If you're a lumberjack, this store's OK.

We wish we could say we were here to buy several thousand feet of wire rope, a pair of logging "corks" or a $300 duffel bag that can hold a car engine. But we are merely tourists in this world.

That's OK. At least the owner made it seem that way when she approached us and asked if we needed help finding some- thing.

"You've been here an awfully long time," she said. "You look like you're trying to avoid going back to work or some- thing."

Guilty as charged.

The owner didn't know we were going to crown her with a Best of ... (truth be told, neither did we; we were just window shopping on a lunch break). But even so, she took us on a tour of her business, showing us where the wire rope was fabricated and pointing to an area that, we think, housed supplies for building roads in wooded areas.

"It's really more like five businesses," she said, explaining that the decline of the timber industry had hurt sales, but that the growth of the oil industry had helped.

We're not sure which part of the business we were looking at - the part that sells Portuguese rain gear, 32 ounce jars of Tecnu poison oak rash relief and aluminum lunch boxes for miners - but we liked what we saw. And even though we had no idea what the other four-fifths of the business was (even after it was explained to us), we found more than enough to keep us entertained in the labyrinthine retail space.

Robert's isn't just a logging supply store, it's a logging supply store with crossover appeal. The kind of place where you can buy gloves by the dozen if you're hard core or gloves by the pair if you're soft like we are.

And even though we pulled up next to a camouflage pickup truck in the parking lot, we weren't the only ones driving four cylinders or less. While we were there, we spotted a hippie chick on a bike who was buying rain pants for her daily commute and another gal replacing part of the fitting on her hard hat. (She definitely could have beaten any member of Team Best of ... in a cage fight.)

The point is, you don't have to be a logger to shop here. We found plenty of supplies that clearly weren't designed for reporters with underdeveloped triceps, but they worked for us all the same.

We bought some heavy duty hand cleanser that doesn't require water, which is great for cleaning up after one of those pesky feature stories on petting zoos, dog parks or E. coli outbreaks. We also found a waterproof notebook and a pair of fingerless gloves for the next time we have to stand outside of Best Buy in the cold and interview some chucklehead teenager who's been camped out for 17 days so he can be the first to buy the new XStation720.

Robert's clearly has something for everyone, and we defy anyone to show us any place in town with a better ear plug selection.

And as it turns out, one of our team members actually did invest in one of those $300 duffel bags we mentioned.

"Someday, they're going to carry me to the nursing home inside that bag," he said.

We don't doubt it.

Durable, useful and always in style, check out the Best of ... archive at www.registerguard .com/bestof.

BEST WAY TO GET IN TOUCH WITH YOUR INNER LOGGER Robert's Supply Co. Hours: 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday; 8 a.m. to noon Saturday; closed Sunday Where: 2842 Main St., Springfield Information: Call 747-7129