MILITARIA

Call it a MASK unit. This faux-military “Minor Surgery” kit from Voodoo Tactical® comes in a 7" x 5" x 2-1/2" OD canvas pouch containing: 6” wound probe; 3-1/2” stitch scissors; 3-1/2” tweezers; 5-1/2” bandage scissors; 5” straight and curved forceps; a #3 scalpel handle with disposable blade; pupil flashlight with mm gauge; alcohol pads; antiseptic towelettes; some 5/0 monofilament; and a gram of antibiotic ointment. And remember: reenacting actual combat surgery without a license is still not allowed.

What we have here is (1) 26 foot hank of Dupont nylon braided cord. It's light weight, strong and durable. It's quick drying and will not rot or mildew. Need more? How about, 1000 LB test. Often called parachute cord, but don't use it for that. Ideal for camping, boating, crabbing, clothes lines, halyard lines, garden lines. That's a lot of uses. 

You will survive, too, just like Gloria Gaynor, and in the woods, even. But only if you have this U.S. Army manual, cleverly titled: SURVIVAL, Department of the Army Field Manual FM21-76. It's 287 heavily illustrated pages of techniques for staying alive (add your own BeeGee jokes here) including orientation, food & cooking, fire- and shelter-making, rafts, animal, insect and plant recognition, and much more. This is the 1970 edition, but staying alive in the woods hasn't changed a whole lot since then. In soft-cover.

This never-used 100% cotton French CCE F1 Field Camo hat is perfect for a small head, size 57. Marked “Tissage Mouline Thillot 1995” inside, which makes it new old stock, in great condition. Soft, crushable and lined, with a nice short bill. Sort of reminds us of those little hats cyclists wear, like in the Tour de France.

It's a mosquito hat for you, not a hat for a mosquito. Those are too small to stock. This is a Vietnam-era design olive-drab floppy hat with an integrated nylon mosquito net and a pair of lightweight spring-steel hoops to keep the net off your face. Measures 12" dia at the widest and is 15" long with a cord to tighten it below your chin. Unused surplus. It's never seen a mosquito.

Survival bracelets, actually. These are braided paracord, and quite attractive, but unbraid them and you’ve got (7) feet of military-grade (per the mfr) paracord with a safe working load of 100 lbs and a max working load of 550 lbs. Bracelet closes with black snap closures. Mildew and abrasion-resistant. In black, royal blue, red, purple-ish gray with black edges, and camo. We’ll pick, but order two or more and we’ll try to send different colors.

In nylon digital camo, this military radio bag measures 11" x 12" x 6" with adjustable straps on the side panels to pull them in, another to close the top, and a pair of female molle buckles to attach it to something else. Sew it all together, add a strap and you’ve got a great carry-all. Note openings at bottom corners. For you collectors, it’s marked  "APB03 RADIO POUCH SPM1C1-09-F-C002 8465015158636 F190686393 TAMCN NO. C54402F"

When you need to keep your powder dry, you'll wish you had this army-green rubberized bag from the Dutch military. Measures 12" tall x 14" wide x 5" deep, with tri-fold top flaps for extra waterproofing and heavy-duty embedded feet on the bottom corners. No carrying straps, but it has plastic buckles on the back and sides to add them. Easy conversion to a messenger bag or a pair of panniers.

Wrap this digital camo cloth tape around your camera, rifle stock, spotting scope, lunch box, selfie stick or brother-in-law and make them all disappear in the woods. Our each is a roll of 2” wide x 33 feet of “Easy-Peel” tape.

Blank dog tags, ready to punch. Each set measures 2" x 1-1/8" x 1/32" thick in matte stainless steel with (2) ball chains, one 24" long and one 4-1/2" long. You get (2) sets of (2) tags, with (4) chains altogether. Made in the USA.

Or pflöcke und stöcke maybe. Und strick (rope). These are tent pegs, sections of poles and rope from the East German military, which has been kaputt for some time. You’ll get (10) pole segments at 15-1/2" long x 15/16" dia that will interlock, plus (14) 9-7/8" long x 1-1/2" galvanized steel stakes, and (5) 48" x 3/16" dia lengths of pre-knotted rope, all in a camo pouch. Better go find some German canvas.

Well then, you’ll need a little light military bag in olive drab cotton, from Bulgaria. Has a flap with an adjustable buckle strap to hold it down, and an adjustable buckled shoulder strap to sling over your shoulder. Measures 12” x 11” x 2-1/2”. Might have a touch of schmutz, which is just proof of its surplus-ness, of course, but it’s cotton, so pop it in the wash.

From the U.S. Navy stock of unused Gob hats (no, we don’t know where that name comes from) or more familiarly “dixie cups,” in white cotton twill. We’ll pick from sizes 7 through 8-1/2 if you’re going for the Cracker Jack look, but if you turn the sides down like Gilligan, one size fits every noggin. Upright, it should be squared up for authenticity. Group discount available for drama teachers staging South Pacific.

Couldn’t tell you, but it’s what soldiers put in this bandolier from the Chinese military. Measures 27” long x approx 5” high with (10) ammunition pockets at 1” x 4-1/2” (think Snickers bar size) with flaps closed by frog-like catches with wooden pegs. Includes adjustable 38” shoulder straps, too.

From the Czech Republic army, this is a version of our favorite style of gas mask, with filters that mount on both cheeks. It's an M10M and perfect for extraterrestrial spaceperson costumes. In gray/green rubber, which could be a tad discolored, or not. Hugs your head with (6) adjustable elastic straps, and comes with a pair of spare lenses and a pair of filter cartridges. Caveat surplusser: not for breathing toxic gas, Czech or otherwise, but for costuming or collecting only.

Our used, green aluminum Czech military canteen includes a leather strap “bra” and a cloth holder/sheeth to keep it cool. Measures 9” x 5” x 2-1/2” and will probably have a plastic screw-on cap but might have a cork stopper instead. Like war, it’s unpredictable, and like your fourth-grade teacher used to say, you get what you get without throwing a fit. Now, go outside and play army.

Peace, brothers and sisters. If you’re on the peace train, you might like this sky blue 100% woolen beret from the United Nations, just like the UN peacekeepers wear. Inside, the label says “United Nations Property,” which will cease to be true when it’s your property. Assorted sizes from M to 2x, 7 to 7-3/4. Drop us a note with your approx size and we’ll see what we can do. No promises, though--you get what you get without throwing a fit.

Or peg o’ our tent, or something. Our each is a set of (6) aluminum pegs, 10" long x 1/2" OD x 3/8" ID cut at 30 degrees at the bottom for driving-into-the-ground efficiency, and drilled at the top to take 50 feet of 1/16” dia white nylon polyester rope (included). We’re pretty sure this was all used to stake something down, we just don’t know what. Whaddya got?