Military Surplus in Austin?

[IronPenguin]

What places do you guys recommend for finding military surplus gear? I've been in the market for a good backpack and some pouches for equipment, and in general I like browsing through old/new military equipment. I haven't had much success finding a good store for this kind of thing in the Austin area.

 

[refugee from california]

Banana Bay trading co. is under new management, they also are supposed to give a veterans discount. Have not been there myself, but being a vet friendly company will give them an advantage with me.

 

[General Zod]

Pretty sure Banana Bay is about it for surplus stores.

 

[rsayloriii]

There's the Quonset Hut on 2815 Fruth St, Austin, TX 78705. Lot smaller than Banana Bay, but has more niche items that Banana Bay doesn't ... at least the last time I was in there. Beyond those two, I don't know of any others except for going to the gun shows that come to (around as of now) town.

 

[rsayloriii]

Just remembered ... there's one on North Lamar as well ...

NS Army Navy

8311 N. Lamar
Austin, TX 78753​

 

[majormadmax]

Not sure about Austin, but most of the military surplus stores I've been to in Texas have been a joke...

 

[Grizza]

Banana Bay is way overpriced--

just take a day and drive up to Kileen/Ft. Hood and you have 10 surplus stores within 5 minutes of each other.

 

[majormadmax]

I know it's not quite Austin, but a few years back I drove up to Gatesville to pick up an AMD-65 and on my way back down 281 I stopped at a nice little military surplus store on the west side of that highway. There was a nice older Hispanic gentleman working there.

The problem is I can't remember exactly where it was or what its name was. I believe it was north of Johnson City and had to be south of Evant as that is where I turned east to go to Gatesville.

Any ideas?!?

Cheers! M2

 

[Charlie]

I know it's not quite Austin, but a few years back I drove up to Gatesville to pick up an AMD-65 and on my way back down 281 I stopped at a nice little military surplus store on the west side of that highway. There was a nice older Hispanic gentleman working there.

The problem is I can't remember exactly where it was or what its name was. I believe it was north of Johnson City and had to be south of Evant as that is where I turned east to go to Gatesville.

Any ideas?!?

Cheers! M2

Marble Falls, Burnet, Lampasas, Kempner, Copperas Cove, etc.?

 

[majormadmax]

Marble Falls, Burnet, Lampasas, Kempner, Copperas Cove, etc.?

Maybe, maybe, maybe, maybe, maybe, etc.

Like I said, I can't remember exactly where it was or what its name was. Was hoping someone who drove that section of 281 might know...

It wasn't in a built up area, just a wooden building on the west side of 281.

 

[lsadfjlakjdfwalk]

Why do you want military surplus? Military gear is made by the lowest-bidding contractor, does not have any modern/ergonomic design and if not brand new in box chances are they have been heavily abused. unless it's cheaper than dirt imo it's all hype..

 

[majormadmax]

Why do you want military surplus? Military gear is made by the lowest-bidding contractor, does not have any modern/ergonomic design and if not brand new in box chances are they have been heavily abused. unless it's cheaper than dirt imo it's all hype..

Did you ever serve? If not, then I wouldn't expect you to understand; but since you asked there are many reasons why people collect milsurp. I for one am only interested in certain areas, such as Soviet/Warsaw Pact items as I served mostly during the Cold War and it was the equipment used by our adversaries. After the Cold War I spent some time in Eastern Europe and have been back there a few times since. I like owning small pieces of history that I experienced firsthand, which is why my collection includes things like a Czechoslovak special forces parachutist helmet and other items I used while in the military but wasn't able to keep (of course I still have a lot of items I was able to keep).

Secondly, not all military gear is made by the lowest bidder; in fact as a defense contractor now I can tell you that many times contracts are awarded under what's called a "best value" approach. The government learned a long time ago that cheap doesn't necessarily mean good. And your claim that military gear "does not have any modern/ergonomic design" is complete bollocks as much of the "high tech" gear people buy these days are by-products of current and former issued items. Like 5.11 stuff? Most of that is copied from military and law enforcement gear.

By the way, it's traditional for new members to start a thread in the 'Introductions' section. That way we know you didn't join just to badmouth Trump! You could start by explaining your user ID...

