Hello,

I have a little extra money that I’m going to put toward my preparedness goals. I usually just go with the cheapest I can find. If I do that now, I’ll get hammered by shipping charges. Are there particular places you prefer to shop online or locally? Also, are there places you would recommend avoiding?

Thanks,
Michael

As far as preparedness and survival goes, I was really happy with my experience dealing with BestGlide Aviation.

Other places I'd purchase from again include REI, MEC, and Cabela's...all have retail or online options.

Does anyone here have any experience with Emergency Essentials (beprepared.com)? I like their shipping rates even if their prices are a bit higher.

No experience with EE, but ... since that's the type of product line you're looking at, I'll throw out http://nitro-pak.com/

My first experience with them was maybe 20 years or so ago — before they moved the operation to Utah — when they had a brick & mortar operation in Southern Cal. Decent selection, competitive prices, free shipping over $100 purchase (read details for the few exclusions), price match on identical items (again, some modest exclusions) and a 120 day money-back guarantee.

//No affiliation except a long history as a buyer//

Hi Mike,

What country are you live in, I have done a lot of mail-order but almost all from Canadian stores.

Hacksaw, I have read your posts before saying that ordering survival/preparedness items from the US retailers is not overly expensive as long as you use USPS or USPS Express, not UPS due to the high GST/Duty Brokerage fees. Did I interpret this correctly? Did you get stuck with much additional duty or tax charges when using USPS?

Thanks,

Mike

I have purchased a couple of things from them and they were fine.

Country Comm is always good....loads of small neat things.

Ben's Backwoods has some good things and I have heard very good reports on his service....my order is not yet placed. Firesteels, some knives, Books, other assorted items.

Ragweed Forge is exceptional. Scandi knives from many places, with excellent prices and shipping that it out of this world.

Sierra Trading Post is superb...excellent prices and service on loads of clothing items. Overstocks, seconds, first line stuff with tons of high end brands at excellent prices. My #1 order place. Get on their mailing list....lots of additional percent off emails come...Sometimes free shipping offers. This place is definately worth watching for excellent stuff. I just bought an Ice Breaker wool top for $27....these sell for close to $70 retail. Not only are they the best merino wool tops to be had but at that price a definate steal.

David Morgan has unique items and exceptional service. Akubra hats, Filson, braiding leather, tons of other items.

LA Police Supply excellent prices, deals, and service (5.11 pants etc).

I think it’s kinda hard to give a blanket “buy from here” statement. Lots of the survival items we all want or have can be bought from so many places. Wal-Mart, K-mart, on-line from outdoor / survival suppliers, the local grocery store, department stores, home depot. The list is endless.

Better to make a list and then decide where to buy each item as no one place will have all of them.

I try to buy as much locally as I can and have had good luck finding a large amount of things I want locally. You may have to wait till summer to get many survival item as these things are also camping items and stores are prone to seasonal changes.

I also do a lot of making my own stuff or modifying an item to suit my needs.

But if needed (can’t get it locally) I will order it on-line.

I'm addicted to County Comm, I want one of everything they have. I can vouch for Sierra Trading Post as well.

One place I have just ordered from is basegear. Great prices and service, they ship quickly. I've put in 3 orders and no problems.

http://www.basegear.com/

Blitz

I think it depends on what you're buying.

I like http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/camping.htm
Cabelas also have some good deals: http://www.cabelas.com/
REI is way too overpriced (IMO).

shame cheaperthandirt don't do international orders there was alot there i would have wanted to get

http://www.campmor.com has lots of great camping gear - sleeping bags, pads, cookware, ... Usually their pricing is good, but every once in a while it is a bit high.

I get almost all my outdoor clothing from http://www.cabelas.com

http://www.forestry-suppliers.com has an unusual selection of stuff, including a great selection of compasses, axes, and saws.

http://www.brightguy.com for headlamps & flashlights

http://www.aeromedix.com for knives (Rittergrips)

http://www.alpsmountaineering.com for my tents - GREAT discount for those involved in Scouting (girl or boy)

Now that Cheaperthandirt is selling to FPO AP adresses they are great also REI. One company that I am currently having problems with is CAMPINGSURVIVAL.com. Still waiting on an order from 1 1/2 months ago.

