I finally remembered to snap a photo of this last week, though I'm almost afraid to tell people because I don't want to jinx myself.

I have a great old pair of wool pants I wear hunting, been wearing them for years. I look a little odd in them, sort of "retro", but since half the time I'm hunting with an antique rifle anyway, they fit right in.

Somewhere back in the early 90's my father picked these pants up real cheap at an army surplus store in Newport RI. I've been wearing them ever since.

They're Swedish Army surplus, and that's about all I ever knew about them. I figured they were old but I never knew how old. Heck I've been wearing them for 20 years now.

Two hunting seasons ago I was looking them over good and found marking on the front of the pockets I never knew were there before.

Among them the date when they were made.

"OMG I'm wearing 70 year old pants!?" is what I said out loud.

Well now I'm wearing 72 year old pants.

A buddy of mine has some of those. They were CHEAP when they were easy to find in the 90s. Wish I'd bought some. Haven't seen a pair since then.

I couldn't wear them because they were a "tall". I'm 6'4" and wasn't "tall" enough for them, so it's no wonder they were in such good shape. lol

I need to find them, maybe I can have them hemmed.

Also in the early 90s West Germany surplused out a ton of their field pants great gear I have mine still.

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Of the Troops & For the Troops

I got some in the early 90s also, don't recall if they're German or Swiss. They were great outdoor pants but unfortunately they've shrunk over the last 20+ years

The traditional "commando" style model. With that and those pants, I look like I'm ready to parachute into Normandy.

The 90s were the absolute heyday for surplus gear. I wish I'd realized that, but I was too busy with college, getting married, having our first child, and so on. I wish I could go back and buy up a lot of those surplus guns, ammo, and gear. Those days will never be seen again!

gear...I just barely remember a couple warehouse's of GI surplus in the mid sixty's: barrel full of rifles, shelves full of boots and clothes...a whole row of barrels full of rank insignia: wood stave barrels full of one type of rank each... radios, helmets shovels all USGI stuff...my dad was looking for something speific and we traveled to a couple...

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Of the Troops & For the Troops

Agreed re: the US and western European stuff, but on a dollar per value basis, the 90s was the best the world has ever seen. The "good" stuff was cheaper on a dollar basis in the 50s and 60s, but a dollar was worth a whole lot more then. You can't beat Russian submariner watches for $5, night vision optics for next to nothing, wool pants for $5, etc. $18 M1 Carbines in 1962, when a lot of people were working for less than $2 an hour, doesn't compare. :)

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