There's lots of these videos about budget gear but this is one of, if not the best video on GOOD HIGH QUALITY outdoor gear that is fiscally possible for most people to obtain!
From personal experience I can vouch that a strong flashlight is an excellent defense tool, I had another man (30-40lbs heavier than me) charge at me, intending to cause me harm, one light whack with the end of the flashlight across his eyebrow and he went down with blood every where. I owe my life to surefire.
Love it! My only concern is carrying military style gear. It draws a lot of attention. I'm slowly switching out my gear for civilian to stay low profile.
Love the military surplus gear. Started with a large Alice pack but switched to the MOLLE 2 with a gen 4 frame, I find it a lot more comfortable. Good video, thanks.
I built up a FLC vest kit for each of my main battle guns and purchased everything either brand new or slightly used on eBay, all Military MOLLE for very cheap. I have one kit for my best AK, AR and 590A1. I'm always making changes to improve each kit and it's fun. The most expensive part of each kit is the 3 day assault pack which cost around $50.00 and the rest of the kit was less then $50 if that just for the Molle gear and there are tons of Molle gear on eBay
Great vid! Gotta love Military Surplus stores! I'm in there around once a week on average cuz the good stuff gets snatched up soon after it arrives! I love Maglites and those old military flashlights too! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for doing these budget videos. Most of us are on a budget these days and after bills, kids, etc, there isn't alot left for prepping. I am glad you take the time to show us budget peppers some gear and gun options that aren't out of our price range. Keep up the great work.
When you want to buy Ammo cans, go to a gun show and find a dealer with a LOT of them. Go the last day of the show and right before it ends, go offer the guy you'll take them off his hands at about $5-$10 off his asking price. If they're asking $15 each for a .50 can, I offer them $10 each and then say... "Hey Buddy, less for you to carry back to the car" and they always jump. I've got them as low as 2 for $15 when the rest of the Rubes were paying $15 each.
Hey I'm 14 and I got my dad into this we haven't been able to find things we need in decent quality. Thanks for the video and the tips. And like you always say God Bless America
One item that I'm sure everyone who has been in the military has appreciated is a bivy sac. If I had to pick between a bivy sac or the sleeping bag it would definitely be a bivy sac. My suggestion if your putting together a go bag is to get a mil surplus bivy sac if you want to sleep dry.
Thank you for making a spot on video about how to find Prepper and survival items. I did the garage and estate sale search last summer in Seattle and found everything I needed for pocket money. Their is no way I could have afforded the items new. I found a Medium Woodland Alice pack for $2 and a Estwing hatchet for $3. I know people won't believe it but most of the tools and wool blankets were about the same as well. Lastly I too bought a old fashioned coffee pot. I can't tell you how important for morale a cup of coffee is to face the day.
I'm totally with you on the flashlight snobbery, lol! I have a pair of Streamlights-a 650 Lumen for the vehicle and an 1100 Lumen for security around our property.
Good video! I really recommend going to flea markets and estate and weekly auctions to get good gear. Some people do well at yard sales but I do better at flea markets. Important to get there Early! Thrift shops too of course. I sell stuff on eBay for a living, been doing it for over 15 years and do very well ( sold 80k last year) so I go to flea markets, auctions and thrift store to get stuff to sell. Of course I get all my gear there too. I just don't understand why more people don't do the same.
Estate sales are a good bet you never know what you'll find. I recently found to gently used military grade E-Tools, elsewhere they would have cost me bout $50 but I got the for $10
ben meiring Unless you live near an Army base with surplus stores nearby go on Ebay. I see complete Alice packs (get a medium) in great condition and you can get a couple of pouches that match included with the shipping. Word to the wise only buy new ponchos.
I got an Alice Med pack in new condition in the luggage dept at Goodwill for $1.99 in brand new condtion with frame, straps. Ebay and gun shows...but not a surplus store.
