Apollo Depot Military Surplus

If I could give zero stars I would. I came in today looking for a hydration pouch. The man behind the counter was extremely rude and unhelpful. From the moment I walked in, I could tell my presence bothered him. I don’t know how this place stays in business treating its customers like crap.

I understand the gear is used, but more than half the gear there is not even functional. It’s the little things you don’t even notice until you get home, like broken belt buckles on the inside of a pack or missing components altogether, taped on lining, etc. Just don’t buy anything unless you want to inspect it for an hour first. The guy repeatedly told me the packs were ready to go but I had to drive back 3x so I could finally piece it together myself. I tried to explain that it was a little frustrating, and he said «well you know, it’s all used, right?», right after telling me it has everything it needed. Needless to say I’m now and expert on my Alice pack from the 70s, but I shouldn’t have to be to simply make the purchase. I asked if I could grab a 5 $ beat up pouch for all the hassle (also considering I just spent $ 150) and the guy totally blew me off and then gave me their generic happy greeting/​farewell. The customer service here is an illusion as well as any idea of quality products. I was very disappointed and will not be coming back. There are plenty of other military surplus stores in the area.

I was having a bad day and I just went in to buy parachord. The man behind the counter was so sweet and helpful and made my short experience very nice. Thank you kind sir!!!

There are about half a dozen surplus stores in Oceanside, but apparently they haven’t figured out how to compete with each other. When I go to a surplus store near a military base I expect to find great deals, not beat up gear that is more expensive then it would be brand new online!
To their defense they did have a lot of gear, but after seeing what they were charging for beat to hell mag pouches and plate carriers I didn’t ask what they wanted for their LBV’s. Pouches that I could buy from Amazon brand new for $ 13 they are selling for $ 25!
I have only been to this store once, so I will give them another try if I am in the area again.

With so many surplus stores around it’s kind of hard to say which one is the best but this is has some things that other don’t have. The reason why I like this is because the customer is good they are always helpful and the prices are pretty reasonable.
Every time I come here I’m greeted with a hello or how you doing or something and that goes a long way with me. Especially if I’m going to pay top dollar for a machete or a Ka-​Bar knife which I’m usually looking for. The employees are always willing to answer your questions about anything in the store.
Sometimes the prices of military surplus can be a little high for certain things which I understand so I’m fine with that. I’m always looking for a great deal which is why I come here and I know I may not find a great deal. Most of the time they do have good deals but good is not great but I’m fine with a good deal. I like said I’m usually looking for a Ka-​Bar knife and I saw one in El Cajon for around 120 I think and they had a better one here for around 100.
This may not be the cheapest but it’s worth checking out because they do have good deals.

There are shops that sell stuff, then there are shops that teach you stuff. I learned so much from talking to Doc at Apollo’s Military Surplus. I went into 3 shops in Oceanside before I went here. All three were nice but no one asked me if I needed anything. When I walked into Apollo’s right away, «How are you? Can I help find anything for you?» Thank Doc!

Apollo may not have the sq footage that some of the other Milsurp stores do (in my opinion, they have only as much as they need!), but they have everything I’ve ever needed as far as equipment goes. Replacement shoulder straps, quality backpacks, undergarments, «gently» used cold weather gear, quality 550… the reason Apollo has survived so long is because they tailor to the needs of the military guys and the civilians like myself that need tested, reliable equipment at a price consistent with military pay. (Read: military don’t get paid enough.)

I gave 4 stars just for the fact its one of the only stores in North County that you can still find real surplus at. Surplus stores have vanished around here. Small? Yes, but i was still able to get metal clips, canteens & covers, & a sternum strap for my ALICE pack. Also added a couple of those cool small gun pins they have at the counter. Thanks for still being around Apollo! Nice old man too!

In a town with seemingly little a million shops like this one, there’s not much that really holds it above the rest. It’s small, but packed.
What drew my attention was the selection of paracord and buckles that they sell. They have a wide variety, and for a fairly reasonable price. Didn’t have everything we were looking for, but the employee was very knowledgeable, and was able to go above and beyond what we needed as far as information went. I’m sincerely grateful for what he taught me, but would have been more excited if he had more of the products that we were looking for.

It’s a rinky-​dink little surplus store, nestled amid a cackle of bars and marines that is downtown Oceanside. The store itself captures the essence of a surplus store, but an essence is all that it captures. You’re not going to find everything here, but you will find the basics.
Say for instance you’re looking for a leg holster for your 9 mm handgun. At larger military surplus stores you’ll find several varieties, but at Apollo you’ll only find one variety. That’s pretty much the way the rest of the store goes. Except for duffle bags, they’ve got a dozen varieties.
Parking will be a problem on the weekends…

Called on the phone to see of they sold MRE’s. I specifically asked if they had heaters and were the same as miliary MRE’s. He said yes the only difference was that these were in a clear bag instead of a brown one but other than that they were exactly the same. They were not. No heaters not even close to miliary MRE’s (Military MRE’s have about 2,500 calories, these had about 300). I called and asked what they could do. He offered to give me some heaters but would not refund me my money on the unused MRE’s.

Not surprisingly for a military town, there’s a small collection of surplus places dowtown; this seems to be one of the older, and smaller ones.
I was driving by and they had t-​shirts in the window saying «Infidel» in English and Farsi, so I juts had to have one. It’s a pretty small, narrow space, mostly your basic camo gear, a bunch of knives and survival supplies behind the counter.
It seems like they’re mostly used to dealing with marines on break from the base — which I don’t really understand since they have to use this stuff anyway, and don’t they get it for free? In any case, with my long hair, tie-​dye t-​shirt and earring I felt a bit out of place, like I had to apologize for being there.