those are Eastern German Assault packs repurposed as paniers for a bike … those used to be cheaper than a Big Mac a few years ago, but no not so much anymore
Do I have any? Yes, I’m positively swimming in it. Do I use it? I’m not sure… I used to use elastic boot blousers to attach lights to my bicycles after the original straps were lost, but I have more recently shifted to just using rubber bands because while the blousing straps are a bit more durable, they are also much more expensive. And anyway I rarely need lights on my bike (although, with DST ending, I suppose I should start again).
But other than that? Well, sometimes I use the assault pack (a glorified backpack), but only for its original purpose as a backpack. Especially while hiking.
The Navy let me keep my raincoat and pea coat when I was discharged out of the training center. Made the mistake of lending the raincoat to somebody and never got it back. Pea coat isn’t my original Navy-issue but a replacement from a local surplus store. Have yet to find the exact raincoat anywhere; making do with what appears to be surplus police issue.
Nothing now, but I had some in the late 80s/early 90s. A heavy (and warm) winter coat that I wore a lot (used) and a sort of soft-sided combat boots (new). In the early 80s I had a fighter jet oxygen mask with head strap and tube that I bought at an Army/Navy store that I loved to play with.
When I was young I had a military flashlight (one of those right-angle ones that took two D batteries and had a clip so you could put it on your belt or jacket). I also had a folding shovel and a portable mess kit that I used for hiking and camping. The military surplus store back then had a lot of stuff and it was all dirt cheap.
These days there isn’t a military surplus store in my town, and the nearest one is about a half-hour drive away. I’ve never been in that one so I have no idea what their prices are like. I took a quick look at some online sellers but their stuff was definitely not cheap.
I have over 20 years worth stuffed in a closet. I finally got rid of most of my boots since they were taking up too much room. My wife does wear my Army fleece now and then.
A few months I was looking to buy some non-jean pants and remembered I bought some cheap surplus pants when I was a teen in the early 90s.
But now I could not find any thing cheap so I just bought NEW tactical cargo pants off Amazon for the same price people were selling supposedly surplus pants.
For the Enviro group I was active in for years, the 10’x20’ canopies we used came in non-useable boxes. I still had 2 seabags and donated them to the cause and then found 4 more at a surplus store for about $7 each. These 6 seabags are holding up great and each is nearly perfect for carrying the metal pipe frames and parts for 1 canopy.
I recently started wearing my old USS Ranger ballcap on my morning walks. The cap was probably bought in 1986 or 1987.
I have my green all-weather coat somewhere, but I haven’t worn it in years. My Dress-Blues Crackerjacks are hanging in the closet, no chance of me being able to wear them though.
A hundred years ago, there was a mail order store called Cheaper than Dirt. They bought up military surplus from all over the world (Soviet bloc countries were great source for them!). I always enjoyed looking through their catalogs when they came in the mail.
I bought a few “messenger bags” and used them for purses or tote bags. Lots of little pockets helped keep me organized. I even gave a few as gifts. Camo and OD are always in fashion!
When I was a teenager back in the 70s I bought a variety of stuff at the Army-Navy Surplus store in Paoli PA. One of those green Army jackets and an insulating liner for it (the liner began to disintegrate pretty quickly). Combat boots, a couple of hats that may not have been actual military surplus, and several other small items. It was inexpensive and military gear was all the thing back then to protest the was in Vietnam. Never was quite clear on that reasoning but cool is cool and often beyond explanation.
Back when I was in USAF I had a bunch of that stuff, both USAF & USA issue, plus bought from various civil suppliers. All that is long gone now.
When I was a kid, WW-II was recent enough that the so-called “War surplus” stores really sold genuine military surplus bought at disposal auctions run by DoD. Lots of ways in e.g. 1963 to get slightly moldy-smelling canvas gear really made for the War Department in 1944.
These guys used to have a lot of what they claimed was genuine surplus, and especially not just US surplus. Old East German Army wool coats, etc. Military Surplus - Sportsman’s Guide
Lotta stuff nowadays is Chinese knockoffs. The idea that there’s good stuff made to high quality US Mil-spec and available cheap as DOD cast-offs is pretty dated.
Of course now there’s also the whole tacticool movement to laugh at.
I have a bag which is supposedly a map/messenger bag of Czech military origins though I’m just taking American Science & Surplus at their word. Used to use it to carry my D&D stuff when I’d play at the local game shop.
I haven’t seen an honest to goodness military surplus store in decades and assume that the age of that stuff being dumped for cheap and finding weird or surprisingly high quality inexpensive items died with the spread of the internet shopping.
When I was a young 'un, I worked for a man who bought mules (flatbed ATVs) from Army surplus and used them to drive to rugged country power line right-of-ways and do maintenance on the transmission towers. He loved those things.
I did a search, and Cheaper than Dirt is still alive and kicking. The website appears to focus primarily on ammo. I did some digging, and they have other stuff too. The variety is nothing like it used to be, and all I can say is that dirt must be damned expensive these days.
