The BOB and You or How I Learned to Leave the Weight at Home:,

I have been on travel for awhile now, and have had some time to think about my inevitable post on BOBs* and how I wanted to approach it.  Everyone and their brother has put together a blog post, or a Youtube video about the exact contents of their BOBs, and how you need to Be Prepared for Anything!  Because you never know!**  After my experience with all these blogs and videos, I think mine will be a tad different, because I want to instead to discuss this topic from a different angle.  I ask the reader to take a step back and (here it comes again) focus on what you're actually going to need this bag for, and I do this because I'm sure not seeing a lot of that in most of the things I see and read.  My reasoning for this approach stems partially from a very recent experience during my travels, which I will talk about shortly.

So, the BOB.  Look, I know it's the prepper mantra of sorts to be ready for anything, and I am totally onboard with that.  Problem is, I also have this nagging propensity to look at things realistically.  As I said before, it's great that you're starting out prepping.  You've read a few forums or blogs, you've watched a few vids, and you dig out your card, and get ready to go shopping for everything that vid you watched from a YT user named something compelling like "SuperSensibleSurvivalistGuru"*** (I mean, with a name like that, the guy must be an expert!) where they spell out every item you need.  Alright, good deal, now slow down.  Take a breath.  Let's take a step back for a second and ask ourselves some sensible questions (as long as we're hung up on being sensible and all), shall we?

1. Is this guy working from the viewpoint of his local weather conditions/possible natural disasters?  Do these resemble yours?  For example, hurricane preparations aren't going to look like earthquake preparations.
2. More importantly, has SSSG above designed his BOB around his exact bug-out plan?  Does this bug-out plan resemble yours at all?  For example, there's not much reason you should be packing a bag full of camping equipment and three weeks' worth of food if your plan involves simply driving to a friend/family member's house that's a total of twenty miles away, a trip you plan on making by car, and could do on foot in two days tops if required (and you were in reasonable shape).
3. Perhaps the most important question (in my eyes): how much will your bag weigh?

I'd like to mention two factoids about myself that I feel qualifies me to speak on this specific topic fairly well.

A. In my initial post in this blog, I mention that I am not a survival expert.  I am not law enforcement, or military, nor am I Bear Grylls.  All of that is still true.  However, I have decided that it won't be an identification marker if I reveal that I am an Eagle Scout.  There are over a million of us, so I think my initial mission of anonymity has remained intact.  So, yes, I'm an Eagle Scout.  What that means is that I have hiked many, many miles loaded down with a giant pack through woods and down dirt roads aplenty.  I have made many, many packing mistakes, and have learned from each one.  I have camped out in the constant downpours of east-coastal state summer showers.  I know roughly how much ground a person weighed down to a certain degree can cover in a day, and what sort of food and water requirements this sort of travel imposes.  So, while I am not an expert (and really, I'm not sure what really constitutes a survival expert other than someone who lives without the trappings of modern civilization nearly completely), I am experienced enough to be able to speak on the topic of BOBs from the standpoint that there is one concern that for most people should be the primary concern: weight.

B. I very recently had an experience on my travels that really underscored this old lesson I'd learned a long time ago, but had mistakenly discarded in this instance.  My flight was late arriving, and I disembarked this flight at a large regional hub airport, and was forced to run for over a mile at a dead run to make my connecting flight at another gate that was all the way across the airport in the roughly seventeen minutes I had left before that flight took off.  Let me tell you that this run almost killed me.  I had let my physical shape slide in the past few years (something I have begun correcting in the last few months), and I was hindered by a backpack that contained all the things I normally carry when traveling, a bag I pack without real thought to weight.  It spends most of its time in the overhead bin, or in the trunk of my rental, so who cares?  Idiot.  Complacency really, and I mean really, kicked my ass in this case.  With my laptop, and everything else in it, my backpack pegs north of 25 lbs.  A flat out run with 25+ lbs on your back will whip most people.  It certainly whipped my ass.  I did make the flight, however, and relearned the lesson.  As soon as I got home, I went out and bought a smaller bag the next day, and have revised my entire travel packing strategy.  I won't be caught flatfooted like that again!