Mate try living in Australia in my state there is only about 2 surplus store and one company that manufactures and sells new shit all 3 are pretty expensive
I was in Newcastle AUS last year at a (the only) surplus store. Yes no real savings for the blokes. I guess if shipping was reasonable Ebay or Amazon prime might be the way to go. Lastly are you VAT taxes on items in AUS ??
For my pack, I personally use the Molle II patrol pack. It's small and you can attach maybe an M16 mag holder or a canteen to the side due to the Molle webbing. I prefer it because it's small and won't take up much space. It's also pretty light.
Bought an Alice pack of eBay and it’s been a trooper for whatever I throw at it. Also bought some vintage Corcorans from korea. Insane great boots. Surplus gear is generally quality gear !
love your channel. Glad you keep the screw up reel at the end. Another thing about starting is that you can always upgrade and figure out what gear suits you. Ive gotten others started with my gear hand me downs.
Nice that someone who has or reviews the higher end stuff also bargain hunts. I have a lot of second hand stuff and with a toss through the washer or a little cleaning up to remove rust or built up dirt I have an old Hickory butcher knife, a couple of axes, backpacks, and a slew of flashlights, knives and lanterns. By bargain hunting and restoring gear, that which I also make or modify allows me to buy a few good quality items.
I have an medium Alice pack. I've found a lot of good deals on woodland camo surplus. They changed the camo patterns and many items went on sale. I have a USGI sleep system in woodland, Poncho and poncho liner, as well as the surplus folding shovel, and the glock field knife with sharpens up nicely.
My source for the best bang for the buck is GOOD WILL in our area here there are 4 stores GOOD WILL STORES example 5.11 combat belt 6 dollars Alice pack 16 dollars brand new Goretex camo pants brand new 11 dollars cantine 3 dollars Goretex camo jackets down filled like new 22 dollars plus combat shovel 6 dollars . Just incredible what you can find there so every time we go out will drop by try to go just takes a few minutes to walk through .You have more dry runs but you just never know what you will find and the prices cannot be beat by any one . As for our local surplus most of the stuff is just out of sight on prices Alice pack 99 dollars just nuts .
I am the 1,911th viewer, lol!! I have found a lot of cool items at surplus stores: canteens, ammo cans, cleaning kits, pouches, etc. I've also have things that were given to me from friends in the military. Flea markets have some pretty good items like boots, magazines, tools, etc. Good video, Sootch!
I have an old Alice pack at home. Don't have a BOB put together but I could definitely use it. Thanks for the suggestions. Great video. Loved the bloopers!
My closest surplus store is an hour away, not too bad though. I like Walmart and surplus stores. I don't have the money to spend $200 on a jacket and $150 on a knife. Good job sootch.
For the price of a Maglite (at least in the UK) you can get a Solarforce L2T/P benefit of that is, you have a lot more lumens and it's customisable being a P60 host.. Granted it's not made in the US..
oh and as far as flashlights go! i got an led 650 lumen flashlight at home depot, its their store brand i think its called "defiant" really powerful light for only 16.00$ and theyre pretty damn sturdy! i used mine to drive 3 inch nails !
I have been enjoying your videos for the last few days. (I sit with a sick parent.) I love how you include the bloopers at the end. I have to agree with another commenter on camo. Not a big fan even though I go hunting occasionally. I prefer ordinary clothes in forest colors. (looks good on me too! lol) I watched a group of men working on clearing a bayou and they didn't see me leaning on a tree at 10 feet until I moved. Their reaction was kind of funny. Keep the good vids comin.
Great video and excellent advice ! I also love my lights and own/use Surefire, Streamlight (duty belt), Fenix, and 5.11 (EDC) daily. But I just found a great deal on Rayovac "Indestructable" LED lights at Home Depot for under $20 each, so added 2 to my kit. Dollar stores usually have a few good buys and yard sales are always a gold mine. Keep safe brothers.