 

[Shotgun Jeremy]

Military gear is some of the most durable gear you can get. If you're afraid of it being heavily abused, you can feel free to inspect it. My bipod on my AR went to the desert and back before I bought it. I inspected it, cleaned it up like new, and it's been working flawlessly ever since. Those tritium lensatic compasses the military uses - you can't top those by quality. Same goes with the cargo pants, tshirts, cots, ammo cans...you know what. I've got an idea. Tell me what low quality item you're thinking of. I'm now curious.

Sent from Command Central

 

[lsadfjlakjdfwalk]

If by surplus you meant stuff over 20 years of age with some historic value, I get the point. For modern US military surplus, I wouldn't pay more than $10.

I saw how decisions were made with taxpayer dollars, I wouldn't count on stuff considered "best value" in a whatever process (no offence).

Were you talking about this Bipod (this is some rare gear that you don't normally see in the military)? standard issue modern military gear is nowhere close to that.

tritium lensatic compass? That thing is quite dangerous when you fall, might break a rib or something..sharp edges really aren't necessary. Do they break/malfunction? Oh yeah... And I doubt it is any more accurate than the android compass

cargo pants? you mean the combat uniform? I have seen those things ripped so many different ways...

cots? I don't see why I would pick milsurplus over something in a sporting goods store, under $10 maybe

tshirts? same. Sweating was never a concern when they designed it (if they actually spent much time on design at all)

Speaking of modern/ergonomic design, what about ambi mag release on mil firearms? the mil mags I have seen were pretty much disposable/garbage...

Some 5.11 gear might look somewhat like mil gear, but with far more useful values...

After all I do realize that this is really up to personal preference and I am not familiar with pricing of milsurplus.

 

[majormadmax]

If by surplus you meant stuff over 20 years of age with some historic value, I get the point. For modern US military surplus, I wouldn't pay more than $10.

I saw how decisions were made with taxpayer dollars, I wouldn't count on stuff considered "best value" in a whatever process (no offence).

Were you talking about this Bipod (this is some rare gear that you don't normally see in the military)? standard issue modern military gear is nowhere close to that.

tritium lensatic compass? That thing is quite dangerous when you fall, might break a rib or something..sharp edges really aren't necessary. Do they break/malfunction? Oh yeah... And I doubt it is any more accurate than the android compass

cargo pants? you mean the combat uniform? I have seen those things ripped so many different ways...

cots? I don't see why I would pick milsurplus over something in a sporting goods store, under $10 maybe

tshirts? same. Sweating was never a concern when they designed it (if they actually spent much time on design at all)

Speaking of modern/ergonomic design, what about ambi mag release on mil firearms? the mil mags I have seen were pretty much disposable/garbage...

Some 5.11 gear might look somewhat like mil gear, but with far more useful values...

After all I do realize that this is really up to personal preference and I am not familiar with pricing of milsurplus.

Tell ya what, do 25 years in uniform and then you can honestly evaluate the effectiveness/usefulness/ergonomics of military gear; but if you haven't spent one day in the service then your opinion is nothing more than that...

 

[Shotgun Jeremy]

The GPS-02 is a very common bipod to find around the ARMY and USMC. I don't know where you're getting your info, but I'm getting mine from 8 years in the service from 2002 - 2010. Since getting out, I've been living next to Fort Hood and still see what's been hitting the pawn shops, Craigslist, and what my friends still in are using.

You CLEARLY have no clue what you're talking about with compasses. Tritium Lensatic Compasses have one dangerous thing about them, but it's not it's "sharp edges". It's better than the android compass due to reliability, battery issues, light issues, and the compass can take a drop as well as being dropped in a stream or going with you for a swim. Let's see you properly use an android compass with a map during land nav. Hell, my android GPS has problems when I'm trying to use WAZE on the highway. I LOVE android, but technology isn't always dependable. Those dedicated GPS devices are the way to go if you just have to rely on technology, but I still wouldn't use them solely for plotting land nav on a map.

You've seen the "combat uniform" ripped? The first gen army camo ones were bad for it, but the MARPAT, and woodland camo ones are good to go. If you can't understand the love for the brown/tan cotton tshirts, then I am curious if you've ever worn one. They are easily the most comfortable, softest tshirts I have ever worn. Why do you think you see so many guys wearing them around base??

The mags seemed kinda disposable, huh? Well I would hope so since they were designed that way. Commands reuse them to save money, but they are classified as disposable items. I keep nice mags for the range and metal mags for SHTF.

I understand personal preference, but if you're going to say something sucks - at least have some arguments that show you understand what you're talking about.

Sent from Command Central