The House

This place is legit. It has everything you could possibly need for pretty much any outdoor sports.

The staff are excellent. Walked in wanting a longboard but not knowing much about them. A nice young man helped me out. He didnt make me feel like a complete boner when I asked embarrassingly simple questions.

Bonus: They had a bin with a bunch of really nice winter hats for $5. Amazing. I think I got 5 of them...

This is my new spot for all things outdoor sports.

If you're a novice and don't know where to get started COME HERE FIRST. It's really important to get some hands on experience with boards and some expert advice instead of just researching and buying online.

All the reviews are spot on. I walked into Windward/W82 just over a week ago on a whim. I'm a 28 year old dude and never skateboarded a day in my life. Just had an impulse to give it a shot. Ryan spent over an hour with me getting me up to speed on the basics, teaching me to get started on my own, explaining the different types of boards, builds and the physics behind all of them. He was incredibly patient, knowledgeable and passionate. After doing some online research and stopping in at one or two other stores, I returned to Windward two days later and spent another 40+ minutes with Ryan and ultimately ended up buying a brand new longboard. Completely new hobby for me. A week later and I have absolutely no regrets. It's a lot of fun.

The staff here are all amazingly friendly and they have a great selection. This is like a high-end bike shop. They know what they are talking about and will get you set up with the right equipment for you, tweak all of your gear and make sure you know what you are doing before releasing you into the wild. They're not the slightest bit pretentious so you won't feel out of place here even if you aren't a typical skater type. They encourage you coming in, trying things out and asking questions. The prices on specific boards are fairly similar to other shops although Windward also carries some higher-end gear than some of the other places in the city. But I wouldn't even mind spending a little extra $ here to make sure you're getting a quality board and great customer service. Highly recommended. I'll definitely be back.

This place is AMAZING. They are incredible nice. They just try to help what you need, they are OK even we decide to not buy. We got some snowboarding clothes last year and snowboard boots & Helmet this year. Cody spent so much time for fitting boots for my son. We were so happy to found right boots! We couldn't find right board for my son there, he said just get it anywhere so they can set up when we bring the board. How nice! I ordered board online, so we are going to take board and will get bindings there this weekend. Always feel good to visit there. I wish they carried ski gear, too. I could get them there...!!

The team at W2 is incredible! Burton (corporate) messed me around several times in the last 3 weeks- ordered a jacket for Christmas for one of my sons and their website said it was in stock and it wasn't and they didn't let me know - didn't return my emails or voice mails. W2 had the jacket and went out of their way on 12/24 to locate the jacket and get it to me ASAP. I won't go to Burton again - I'll contact W82 from now on! Excellent customer service - they REALLY CARE! Thanks!!!!!

I'm new to snowboarding and wanted to buy my own gear instead of renting. I was planning on buying gear online but decided to check out Winward/W82 (tbh I just saw the episode of The Profit which reminded me about this place). The last time I went to Windward was a while ago and I remembered it being much smaller. The place looks great and is organized really well. It was cool to see the separate Snowboarding/Skateboarding section in the basement. When I checked it out, one of the associates was giving a boosted board demo where another customer was trying it out which looked really cool. He also gave a really good explanation of how to operate the board.

I was really impressed by Jess - she was simply amazing! She gave expert advice, answered all of my questions, and offered helpful reccomendations while delivering great customer service. I felt comfortable working with her when trying to decide what I wanted and she explained everything in such a friendly manner that was easy for a snowboarding newbie, such as myself, to understand.

i would highly recommend this place. Shop local :)

Hands down the nicest staff. Always willing to help! Great selection! Very nice store and online store.

I always leave happy.

Nik

So I recently got into snowboarding this season and, I mean, really got into snowboarding this season. This store helped me with all my needs and were so transparent in our conversations. They never tried to over sell me on something, even if they knew my board was not up to today's standard. For that, I have to thank you guys!

This is now my go to shop for winter sports. I've purchased a new board, a board bag, and a ton of accessories from this location. I realized I needed a new board after riding my buddies 2015 board. I can't say enough about the staff either, they are a great bunch - especially my guy Zach (or Zack?). HUGE HELP and always going above and beyond.

*Note that snowboarding is an expensive hobby and a new set up could cost well over $800*

I'll be coming back here in the summer as well as longboarding and biking are my choices of summer activity. You guys have got a loyal customer in me! Thanks for being open about your opinions and helpful when I need it!

See you all soon!

Phil

I live in California and I ordered an electric longboard from them and it arrived under four days. VERY FAST SHIPPING. Excellent customer service! Staff members were very friendly and helpful. The return policy here is crazy, 365 days! I googled "w82 yelp" out of my way just to write this review. Thank you very much!

Love this place and a rare find in Chicago. Went here to get my Burton boots fitted which the Windward team was happy to help. The store boasts have a great selection of boards, gear and apparel and everyone in the store was super friendly. Thanks for making it an awesome experience.

I cannot believe you discontinued SUP. This just seems to be an extreme move. I get that paddleboards were only turing in a 30 percent profit margin but as maybe the only SUP retailer in the city (that I know of) you really gave the sport of SUP in Chicago a devastating blow.