Dollar Store, Family Dollar etc

I'm not a well-off man by any means, but I'm trying to get myself prepared for any zombie apocalypse that heads my way, a few dollars at a time. In my search for low-cost items for emergency situations, I have found that the local Dollar Stores, Family Dollar and even the Good-Will type shops are amazing places to go shop for budget FAK, BOB and camping supplies. While these might not be first rate, they are better than nothing until I can afford something better. My plan is to get my entire set-up going, then start replacing items with higher-priced, better quality item as I can, while back-stocking at the same time.

Would any body happen to have any respectable links to such frugally-minded sites or reviews that might come in handy here?

Truckergut

Hate to point out the obvious but E-Bay! Anything that you want and can pick and choose quality, price and it has an everchanging stock of items.

I commend you on your thought process. Better to have something then nothing. You can also hit pawn shops for a whole HOOP of stuff at lower the new prices. Garage sales are another place. Military surplus stores, Craigs list, neighbors, the list goes on and on. Used does not mean un-usable. Creativity goes a long way.

One of the most useful things to get that is ussually free and you will never find at a store is knowledge and a plan. Good luck to ya.

I agree on the pawn shop thing. I work at one. Everyday, I'm in "hunter-gatherer" mode most of the day. I have made some incredible deals in that place. My boss has no problem with us buying stuff from people that we want that he wouldn't ordinarily take as long as we let it sit the required time, then pay a 10% charge on it when it falls out. That way, it's bought legally, the law gets a chance to look over the inventory, and I'm not buying "hot off the street" and can't get in trouble for it.

Some things I've gotten:

USMC KABAR (found it in the bottom of a rusty tool box)
2 burner Coleman stove (ugly as all get out, but works fine) $5
After Rita, all the darn blue tarps I could ever use, at 2$ apiece
Case after case of MRE's (minus the sweet foods) at $10 a case

It goes on from there, but you get the general idea. As far as being at the right place at the right time, I have the best job you can imagine.

On ordering from online, that has to wait. I recently had my fill of banks' bs and shut down both my savings and checking accounts, so I'm out of the internet market for awhile.


Truckergut

Some good things at the Dollar store, like 4 packs of "bic" lighters, etc.

But beware tools and knifes. I bought their "Army Knife" to see if it was worth buying several to stash here and there. It wasn't. I threw it out lest I grabbed it by accident and depended on it. It wasn't so much that the blades were dull: I could sharpen them. But all of the other tools were dull and rounded also. They simply didn't work. So try it out before you depend on it. Maybe YMMV (and be better then mine.)

BTW, your approach is right in line with mine--see my signature tag line. . .

I don't make much money. I probably make the least of anyone on this board (an assumption based on some of the conversations I've read here). So I understand the temptation to buy cheap gear. But being cheap doesn't necessarily mean the best value. You actually end up spending more money replacing items than if you had just paid for good quality to begin with.

It took me a year, buying one thing at a time, to put together everything that's in my BOB today. In total, it has cost me over $4,000. But I didn't just buy gear. I bought peace of mind. I know that if I'm ever forced to bug out, I have the best gear to keep me alive. And that's what we're talking about here... your life. How much money is your life worth?

This book has saved us a small fortune:Complete Tightwad Gazette

On the otherhand I had to stop going to garage sales because I was dragging home to much "useful stuff".

-Blast

You need to keep in mind that a lot of the stuff in "dollar stores" is factory seconds, or thirds, or whatever. I once bought a box of "bandaids" in one of those, they would not stick to anything...

In Arizona, Big Lots is another place to find good EDC or preparedness items for extremely low prices.

$4000.00? for a BOB? Crikey, what are you taking with you?

I don't have that much invested in my BOB, my car kit and my PSK combined. Not even close to that much.

John E

My first aid kit is worth about $1,000. I started with a pre-packaged kit that cost me a few hundred. Then I added more stuff to it. The epipens really ran up the cost fast.

My handgun cost me $600.

My shotgun cost me $400. This, of course, doesn't actually fit inside my BOB. But I keep it next to my BOB and will be taking both out the door. I'll also be taking an air rifle ($200) for shooting squirrels and birds.

