Armed Polite Society
Main Forums => The Roundtable => Topic started by: Perd Hapley on March 14, 2023, 10:35:03 PM
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Can anyone recommend a reliable website for milsurp stuff, like, say gloves, hats, etc?
Also, what militaria have you found most useful outside of the military? For me, it's snivel gear, especially field jackets, fleece neck gaiters, jeep caps, and the black leather gloves - usually the unlined gloves. The latter is the one I'd like to find a source online for. I just realized I've been wearing the same pair every winter for the past 25 years. They're holding up really well, but I figure it's just a matter of time before they wear out, or I lose them.
I also have managed to find a couple of the brown, wool/cotton thermal shirts, which I sometimes wear when it's well and truly cold outside. They're more breathable than the newer stuff.
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Google brings up this site:
https://www.armysurplusworld.com/clothing
Useful or not, no clue. I, as a general rule, have never worn military-style clothing, either surplus or commercial.
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Through the years I've bought some military surplus stuff from CenterFireSystems.com.
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I've gotten stuff from Devil Dog Outfitters and Patriot Outfitters in the past. I also have pretty good luck with Ebay and Facebook Marketplace groups like Cool Guy Gear or Mil Gear.
Those old unlined leather gloves are called "D3A Glove Shells" and if you google those you will find a bunch of them at ~$30.
As far as other gear? I tend to not like sporting camo if I don't have to, but the layers 1 and 2 of the Gen3 ECWCS (known by "silks" and "waffletops" respectively) are pretty solid and I wear mine in civis if my Smartwool is dirty. I also have ben known to wear the Polertec beanies they replaced watch caps with. They come in Black and Coyote so they don't scream "LARPer!!"
The GoreTex Jacket is pretty good if you can find one at a reasonable price, but unless it's ACU pattern(blech) people are pretty proud of them.
The new modular sleep system (light bag, heavy bag, goretex bivvie sack) is freaking awesome and very adaptable, especially if you add a poncho liner.
And of course Poncho Liners are the best piece of .mil kit ever made.
Trigger Finger mitts are pretty solid if it's below about -!5F or so.
Other than that I don't really love my snivel gear.
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Through the years I've bought some military surplus stuff from CenterFireSystems.com.
I'm on their mailing list.
Numrich aka Gun Parts Corp often has some of the more unusual surplus
https://www.gunpartscorp.com/
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Ooh! Numrich has anti-tank mines! I've been running low lately...
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Ooh! Numrich has anti-tank mines! I've been running low lately...
"Eligible for FREE shipping" yet
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I have been on the mailing list for www.majorsurplus.com for a while. They have a lot of different stuff. I have bought a few things from them. Pricing isn't always great and stuff is often out of stock.
Honestly, The Sportsman's Guide has a lot of surplus stuff and I have probably been more consistently pleased with what I have bought from them.
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I have been on the mailing list for www.majorsurplus.com for a while. They have a lot of different stuff. I have bought a few things from them. Pricing isn't always great and stuff is often out of stock.
The Pound Cake Bonanza 12 pack is in stock
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MidwayUSA, The Sportsmans Guide, and Keep Shooting are some of my favorite sites.
My favorite clothing items mostly echo Dogmush's list. I like the black Polarfleece jacket and still wear it under my OCP issue jacket. I also like the classic look of the M65 field coat and found a GI one in khaki (no clue which branch used that color, but it's legit). And of course the field jacket liner has always been awesome. As for foreign military, the Austrian waterproof olive drab parka is amazing, you should seriously consider getting one.
https://kommandostore.com/products/austrian-waterproof-m65-parka
Lastly, how could I forget about the Mitt's Knits 5-button sweater? Great on the coldest of days under my uniform.
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MidwayUSA, The Sportsmans Guide, and Keep Shooting are some of my favorite sites.
My favorite clothing items mostly echo Dogmush's list. I like the black Polarfleece jacket and still wear it under my OCP issue jacket. I also like the classic look of the M65 field coat and found a GI one in khaki (no clue which branch used that color, but it's legit). And of course the field jacket liner has always been awesome. As for foreign military, the Austrian waterproof olive drab parka is amazing, you should seriously consider getting one.
https://kommandostore.com/products/austrian-waterproof-m65-parka
Lastly, how could I forget about the Mitt's Knits 5-button sweater? Great on the coldest of days under my uniform.
