Where do you find stuff for your kits?

The short answer to the question of where to buy the stuff to fill your kit is that eBay, WalMart, and Craigslist are your friends.

I am not suggesting you do all your kit shopping at these places, but you can find some pretty decent bargains at the big box stores, online, and secondhand.

I realize the tendency sometimes is to think WalMart only sells Chinese junk, but the Chinese have learned to make things at a very high quality to price ratio. And quite frankly, there just are not all that many American companies that can compete with them the way things are these days.

The clearance aisle is always a good place to be looking. You just never know what is going to show up there.

Second hand goods (Craigslist, thrift stores, garage sales) often offer very good value. I checked the local Salvation Army and Goodwill stores recently. Not much in the way of camping, hiking, survival supplies. Lots and lots of used clothes. A lot of them looked almost new. I did find some new 10% wool/90% polyester boot socks at the Goodwill store that made their way home with me.

I did not go to all that many garage sales last summer nor this summer, so maybe my sample of sales is too low to mean anything, but in previous years, it was often possible to purchase a lot of camping and other outdoor gear quite inexpensively. But these days, I see very little, and the prices on what I did see were not real attractive. I even go to a big local flea market a couple of times a year. 500 + dealers. Just very little I was interested in that was priced at some reasonable level, and even at unattractive prices not all that much to be had.

It may be that the professional eBayers and flea market people are buying up all the good stuff and driving up prices. I am guessing either the professionals or the economy in general has eliminated whatever bargains there might otherwise be in this area. Still lots of childrens clothes and toys. Tons of that. But not much I am interested in. Maybe the economy is causing more people to look at used goods to save money, or maybe people are less willing to part with things that might have utility to them.

Another good source, eBay, has just about everything, used or new, although you have to watch the tricks sellers play with shipping costs. Having said that, there are some real bargains to be had. As an experiment of sorts, I have purchased a few low cost items from different sellers in Hong Kong and Singapore. So far, I have been pretty pleased with what I got for what I spent. Keep in mind that return shipping is not cheap so replacements of defective products is an issue. I had a magnesium fire starter with compass that came in with a defective compass. I decided to pry the compass out and throw it away. I later tried it out, and never could get the shavings to light. So, be careful.

What does aggravate me is that somehow they are able to ship stuff for almost nothing from Hong Kong to my house. I bought a whistle with a thermometer and compass for $1.19 plus 30 cents shipping. I can't send a post card across the street for 30 cents but someone in Kong Kong can ship me a whistle for 30 cents. How the heck can that be?

Not too long ago I signed up for email bargains from Meritline.com. About once a week I get an email from them. Now and then there is an unusually good deal on something I just cannot pass up, and I am forced to buy something. A lot of the stuff is lower quality, but the value for the price often cannot be beat. Not a recommendation. More like an observation.

I am not suggesting stuffing your emergency kits with junk, but keep in mind this is stuff that is likely to be used once or twice in a lifetime. It's not going to get heavy use and wear out. Buy something appropriate to your actual needs, and use the money you saved on the rest of your life. No doubt some will argue an emergency kit is a poor place to skimp. I would agree. However, you don't need a $200 knife in your emergency kit when a $20 knife is adequate.