By Elizabeth C. Gonzalez
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, September 24, 2006; M04

Neil Stern, owner of Casual Adventure in Arlington, is continuing a family tradition six decades in the making. What started out as a small grocery store opened by his grandfather Oscar in 1945, morphed into an Army-Navy surplus store 10 years later. In 1971, when he was just 23, Stern took over the business after his grandfather retired. He expanded the store's merchandise to encompass all facets of outdoor living and recreation. He also oversaw a name change from the Surplus Center to Casual Adventure in 1985.

We thought we'd pick his brain about camping, gear and how to survive as an independent outfitter in a field dominated by REI, Eastern Mountain Sports and Hudson Trail Outfitters.

"Casual" adventure? That's a name that stands in the face of the growth of the extreme outdoorsman. Where do you fall -- casual or extreme?

We kind of focused on leisure time, and we have a tagline now: "We can outfit you from Great Falls to Nepal." We thought we could do the whole gamut instead of just emphasizing the extreme aspect or the casual hiker. In May of 2000, we outfitted a man with Mountain Hardwear to summit Mount Everest, so that was the fuel for that tagline.

What's your favorite outdoor activity?

I like doing non-technical hiking and climbing. We were out near Jasper in Canada two summers ago and we took this long hike up this mountain and then hiked across to this other mountain that had a glacier on it, and you could hear the glacier groaning and creaking in the summertime. We hiked up to the top of this . . . and you have this 360-degree view all around, and it is just so exhilarating.

I'm surprised that the big-box stores haven't muscled you out of the business. What makes your formula work?

Pick your niches. We have a Boy Scout/Girl Scout department. We are very loyal to the brands that we started with, if they are still working right. We tend to pick something and stay with it so that people can count on us for that product. . . . We know a lot of people by their first names. How many stores can you walk into, "Hey, John. Hey, Chris. How ya doing?" The general manager [Dave Haggerty, a longtime Casual Adventure associate] calls it "Cheers without the beers."

We all know about gearheads who go shopping and buy everything in sight just because it sounds like something they need. What's the new gadget they actually should buy?

Cascade Designs has this lightweight pad that folds up really small. Also, there are some new camping dishes by Orikaso. They are made out of a polypropylene that folds up origami style to create three containers -- a bowl, plate and mug. They wash easy and then unfold for light, easy storage.

I'm not a winter extreme camper, but I like being out in the spring and fall. What's the sleeping bag for me?

Look for a three-season bag, somewhere around 25, 30 degrees. Say you go out in late October and you hit a cold snap, you're okay. The same thing can happen in March, early spring. And if it's really warm in the summer you can leave it unzipped or sleep on top, just a fleece or a Coolmax liner and sleep in that.

Those "two-person tents" are mighty small. Seems a bit like false advertising. What is realistic for two people who don't want to be too cozy and keep their gear dry?

You could get a small family tent, an eight-by-eight with five-foot ceiling. . . . Generally, going one size bigger than the number of people is a lot more comfortable. A lot of these tents have what we call a vestibule on the end, so you can put your pack there or your muddy boots so they don't dirty up the tent.

What about environmentally friendly gear?

MSR [Mountain Safety Research] had a really neat stove that used radiant heat as opposed to a flame. It has a heat exchanger that makes the fuel use more efficient. . . . Also, if there is no flame for the wind to blow and all the heat is trapped inside, you are not using nearly as much fuel. It's going to be about $150, but it seems worth it. That's probably the neatest thing I saw recently.

There is a movement toward being even more environmentally friendly. Patagonia redesigned all its Capilene this season. [Capilene is a material used in making undershirts and pants that control odor and wick away moisture, and it is good for activities where you might sweat or are in wet conditions, such as cross-country skiing.] When you are finished with the underwear in three, four years, you can take it back to a store that sells it and we send it back to Patagonia and Patagonia breaks it down and makes new underwear.

Let's say I'm camping with a friend who wants to use only natural bug spray. Do those really work?

DEET is the best. Thirty percent DEET seems to be the magic number. It seems like, perhaps, the more DEET, the longer it lasts. Some people are allergic, a small percentage. But, overall, what the bugs can do to you is way worse than what the DEET can do to you. Products that contain Permethrin are an alternative and a little more user-friendly, but it is for clothing only, not for skin. They now make bug-repellent clothing called Buzz Off that has the repellent in it, and that seems to work pretty well, too.

How gourmet have you ever gotten with your campfire grub?

I always like a good steak. When we were up in the Boundary Waters in Minnesota, we were carrying our 75 pounds of food with us, and there were some frozen steaks in there. We were out in the middle of the woods in northeastern Minnesota, tired at the end of the day of paddling and hiking. It was nice to sit around a campfire and cook up some steaks.

Favorite camping spot locally for car camping and hiking camping?

Hiking, I like the Appalachian Trail a lot. There is a circuit hike up there called Whiteoak Canyon Loop Trail, where you can see a waterfall, and that is a nice spot. . . . Old Rag is a great spot, a very popular spot. Meadows [Big Meadows Campground] is a great place for family camping if you want to take the kids off Skyline Drive.

What should you expect when you take your kids camping?

When the kids were really young we went out to this Jellystone campground near Fredericksburg, and there was camping and swimming. When I asked my son at the end of the trip what his favorite thing was, he said miniature golf.