The ammunition for these guns cost me about another $300. No crap loads for me. I want to make sure that what I shoot dies.

My knife cost me $100.

My multitool cost me $100.

My water filter cost me $100.

My tent cost me $400.

My clothing cost me about $600.

And I haven't even started listing all the other miscellanious stuff like fishing gear, cookware, fire kit, paracord, snare wire, etc, etc, etc.

I like to scour REI Outlet store. Got a 120 pair of boots for 35 bucks last year. Free shipping if you have it shipped to one of their stores and pick it up.

http://www.rei.com/outlet

I understand the idea of buying the best, but that just isn't an option in my case. I'd love to have the income to purchase that level of gear, but I kinda dig being a pawn broker, and the pay for that ain't much .Heck, my EDC, BOB, weapons and the 4WD truck that totes everything probably doesn't add up to $4,000. But I can probably get from point A to point B, and do any manner of interesting things in between with the makeshift equipment I have, or can improvise from said equipment.

That was kinda the point of the thread, was to see if anyone else here was into "frugal" camping and had some links to decent gear that don't cost a month's worth of groceries to acquire. I've googled up a few, but I was curious if anyone else had some new ones.

I'd love to see some pics of your various gear, though. It gives me reasons to save up the odd bit of cash.

Truckergut

All depends on what you need. Quite a lot of it you can make.

A $400.00 tent is not going to protect you any better then an $80.00 tent. I have been a serous tent camper for going on 40-years and used a lot of tents. As long as you get the right features they all will do the job. And they all need to be replaced about every 4-years. The sun and weather is hard on them and even if you recoat them with waterproofing 4-years is about it. The stress points start to go, they don’t repel water, the zippers start to go. Better to just buy new and pass the old one on to some kids. I use to buy MSR or Eureka tents because they were good quality. But I found the less expensive ones do just as good a job.


It’s nice to have what you see as the best or highest quality, but you can get along nicely without buying the most expensive item, and get along well. As an example I bought a Thermette because I liked it, it was a neat way to boil water. But it cost $110.00. And while it’s nice, I really could have lived fine with an old goodwill pan and a campfire. But I like the way the Thermette works.



I think it helps to always be thinking about what to have in your BOB or to have camping in the back of your mind while out shopping. Garage sales, Wal-Mart and all the dollar stores, Goodwill & Salvation Army, are all a great place to find useful stuff.

Always try to have some money on you to take advantage of these items that seem to pop up.

Yea there is some junk out there (can you say China?) but you can find a lot of good useful items without spending a lot. I bought a Kelty external frame backpack from the Goodwill store for $4.00, I would guess it is a mid 1980s made pack. But it is in great shape.


Multi tools are great (I love my Leatherman Tool and my Swiss Army Knife. But you could put together a small pouch that has all the tools in it that a $100.00 Leatherman tool has on it, and for only $10.00. It’s not as small, but it will cost a lot less. Think about all the items you feel you need in a BOB and apply a bit of rethinking or down engineering and you will find a way to get by for much less and still do what needs to be done.

I started down that same path and had the same feelings. Up until someone broke into my car and took my BOB filled with $200.00 worth of gear. After reading Cody Lundins new book and this web page http://www.theplacewithnoname.com/blogs/klessons/index.html

I'm planning my kits to be simpler, with economical or moderately priced gear. While debating with my father about the best bug out gun, he reminded me that at the end of his tour in Vietnam he had gone through 4 various rifles, a grease gun, and several sets of boots and web gear. All for various reasons. The point being don't assume all your gear will make it to the end of the adventure.My kit may get lost, stolen, traded,ditched or destroyed before the adventure is done. My concern is that my gear would be so expensive that it would cloud my survival judgment and make me less flexible.

While Dollar Stores aren't a good place to shop for things like a good knife, they are a decent source for convenient things. I found some really decent chemical light sticks. I had to leave a 5-gallon bucket of rocks (don't ask) in the dark between my bedroom door and the door I let the dog out of in the middle of the night. I grabbed one of those sticks and put it in front of the bucket; 24 hours later it was still good enough to use as a marker.