And so, this lesson is one I implore you to keep at the forefront of your mind.  Your BOB should exactly reflect your bug-out plan (that you should already be working on if you've decided that BO is your preferred strategy).  Weight should be a primary concern even if your plan is currently "The news says a class 4 hurricane is bearing down on my area in the next 12 hours so I'm getting the family, getting in the car and heading to my parents' place three towns away to the north".  Getting everything loaded in your car right before Go Time is not the time to discover that you got crazy with your BOB and it weighs 60 lbs, and your wife's weighs 45lbs. as you're grunting and struggling to throw them in the trunk along with three cases of water. After all, what if your car breaks down?  What if you find yourself on a packed roadway with no way through as the hurricane starts to hit town?  At that point, you may find yourself on foot, and you certainly don't want to leave your supplies behind!

This is what I am seeing when I watch these videos and read these blogs.  You see these so-called experts, and you see things like these guys packing five different knives, ten flashlights along with spare batteries (different types no less! A facepalm noob mistake) for each, three hundred rounds of ammunition in addition to five loaded mags for their pistol (planning on fighting your way through an entire armed mob, are you?), clothes for a week, a gallon of water, multiples of backups for gear that is only marginally essential (if you live in a populated suburban area, you really don't need four different signal mirrors, hell, you don't even need one, a knife blade will do the trick), a full cooking kit, and no less than eight different ways to make a fire.  The issue here is that sure, you have a lot of cool gear.  Sad fact: you can't take it all with you if there's a chance you'll have to go forward on foot at some point.  Each little item adds up.  Sure, it's light when you're hefting it, and you toss it into your pack.  But then you go to pick up the bag and damn near throw your back out?  Yeah, that's Not Good.  And in my mind, you should put together your BOB with the mindset that you will end up on foot at some point.  If you're going with your wife and children, make sure their BOBs aren't so heavy they can't walk far.  Two healthy, motivated adults will be able to make ten or more miles a day on foot, less if with children in tow.  Of course, speaking further on that will go back to more of a planning discussion, and I'm doing my best to stay on point.

So, today's lesson: keep your bags light, and only have essentials.  Know firmly what plan the bag is supporting.  All too many internet survival experts seem not to cover this, in their haste to show you all the cool survival gear they plan to have with them.

Trial Run:

It is highly recommended that once you complete what you feel is your ideally outfitted BOB, that you put it on, put your good sturdy hiking shoes/boots on, and you take your ass for a long walk!  Hopefully, you have followed my advice, and having practiced the Grey Man Concept, you and your bag just look like a hiker out for a practice run.  I see them in my area fairly often, out walking in the evenings.  Sure, you may be armed (after all, you should ideally be outfitted exactly how you would be in the real exit event) but you shouldn't look it.  You are on a shakedown cruise, so to speak, with your bag.  You should try to walk for several miles.  If you have access to some local wooded area that you know well, perhaps during the day, you can head out there and ascertain how you'll do on terrain that isn't nice and flat.

In this way, during my years with scouts, I learned many lessons.  Here are a few:

• Small outer pockets of your pack are the place for things like your first-aid kit, a spare pair of socks, spare laces for your shoes/boots, a mealbar or two, a flashlight with a couple spare batteries (it can get dark very quickly during some parts of the year), some matches, a knife, and so on.  Also, keep this in mind when selecting a bag to make your BOB.  A big sack with few small outer pockets might be good for holding everything, but do you really want to have to pull everything out because it's getting dark, and you can't find your spare batteries because they're all the way at the bottom of the main compartment where they tumbled after you started hiking with the bag on?
• If you are carrying food, make sure it's some sort of MRE.  That is, packaged food that is able to be quickly heated (many MREs now come with chemical heating packets).  In fact, for a BOB, something like that is probably best.  For one thing, if you carry much dried food, that means some of whatever water you're carrying is now required to turn that powdered chicken kiev into something edible.  Not the best solution when your plan was to hike 20 miles over these hills that lay between you and your back up location.  Additionally, you now have to stop, take out a bunch of items, and set up a cooking spot.  Just a real hassle if you have a timeline you're trying to meet.  Also, make sure you aren't carrying canned goods, for Chrissake.  I assume I don't need to discuss why.
• You need to carry both water, as well as some form of water purification.  Those Brita sport bottles will NOT be sufficient to cleanse water you pull from stream out in the woods you come across, so keep that in mind.  That is one thing every other prepper stresses, that I agree with.  Without water, you're dead.  In fact, I tend to keep a few bottles of water in my car, just never know when you might need it(**see, I can laugh at myself!).  Many hiking packs are made these days with those water-bladders in the back, and definitely would be a good asset to have on yours.
• If you are going to hike somewhere, don't kill yourself.  Plan out a realistic timetable.  So many hiking trips got inadvertently extended for me as a young scout because I had a patrol leader or two in my time who couldn't properly plan a hike.  Eight scouts (a full patrol) aren't covering fifteen miles in a day through woods just because they were able to do it at one point on a road-hike on a weekender where they were carrying less gear.  This is also why I recommend the trial run.  In fact, there was a recent episode of that Doomsday Preppers show (more on that on my next post) where a young woman's plan to get out of her city was that she was going to put on her BOB, and walk out to the outskirts.  She had planned for this to take six hours because she worked out regularly (the show had footage of her doing calisthenics and jogging on a running trail) and felt this was realistic based on her apparently doing little more than running a Googlemaps check of her route.  Well, she had her first trial run of this hike-outta-Dodge while on the show, and she discovered to her dismay that not only did it take a hell of a lot longer than six hours, it wasn't the easy jaunt she'd thought it would be.  A shame.
• A big, BIG part of your BOB gear needs to be a good pair of hiking boots.  I hiked with plenty of miserable scouts (and adults) who decided that the major hike we were on was the best place to break in a new pair of hiking boots.  Or else, there were scouts who decided that a worn pair of skate shoes were the ideal hiking footwear for a long hike through wooded hills.  I myself have multiple pairs of well cared-for, broken-in hiking boots (I personally prefer Merrill's) that you can bet would be on my feet in the event I had to leave my home ahead of a hurricane or tornado.  In fact, I tend to travel in these also, since some of the airports I find myself traversing would kill my feet in lesser footwear.  Before you buy that cool $100 knife, or $300 tacticool flashlight with the five modes, buy yourself some quality hiking boots.  Then spend the time breaking them in.  You absolutely will regret it if you don't.  

