoe for a trip and they were so kind to add wood beams to make my roof rack a double rack so i didn't have to pay for them to drop the canoe off at the entry point for me.

We love this store. It s a must stop location in Ely, MN.

My wife and I did our first ever canoe camping trip and did the full outfit at Piragis. They were wonderful!

The outfitting really was FULL. The items were mostly brand new (we went early spring), high quality and they even customized some things for us (like canoe type). They went over all the food and gear with us the evening before our trip and every was SUPER friendly and knowledgeable.

They even gave us tips on which campsites they recommended and their recommendations were great.

Shout out to Joe and Adam who really helped us big! Time of our life.

Will not ever give them a penny. Pompous man runs this place. He is so against mining, yet his canoes are made with materials that are mined. Also lies about the up swing in business in the city of Ely.
Most struggle, and he has catalog orders. That doesn't help local economy.

They were great, helpful and very patient. Was well worth going to Piragis. Will do so again on my next visit to the BWCA.

Great store for high end canoeing gear. They have the lightest paddles I have ever felt. The camping gear is very modern and impressive. They also have an eclectic book store on the second floor with books perfect for reading in the woods!

Great selection and friendly staff. A must go to in Ely.

I love these outfitters. All our rentals have gone very smoothly and they have been helpful and respectful every step of the way.

They have so much gear, it can be overwhelming! Friendly staff were very helpful.

We chose this outfitter for our first trip to the BWCA and we loved Piragis. We had a personal reference to this outfitter and have no regrets! We plan to come back to Ely and chose Piragis. Shout out to Adam for being a great trip planner!

Stayed in Ely for the summer and went in here a few times. Staff is very knowledgeable about their products and outdoor activities. Kinda of pricey we thought. If you are in the area for Ely's summer time fun and are not finding what you are looking for try here.

Great selection of outdoors gear. The bookstore upstairs is a must and check out the outlet store too. Great outfitter for canoe trips as well.

Great knowledge. And always willing to share and help you with your trip. Shop has lots of equipment if needed.

A truly top-notch outfitters, and invaluable for a wonderful trip! Rented a toboggan, skis, and winter sleeping gear for a long-weekend trip to the Boundary Waters with a friend. While not our first time winter camping, it was our first time venturing into the BWCA. One of the guides, Tim Barton, got us all set-up with equipment and helped us plan a route. He was friendly, knowledgable, and helped us plan an unforgettable weekend. Winter in the BWCA was spectacular, and I would highly recommend a trip. Piragis is fantastic, and I ll definitely be returning for my next trip.

A great northwoods store. Excellent unique products and great people. A must-visit while in Ely

The outfitting staff were very knowledgable and helpful in quickly organizing the logistics of my trip and outfitting needs. Had wonderful conversations with everyone and they really set me up for success. Would 100% recommend using their services and taking advantage of on-site retail store.

We had such a great experience using Piragis as our outfitter and guide into the BWCA. Drew and Adam covered absolutely EVERYTHING we could ever need to tend to. Lynn Anne was an amazing guide, teaching us so many things as we spent our few days in the wilderness. The entire staff was friendly and professional with every encounter. We can't sing their praises loud enough! They are worth every penny and more. Thank you for a great adventure!

Uncomfortable browsing in this store. I got the feeling if you're not going to buy something you are an annoyance. Could it be their merchandise is overpriced?

Love, love, love Piragis! Always a fun time when I walk in this door. I'd love to spend a million dollars here. I definitely pick up a map and book every time.
I also bought my Minnesota II from them used and she's still getting compliments 6 years later. Great deal, great bunch of people and a great boat! Thanks!

Very helpful in canoeing area. Knowledgeable about routes in Park. Great to talk with on phone for advice. We have been going here for over 15 years. They are. Also totally solar powdered.

Love to stop here when I'm in Ely. Have picked up gear I forgot to bring, and found some deals on clothing down the street at their outlet shop.

Best Outfitter in Ely! Very experienced and knowledgeable staff. A definite stop on our trips camping in the BWCA.

I enjoy shopping here when we visit Ely... they have good pricing and the outlet store really has great pricing. The only thing I wish is that they would have lots more XL ladies clothing, as most of the population doesn't fit SML. But the outlet has an XL section. Nicely done on that point!

A well run operation of impressive scale. We used them for full outfitting and were totally satisfied. Their store is fantastic. I think a few things could be improved. They don t design an experience for you by default like another, smaller outfitter we ve used - if you ask them for questions, they will provide individualized guidance on routes / planning and spend the time with you but the experience is not as intimate as a small family run outfitter. They re a big operation! Second, and more importantly, I think they should be more intense about educating people about fire safety and leaving no trace. There are a lot of people out in the BWCA for the first time every year and everyone can use reminders. Overall though, I would recommend this outfitter, and I definitely recommend the store one of the best outdoor retail stores in the state!

