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I'm curious as to whats all your favorite military surplus gear?
Mine is the alice pack, with lc2 woodland straps and a molle ii waist belt, the us mess kit, the us wool blanket (real not rothco ) , the poncho liner, the Vietnam boonie hat, and the us shelter half.
Hi. Mine would be M51 cold weather parka, BCB/Army Crusader stove system and DPM Camo Para smock.
.....me.....
Well as a former infantryman I have to say our favorite gear is the poncho with liner and 100mph tape.
Reasons:
It can be sun shining without a cloud in the sky but the moment a infantry company does a field exercise, it'll storm, everytime.
And we are animals and break darn near anything the military issues, which as 1SGT would always say, tape the F@&:ER up.
Canteen/cup/stove/carrier.......and poncho.
Hard to say what is my favorite but one I use the most often whether camping, bugout, or just a trip across the country is a military style assault pack (rucksack) preferably with the MOLLE system of PALS: rows of webbing straps sewn in to attach gear to. Does not need to be genuine military surplus "with sand in the pockets". My daughter took this photo of me getting on an air plane at the Denver Airport on our way to Canada. I look like an aging jar head in civilian clothes. LOL
Attachment 10585
I also like poncho liner with bottom sewn to form a foot box, heavy duty military poncho. Balaclava and for sure a Boonie hat (not in some weird colors that would make me look like Johnny Depp.) The color of dirt is fine.
Advantage of heavy denier fabric over that yuppie low denier stuff at REI is that if you are bushwhacking and a thorn (mesquite) snags it all your gear does not dump on the ground, or with hat my bald head does not bleed like a stuck pig. Gotta hate it when that happens. ha ha ha.
I'm going first to go purely egghead here and say that from an engineering elegance standpoint no single (primary, whatever) purpose tool or piece of equipment that I've used impresses me as much as the p-38 can opener. despite it's rather mundane (and somewhat obsolete in modern military context) job, for size, weight and ease of use it beats, beats and nearly meets the household consumer offerings respectively, and by orders of magnitude in the first two criteria. I like that in a tool.
For more immediate, practical need gear, my favorite would shift to the BDU pants. My only remaining pair have been in more or less frequent use for 10 years and were used when I got them and are still holding up decently. They keep me well in most weather, and as an outer layer in most bad weather.
I guess my Mosin's. They've taken a licking and keep on ticking.
Mosins don't count, they are the other sides' surplus.
Sittin' here in the den I am looking at a pair of old style GI combat boots left over from the black boot army, there's a GI canteen and cup waiting to be put away and I just ordered a 100 pack of the afore mentioned P38 can openers because I use them and give them away at an alarming rate.
All-in-all I would say my favorite military item is my DD214 form tucked safely away. It says I am no longer in the Army and legally left that pursuit 40 years ago.
The question didn't specify ours, theirs or someone else's. Hmmmpf. Mosin's stand. Careful or I'll put on a bayonet and give you a good poke. I'm pretty sure it would reach from here.
Last few years, I have reverted back to the BSA mess kit with GI canteen set up .........kinda forgot how well they were thought out and set put together.
I vote leave the Mosin's in as well........make a heck of a spear.......
There's really not much gear I don't like. I probably use the canteen/cup more than anything. I love the mess kit too. All the ALICE gear is good.
I like both of those items, too. I have a lot of military surplus gear and choosing a favorite is hard. But the wool watch cap is probably it...Quote:
Originally Posted by canid
My local surplus store has genuine USGI canteens for $1.00 a piece, so I like to get one or two every time I stop in (less than once a month). They are certainly good items. It's my go-to water bottle now since I broke my Nalgene...Quote:
Originally Posted by Rick
water bottle and mess tin and of course, the compass holder.
OK we leave the MNs in. Everybody has two of them anyway so they should count for something. They are probably the most common form of surplus hardware inside the US right now.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rick
Quit poking me with that bayonet, that thing hurts!
I can't make up my mind, too many choices.
Yep! Same here!....:confused1:Quote:
Originally Posted by randyt
ECWCS gear. Unfortunately even surplus it's not cheap.
We have a law in Malaysia that does not allow civilians to use army surplus items such as military fatigues, camouflaged materials that includes, army backpacks, pouches, uniforms, jackets etc that are from the Malaysian Army as those items are the property of the Government and to avoid people from masquerading as army personnel. So we are just left with poncho, mess tin, army water bottle, belts and boots..that's about it (or as Forrest Gump said..."and that's all that I have to say about that!")