Mountain View Surplus

I was strolling along El Camino this past Tuesday after a dentist appointment and noticed a beautiful camo jacket in the window of an unlabeled storefront. I had been looking for some fall camo and having a few minutes to spare, I decided to check it out and ended up spending half an hour and hundreds of dollars on some of the most fiyah military surplus gear I’ve ever seen. Abdi and Dar (who I’m pretty sure are the two owners) were beyond helpful in helping me find the right gear for my F/​W ’15 looks. They’ve been in business over 25 years and I can only imagine how many folks like me they’ve helped, desperate to find the perfect longtee for layering.
I’ll certainly be coming back to MV Surplus for all my military garments. They also have an incredible website:

Bought a trench coat here. I love it! They have a large variety of gas masks here, I might go and pick one up someday!

This place was great has everything I need for Army and more. Spent a good amount of time exploring this big selection. Prices are great as well

I’ve noticed this place on El Camino for a while and I recently decided to check out their inventory. Along with the surplus equipment selection-​which is pretty decent, they also have flashlights, knives, some camping gear, and third party stuff. I picked up some new Wigwam socks (made in USA) and a surplus jacket. When I asked some questions about available merchandise, the employee who helped me was very knowledgeable and friendly. Definitely will stop by again!
PS: they have several racks of BDUs, prices are a bit higher but better to see them in person vs buying on eBay I suppose.

I used to do a lot of shopping here when I moved to MV about 15 years ago but since the ownership changed it hasn’t really been the same. I used to buy Dickies on sale here but they rarely restock sizes these days, and the prices have been raised. Military uniform items can be had for a fraction of their prices in Redwood City. Tough to find anyone to help you the last couple of times I’ve been in. Just not a welcoming business in general. I’ll go back if I gotta, but it’s not a first choice!

I thought I’d give this place another try, as it’s only about a 3 minute walk from where I live. Unfortunately, I encountered the same deceptive practices that I have on my previous visits (from the owners/​managers again). They are just incredibly inefficient when it comes to honesty, communication, and basic customer service.
Instead, I drove down to Stevens Creek Surplus and made my purchases there. It was worth the extra 60 minutes just to be treated with basic honesty and respect.

This place is pretty great. I am a paracordist, I tie survival bracelets and other paracord items, and this place is the best in town for paracord stuff. Now, their selection is a little sparse, they don’t have a lot of colors, but the quality of the cord is excellent. They also have a good stock of the typical surplus store stuff, and their prices are fair. I just wish they’d get in a wider variety of paracord!

Dar is amazing. I came in this store to find protection for a loved one and he paired me with the perfect item. After talking to him he mentioned that he’ll offer training courses to anyone who needs help with non-​leathal defence. If you want to protect someone you love and talk to someone you can trust COME HERE AND ASK FOR DAR!

I love this place, it’s a little outdoor lover’s gold mine right here in Mtn View. Much more than an army surplus store, I routinely spend hours here just perusing all their outdoor gear. I get all my water tabs and mountain house meals here as the prices can’t be beat.

I went to this store to find a bag to carry some oversized items on a flight. The people who helped me were fine. I asked if I could return it if it was not the correct size and they said yes. The only condition was to have the receipt and return within 10 days — as it said on the counter. Two days later, I went to return the item and a different man, who seemed like the owner, gave me every excuse on why I could not return it. I was so angry I snatched the receipt and the bag and stormed out after I told him to keep the money! If you shop here, be sure what you are buying because you will have to argue to get your money back. The item was only $ 40. What a bad businessman!

I had a great experience here. A gentleman named Dar help me pick out some supplies I would need in order to go backpacking in this weekend. He took the time to compare items and offer me options, and he even explain how to use certain items gave me some tips. I bought a sleeping bag at a fair price and some add ons so that I could attach it to my backpack. Overall I had a good experience and I would return.

