Military Surplus Gear for Prepping on a Budget

Hey guys, I've been busy with making more youtube videos this week and wanted to share them with you all.

In this video, I go over a few great deals to be had in mil surp merchandise, especially to those of us on tight budgets.

If you enjoy the video, please rate and subscribe, and I'll do the same for you!

Channel Link:
www.youtube.com...

You articulate well, speaking in an even tone and metered pace. Well done.

I gave up at 5:09. I thought we were going to find out about some good Mil Surp places you found. I already have to battle 10 other clowns for anything decent on eBay. It's cool you have local sources. I wish I did too.

So for me the experience was seeing some inventory.

I would like more info on Alice bags: different people are different sizes, so too with Alice bags. Perhaps in a future video you could share what size your pack is, what size you are (approximately / and if you don't mind sharing that) and you could demonstrate how the pack fits you. I'd also be interested in your experiences and commentary on frame and frameless packs.

Just an FYI: i think Silica packs have a limited life. their mere presence does not mean they still work. I've used a product found in supermarkets, a canned dehumidifier product. You pop the top and place the open cans here and there, for example, in your slightly moist basement. Moisture is attracted and in time the big white beads are emulsified in water as it collects, filling the can right up with trapped excess moisture. Works pretty good, not expensive. I don't know how well it compares to active silica, however.

Thank you for sharing your video. I hope some day I'm brave enough to post on YT

reply to post by LargeFries


Thank you for your honest feedback, and I appreciate it greatly! I'm a complete beginner at many things, especially videos. I plan to do many more videos in the future detailing several aspects you just mentioned. I do tend to promote shopping locally, as it is small business owners that need the most support in todays economy. At the moment I'm tentative about advertising for sources for free, even though I have certainly endorsed sportsmans guide in a couple of videos...Its definitely something I will keep in mind for future videos, especially if one day I'm lucky enough to become popular enough to be able to get my subscribers discounts at certain online stores, as I have seen in some other popular youtubers channels.

As for the ALICE packs, mine is the BIG one, and fully laden, is a hefty task for me unless packed according to my stature. I'll make plenty of gear test videos as soon as the weather turns for a permanent good and I have some free weekends for trips and such. I have lots planned, so I encourage anyone interested to subscribe and keep checking in, especially throughout spring and summer when I can get into the fun stuff.

reply to post by LargeFries


Hi there LargeFries..... may I suggest a few things that helped me out when making up BOBs and misc. home preps..... as nutty as this may sound... I found a lot of things at yard sales, estate sales and gun shows. Just make sure that what you pick up in these places are still in decent shape and able to do their duty, so to speak.

As for my own personal pref on frame vs. frameless packs, I used a frameless pack until this past year when I got an excellent deal on an ALICE pack at a gun show. Fitted it right there so that I knew it was going to work prior to purchasing it.....and it was awesome once I got some weight into it. It feels to me as if I am being cradled or hugged tightly, but not too tightly, from behind. Feels like I could walk forever with that on my back. I purchased a size large ALICE pack and I am 5'8 with an ahletic build with a couple of extra "chest level equipment concerns" on the front side that you may or may not have to take into consideration.

With this said if yard sales or gun shows are not possible there are a couple of websites that I frequent that sometimes have really good deals on things that I may need. Just keep in mind that like with any shopping online or in catalog search around to make sure it really is a "super deal"......

Cheaper than Dirt

Sportsmans Guide

Old Sarges Drop Zone

International Military Sales

These are but a few.... hope this helps.

GJ kayr80.

You're right about the best deals being military surplus.
You won't find Goretex or wool for any cheaper and for wet or cold weather they are the best.
As for ALICE packs women and smaller people will probably want to get the Medium pack,
Also be sure to get a frame with it otherwise it will slide all around on your back and keep you off balance and tire you out.
Pistol belts are great but even better is the thick padded version - very comfy.
Anything in Olive drab makes a decent camouflage pattern, you don;t need realtree or any of those "fancy" patterns to blend in.
My favorite 2 pieces of surplus gear are my stainless steel canteen cup cooker and my poncho / shelter half.
The only thing surplus I would NOT recommend is any knives, they are too large and heavy for survival use. For the weight of one Rambo knife you could be carrying 3 or 4 smaller, more useful knives.

Final note: beware used gear. Unless your are handy with a stitching tool. "Waterproof" items are often no longer so and will have rubberized patches ironed on.