Very well run and organized. Took a 5 day retreat into the BWA. They provided all the hardware, canoe, backpacks, gear and food. We had a wonderful time. Piragis is a great outfitter.

Both the store and outfitters have super friendly staff. Their prices are reasonable, especially compared to others in the area. Highly recommend

We have used Piragis for 2 trips (2016 and 2018). I am convinced you will not find the knowledge of Drew and Adam in any guide book (of which I have many). Our trip in 2016 was our first time in BWCA, and I feel they really listened asked questions to give us a plan for what was an amazing experience (6 days). Our second trip in 2018 was cut short due to injury on day 2 (risks accepted by everyone). The customer service provided by Piragis has been excellent for both experiences. I would expect 2020s experience to be no different.

Nice outdoors shop. Staff is excellent, knowledgeable and helpful. Pricey as expected.

Unique collection of camping & Canoeing related gear.

Their outfitting services are lacking. The harnesses we received for the ski pulks we rented were not functional. We had to use a ton of duct tape to get one of them to work. They obviously don't test all their gear before sending it out. Also their pricing is very high for the low quality services. The charge per day on items many other outfitters charge per night. Very nice store, but outfitting services are lacking.

We did the full outfit the last week of June and camped the BWCA for a few nights using a guide from Piragis. It was an amazing experience! The weather was awesome, and the fishing was great! Our guide Taylor was amazing as well. We shared lots of laughs by the camp fire! Taylor was knowledgeable, and all around great to be around. The food prepared was also amazing! Taylor is a great chef! We were very happy we got to share our first "real roughing it" camping experience at the BWCA with Taylor! I learned a lot on how to properly camp the boundary waters from Taylor, and now have the confidence to go out on a trek by myself! Highly recommended business, and guide! I would definitely use Piragis again!

Thank you for the awesome trip Taylor!

did a partial outfit for our group on a 5 day / 4 night trip. shuttled the canoes and set us up with a rig on our car so we could shuttle them back out from our take out point. Super friendly, knowledgeable, and accommodating. We would definitely go through them again

This store is filled with great stuff. Great people. Must go.

This Place Is Amazing I Really Recommend Canoeing There And Camping There For As Long As Possible

This is a wonderful store, one of the best I have shopped at. If you need any kind of outdoor gear, Piragis is the best choice. You have top quality sales staff that know their stuff and only want to help. I highly recommend Piragis to everyone.

I love shopping here! They have a good assortment of outdoor supplies at a fair price.

I went on a guided group fishing trip through Piragis. Drew and Adam are second to none when it comes to planning, organizing and outfitting any trip. Our canoes and camping equipment were of excellent quality. The guides, David Hicks and Joe Larson, really made the trip special.Their attention to the customer/client experience was outstanding. Meals were excellent. I think I gained weight. I learned how to toast a tortilla over a wood fire. I also learned about "Minnesota Nice." I would definitely recommend Piragis Northwoods for outfitting and guided trips. Their store also meets high quality standards.

Great outfitter! Extremely helpful in planning my first trip to Quetico. Used their shuttles, and boat shuttles. All were very punctual and helpful. We used Ely Shuttle, Gary, to get up from Duluth. That was great too.

Moreover, one of the guys left a fishing pole in the van at Piragis, and Piragis mailed it back to me!! Great people, highly recommend.

Jeff

So helpful! We've used them twice now, mostly just for canoe rental. But I can see that they can help with much more if you need it.

Nice products and staff. Nothing is cheap, but rightfully so. Not sure about clothing prices though, haven't really looked. They have a nice bookstore up top with some helpful wilderness books and other genres of course. They use solar power and the outlet store is a nice addition.

We go here every year when when canoe in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. It's tradition. Very knowledgeable staff who spends the ti.e you n.v eed to ha e questions answered. If they dont carry an item you're looking for, they will direct you to a local business that does. Great pla e!

Nice variety of clothing, shoes, jewelry, pottery, home decor, soaps, lotions and more!

Great outdoor store full of everything you could ever need for being outside. All of the employees were very friendly and helpful. Great place to stop for anyone in the area. Must stop for outdoors folks.

Good selection of outdoor gear, gifts and clothing. They also had an outlet store when I was there that had great deals on some camping gear I needed.

Very helpful staff. I was able to find exactly I needed.

Nice store, good stock of quality goods. Great place to stop by if you're in the area

Always an amazing staff to help with whatever you need. Whether you are going on a fully outfitted trip to Boundary Waters or just looking to browse the shops while in Ely, make sure you stop here.

Easy place to rent canoes and gear. They can set you up with everything for a bwca trip or just a day trip.

Nice place to pick up last minute items before your trip. Pricey, but nice stuff.

It was my first time to visit Ely and this outfitters was highly recommended, for good reason. They have everything you need and then some. Very knowledgeable staff as well. A good place to start.

I have rented canoes and other gear from them many times. They are always great to work with. Their staff is knowledgeable and passionate about what they do!
They also carry unique clothing items.