Great video with lots of useful tips :) Me too at the yard sales! Love them! :) I have found lots of unique prepping items at local garage sales, estate sales, church bazaars, Craig's list etc. Alice packs, ghillie suits, camo wear and even guns :) Lots of camping gear too. Also try folks who are changing guns, they often sell of their old magazines and ammo dirt cheap. Love that shovel! :)
The shelves for the alice pack can be ordered from colmans online for 5.99 ...not bad at all. That's were I picked mine up... Love the dryer lint tinder
I got a pair of used us army woodland bdus for $1 at a yard sale. No joke the person wanted everything gone or he was going to throw it away. The jacket is one size to big but the pants are my size since I looked at a size chart. You can find great gear at yard sales and just anywhere just keep your eyes open.
Great video. I live not far from Fort Knox and we are blessed to have a great Army surplus store, in fact I'm going tomorrow to get a ruck sack to build my new B.O.B. My daughter is on-board and wants her own bag! I've known about the dryer lint tinder since my Boy Scout days. Usefull tips here.
Gotta watch that pallet lumber... when burning it, I certainly wouldn't cook over an open flame - they soak those pallets w/ all kinds of chemicals to get them to withstand the elements. Other than that, I've actually built very nice furniture out of pallet lumber.
I can buy the magpul mags for $10-15. the metal GI mags are atleast $16. plus I've learned any little ding can cause it to not feed/malfunction. you can shoot holes in a poly mag and it will keep going as long as it didn't hit the spring ll. but I suggest anyone using the GI mags to get magpul followers (anti tilt)
The other day I put a huge message about you on one of your videos, hope you read that brother. I don't care what anybody says... You sir are a great role model for many people. I've supported you from the beginning I've watched all your videos and commercials for your channel. I hate to see you go.
Great ideas. Folks tend to forget, you don't have to go hog wild right out of the gate. Look around, do some research, and little by little, you'll build your prep stock. Of all you mentioned, eBay is the most dangerous to me. You've really got to question the seller on their stuff to make sure it's good quality, and in good shape. Most folks on there are stand-up sellers, but there are a few that don't get above a low crouch. LOL!!
You should've set up your own army surplus online store.... I'll be the first customer. Fair dinkum mate, you're excellent! Thanks for the vid, it's very helpful indeed.
i have lost track of the amount of military items i have bought on e bay. alice packs have gotten to be expensive.i have an lc1 and lc2 pack. a lot of the people who sell on e bay don't know squat about the military stuff they sell so they sell it cheap for a quick sale. same for amazon.sometimes i only buy certain items i think will be scarce pretty soon. like L handle canteen cups. don't be afraid to buy ww2 or old vietnam stuff. they were made to last.
You need to do a video about sleeping systems. Most preppers don't include much time on the issue and it should be a part of everyone's pack. Please let me know your thoughts a recs.
great video im prepping on a budget and there a lot of bull crap items that are worthless. fortunately I know what I need and don't need shop smart people that's the key.
Awesome video. You can find Alice Packs off of EBAY in very good condition if you shop around. Amazon also has some deals on surplus gear as well, but you need to dig, read the reviews, and see how much the shipping is before making a purchase. I live off of less than 1600 dollars a month in LA, and have been building my bag slowly over time. LA police gear has good prices on combat boots, tactical type clothing and other stuff. I bought an awesome backpack from them for thirty dollars. Shop around there. My biggest problem is obtaining firearms. I live in Commiefornia, and don't have a car. I would be thrown in jail if I got busted transporting an unloaded shotgun on a MTA train, and not to mention the hoops you have to jump through in Commiefornia to own a firearm. I would love to do a budget AR build if and when I can escape Commiefornia. Don't know a damn thing about building an AR but I am mechanically inclined and love building things. We have 99 cent only stores and big lots in LA. They sell canned goods, first aid supplies and other stuff for around a dollar. I've been going to those places for years. The 99 cent store also lets you buy certain things in bulk, but you have to come to the store to pick it up. I think many states have Dollar generals, however I don't know what they offer in the way of canned and storable goods.
