As a New Yorker, I've been to all of these except the MASH army navy one, which I did not know existed. I fear these small stores will eventually be priced out by higher rents and be forced to close.
Sold all the gear I had to a surplus store in NC back in 2014 a couple years after I got out. It was probably 2000 dollars worth of kit. I got like 150 bucks for it. At the time I just wanted to forget, now I wish I had some of it to remember.
The first Banana Republics had cool surplus from diverse sources. When the Ziegler's owned them back in the early 80's. Offbeat sound tracks too.Also put out a neat catalog describing the merch and their adventures acquiring the items. . They sold out to Gap and now it's effete yuppie wear.
I've gone to two of those shops, Kaufman's being one. However, there's a Army/Navy surplus store not far from where I live. It's been there for many years, as long as I remember. It is in NYC. But since it's not in Manhattan, the prices are quite a bit lower. The place also still has a good selection of some nice vintage stuff.
Mean while some where south of New York in another Army surplus: “do you want the drum clip to go with your order of bulk AR-15s?” “Yes, and can I get the heat seeking bullets with that?” “Sure but as long as you shoot them out of this ghost gun” -hands over a fully metal AK- “O boy! I can’t wait to go hunting for deer”
up until the 90's, there used to be a bunch of surplus stores along George St in Sydney that sold a LOT of surplus gear that I was too young to appreciate. Sadly they're all gone now
If you find your way further up New York, there is a surplus store called LZ Army Navy in Auburn that is closer to Fort drum, new and old surplus can be found there frequently. I used to buy surplus gear from there any chance I could when I was stationed at fort drum.
There are several of those in the greater Houston area, but just up until a couple of years ago Colonel Bubbies located in the Strand, in Galveston Texas was the best place to go for military surplus of all kinds, in Southeast Texas.
Waaaaaaay too overpriced at church street. They were charging $70 for $10 alpenflage shirts and stuff like that. I get it, hipsters and manhattan bills but still
I miss the army surplus stores in the 70s when you had real chance to get helmets with real bullet holes in them, real grenade parts in old foot lockers and badass patches ripped from the sleeves of the fallen and the aroma of black musty canvas mold down every isle...I could not be happier..😊
I remember when the military surplus stores were still selling WWII surplus items like kit jeeps and warbirds all crated up with instructions and tools in each box.... I still can't believe that in the 50s you could buy a kit P-40, P-51 for like $500 or a MB or GP Jeep for a few hundred. You could buy them off the back of comic books or J.C. Witney catalogs.
The thing about Quality military wear is they LAST OUTLAST anything! Take them hiking, hunting, mushroom hunting crawling over rocks and wet. They are more tough than the brand Carhartt!
if u want amazing durable, safe pants pick up anything that's required to meet regulations. I bought chef pants for fashion reasons. they're wonderful and have already protected me from a kitchen hazard
Theres a military surplus near my house ( not the same state as video) and ive bought 90mm artillery pieces (inert) and they even have a missile (inert) and torpedo stuff and even more including old maps for troops and stuff
None are really Army/navy surplus. We had really sulplus stores in the the 70s and early 80s. All that stuff is gone. It’s all commercial camping stuff now.
Yeah lets shop in Manhattan and pay triple the price of whatever the item is lol. Owners like "yeah those ammo cans? $70 each fpr 5.56 100rnd cans, good deal" 😅
Can someone help me so I live in nyc and I’m looking for ww1 German uniform does anyone know if these shops that have what I am looking for if so please tell me
We had a great store in Galveston Texas, sadly closed up after the owner passed away. I picked up several bomber wing pins and a really old canvas bag, pretty sure it was pre WW2.
My dad got out of the military not too long after I was born, I'm sixteen now and he gave me some military vest that holds magazines and I guess frags, he also gave me these things that say they protect from shrapnel and small-arms fire
I remembered in one of these surplus stores mash I think or kaufman I got my sef almost perfect condition Polish M40 helmet I choose the one that where scratched up bc it had named with in it’s straps
No clue how any of these places survive with the rents. I bet they're paying like $10k or more per month for those little shitty, dilapidated storefronts.
@@jonny-b4954 I live here, believe it. Commercial rents are astronomical, although these being surplus stores I'm assuming they're not tiny. Any small restaurant $30k easily, no joke.
Kaufmans is run by a whacky but real nice guy. I was a naive runaway and the owner stopped me from getting robbed when I just had a handful of cash that I should have kept in my pockets.
