BDU's

[volshooter]

Been buying 5 pair every year for since Desert Shield from gun shows for around $5 a pair. Now I cain't find any for less than 20$. Ordered 4 ripstop mil-tech from Galls for $100. To nice to work in. Where are all the used BDU's? The pair I'm wearing I bought 15+ years ago and wore for two years. Waist size changed( 33 to 36 over 20 years) and they went into storage. Lost weight and brought them out for work. Been wearing them 4+ years now and they are getting kinda raggedy. 3 years ago I could find all kinds of BDU's cheap
, now they are all new and expensive for work pants that are gonna get messed up.
Anyone got info on used BDU's for work pants?

 

[Rick Courtright]

Hi,

There's a surplus store I only get to visit once or twice a year because of its location--it's a special trip for me, though quite accessible for a fair number of the greater Los Angeles crowd. They used to have a lot of used BDUs, but in the last 3-4 years I don't think I've seen anything there but new. A buddy's Dad retired, moved to FL, and got a part time job at the PX. He'd pick up some "used but almost new" jackets for us once in a while. But pants were scarce even then: it was seven years ago we lost him.

I see lots of guys running around in well worn BDU pants for work/every day wear. Maybe we just missed a fashion trend before the supply dried up?

Rick C

 

[Mobuck]

Used to be tons of cheap BDU's on ebay. Now not so much. I like to wear BDU pants around the house but last time I went looking, the selection of used/surplus was not good and prices for decent stuff was high so I just bought new cargo pants for less money. A big percentage of my winter outdoor work apparel is surplus and most of it will outlive my needs but it's definitely getting more difficult to procure.
Another factor is the project that is making decorations and stuff from "used uniforms". On the local news last night I saw the folks cutting up piles and piles of Desert Storm era cammies to make wreaths.

 

[powder smoke]

All good things come to an end. Be thankful for what you got!
Surplus stores pretty much dried up in these parts, Our military may be getting
more frugal with tax payers money! maybe! ps

 

[powder smoke]

Overcast no luck here will try tonight! ps

 

[Mobuck]

Son-in-law (Iowa National Guard) doesn't get "issued" uniforms, he gets a "uniform allowance". He was fairly PO'd that he'd just got several new sets of BDU's right before the last camo design switch. He's about 1/2 again bigger than me so I don't get any hand-me-downs.

 

[gunman42782]

I was gonna buy a new field jacket. The price of them are ridiculous, and they are all made in China!

 

[gunzo]

Always liked BDU's but about 10 bucks a pair was about the cheapest I've paid. Finding them at all these days on the surplus market is nearly impossible.

Brother & I still like them enough that I've ordered us a few pair of new ones. Not surplus prices though.
TacticalGear.com

 

[Jeepnik]

When I got out we were wearing OD green fatigues. There all still in my duffel bag, along with everything else, in my storage shed. Still has the padlock on it (no idea where the key is).

In short, I haven’t worn military items since. That part of my life was over.

 

[SWR]

Thrift stores are a good place. Especially in military towns. I find them all the time on the rack in Goodwill, Salvation Army etc

 

[contender]

I found that BDU pants were a good item for me to wear for daily knock around & work. They fit, they are comfortable, and they have the pockets to allow me to carry extra stuff. When I'm going up on ladders & working around etc,, they offer a good value for the money.
I normally pay about $6-$10 a pair. A lot depends upon where I get them.
Plus,, in the winter,, when I need to wear insulation under them,,, they are big enough to allow that comfortably.
But, as noted,, finding them as "surplus" can sometimes be a challenge. Luckily,, I do have a source,, and he's good to me.

And,, they make CCW easy too!

 

[bobski]

only thing I still wear from actdu are my old green flight deck shirts. warm in winter!

 

[Bob Wright]

In short, I haven’t worn military items since. That part of my life was over.

I told my great-grand daughter when she entered the Army, "Nicole, once you put on that uniform, you never really take it off." It just does something to you.

Things like standing for the National Anthem. Rendering the hand salute at the passing of the Colors. Greeting a brother veteran with a salute. The image of a tank comes up in your mind when your hear a throaty exhaust. The feeling that comes when standing by a flag draped casket. Never standing with your hands in your pockets. Making that "hospital fold" when making up your bed. Just little things like that pop into your mind at some remembrance.

Bob Wright

 

[Bob Wright]

I wore olive green (when new) fatigues during my service. And, somehow, BDUs (Battle Dress Uniform) seemed like an oxymoron to me. To me, "Dress Uniform" meant Class "A" uniform.

Old hands never wanted to wear a set of new fatigues, as they faded to a gray green after washings. So old hands wore a new shirt with old pants, or vice versa. In fact it was the faded gray-green that caused US troops to wear their Class "B" uniforms in the European Theater, as the gray-green looked too much like the German Field Gray uniforms. The Class "B" uniform consisted of the wool OD trousers with matching shirts.

Bob Wright

 

[vito]

I know how you can get multiple sets for free. Enlist.

 

[smoke-eater]

Those pants are the most comfortable ever. Last two pair I got, I swapped a box of .357 mags to a co-worker who was in the Guard. And as others have said, surplus stores seem to be becoming a thing of the past.

 

[Ale-8(1)]

My last pair of Woodland BDUs are about shot, and I have just begun to wear my very last pair of Altama Boots, Combat, All Leather, Black.

I can no longer find them on the surplus market, as the ones you find these days are not the issue GI version but Made-in-Whereverstan knockoffs. The Altama name was sold long ago, although it's all over the 'net.

I occasionally see good used ones on the 'net, but not in size 8N.

 

[Bob Wright]

I know how you can get multiple sets for free. Enlist.

I'd never make it through basic training now! But if I kept my old rank, I'd sure have time in grade!

Bob Wright

WOW! I just counted, I've been out sixty one years!

 

[Mobuck]

"I know how you can get multiple sets for free. Enlist."
Someone is going to have to be really desperate to accept my enlistment.

 

[GD1656]

Volshooter--sent you a PM

 

[blume357]

For some reason this reminds me of something my father once told me about his time in Korea.... after a fire fight you often found holes in your fatigue jacket.... where they just barely missed you.