The term ‘milsurp’ means ‘military surplus’. Military surplus items are items that military forces (US and others) have disposed of and wind up on the commercial market. Usually its legit, sometimes its ‘grey market’ (the soldier who sells off extra MRE’s he didnt eat or who takes some M16 magazines to a gun show) , and sometimes its ‘black market’ (out-and-out stolen items that normally wouldnt find their way to civillians).
For those of the mind to be prepared for whatever disaster is currently brewing off the coast of Florida or making the rounds of the infectious disease wards in China, milsurp offers good bargains without sacrificeing too much in the way of quality. What you do sacrifice is aesthetics….to paraphrase Henry Ford, you can have it in any color you want as long as its olive drab.

The attraction to military surplus gear is that  it was designed for exactly the sorts of things that we’re anticipating – situations of disorder, rugged use, and abuse. To this end, military gear is designed with attention to things that interest those of use who are into preparedness – durability, versatility, economy of manufacture, etc, etc.

A commercial product is designed, foremost, to sell. Military gear is designed to work (which either it does or does not depending on who you ask) and fulfill a function. While Columbia sportswear can spend half a million dollars on a new ski parka design the government, by virtue of its deep pockets, can spend $3 million just to design a pair of pants that won;t split in the crotch when you step over a log. Simply put, no commercial enterprise has the resources for research and development like the government does. And, once they spend your hard earned tax money developing a product, they usually order enough of it to drop the per unit cost down to a very attractive price. Don’t agree? If you went to, for example, Bushmaster and bought 10 magazines for your AR-15 do you think the price you would pay would be more or less than if you told them you wanted five million of them? That same ‘buying power’ holds true across the board, $50,000 claw hammers not withstanding.

So, government can spend big bucks on R&D and then buy ’em cheap. Why not take advantage of that?

Most very nice outdoors equipment (tents, GoreTex parkas, etc) isnt available commercially in what we would call ‘subdued colors’. NorthFace parkas that are banana yellow, candy apple red or fluorescent green are far more common than one in olive drab. Not so with military surplus…in fact, your color choices usually boil down to either olive drab or camoflage which , happily for us, are the exact colors we’re looking for on our gear nine times out of ten.

Foreign military surplus is often a good deal…especially if its a product that normally isnt seen in American milsurp. Some countries produce better quality military gear than others….Russian, Chinese and eastern European gear tends to be a bit cruder, a bit more primitive and a bit less durbable than things from countries like W. Germany (yes, I know its just ‘Germany’ now but the W. German surplus gear almost always beats the E. german gear), Austria, Switzerland, and more industrially and economically developed countries. Some of the foreign surplus is actually better than the American gear. I’m a tremendous fan of the German ‘flectar’ parka/liner combos that have been selling for $20 lately. I find them warmer and better designed than the US field jackets.

Where are you better of with surplus than with commercial gear? For stocking vehicles and remote locations, surplus gear is an outstanding choice. If its stolen youre not out alot of money and you can abuse it all you want and not feel twinges of guilt from your pocketbook. Milsurp sleeping bags are outstanding values for keeping in vehicles during winter. Spend another few dollars for a milsurp parka or blanket and you can be ready for winter travel emergencies for not alot of money. Gloves, hats, mittens, socks and other cold weather gear is usually sold by the dozen and store forever.

Ammo cans are a very good example of milsurp gear that almost everyone has. Next time youre at your local sporting goods/camping store check out the price on one of those large plastic ‘ammo box’-type storage containers. Theyre usually at least three tiems the cost of your average .50 caliber can and probably not nearly as durable.

For laying in ‘extra gear’ for unexpected guest or the infrequent unprepared sheeple that you just cant turn away, milsurp is good way to equip them and not break the bank.

What kind of uses can you get out of surplus items? Well, just speaking for myself –
Sleeping bags, parkas, gloves, hats, scarves – I keep these in the truck in the winter in case the weather turns bad enough that pulling over to the side of the road and waiting out the snow becomes the safest option.
Backpacks/carrybags – all sorts of sizes of rucksack are available. They make excellent bags for keeping all your truck gear together, keeping all your emergency gear in one place at work, keeping gun/cleaning gear in one place, etc.
Ammo cans – these things have a million uses in their various sizes.
Parachutes – usually sold with all the lines cut, these are excellent camo covers for gear and make nice overhead cover in the woods. If youre handy with a needle and thread you can make all sorts of camo smocks and gear covers from them.
GI flashlights – the anglehead flashlights are decent as is and can be modified in a number of creative ways to use LED bulbs, different batteries, etc, etc. And cheap enough to have one in every vehicle.
Ammo pouches – lotsa uses and not just for carrying ammo
Blankets – usually non-US milsurp.. Ive gotten some very nice, very large, wool blankets at good prices. Cant have too many.
Canteens – Again, usually a couple bucks each and great for leaving in a vehicle or remote location

The list goes on and on…field telephones, two-strand wire, nylon webbing, area lights, helmets, food trays, silverware, etc, etc.

One downside to milsurp is that, obviously, it ‘looks’ military. Sometimes you want a low profile and carrying an ALICE pack while wearing your German camo and Italian tanker boots may just bring you a little more attention from the armed goon guarding the entrance to the FEMA site or from some patrolling cops who might think youre part of some ‘militia’. There are times when the brightly colored civillian gear has merit, times when it doesnt and theres times where it simply doesnt matter. Its your job to decide when looking like a yuppie backpacker is more advantageous than looking like an unemployed mercenary. The nail that sticks up gets hammered down. Additionally, the more predatory element out wandering the streets and roads might think that by virtue of your military gear that youve got some ‘neato’ stuff that they want…badly. On the other hand, that same militaristic look may also keep the predatory element away, thinking that you might be armed and trained a little better than what theyre prepared to deal with.

Are there better products available commercially that beat the surpus ones for use and quality? Sure. Thats the beauty of the free market. However, if youre going to stick a sleeping bag under the seat of your truck and probably never use it or have it sit there for years until you do, you might want to use the $55 dollar surplus British bag rather than the $225 Wiggy’s bag. Both will keep you warm when youre sitting in your truck waiting for a plow or tow, but its alot cheaper to have the milsurp one banging around, getting dirty and maybe even getting a little nicked or torn than if it were the more expensive bag.

Gun shows, pawn shows, Shotgun News, army/navy stores and, of course, eBay are all good sources for surplus gear. If possible, try to find the item you want locally so you can see what its like and then bargain hunt one on the internet. Theres a lot of useful gear out there that may fit into yor plans very nicely for not alot of money…and any money you save is money you can use for more gear.