Camouflage International Military Surplus & Supply

You could clothe a small army at Camouflage, a military surplus clothing store on downtown Granville that caters to both the practical and the fashionable. The huge space is filled with rugged coats, jackets, work clothes, fatigues, camping and outdoor equipment, belt pouches and bags. The store carries both vintage equipment and military-styled designer brands.

General manager Abdul Khudayar says, “We have military surplus from all over the world: Germany, the Czech Republic, the US, Canada, Russia, and from all over Europe.” Many of the store’s customers are police officers, fire fighters and other government workers. “They buy anything from boots to pocket knives to good quality tactical bags, because what they are issued is usually not as good quality as the products that we carry,” explains Abdul. “And sometimes it’s just personal preference. They’ll have the issued item and they’ll have a second or third backup item as well.”

Other people come in because they like military or tactical gear as a rugged fashion statement, like army jackets, camouflage pants or shirts, military patches, bandanas and keffiyehs. “Camouflage comes in and out of style about every five to 10 years. There’s a nice little run there, but overall it’s a solid business that gets a steady stream of customers,” says Abdul. This even includes camouflage patterns like orange or pink, or camouflage baby onesies.

The back of the store includes a formidable armoury of airsoft guns, replica guns, hunting and survival knives and martial arts training equipment. Abdul emphasizes that everything Camouflage sells is “legal to be owned by anyone in Canada”.