The Wonders of Military Surplus

These days, it seems like ‘survival gear’ has taken on a whole new genre, especially with pop culture touting (or making fun of) the new ‘prepper’ craze.  My thoughts drift to a familiar show on National Geographic, called Doomsday Preppers.  In these shows, you will find the average Joe, attempting to stave off disaster by preparing for it before hand.  The only problem is, the guy spends his entire livelihood on the latest, coolest gear that seems to be ever-so-opportunistically placed on all our favorite doomsday movies.  For instance, I’m reminded of The Book of Eli, when that Oakley logo on his pack always seems to make it into the shot.  Just a little bit of news, that doesn’t happen by accident.

The common misconception is that prepping is too expensive, and that you always need to shop at sporting goods stores to get what you need.  Either that, or you have to spend your life savings on UPS to get it to your house.  Perhaps I may be able to persuade you …there is a better way.

In fact, one of the best places to find your gear is in military surplus stores.  You know the one… it’s that store with the giant machine gun in the front window, furnished with old Marine Corps paraphernalia and decorated with Go Army bumper stickers from 2005.  You can get more than half of what you need from a place such as this.

Now, if you can get past the smell of old canvass and deteriorating leather, there is a wealth of prepper treasures to be found in ‘MilSurp’ stores, due to the philosophy behind ‘Government Issue’.  In any military, the more independent soldiers can be, the easier the logistics are for the chain of command.

For instance, if the military doesn’t provide adequate rain gear for their soldiers, then every time a storm system moves into the zone of operation, the entire army would be logistically hindered.  They would have to spend time changing and drying clothing, erecting shelters, and even tying up the medics from problems with hypothermia.  Clothing wears out much faster when it’s wet and muddy, costing the military millions more than it needs to pay.  So, the military is going to provide excellent rain gear for their troops to keep them on schedule and under budget. 

But, here’s the kicker…

Often times, the military will buy too much of something, meaning that their gear ends up being in surplus (hence the term, ‘military surplus’).  In this small lesson on economics, we find that when something is often in very high supply, then demand is low, leading to that item being very, very cheap for the rest of us. 

This is how you can often find a used military rucksack, one that might cost $300 in the civilian world (for comparable materials), for $50 in a military surplus shop.

In your prepping, be sure that you consider the cheapest route for your gear.  First, always check to see what you can find in the military surplus store before you head out and buy a civilian brand name.  Who knows, you may just come to love the smell of old OD green, Government Issue canvass in the mornin’. 

–K.H. Danielsen