What are those sizes?
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European, so they might as well be alien. I'm 5'9", 195 lbs, with broad shoulders, and the "96-100 III-IV" fits me just fine with some room for layering underneath. I also apologize for linking to a site that's out of stock. Keep Shooting has them in stock, but they don't delineate sizes other than medium and large.
https://www.keepshooting.com/austrian-army-m65-goretex-parka.html
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And of course Poncho Liners are the best piece of .mil kit ever made.
Ah luvs me a gen-yoo-wine mil-spec poncho liner, but talk about PROUD! I can't believe what they're selling for these days compared to what they were even ten years ago.
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European, so they might as well be alien. I'm 5'9", 195 lbs, with broad shoulders, and the "96-100 III-IV" fits me just fine with some room for layering underneath. I also apologize for linking to a site that's out of stock. Keep Shooting has them in stock, but they don't delineate sizes other than medium and large.
https://www.keepshooting.com/austrian-army-m65-goretex-parka.html
I found this on an ebay listing.
(https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/ezEAAOSw3BBec8BK/s-l500.jpg)
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Ah, so Medium Regular. Just like the rest of my uniforms.
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When I lived in the KC area there was a mil surplus store I would visit. You could put hands on and check fit. Hove you checked your area?
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When I lived in the KC area there was a mil surplus store I would visit. You could put hands on and check fit. Hove you checked your area?
I've checked a couple of stores here in the STL area. The one has great jeep caps, but doesn't seem to have the gloves I want. The other one tends to have mainly the pricey stuff. They had an SS dagger listed at $7500.
http://www.overlordmilitary.com/uniforms.html
There used to be some pretty good stores around here called Uncle Sam's, but they croaked. One of them is now the headquarters of Tactical S**t. ;/
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I used to roam the local surplus stores for hours as a boy. My favorite item was a black M-65 field jacket, even at a young age I tried to avoid camo. The one purchase I wish I could go back for is whoever sold those russian titanium crowbars, always wanted one, should have bought ten.
Every now and then I look at modern surplus just for oddities. I would like to get a really nice tent someday. On the low end I want some more Yugoslav mess kits. The kits are 1980s plastic junk but the nesting spoon, fork and knife with built in can opener are to die for. Need to find some FREDs too. One day for no reason my dad bought flare guns from SG. No idea where to buy flares so I ended up buying a few cases of 26.5mm flares. Should have got more parachute flares.
Of my gear I donated or trashed a lot. My navy blueberry pants got deemed the most comfortable maternity wear as long as we weren't in public. My blueberry goretex is a constant travel companion and isn't half bad at low light camo. I keep my pea coat too, love that thing. Boot camp leather shoes still going and somehow still fit.
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I've checked a couple of stores here in the STL area. The one has great jeep caps, but doesn't seem to have the gloves I want.
If "jeep cap" is the wool one with the little brim, I love those and have a couple. I've found few warm hats that also have something of a brim to keep the sun out of my eyes. I actually got mine on amazon. I just looked and it's not available anymore, but mine was a set of the cap, fingerless wool gloves, and a wool scarf for twenty ducats.
I also like both the scarf and fingerless gloves. When it's really cold, I use the gloves as driving gloves and also wear them under a waterproof shell glove when doing stuff outside. I find the combo just as warm and easier to wear than the bulky insulated work gloves.
I just looked, and the seller on Amazon was McGuire Army Navy. Also, on the teevee, where I get ads when I watch youtube, there's some guy that advertises just before Garand Thumb videos, and it looks like he has a ginormous store with all kinds of stuff, and the deals look pretty reasonable. I'll try and catch the name the next time I watch a GT video on the TV.
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If "jeep cap" is the wool one with the little brim, I love those and have a couple. I've found few warm hats that also have something of a brim to keep the sun out of my eyes.
I think they also do a better job of keeping the cap over my tender, little ears. Cuz that's the main job I need it to do.
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If you see one, get a Casualty Bag - oversized mummy down bag. Has drag/carry handles, but it is just such a damn nice sleeping bag.