REI has an online outlet store. Generally don't buy form REI unless it's been marked down...some of the discounts are amazing but you have to be patient.

Anybody dealt with LA Police Gear? The sales they have seem 'fall off the back of a truck' good sometimes.

I have gotten some great deals on tents, clothing, platypus bottles from Moab Sports, particularly if you buy their $0.01 club deal. Likewise Sierra Trading Post, Campmor, REI, Cabelas, Basegear, Cheaperthandirt (though they often have shipping issues), Backcounty, and so forth. Depends on what you want, if you're willing to wait for a backorder and so forth.

Me too, fine service. I also have had good luck with Brigade Quartermasters...

I have ordered from LA Police Gear a few times, great prices (5.11 pants on sale), fast service...

+1 one on Brigade Quatermasters. I also just dealt with Red Flare and have to say that customer service was beyond exceptional. I ordered some things for my Vic S.O.S. Kit, not realizing that it was special order, by the time it came in I was in limbo moving between my old apartment and new one. One e-mail later and they re-routed my shippment back to their warehouse and held it for 6 days and reshipped it so it would make it to the new adress. At no additional charge. With excellent e-mail communication and confirmation. Best. Service. Ever.

-Bill Liptak

Same here. I bought some stuff from them a while ago. It came in relatively short order and was what I had asked for.

Two other interesting sources are:

http://www.bestglide.com/index.htm

http://www.campingsurvival.com/index.html

Campingsurival.com has a lot of stuff. A lot of junk, but some nice stuff too.

Oh, for batteries & chargers: http://www.thomas-distributing.com

Bandanas: http://www.wholesaleforeveryone.com
Trash bags: http://www.spectrumbagsonline.com

http://www.fourseasonssurvival.com/, the Makers of Spark-Lite's and Tinder Quik also sell many other Survival items. They are strong supporters of ETS.

http://www.campingsurvival.com/ Great people.

I've ordered from both, and am 100% sure I will use them again.

+1 for basegear. Got a great deal on a Leatherman that arrived within a few days. Friendly note thanking me was in the packaging.

dog tags.

http://www.id-ideas.com/

excellent service, rapid response, rapid delivery.


clothing and lots of other stuff:

http://www.travelcountry.com/

free shipping - with large item restrictions - for purchases over $50.00. good prices, but wait for the sales. excellent service and response time.

Thanks for a good word Bill!!!

I wonder if this would be a good opportunity to make this thread a sticky topic and keep it towards the top of the list.

Maybe even creating a new thread with just urls?

I found this one thread has costed me more money then i care to admit to my wife!

No, thanks to you Red Flare. It seems the older "vintage" S.O.S. Kit by Victorinox differs from the new ones....judging by the pic on your website and contents.....would love to get a newer model and compare them side by side but alas, this move has got me quite broke and can't see doing it in the near future.
BTW for disclaimer reasons, I am in no way affiliated with Red Flare, just damn impressed

-Bill Liptak

Can't believe nobody has ever used Sportsman's Guide. I have used them on multiple occasions with very positive results. Just placed an order for some more Trioxane tablets. I think one of my relatives is completely outfitted from there. He is constantly getting stuff. They have pretty good deals on surplus and brand name stuff to. I got a Mountinsmith pack from them last year for 29.00..no kidding. Ordered one for the whole family at that price.

It's been a while since I ordered from them. I may need to bring them back in the fold again. My garage is getting awful full these days.

My order from Ben's Backwoods just arrived. Very efficient service from Ben and I just have to post his locally made mini-firesteel. It is my favorite item that I ordered. I tossed it in at the end to make the free shipping amount ($100) but now I wish I had ordered a couple more.




This is the little fellow. Done is Spruce and gutted paracord. Real nice….

There you go again. I'm just gonna have to sell all my camera gear, I'll never be up to your standards. sigh...

Although I've never publically posted negative comments regarding a retailer before, Military Logistics Manufacturers, Inc. gets the nod for being the first (and hopefully last) to warrant such an honor.

http://www.militarylogisticsmfg.com/

I ordered several items from this site back in December (2007) and after several weeks of hearing absolutely nothing from them I attempted to contact them to inquire as to the status of my order. Originally I gave them the benefit of the doubt, as I thought perhaps they were closed for an extended holiday break, or were simply a small Mom & Pop operation operating out of a basement and had run into some other type of crisis.