This place is much larger than it looks from the outside. It just keeps going! They do a better job keeping it all organized than the Moss Landing surplus store (which is just buckets of stuff you have to sort through) but I wouldn’t say this place was as organized as an on-​base military exchange.
Hats galore, an aisle of bags, camping gear, jumpsuits of every style, current and vintage uniforms from military branches around the world…
The one thing we didn’t find was one of those cheesy novelty lighters in the shape of a rifle, but I wouldn’t say we were really expecting the place to carry them.
We picked up some camping supplies (plates, dried meals, skewers, etc) for much cheaper than REI or Amazon– granted, some of it probably wasn’t the same quality, and certainly the exchange policy is better at REI, but do you really notice a difference in your s’mores between $ 2 and $ 10 skewers? And at $ 2, why care if you can’t exchange them later?
It also seems they sell a lot of Halloween-​focused items– kids’ jumpsuits, ladies’ camo booty shorts, and have costume assembly ideas on the mannequins I’m the windows. No returns or exchanges in the month of October for Halloween, but I would think it probably should be through Nov if they want to prevent people returning their costumes after?

Awesome place! The staff answered every question I presented and even walked me to the places to show me where products I was asking for were. I was looking for an Army helmet for my boyfriend’s costume and the girl that helped me nearly showed me every variation of helmet from different countries and eras… it was Rad! Everyone seemed to really know the inventory that worked there which is a HUGE plus and the place is very well organized and clean. The manager and staff were very friendly and for a family owned business they really are extremely reasonable compared to other supply places I’ve been to over the years. Sure you can go to a big shmancy place that will be slightly cheaper that will only have limited selection on items and I really doubt that the staff will be as attentive to you as these folks were to me. This is a great place to shop if you need some authentic costumes or camping gear especially for the Black Rock desert!)’()’(

My man Chris n I came here to get gear for Burning Man, they had everything we needed n more. Great selection. Tons of sales. Very helpful staff, Abdi n Dar, even gave us a discount on socks bc we bought two pairs of boots. We will be coming back for some shemaghs, when they get more in stock, and I’m sure we will go back again and again :)

Really seems limited to some camping or paintball gear for the most part and not even the good brands, limited parking, rude or incompetent staff and super expensive. At these prices and for what they have to offer, I’d rather get screwed over at Mel Cottons in San Jose.

This store has been there for years and I’ve always found it intimidating to go into… but no more! I had to outfit my son for a school trip, and we went to Mountain View Surplus to find some of the gear. We poked around a while… and when I decided I needed help, I found a clerk. He was SUPER helpful, leading me right to the things I wanted, advising on what would be most suitable, etc.
Yesterday I returned a few things that were unused from the trip. Got a different clerk – again, super nice and helpful, focused on making the customer happy.
The store may be a little crusty, and no one will rush up to you and ask about your day and if you need help – but the staff definitely will help you when you decide you’re ready and do everything they can to help you find what you need.

