Camo, surplus, and one very involved cat

What started as a hobby turned into a storage problem, and then into this shop.

It all started out when I got one old, very much used Polish Wz93 jacket for winter. I used it a bit for camping and outdoors, and I thought it’s pretty cool to have a real military-issued item instead of hiking-style clothes that I would normally use (not to mention how overpriced those are!).

Over time I got curious about other camo patterns and started picking up more. Got some for my girlfriend too as we went hiking or camping together. Different jackets for different seasons and environments. Then I started reading more and more about it, and collecting as much as I could, mostly buying stuff that other collectors were selling.

What about the cat?

Over time, I found myself with stacks of camo, spare uniforms I didn’t need, and more field gear than any one person could use. So I started trading, then selling, then slowly building something more focused. That became CamoCat Militaria.

And why the cat? Well, every time a new camo would be delivered to our home, the cats (yes, we have 2 of them) would go crazy and would just endlessly sniff the box and all the surplus clothes. I honestly find it hilarious, they like it more than catnip and even after washing or using a uniform, they will still sniff it every time they get a chance. If a camo item is left on the floor or on the couch, they will start rolling in it. So, I have no idea what exactly they can smell, but they react this way almost to all my camo items, and almost never to regular civilian clothing haha.

Since I can't even take photos for the store without at least one of the cats coming to see the items, I joke that they are in fact, surplus inspectors. Therefore, everything you see here is sourced directly from Europe, and inspected by cars...ehh, cats. I try my best to get mostly unused or lightly used items, even though some very rare or very old pieces might be a bit more damaged (but I always state that in the description). Only real surplus - no repro, no fashion camo.

What camo can you buy on CamoCat?

Mostly European camo, but I also got some random Asian, African or South American items in my collection that I occasionally put up for sale. These can be found grouped together in the Random camo category.

My favorite category is, of course, the Rare camo collection, as I take sourcing rare items as a personal challenge (that can be very satisfying, but also frustrating). Here you will find some items like NFP Navy pattern, experimental Greek Lizard or old Yugoslavian tigerstripe that was produced in limited quantities the last days before the war broke out in the Balkans. Just like in the previous collection, the items here are quite random, some are very old and no longer produced for decades, while some might be still produced and issued, but are very hard to obtain.

Feel free to comment on my blog, leave a review or get in touch - always happy to hear from fellow camo lovers :)