There is so much more, I could probably write for hours on the subject.  Instead, I implore you to read all you can, load out your BOB with things you'll need that support your plan, not someone else's, who may be a giant gear-guy.  Take only what you need, nothing you don't.  Then, load up, and take the bag for a spin, and see how it (and you) do.  If you're able to actually trial-run your escape plan, so much the better.  Whatever you do, stay safe out there.

- Unnamed Prepper


"In every walk with nature one receives more than he seeks."
- John Muir








*    I expect we all know what this acronym stands for by now!
**  Many preppers are big proponents of phrases that are incredibly vague yet that hint at doom and the collapse of everything just around the corner.
*** A contrived name combined from two or three Youtube account names I've actually seen.  Outstanding!

VERY Short Hiatus:

Fellow preppers, I apologize for the lack of updates.  My job has me traveling more than usual at the moment, and I just have not had the time to sit down to finish the few updates I have in various stages of completion.  Please bear with me, I'll be back to my regularly scheduled posting in the next few days.  Until then, stay safe out there.

- Unnamed Prepper

Bugging In or Out? Your Call:

You know, some part of me really dislikes using the same terms used by every other survival blog/forum/video page in existence, but I suppose it can't be helped.  These are general concepts that many speak on, and so they have come to have standardized terms.  The show must go on!  On the off chance you, the new prepper may not know what these mean, I will spell them out:

Bugging Out:  Getting the hell out of Dodge, high-tailing it outta there, taking the next train outta town.  In the event of a disaster either natural or manmade, this situation is where you grab your (hopefully already packed and ready to go) BOB*, your AK47 and chest-rig full of magazines and head out the door for your backup location, whether by vehicle or on foot.  I'd advise taking the woods.

Bugging In:  Battening down the hatches, holing up, keeping your head down.  In the event of a disaster either natural or manmade, this situation is where you lock your doors, load your shotgun, turn off the lights, and break out the freeze dried beer and wait for the zombie-looters to kick the door in!  You aren't going down without a fight, pal!

Alright, I'm being overly dramatic, but both theories have both pros and cons, along with their share of proponents and detractors.  And anyway, a lot of preppers take them themselves entirely too seriously, so why not have some fun with it?  This is another post that's probably best put in the "Planning Stage" category.  Remember what I said before about making sure you focus your plan on one (or at least a small few) lines of preparation?  This goes along with that and I'll explain why.  Hopefully, this will help you to be able to decide which course of action is best for you.

Today's post will deal with bugging out, as a future post will discuss the stay-at-home option.

