Army Surplus - Not the kit, the stores

[Si1entDave]

So we've all seen the threads about various bits of army surplus kit, be it clothing, camp gear or sharp pointy things.

My question is this: Where do we actually go to get this stuff these days? Here in Coventry the only places I've found seem to have degraded into a few pairs of ex-MoD boots and a whole bunch of cheap Webtex and Chinese knock-offs.

I'm thinking particularly of brick-and-mortar shops rather than online retailers, though if anyone has had particularly good experiences with one that would be interesting too.

I'm assuming of course that we all know of Anchor Supplies in Nottingham, but they're rather far from Cov, and even they seem to be increasingly stocking imitation gear...

 

[Badger74]

Theres Johnsons of Leeds in Stourton. Lots of genuine surplus mixed with the copies, no internet shop.

 

[Mesquite]

Endicotts... but exeter is a lot further away for you than Nottingham

 

[mountainm]

Theres Johnsons of Leeds in Stourton. Lots of genuine surplus mixed with the copies, no internet shop.

http://www.johnsonsofleeds.co.uk/

 

[Rabbitsmacker]

hoopers in kings lynn, hingham stores in hingham, becketts at norwich. a lot being overrun with plastic fantastic stuff tho like webtex. military fairs are the only way to go i'm afraid. i go to odyssey in kent.

 

[mountainm]

Anchor Supplies in Ripley, Derbyshire
http://www.anchorsupplies.com/

 

[Chastiser]

Anchor Supplies in Ripley, Derbyshire
http://www.anchorsupplies.com/

they also have a largish branch in nottingham.

 

[Laurentius]

Coventry has never been the same since they demolished Riddy's to make way for Sky Blue Way.

 

[mr dazzler]

I can heartily recomend Genuine Army Surplus at Darlington, no affiliation other than speaking as a satisfied customer. The manager is thoroughly professional and courteous, and they do stock some good kit.

 

[Badger74]

Well blow me down MontainM, they didn't have that shopping facility the last time I looked, but that was a while ago when I wanted there phone number :-(

 

[TFan]

BASE in Charminster, Bournemouth are pretty good. And Frontline in Bournemouth are getting better for clothing since having a new manager who is gradually getting more genuine surplus in stock.

There is a shop in Ferndown that stocks some interesting items but I've found the owner to be a miserable so-and-so who was quite condescending to my other half.

And as has already been mentioned, Endicotts in Exeter, the holy grail of surplus stores.

 

[rik_uk3]

http://www.britishmilitarysurplus.co.uk/ishop/1069/shopscr208.html are very good, dispatch quick but items come into and out of stock quick so you have to check on a regular basis. I had a Bergen off them which turned out to be new in wrapper for IIRC £15, the wool mix socks for £1 are great too.

 

[yerbache]

http://www.britishmilitarysurplus.co.uk/ishop/1069/shopscr208.html are very good, dispatch quick but items come into and out of stock quick so you have to check on a regular basis. I had a Bergen off them which turned out to be new in wrapper for IIRC £15, the wool mix socks for £1 are great too.

:yikes: Nice one!! They have the goretex bivi bags for £12! What a gem of a website,

 

[phaserrifle]

my limited experience suggests that location plays a big part.
the shops in places like plymouth, colechester ect, where there is a large millitary presence, often seem to have better stock than somewhere like southampton, where webtex and alike are the main order of the day.

strangely, this seems to extend to foreign kit aswell. which doesn't make as much sense, but I suppose it could be due to better links with suppliers.

 

[TFan]

:yikes: Nice one!! They have the goretex bivi bags for £12! What a gem of a website,

British Military Surplus are great. One thing to be aware of though is that you'll get clobbered on postage. The last time I ordered, it was £7.50 on orders up to £30 and £15 on orders over £30. I've never placed a larger order so I don't know if the postage continues to increase beyond that. I always make up the order to as near to the cut off as possible otherwise that £2 t-shirt is not such a bargain.