Walmart prep: afordability vs quality

[Spookadelic]

Wrangler cargo pants with rip stop material. $18ea
Stainless steel water bottles $1 each on clearance.
Quick Clot Sport - $10
88 cent anti-diareal, generic benadryl, ibuprofen, anti-fungal, etc for 1st aid kits
I have multiple GHB's for the cars and the office's. They each have $10 Wallyworld Ozark trails multi tools. I like them so much I use them all the time.
I have sourced a variety of things from wally world, and will continue to do so. Especially for the 1-time use GHB's that I have scattered about.

I am in there every week, usually as a time waster, (wife works nearby) it pays to look for clearance items. When wally world want to clear out stock there is no limit to how low they will price stuff.

I know there are a lot of other great things I have found there, just not thinking of them at the moment.

All that being said, I also enjoy Target, Menard's (I go crazy with the rebates), sportmansguide, cheeperthandirt, and amazon.

[phractal]

I find myself in a walmart maybe once a year, and that's only because the Miss makes me. I literally can't so much as look at a walmart without feeling the immediate need to shower. Their business practices make me want to wretch. Despicable company. I hope Mike Duke dies a horrible red with a bunch of screaming loud in his face.

That said, I have prepper friends that shop their quite often, if only because they're unfortunate enough to live near one and it has run every other business out of business. (Lucky me, the nearest wal-a-part is 30 some miles away.) The best buys I've heard of from friends who shop there are staple items. Canned food, toilet paper, green propane cans, lamp oil, off the shelf meds, those sort of things. I guess you could probably get a good deal on some storage options there, like rubber made containers and vacuum bags... But if you need any kind of specialized equipment, like camping gear, or fishing gear, or anything that might have to take a beating, you're better off buying brand names second hand.

The last thing I bought at walmart was a pair of oil lamps in the camping section for $5 a pop. That was years ago. I still have one of em, but that's only because it just sits on the rack waiting for the next power out. I would never take it into the field as it would undoubtedly rust to pieces within a week.

[none1]

So, I am working on my prepping, it is slow going and due to financial times it is hard to drop money on preping, however, I find I can throw a few things in the car at every walmart/sams trip. Where do you guys draw the line on what to buy at walmart. I can't see my self buying a tent there but I need a smaller one (all we have is a huge car camping tent 10+ person size) I am also trying to decided if their sleeping bags are good enough. I usually get extra canned goods, beans, rice, and similar. Last week a got a camping pad (self inflating, will have to test this one for durability on a camping trip this month), small mess kit, chemical water treatment, a single burner propaine stove, and a few other odds and ins. Anyways that is my ramble.

duodecima has good links, and as someone else mentioned flea markets and garage sales.

Not sure why folks are concerned about customer service .... at walmart? You walk in, you find what you need, you pay, you walk out. If you need directions, go somewhere else, if you need "service" or guidance on products ... well, look it up more on the internets.

You asked where do I draw the line for walmart ... well, that depends, I look at the gear, the price and try to decide. Walmart has some gear that you can find at Bass Pro or REI, and walmart has some cheap stuff that will break. I don't put it in categories, I try to evaluate each purchase.

That said, I have rarely found an "expedition" quality pack or sleeping bag at any of the dept stores. I have, however, used the cheap "blue tarp" from both walmart and home depot for shelters many times. I'm 300 pounds. I've used some treking poles about 6 times now I'm pretty sure were black diamond brand at walmart for $15 a pair, they haven't broke yet. At one point, some walmarts in parts of the country sold Ruger 10/22's cheap and of good quality.


So, no hard and fast "line". You asked about a tent, I've not seen great ones, but I do recommend the walmart tarp as cheap and workable. The eureka tents are ... "fine", better for a car bug out than a hike as I think they're heavy.

Do you have any other specific needs folks can point you to deals on?

At the cheap end,
mora knife
medium alice pack, $20
blue tarp for shelter
$5 multi tool

[strm_trpr]

At the cheap end,
mora knife I actually want one, however sportsman's guide has some bizarre interpretations of Colorado laws on knives and will not ship any knives over 3.5 inches to CO, so where can I get one other than them?
medium alice pack, $20 I have a large one with frame, I think I may downsize to a medium, dunno yet
blue tarp for shelter I have tarps and I know how to make field expediant shelters but I want something 4 season capable to hold colorado winter at bay
$5 multi tool I got some of these, and some good ones too.

[Doctorr Fabulous]

At the cheap end,
mora knife I actually want one, however sportsman's guide has some bizarre interpretations of Colorado laws on knives and will not ship any knives over 3.5 inches to CO, so where can I get one other than them?
medium alice pack, $20 I have a large one with frame, I think I may downsize to a medium, dunno yet
blue tarp for shelter I have tarps and I know how to make field expediant shelters but I want something 4 season capable to hold colorado winter at bay
$5 multi tool I got some of these, and some good ones too.

Mora: Amazon, ragweedforge, and about 200 other places on google.

[Last Knight]

Ammunition is about the only thing I'll buy from Wally-world.

[Phoenix David]

Long as your not buying crap, does it matter what retailer your buy it from? Unless you have a personal dislike of them for some reason.

If I can get brand X for $66.79 at Target or $63.39 at Wal-Mart, I am probably going to get it at Wal-Mart.

As far as Customer service at Wal-Mart, the only person that I can recall talking to was the cashier.

[polliedes]

My local Wally world actually has pretty good customer service.
And remember, generally, you get what you pay for.
The big issue I have is that so many people think Wal-mart is really cheap, but I find well over half the items they carry somewhere else cheaper.
I always look at what I might be interested in some time in the future and then compare with other places I have been.

[TacAir]

I was in WW the other day, noting that the outlet here is now carrying Augason Farms products.

I was looking in the same isle area, pricing the Nido (dry milk) - I didn't buy any as every can was dented. Not just a few, every (blanky blank) can.

The AF products are boxed, so was unable to check for damage on that product set. Nice that they carry the product, shame they are packed in a way to make it impossible to check for damage before purchase.

Not blaming WW, shippers are rough on anything coming up here, but putting it up on the shelf, I do blame the local store...

[Packin' Heat]

(Something to think about): I've decided that the next time I go to Walmart, I am going to purchase myself a hammock from the camping section. I feel like that would be the safest way to sleep outdoors during a zombie apocalypse. (Get up high so you can see them coming from a distance and have a decent shot if they're coming close.) Plus, they're dirt cheap!

[hijack]

your plan is to hang a walmart hammock as high as possible and sleep and shoot at them from there? sorry dude, that sounds like a faster way to die than feeding yourself to the zombies.

[/hijack]

[TLBones]

I'm no fan of wally world, but do go there occasionally. Most of their stuff is of crappy quality and their prices are often beat by amazon or other places BUT occasionally, like anyplace else there are deals to be found. Hey even a broken clock is right twice a day!

I do always check out their clearence section when I go.

"Wrangler cargo pants with rip stop material. $18ea " These pants rock!

I've got several pairs of the wrangler short equivalent ($15) of these pants and the regular cotton version of the pants. I can't say enough good things about them. At that pricepoint they really can't be beat. They have 97 cent shipping on apparel going on now. I also picked up a pair of their "faded glory" ripstop cargo shorts online now for 7 bucks...made far better than the $25 rothco crap available at my local army/navy store.

[MyLifeMyWay]

I only go to wal-mart for ammo, even then finding someone to open the case is a battle, there customer service horrible.

[allofthemonkeys]

If I can't afford the real deal, then I will make do with some wally world. I usually save up for quality though.