It was only at this time that I noticed there was no telephone number listed on the website. Had I noticed this fact before I placed the order I would have shopped elsewhere, as I can't imagine why a legitimate retail outfit wouldn't list a telephone number on their website, let alone a physical address.

My American Express statement showed that MLM had processed the charges related to the entire order on January 3, yet here it was several weeks later and I still hadn't received anything from them, and they continued to completely ignore all my attempts to contact them.

When several more days went by without receiving replies to any of my previous emails, I sent a final email informing them of my desire to cancel the order, as well as my intention to contact American Express. AMEX suspended the charges and made attempts to contact MLM regarding the transaction.

Fast forward several more weeks -- I received a small banged up recycled package in the mail with a couple of dirty, used canteen cups and no paperwork (these items were merely one of several items from the original order with MLM). The postal cancellation on the box was from the same town in Florida that my investigation had determined MLM was located in, so I attempted once more to contact them informing them that I had previousely cancelled the order, not to send anything else, and if they wanted the trash back that they sent me they needed to forward a prepaid ARS label to me, otherwise it was going in the garbage.

This week I received notice from AmEx that they had completed their investigation into the charges, and since the retailer had provided documentation that the order was received by me, had reinstated the full charges! I called AmEx and advised them that MLM had merely sent me a small box of trash (with USPS Delivery Confirmation) fully two and a half weeks after they were first contacted by AmEx requesting documentation.

AmEx agreed this seemed very suspicious (producing documentation that was dated several weeks after the initial request was made by AmEx) so once again the charges have been reversed and AmEx's fraud investigation case has been reopened.

Jim

REI, Eastern Mountain Sports, TAD Gear, Campmor, Sierra Trading Post, County Comm, Cabela's, Surefire, and Sportsman's Warehouse all get a big thumbs up from me.

After reading your post I've decided to investigate this a little. The address the company gives on their website is only 20 minutes from my home, so I think I will check them out this weekend. The company is not in the local phone book, and should be, so I am going to check with the local county folks here and see what I can find out.

I'll let the forum know what I discover.

Thanks Andy. Sometimes I just get lucky...having a really good subject certainly helps.

Benjammin,

Thanks. I sent you a PM with additional details regarding this matter.

Jim

Has anyone ever bought anything from ToolUp.com? The reason why I ask is because I am looking for the cheapest place to get a Leatherman Charge TTI and they can get it to my door for $98.96!!

I checked the Fry's website and it showed only the AL model. I prob will just get it for $118 (to the door) from REI...

Sorry to digress from the topic...

It's only $99.00 plus $8.97 shipping from here:

http://www.all-leatherman-tools-4-less.com/detail_leatherman_chargeTTi.html

Ten bucks is ten bucks...

Jim

Yeah I was looking at that place... I didn't know how legitimate they were. It's a good price though!

I like REI too. If you live near one, you can ship to the local store for free and just pick it up.

I like Sierra Trading Post as well, but caveat emptor. They don't always list correct info on their website. Case in point, I bought a Marmot tent recently. The weight they listed was about a pound off. They aren't experts on the gear they sell, and the info they provide is often sketchy. Good company; not knocking them. Just do your homework first.

Hey, at least they list a physical address and a telephone number.

I actually picked up a Leatherman Charge AL gift set at Cosco a few months ago for $89.99 (plus tax) that also included a c303 420HC stainless steel knife. My neighbor bought the knife from me for $35.00, as he was actually planning to spend that (plus tax) for the same thing at REI later that same week.

The c303 seemed a bit bulky compared to my current EDC knife (a Gerber Magnum LST Jr.) but damn it was one wickedly sharp mofo...

Jim

Ditto Sportsman's Guide. Real good prices, shipping decently quick, interesting deals usually. Sometimes the things they sell ARE outrageous. You have to sort through their Western-theme gear sometimes, but their surplus/camping/hunting stuff is usually worth the effort.