Berkeley Surplus

For the size of this place I had to give it 5 stars. They have so much jammed into this tiny little place that you got to be able to find something that you’re looking for. I went in there not really looking for anything in specific and walked out of there was something that’s been on a shopping list for quite some time. Just happened to spot it and there was done deal. The guys at work they’re very nice and pleasant they’re not pushy they’re very sociable and their inventory is very eclectic. If you wondering they’re looking for anything from boots — shemaghs, too helmets and goggles its all there. You can find some nice old military uniforms and clothing all the way to flashlights and knives. As I said be prepared the place is tiny and allowed time to look at every little detail. They have a pretty good selection considering the size of the store that they have. I was impressed.

Fine for a quick fix, but with limited space comes limited inventory. Surplus as a business si about turn-​over, with such a limited inventory it must be difficult. It did seem that they had a fair selection of fold-​able duffles and the staff was very helpful.

Good place for camping gear. The best selection of peacoats I’ve ever run into. The best «real» First Aide kit. Complete with wound seal, rubber tourniquet and thick packing. I combine it with a few home items, 4×4, rolled gauze, surgical tape, and assorted pills, tweezers, scissors, & ointments and you have a kit ready to go anywhere. Only downside, is rather expensive for some items. Still worth it, and I’ll keep coming back.

I love this place and have been coming here quite a bit during this past year. The owner is such a sweet and charming man, offering help with finding me a bag to suit my needs since I have a medical issue requiring me to carry around a machine. He even let me behind the counter to sift through all of their offerings (they have a TON). He also made friendly conversation with me talking about his business and his past ventures, reminding me a lot of my father with his «I’m set in my ways but charming as ever» demeanor.
Prices here are more than fair, my man and I have bought many used army gear here (as my boyfriend is in the National Guard) and they are much less expensive than what he would buy direct through the Guard. The bags range between $ 8-​$ 25 depending on the size and they don’t fall apart easily.
I also want to say that the «décor» in Berkeley Surplus is great. Most of these places are so utilitarian but he actually has mannequins with super vintage gear on them as well as old school weapons and garb on the walls.
I know there are some reviews saying he’s a grump, but shit, when I’m in my 60’s and have been in the business for 30+ years, I hope to be comfortable enough to say what I feel and not take bullshit from anyone either. P. S. You’re at an army surplus store, not Nordstroms, so keep that in mind when you decide to be upset that they didn’t coddle the crap out of you upon entry.
Also, just because it is a surplus doesn’t mean that cost of goods didn’t go up since the 1970’s. So don’t anticipate that EVERYTHING is going to be super inexpensive, though some things actually are at this establishment.
All in all, my experiences are good here and I will continue to shop here. Thanks for the great experience!

Too bad… I used to come here a lot, just because it was the closest military surplus. The old fart behind the counter was most times very nice, and very knowledgeable. But once I called asking if they had Rothco products and he made some rude snappy remark and told me they don’t, even though I clearly remember buying a pair of cheap Rothco boots there a few times. I told him that I’ve bought Rothco boots there before and he started cussing at me and hung up. What a grump. Lost my frequent business. I much rather drive down to Alameda Army Navy Surplus, better prices, better people, and twice the selection of everything.
But the kids behind the counter are nice.
Old man should tone it down and not be a hypocrite.

i should have bought the trench coat. i looked so fucking good in that trench coat.

Was thrown out of the store by the owner for questioning that he raised the price of a cheap Army Blanket from $ 14 to $ 28 that wasn’t even marked. He lost me as a customer forever and I wanted to buy a Pack for $ 25, a cap for $ 5, and a canteen. He literally escorted me to the door make a big fuss in front of customers while embarrassing me in the process.

great place to pick up a messenger bag or get camping supplies. you can stock up on burning man gear or some MREs to snack on. I got some dope little pins the other day, they sure look legit.

So much cool stuff & awesomeness in one place! If you need anything military related, stuff for a costume, some cool outdoor gear, etc. this is the place to look! The prices are decent & the selection is good for being such a small place. The guy that works there is really cool & helpful, and he knows what he has in stock & can help you find anything you’re looking for!

What a great place. I went there with a friend in search of the makings for a Top Gun outfit for Halloween. The place looks small, so I was telling her not to expect much, but boy was I wrong. The place is crammed with everything from packs, to boots to knives. It is kind of amazing. My friend found a flight suit, Air Force patches, and the correct hat. If she had wanted to really splurge, there were even flight helmets.
The staff was really helpful, explaining how to get the right size for a flight suit, and they even pointed us to a cheaper option.
I highly recommend this place for all your military surplus needs.

Great surplus store, I went in and the store guys helped me with getting ready for burning man, it’s my first time and didn’t want to forget anything and they were happy to answer questions. Both guys were really helpful and the prices there were decent!

My husband and I came here to look go for swiss army knives.
For a surplus, army/​camping store, we were very surprised to find that they do not sell them! They say that the best place to get them is actually Target because they can get them cheaper than the surplus store can even buying wholesale.
They do have a private parking lot (if you can call it a lot)… it is only 2 parking spaces. The rest is metered street parking.

Great surplus store, the guys stayed open 15 minutes late when we unknowingly showed up a minute before closing. Have all the standard surplus items and a plié that you don’t see anywhere else.

I’ve been by a few times, either for curiosity or for something specific.
But each time the employee was both not useful and a tad on the rude side…
I won’t bother going back.

