4 ms·
The irony here is that anyone who has actually served would gladly tell you that half the military grade stuff they had to deal with is utter junk.
by Denvercoder9 5y ago
The irony here is that anyone who has actually served would gladly tell you that half the military grade stuff they had to deal with is utter junk.
- cf100clunk 5y agoIndeed, this concept that "military grade" quality is superior to consumer grade is mythological in many cases. It is all about the relative worthiness of the specification(s) to which the product is built, meaning that crappy specs yield crappy results, whether military or commercial. Also the amount of rework sometimes required on "military grade" gear to make it actually do its job is seldom publicized except in occasional oversight proceedings in some countries. So, "military grade" is a mysterious, mythological, misused quality.
- systemvoltage 5y agoTotally disagree. I’ve bought all kinds of items from surplus stores and Swiss military gear. Usually, better by a large margin. The only thing it suffers is aesthetics if you care about such things. These are all better in most cases: Medical grade Military grade Industrial grade Cleanroom grade (for some items) Marine grade Try looking into it.
- Grustaf 5y agoI use a Swiss "weapons bag" made in the 40s out of 8mm thick leather for my laptop, I love the aesthetics! Any links to places where I can get more Swiss military gear?
- jedberg 5y agoIt was purchased from the vendor with the lowest bid, so that's not entirely surprising.
- tomcooks 5y agoDepends on which army, decade, and type of object you're talking about. E.g. British wire cutters, German parkas, French boots, etc.
- austincheney 5y agoMy assault pack (army backpack) feels like it can survive reentry from space. Military gear has gotten so much better since I joined the military 24 years ago, but it’s so much more expensive.
- jlkuester7 5y agoAfter working on a farm, I updated my scale of measurement for tough/functional equipment. Used to think mil-surplus was the way to go, but quickly learned that what you say is absolutely true (at least for US gear). My new gold-standard is "farmer-proof". Was struck by the absolute beating that farm equipment had to take. Often it was being used in unexpexted/improper ways with minimum maintenance by operators with little or no training... (These all apply to military equipment too, but the farm acquisition process is purely utilitarian, as opposed to the nonsense that goes into specing and purchasing military gear). Equipment purchased on a farm is rarely the best available, but is always optimized to get the job done with the maximum possible usible lifespan.
- snowwrestler 5y agoAt least in the area of outdoor gear (clothes, packs, tents, sleeping bags, etc) I know serious military dudes buy the high end commercial stuff, sometimes with their own money, rather than get stuck with “military grade” stuff.
- californical 5y agoI’m really into camping and outdoors stuff, but have never heard of this. What do commercial packs / sleeping bags look like? Are they heavier? What commercial use even is there for this sort of thing? I’m so interested! I’m a huge fan of buying high quality gear that’ll last forever - do you have any ideas where to shop for these?
- jhardy54 5y agoI’m guessing they mean options like https://leaf.arcteryx.com/us/en/ https://leaf.arcteryx.com/us/en/ If they mean something else, I’d also be curious.
- CRConrad 5y agoI'm guessing they meant regular consumer stuff. Commercial as in "commercially available".
- snowwrestler 5y agoThat is what I meant. The stuff you can buy at REI or specialty outdoor stores, or direct online these days. The demand became so great after September 11 that several outdoor gear manufacturers pivoted entirely to military products—Dana Gleason and Wild Things, among others.