Best of Boston

1997 Best Sporting Goods

Hilton’s Tent City

If you take a trip to this netherworld between the Big Dig and North Station, you’ll be in for a pleasant surprise. It’s kind of like that place you went to before you got shipped off to camp when you were a kid, with all the round racks of coats a little too close together and the lights a little dim. But no frills sometimes means great value, and this place is packed with Gore-tex, North Face, Columbia, Helly-Hansen, and Marmot products at great prices.

272 Friend St., Boston, 617-227-9242,