Milsurp buying guide
Where do y'all get your milsurp? I'm struggling with finding good sites. I haven't had the best luck with eBay, partially because I'm so tall, but I'm interested in other places to look. Is there a milsurp buying guide?
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I've gotten a couple of m1951 field jackets off eBay for prices I thought were reasonable, but the down side was that they both came heavily mildew scented. Was able to fix that with a couple of washes with vinegar though.
(There's a medium long for those if you're tall)
Where are you based? Will make it easier to suggest some places
I've bought a USN pea coat and a pair of OG-107s from eBay.
https://bronsonshop.com/ has a lot of fairly faithful reproductions at reasonable prices.
Bronson
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I’d wager @The Real Digs ™ has some pretty great ebay filters
coralfangatelier on Instagram sells milsurp
Lots of stuff here if you are UK based - https://www.blightymilitaria.com/
It depends on how tall. A lot of milsurp gets pretty hard to find at larger sizes.
I’ve had some success with Etsy, can vary seller-to-seller like Ebay but could be an option as well.
US
6'4, but also fairly skinny
I actually use almost no filters
My thought process is the best deals will be listed by people who dont know what they have. So i do super general search terms like “vietnam war jacket” or something like that hoping someone posts their grandpas gold tiger set not knowing what it is
Jawnz arbitrage
Ebay is the best option. But I also like Varusteleka and Americana Piepdream
and uh your local surplus store if you're cool wearing things from the 90s or later
Etsy can be good too
I find that curated thrift places, at least here, mark things up like crazy. But they know what they have, to speak to Digs' point
Milsurp is a lot of things
If you want stuff that just kinda naturally blends in with like anything, including tailored menswear, that's not camo, if you want the more famous things, you probably want to go with older designs, Vietnam War and WWII era - though that doesn't always mean actually 50 years old as you can get replicas, or just pieces that kept on being issued.
If you want camo, BDUs, as well as more utilitarian stuff such as bomber jackets and raincoats, then it may actually be in US surplus stores and websites and the like... Buying directly from the makers may be reasonable at times too, particularly Rothco.
For some more sites in the same vein as Varusteleka/AP, surplus specialists:
- GoMilitar (Lithuania)
- Krushchiki Supply Company, Misty Mountain Supply (US, more on the airsoft/tacticool side)
- Universal Surplus (France, usually really nice cool stuff at usually higher prices; never bought from them but they're great inspo)
- Swiss Link (US, lots of weird random things, sometimes they put shirts on sale for under a dollar lol)
You can try finding sites for actual military people, whether in the US or Europe, I've bought from the UK's https://forcesuniformandkit.co.uk/ which can be amazing value; friends recommend https://www.bundeswehr-und-mehr.de/ where you used to be able get dirt cheap GATs when they were in stock and shippable...
Among replica companies What Price Glory and atthefront.com are highly regarded for quality and value; Bronson is good. All three have tons of interesting ~WWII designs.
Forces Uniform and Kit
Genuine Army | Military Surplus Clothing and Kit UK
Premier UK supplier of Genuine Military and Army surplus clothing and equipment. Trousers, boots, ammo boxes, shirts, smocks, waterproofs and more!
About height: Yeah can be hard to find especially old items in large sizes.
But keep in mind that for example with mid 20th century US jackets, the intended length could be down to near the knee, but it might actually look better to wear it shorter. So perhaps you'd be issued Extra Large-Long if you'd been a draftee back in the day, but you'd actually prefer Large Short, or Medium Long. I wear a mix of M/L clothes but my Small M-65 fits nicely. Figuring out what size you enjoy helps!