No complaints about this place except for it’s size. Yes, it’s a bit small but well packed with lots a great gear. Affordable prices for most gear, however some particular gear I found to be overpriced but not too much to veer away from this place.
Paracord is well priced below any other vendor, even online. Great selection of military clothing, boots, hats. Good prices on accessories such as bandanas, camping gear, emergency supplies, gas masks and cooking/​canteen gear.
Ammo cans are expensive here but arnt they everywhere else?
Lots of authentic military uniforms from all branches but pricey. But they are in new or near new condition.
The other side of store has a big selection of mostly military and civilian bags. No cheap shitty stuff here, all the bags are very rugged and durable, either military issue or quality build. Even have large and medium ALICE packs here and some tactical gun bags here. Including MOLLE packs.
Lastly, they have a good selection of military and survival knives.
I love this place!

Staff not friendly at all. Very limited selection. They run out of supplies. Will never return here. Don’t waiste your time…
My story:
So based on my coversation with one of the staff, I pretty much explained that I wanted a backpack. So when I discovered that the bag I purchased that day only had one strap which didn’t really make sense for my purpose, I went back thinking that they might take the murchandise back. I bought the bag for $ 18 and was not even used. I seriously left it in the car on this trip, didn’t even put anything in it. One of staff informed me that the pack only comes with one strap, so I asked him for an exchange. He told me that they buy these for $ 2 and that he could give me $ 2 off another bag that had 2 straps as I would think a backpack should have!
He had no sense of customer service, they’re total duche.
They make a killing of of everything in the store because the markup is INSANE… shop at Amazon first! I saw so many items that are cheaper online.

I have a confession: I like BDU’s and MRE’s.
BDU’s are «Battle Dress Uniform»…you know, fatigues. And I don’t mean the old woodland camo circa 1980’s or gray «urban camo» knock-​offs; I mean the new, digital camo in either soft gray /​green tones, or desert tones. I also love Vietnam era Tiger stripe camo which is very hard to find these days… «But why» you ask…“Max, you are a guy who drives 2 hours for a Custom Hugo Boss Suit and Hermes Ties, why lowly camo?” Well, dear Unilocaler… I’ll let your imagination fill that one in. I could be ex-​special forces, or writing my manifesto as we speak, or perhaps I have a small compound somewhere in Idaho or Montana where I will bug out to when the Zombies come.
Or perhaps it’s because they have a ton of pockets, fit me well when I am shooting, fishing or camping, and generally look pretty cool on me with a black t-​shirt.
And my contrasting tastes extend to MRE’s. Have you ever had an MRE? Most people will think assume they are the lowest common denominator in highly processed garbage meant to feed our poor warfighters in dusty outposts in the Korengal highlands or a bombed out building in Fallujah.
Actually, through 100 years of evolution plus modern packing techniques plus ultra-​competitive Military contractors, MRE’s taste GREAT. And I mean «I want a second one» great. And they come in multiple flavours and versions, vegetarian, kosher, you name it. And they come with little treats like skittles, kool-​aid and oatmeal cookies to remind our kids of home.
But what I like best about MRE’s? My taxes paid for them (what little the Feds got from me after days of itemized deductions with my highly paid accountant in LA)…so, in a roundabout way I have once again chosen my dish of the evening, and paid for it (twice).
But I so digress (ode to a fellow Unilocaler)
Berkeley Surplus is a terrific place to scout out cool survival stuff and gear for:
— Camping
— Hunting /​shooting
— Earthquake preparedness
— Zombie Attack
— Asteroid Impact
— Complete meltdown of society as we know it
Their supply of BDU’s is on-​and-​off, hence they loose a star. But they do have cool older fatigues and some über-​cool uniforms and paraphenelia from Europe and Russia.
The chaps who run the store are a bit gunjy (Marine lingo for enthustiastic) and cool. They were very helpful the last time I stopped in and even went so far as to special order authentic 2012 version MRE’s by the case for me (which technically is illegal, but hey, the gray market is more fun anyway).
More MRE’s please! It’s the end of the world as we know it… and I feel fine…

A lot more reasonable than REI a few blocks up and more friendly than the Alameda Surplus, Berkeley Surplus is where you want to go if you need gear for cheap! If women love their thrift stores then I guess we men have a thing for our military surpluses.
If you need camping supplies, rain gear or former military clothing/​gear, this is an excellent store to find them at. They have backpacks, cooking stoves, tents, sleeping bags and water containers. They have knives (from cheap novelty ones to the premium types), dog tags, sunglasses, gas masks, helmets and ammo cans. Most items sold here are reliable and worth a try, if it was good enough for the military then it should be ok for civilian use.
As far as clothing goes, they have plenty of older BDU’s in stock including olive drab and woodland camo shirts, jackets and pants. They have a small selection of digital camo ACU’s, ABU’s and MCCUU’s. They have a lot of European armed forces gear/​clothing from Russian, Swedish, French and German! They have some pretty cheap boots here too from desert boots to tactical and leather boots. They sell thermals, hoodies and t-​shirts for those of us who want something non-​military.
The staff is very approachable and nice unlike Alameda Surplus where you are watched warily and given an attitude. They are pretty knowledgeable about all the items they carry and were very helpful whenever my father or I had questions. The only reason I take one star off from this review is that their stock is limited, usually there is only one type of brand for some items so you don’t have a lot of choice in the matter. Otherwise I recommend going here if you’re in town!

Here’s an update…
I went to the Alameda Surplus store and there is no comparison to the Berkeley Surplus store! Go straight to Berkeley don’t even think about Alameda!!!

I don’t shop at army surplus stores very often because I only ever go for boots and knapsacks — the types of purchases that last me for years and years, when done right. So I can’t say much about this surplus store other than they’re perfectly serviceable and come through with what I want at a reasonable price.
There are two things that set this army surplus store apart from others I have experienced:
– They have a cool store sign (the cut-​out one with the dog).
– They play good music in the store.
I appreciate these things.