[Bridgetdaddy]

I don't have a lot of money for gear, so I shop cheap. I go to the thrift stores (Goodwill, Salvation Army, etc.) to buy extra clothes, blankets, and sometimes camp gear. We also have a swap/sell paper in town. I think most towns do. In the summer, I also check yard sales for usefull items.
I would love to have a Goretex sleep system ($350), High end field gear ($2000), A good assault rifle with handgun backup ($3000), a year worth of food ($1400), an up-armored Humvee ($50,000), and 5,000 acres with a farm and bunker to go to($750,000). But until Publishers Clearinghouse shows up with my check, I have to make do with what I have.
I have used many different kinds of knives in the field, and my $20 Walmart knife has worked just as good as my friends $200 knife.
New people here seem to be intimidated by the price of things you "have to buy".
My opinion is start cheap and upgrade when you can. Do I want to trust the life of my daughter to a butcher knife from my kitchen drawer? NO. Would I rather use a rock because I can't cut anything with the picture of the latest cool survival knife I cant afford? NO
My opinion.........could be wrong.

 

[TacomaJPP]

I agree it is good to buy what you can afford, and you don't have to buy the most expensive item on the shelf. However, I have always found that if I buy the cheapest/cheaper item, I always end up buying the mid to upper grade items. You truly get what you pay for. Buying the cheapest just means you wasted the money on it and wasted the time using it when you could have just bought the nicer item.

But in the end, to each his own...

 

[Dorsai]

I posed the same question a while back. I'd agree it's best to start out buying inexpensive versions of all the stuff you think you might need and replacing it with better quality stuff as you are able.

 

[skonie]

I like to check out Harbor Freight every once in awhile. Their tools and stuff is usually crap but you can get good deals on tarps, bungies, bags, containers, etc.

 

[tnrick55]

Knife

THE KNIFE ON THE LEFT I MADE OUT OF A OLD BUTCHER KNIFE.:thumb:

 

[Squawker]

It is not that you $20 knife wouldn't cut just as well as the more expensive knife, I sure that it does. But when it comes down to it, it probably won't LAST like the more expensive knife. . Now, I'm not someone who has to have the most expensive piece of gear. But I do want quality. It won't matter so much that a knife breaks several years from now, if nothing happens, and all that it means is that I'll have to go out and buy another knife. However, if the SHTF, then having equipment that won't last can cause a real problem. When I started med school. the medical equipment salesman came in, with all of his stethoscopes, and diagnostic kits spread out on the table. Prices ran from $35 to over $200 for stehoscpoes. When we asked out program's director which we should buy, he held up the $35 model, so that's the one that I got. A year later, I was completing my surgical rotation, and I went in to round on one of my patients. As I went to listen to her abdomen, the $35 stethoscope disintegrated, at the site where the diaphragm is connected to the tube. It just fell apart, with a portion turning to dust. While it had sounded as well as the $200 scope when I was using it, those who bought the more expensive scope are still using theirs in practice now 20 years later. I had to scramble to find a stethoscope not only to finish my rounds, but finish the last few days of that rotation. When I went back to DC, I ended up buying the more expensive stethoscope. It lasted me around 15 years, and the only reason that I am not still using it is that it was stolen. Quality pays for itself. Now, I certainly agree with you. Something is always better than nothing. And when the budget's tight, sometimes you just can't get the thing that you really want. Just look for the best that you can afford. Save money in areas where you can do it without sacraficing quality, and spend the savings on better gear where it matters. And, once you have acquired your basic kit, the you can start upgrading, as you have planned.

 

[FredLee]

Some of my best gear scores have been from thrift shops. The ladies running the show haven't a clue what the stuff is,and usually undervalue it.
Some of the stuff I've gotten: Radio Shack (sangean) digital shortwave radio $25. Two camelbacks,and two full sets camo BDUs like new $12. Green dometent(korean made,but pretty decent quality) $5 .
Theres more,tools and such.Too much to really list.

 

[BudgetSurvivalist]

Any gear is better than no gear so long as you recognize the limitations of your tools.

Don't expect to buy a $10 sleeping bag at a yard sale and use it for camping on Mt. Rainier, and don't expect your Hi-Point carbine to be accurate out to 200 yards.

 

[FredLee]

Don't under-estimate good luck..
I scored a Bare Supra-Artic wetsuit at a yard sale for $3.00 a couple years ago,they normally sell around $300-400.00 I still wear it,great suit for diving in the summer.

 

[mongoose]

you can always upgrade ---- but you cant do with what ya aint got.