S&F, I'll be checking your UT channel.
Thanks!

Thanks for the vid! Good thread

Surplus gear is tops in many respects. You can get it for literally pennies on the dollar of what it cost to make, and in most instances milsurp is higher material quality than you can get from commercial channels.

With that said, I'm a through hiker and a gear whore, so a lot of the milsurp I started with so many years ago is back in the closet gathering dust. The reason is WEIGHT, not quality. If you depend on your legs to get you from A to B, and you carry provisions on your back, WEIGHT is the number one factor you have to consider if you actually want to make it to point B.

Hiking/camping gear has been totally revolutionized the last few years... the revolution was/is ULTRALIGHT gear. I have found that a lot of military stuff is simply not weight efficient when you are traveling hundreds or thousands of miles with it on your back.

If anyone is interested in my setup, I'm 6'4 and use a medium alice pack for long distance hikes, frame off. If I was carrying more weight, I'd probably use the frame just to shift support to my hips. Been mulling over getting a Kifiru or Mystery Ranch pack because so many of my buds rave about them.
*= milsurp
Clothing:
*ECWS pants
Wool socks
Polartek undies and under-shell pants
sweatshirt
Arcteryx jacket
Filson wool hat
Asolo backpacking boots
*flektarn poncho
Gear:
*Medium Alice
Big Agnes seedhouse sl2 tent
Wiggy's sleeping bag (winter)
Sierra designs sleeping bag (summer)
exped sleeping pad (winter)
thermarest pad (summer)
Katadyn pocket micro (for the nasties)
Steri pen (for the virus')
*Camelbak chemical bladder (significantly more rugged)
MSR stove
etrex vista
*tritium lensatic compass
gerber knife,leatherman multitool
headlight/survival knickknacks paracord food maps etc...

If anyone is interested in Pics, just ask. As you can see it's a mix of milsurp and civie gear. This setup is what works for me and I would recommend a similar setup for comfortable long distance trekking. Small and light and effective is the name of the game. Be prepared to shell out the dough, however. Of course If there was a mass casualty event I would certainly carry an LBV and more weight, but not a whole lot more this.

I hope I didn't take this thread off topic, I just wanted to make the point that for my particular brand of hiking/bug-out-bag, I have found that PURELY milsupr may not always be the best way to go for everyone. I totally agree with OP's premise that milsurp is a very important avenue to explore when procuring gear.

reply to post by kadyr80


Excellent! TY for taking the time to reply. I will keep an eye open for your future posts. A bud has turned me on to a few good YT vids that are right along the lines of your interest. Let me locate the URL of one or two to share. These come to me from a good source, I think you will enjoy. Be well sir.

reply to post by LargeFries


Thank you as well. I have added some new videos recently and am keeping them coming, I'm also about to announce a contest of sorts, so stay tuned. Hopefully my next videos can be more informative and helpful as well!

reply to post by MyMindIsMyOwn


Hi MyMindIsMyOwn. Thank you for your reply (everyones posts were excellent, very helpful; TY all). I appreciate your tip for finding good used at Yard Sales and such. You're right, there is much treasure to be found. I've been re-selling on eBay for 11 years, it's always a happy little victory to get something for change and turn it into spending green. The links are excellent, I can't wait to pour over them. I'm hoping the dealer in NY has a brick n mortar store too, me and my nephew would make a day trip out of it.

Another poster had a good point too, about being real careful with Used because it may be compromised: loose stitching, no longer waterproof. "Good used" is the key phrase. I'm getting older so I started carrying a Magnifying Glass and a Small Flashlight with me when hunting deals at Garage Sales. It really helps with inspecting merchandise. I also keep a small box with several of each size disposable Battery in my car. I check & make sure things really do work before I drive away. I scoffed a Electrical Adapter/Converter cheap on eBay that plugs into the automobile Cigarette Lighter. It has a crap-load of little assorted Plugs/Tips and a adjustable Output Voltage range switch so you can make sure things that are supposed to work with a 110V power supply adapter really do work so I don't get home to find out I bought garbage.

Thanks also to the excellent Post describing the Alice pack, and the Contents List. I appreciate reading that; nothing is better than the voice of experience. Sincere thanks for sharing.

OP, I didn't forget you! As promised I will get you the YT link I mentioned. I'm afraid I have to go through a slew of old email to find it but I will