Their wooden matches are fine for starting a fire at home, so you can save your Strike-Anywheres for emergencies. Their woven nylon dog leashes are perfectly good to get that stray horse off the road in the fog. Need petroleum jelly? Waxed paper to start a fire? Metal pots for your campfire cooking experiments so you won't be killed by your wife? Half a dozen fake sunflowers to tuck in your hatband?(camouflage) Gel alcohol disinfectant? Candy bars?

Another place to get stuff is online at FreeCycle. There's probably one in your area (http://www.freecycle.org/). A lot of people seem to be continually cleaning house. You might get lucky and see a post by a woman whose boyfriend/husband left her, and she's getting rid of all his stuff. Warning: most of these people are REALLY impatient and want it gone TODAY, if not sooner. Be ready to jump. Then there are the others, the ones who want everything: canoes, entire camping outfits, travel trailers, a horse, etc. I find those posts disgustingly greedy, but a day or two later there is a "Thank you for the canoe, it's great" post.

Sue

"I had to leave a 5-gallon bucket of rocks (don't ask) in the dark between my bedroom door and the door I let the dog out of in the middle of the night. " Susan.

Oh come on, you can't just leave that just hanging out there, inquiring minds need to know...;^)

I've never had much luck with Freecycle, I suppose I should give it another chance, it's not like it's gonna cost me anything.

John E

Me and the misses have had great luck with freecycle. When we got out first apartment together we had my bedroom set, her kitchen stuff and a tv. We managed to get a complete livingroom set and computer desk for nothing but a little hard work. Susan is right about most of these people wanting it gone now if not yesterday so be ready to jump. Good luck in your hunt.

-Bill Liptak

Only under rare cases do I buy anything from the dollar stores, I guess I've been burned too many times, be it matches that don't light to tools or knives that break, I've found it better to be without that have gear that breaks the first time I try to use it and compound the issue (knife or tool breaking causing injury to my hand).

While I don't disagree with you per se, high quality gear in the hands of someone with wilderness skills is not something to discount.

Several years ago we built a new house at a golf resort, and being somewhat embarassed with the hand-me-down golf clubs that I had acquired since my college days, I decided to purchase new ones. Since I didn't want to have to run out and buy another set of clubs the next time something better came around, I went with what I determined to be the best at the time -- to the tune of around $3,000.00

The first time that I played with these clubs the slice that I had always had was gone, and I was hitting the ball ~40 yards farther (and straight). My score dropped 12 strokes from my previous best score, and I have since improved somewhat from that.

I suspect that a really good golfer could easily bury me using wooden clubs from the 1950's, but that is hardly any excuse for me to not buy the best equipment my budget will allow. Modern (i.e., expensive) golf equipment allows me to be a much better golfer than I could otherwise be, and in the same way, modern camping and survival gear allows me to stay warm and dry outdoors much longer and more comfortably than the stuff that my Dad and I used when I was growing up.

Jim

Ive been on both sides, like sockpuppet illustrated during deer season, I went out with the kmart youth rife dad bought me years before and took home my deer in about 15 minutes while others with their thousands of $ in gear were empty handed for days.

but on the other hand, I built a whole kicthen using a sears router. Then bought a $$$ porter cable and noticed how much easier and smoother it was to use so I could churn out the same quality in less time with less frustration.

I don't buy a particular item just because it's the most expensive. None of my gear is the most expensive. Had I bought the most expensive of everything, my BOB would have cost me $10,000 instead of $4,000.

I search the web for reviews, and I come to websites like this one and ask other people what they think about a product before I go out and buy it. For example, before I bought my water filter I searched google to get a variety of opinions. Then I posted questions on several different forums, including this one, asking for input. The general consensus was that I should get either a Katadyn Pocket or a Katadyn Combi. The Combi is the cheaper of the two, and that's the one I bought, but it still cost me $100.

"...I built a whole kicthen using a sears router..."

Wow, I am impressed!!!

yea, took about a year to make all the cabinets, but I'd make one at a time and swap them out. Problem was our house was in the city and the city started trying to clean up downtown and the crime moved into our neighborhood so we had to leave it all behind.