I started hiking and camping in the seventies, as well as having interests in being prepared for earthquakes and other disasters.
Military surplus stores are a natural source for the desired equipment in both those activities and I found that Mountain View Surplus definitely has both covered fairly well.
Having been a patron of the store for almost 30 years, I have seen a consistent decline in the support you get from the staff. They are lackadaisical, uninterested in helping customers and even a bit surly if you ask for anything other than getting them to ring up your selections.
The selection is no better than any other military surplus store that I’ve been to. just a bit different, and its a fairly large store so you might actually have a bit of a choice if they have the items you are looking for. Its quite similar to The Army Navy Surplus (The Mountain View) on S Bascom Ave in Campbell, which is actually a better store IMHO. You might need to check both to find what you are looking for.
Unless you specifically need a particular military item, like a uniform for Halloween, then I suggest that you try
who has a far larger inventory of more relevant items for camping and survival.
If the products are sealed in plastic, like my recent backpack purchase, they will not allow you to open it to see if your gear will fit and will not allow you to return it either. What made it worse in my case is that the uncooperative staff directed me to another backpack that they claimed would «definitely» fit the canteen I had just purchased from them but would not let me test fit it first. I was in a rush and bought it anyway and of course the canteen did not fit once I tried it at home.
I prefer sierratradingpost, com because they have fantastic service, are not so severely overpriced like Mountain View Surplus is, have a better selection and an amazing no hassle returns policy.
I wish the Mountain View Surplus would wake up and smell the roses, its all about customers service, if they gave fantastic customer service then I think that would attract far more customers than they are already getting.
Or yo can do what I do, which is to bring a young, pretty blonde with you, and have her ask the staff to help, they will fall all over themselves and give her a discount too.
Try asking for a discount yourself and see what happens, tell me that they don’t give you a glare and tell you that you didn’t buy enough. Yes, I’ve gotten discounts from them but only after buy many hundreds of dollars of equipment at once and standing there for half an hour trying to get a better deal. Its easier to bring the blond then buy her lunch afterwards.
Check online first then be forearmed and forewarned before you go there. By the way, the air is stale and funky so it doesn’t smell good in there, I don’t think it would put them out of business to turn a fan on, other surplus stores with the same old funky military stuff don’t smell anywhere near as much as this place does. Maybe that’s indicative of how little they care for their customers.

The store has a nice selection of backpacks, camping gear, airsoft gear, hunting knives, clothing, etc however it is very overpriced. If you know what you want, chances are you’re better buying it online. Many things (for example, pocket knives) are clearly marked up and then put «on sale» to make it seem as if it’s cheaper than other places. The customer service is also kind of iffy, the people who work there aren’t very chatty and won’t really try to help you.
tl;dr: Lots of overpriced things and not very helpful customer service.

Ever since I got into airsoft a few months ago I’ve been hitting up pretty much every military surplus store in the Bay Area, looking to fill out my kit. From that standpoint, I found this place to be a great store.
They had a nice selection of tac vests, MOLLE pouches, gloves, helmets, and other accessories, all at very competative prices (a few pouches I saw were quite a bit cheaper than other stores for the same product).
They had a great selection of BDUs, again at a good price. They even had a few camo prints that I’ve yet to see in any other stores, such as the TRU spec digital woodland. Sadly, the one camo jacket I wanted to buy they didn’t have in my size :/​
The area that I was most impressed by was their selection of bags. They have a great selection of different sizes and styles of bags, from traditional duffel bags, the fancy multi-​pouch gear bag. I ended up picking up a German pilot’s bag, which is really big, with plenty of room to stash all my stuff. All the bags were well priced, and a clerk at the store opened up the packaging for the different bags I was interested in to allow me to check them out.
The only negative was a couple of the store clerks spent literally the entire time I was in the store talking about an upcoming high school football game they were going to play in. I’m a huge football fan, but not to the point that I’m ok with being totally ignored as a customer while in a store. Fortunately the third of the 3 clerks when I was in the store came out from the back shortly thereafter and helped me out.
Overall: very nice selection of gear for your airsoft kit. Their actual airsoft guns, like most surplus stores I’ve seen, looked pretty suspect (if you want to buy airsoft guns, go to a dedicated airsoft shop). Good prices on all the gear they stock, and a nice selection of different items that I’ve only seen at this store. This place is worth a look!

Price gouging!
The «sale price» on high-​end knives I purchased turned out to be 50% more than easily obtained on-​line prices (incl shipping). I don’t expect the same price at a bricks&motor shop, but 50% is excessive on $ 110 knives. Their game is to price items at close to double market prices, and then mark them as «on sale» for a price that’s only 50% over market.
I walked in to say that the two knives I purchased were not going to work for me, but the clerk simply walked me over to the register and pointed at the clause on the beat up sign taped to the counter that said no returns on knives. That’s all he could say. He didn’t care how much I’d spent in his store — didn’t even ask. Too bad as a lot of my friends will be coached to take their prepper/​burner/​other dollars elsewhere.