I was wondering if anyone has any good stores or places they could share. I've depended largely on big box stores, and outdoors shops to get great camping/survival gear, and then ye ol grocery store for preserved goods.
But what about things that cost a bit more or are a little more "unique" and not found in your everyday canadian tire or wal mart..."gas" masks or ventilators, air purifiers, contamination suits, firearms, contractors/building supplies for hardening a safe place in emergency, emergency phones, etc. Is there a place for good deals on generators? first aid supplies? food?
anyone have any good resources? Websites to purchase materials? or stores in Southern Ontario worth visiting? This is coming from a guy largely a newbie, and I've just "prepp'd" from the basics. But if I'm going to spend larger amounts of money....where do I get the best bang for my buck?
https://www.internationalpreppersnetwork.net/viewtopic.php?f=57&t=7738
I've been doing well with the "unique" things at flea markets and army surplus shops.
Im not an early riser but garage sales are a goldmine if you can be one of the first on site.
Dollarama is great for alot of things too.
But....my best source so far is kijiji, I have aquired alot of great stuff on there for super cheap.
I have had good luck at Army Surplus stores, Dollar Stores, Marstar is good for Firearms, Vancouver Tactical Supplies has First Aid supplies. Things to always keep in mind is to prep in layers. What I mean is... you have to cover the basics before you move into the exotic. There are tons of websites, suppliers and resources out there.... but also keep in mind that knowledge is more necessary than "stuff"... welcome aboard.
All sources listed so far are great. There are some great deals on generators on Kajiji. Ebay was just about the only place I could get a really good price on radiation detection equipment. Ebay is also good for communications equipment like sat phones and ham equipment. Also the absolutely best place to buy edged weapons from knives to spears!
All sources listed so far are great. There are some great deals on generators on Kajiji. Ebay was just about the only place I could get a really good price on radiation detection equipment. Ebay is also good for communications equipment like sat phones and ham equipment. Also the absolutely best place to buy edged weapons from knives to spears!
This is where i go to get my edged tools "secondary as weapon" the variety and selection is quite impressive its canada based too so no worrying about you losing anything at the border! check it out, if someone finds better please let me know! 🙂
Welll.... I work at a thrift store. So..... needless to say, I do most of my clothing & household needs shopping there (awesome place for canning jars and equiptment) Maybe I shouldn't type that too loudly lol.
But my 3 favourite places to shop are probably The Real Canadian Wholesale store (if buying in bulk only) otherwise it's not really worth it. The Superstore (gotta scour a bit but the savings are really there). And I'm still a sucker for the Bulk Barn, just because they sell stuff that is not readily available other places, such as bulk wierd beans, strange grains for baking multigrain breads and candied ginger for colds and adamame beans for my yummy trail mix. Most folks don't even know what an adamame bean is, but it's GOOD! They still have the cheapest honey and molasses around.
Just my 2 pennies. =-)
I want a busy life, a just mind and a timely death. ~ Zora Neale Hurston
where would I find M.R.E.'s? or other good military surplus like gas masks, contamination suits, etc? in south western Ontario? Or even the GTA?
The local military surplus store is basically a well stocked dollar store with some camoflague netting and old army clothes....not really the greatest for anything other than that...
https://www.internationalpreppersnetwork.net/viewtopic.php?f=57&t=7738
I just did a quick search for both Gas Masks and MRE's on Ebay and Kijiji and didn't find much. It's too bad that you haven't had luck at the Military Surplus stores because I imagine the majority of gas masks and MRE's available would be coming from military members, or ex military. I would keep checking every new surplus store you come accross they seem to have pretty varied stock. Or ask the owner if he can aquire one for you. They must have alot of resources/connections. As far as food i would just go for individual freeze dried meals from outdoors stores, much lighter to pack around in a bug out/72 hour pack because there isn't any water. For long term food storage I am planning to stock up a variety of foods from Thrive foods (www.shelfreliances.com ...i'm not sure but this might be the american website) it seems like ti's very high quality and very healthy. I'm waiting for my first order now. The rest of my small but quickly growing food stores i acquire through alot of hard work in couponing and budgeting. My Husband loves canadaamo.com for weapons and ammo. He gets great deals there. We also got a couple of packs recently from golite.com very light weight but super high quality. i'm having trouble getting on the website right now though. My husband also uses knifezone. I thinkg thats where he got his combat shovel. He LOVES it! good luck!
Have you looked at KW surplus?
they get some great deals and yes, they have some dollar store stuff as well.
They also have 4 locations, one in Cambridge there are varieties to what they carry at each location.
In the GTA
my buddy's store is the Army Store
Providence Supplies is CDN
http://www.providencesupplies.com/Home.php
and
Canada Ammo has some good deals as well
http://www.canadaammo.com/home.php?cat=7
For MRE's I saw this company at the Outdoors show.
I bought one but havent tried it yet.
These are the ones that heat up on their own (flameless heater) when you add water.
http://www.mealkitsupply.com/ca/pages/en/
12 full meals for $139.
Not sure if thats good or not.
I picked up a Box of MRE's for $75, better shop around and in person you get better deals
Search online, call, make a day of it going to various places.
I get lost in lalaland in Surplus stores (and I need lots of $ to go... it can be awesome idea after idea!). Deals are out there, you just have to know what you want and what you are exactly looking for. I try to avoid the big box stores unless it is a heck of a good deal.
Don't forget to check kijiji or even facebook "yard" sales groups as they can have some good deals there too!