Strategy:  
This is probably the scenario that you see the most online.  It's definitely a more short-term solution, unless it is used in conjunction with a backup location that will serve as a long-term sustainment location, such as a fully stocked cabin out in the wilderness.  Since most folks don't tend to have fully stocked cabins out in the woods on land they own, bugging out is generally your go-to plan in the event of some sort of natural disaster that's on its way to flatten your city, town, or neighborhood.  This strategy does require some forethought, and the ability for swift action on your part.  Remember, 99% of the people out there aren't preppers, who don't know anything about being prepared.  So when the radio starts broadcasting the danger signal that a tornado is inbound while they're sitting on their couch with their feet up watching American Idol or whatever, that's when they're going to jump up, grab the kids, grab their gun, and the wife, and jump in their SUV and head out...straight into the traffic of a packed roadway.  You, the conscientious prepper, who kept an eye on your local news, and knew bad weather was coming should already be long gone by then.

Route:
This strategy depends on your having mapped out the best route out of the area, and you're going to want to have planned a few alternate routes also.  You want these alternates because it's always possible that you weren't the only one keeping an eye on the local weather station that day.  Remember, you can always go the long way to get to your planned destination, as long as you make sure that the alternate route isn't into the path of the storm, hurricane, or tornado!  I'd also highly recommend having actually driven the route(s) a few times.  It would seem like common sense, but sadly, most folks live in the Google/smart phone age and have no common sense.  Driving the route towards your destination with the rain sheeting down in the darkness is no time to be keeping one eye on the road, and the other on your stupid phone with its GPS app running.  Know where you're going.

Destination:
This will mean something different to everyone.  Maybe you know someone or have family in the next town.  Perhaps you own a vacation home.  It might be a hotel you called, although in a large enough disaster, that might prove impossible.  In any case, this is what it means to be a prepper.  Find a place to go, and build your plan around it. 


Supplies:
The supplies needed for a BOB will vary according to a few parameters.  In this case, you will want to ensure that your preparations/supplies are portable.  We'll only mention the very basics here, as a full discussion of both a BOB as well as a GHB** will be addressed in a future post.  Are you traveling by vehicle?  Then weight of your bag may not be as big of a concern.  Do you foresee a need to at some point abandon your vehicle and make the rest of the trip on foot?  For the urban prepper, this is the most common strategy to keep in mind as at some point, you're going to almost certainly find yourself leaving the area on foot after your vehicle has been abandoned to gridlock city traffic.  In that instance, here is some serious advice: don't take anything you don't need.  A lot of internet preppers love to do that.  They will take a huge backpack filled with sixty lbs of stuff, because they seemingly haven't given any thought to the idea that just possibly, they may have to actually carry this thing somewhere.  This is definitely a case of scope creep as far as I'm concerned. It's good to be prepared, but a lot of people love their cool camping gear, knives, guns, and nifty survival gadgets, and so believe they have to take all of it with them.  Don't be that guy.  This goes back to what I was saying before about having a clear plan.  What is your BOB for?  To help you get your location where you'll then ?  Is it a "I'm going to go hide in the woods for a couple weeks" bag?  Take what you need, and nothing you don't.  What do you need?  We'll talk about that soon.

Next up, we'll talk about what needs to go in that bag, along with a general idea of what all you probably want to have on you.  For now, stay safe out there.

- Unnamed Prepper


"At a time when unbridled greed, malignant aggression, and existence of weapons of mass destruction threatens the survival of humanity, we should seriously consider any avenue that offers some hope."
- Stanislav Grof    



*   Now you know where the term "Bug Out Bag" comes from!
** Get Home Bag

The Grey Man Concept, Invisibility, and How Conceal Carry Is Actually Prepping:

I'm on the road tonight sitting far from my family and home as I type this, and after a long day in the sky yesterday and a day of work today, I may be somewhat rambling, but bear with me.

There are a couple of concepts I was thinking about today as I had spent time at multiple airports, and it brought to mind one concept in particular that you may have read of or heard about: The Grey Man Concept.  The GMC put simply, is the art of blending into your environment and not standing out in any way or drawing attention to yourself.  You tend to see this concept discussed more on firearms or conceal carry boards, where it does tend to be a highly pertinent subject, especially when considering ways in which not to be scoped out while carrying a firearm on your person.  More on conceal carriers in a few, let's focus on the GMC for a moment.  As you'll find out, being Grey actually will serve the beginning prepper very well, with regard to...well, pretty much everything.  Let's point out a few things that someone utilizing the GMC would not do during a survival situation, or daily life:

• The Grey Man has decided that his plan in an economic collapse will be to bug in.  The Grey Man knows it is important to have food stored away.  However, he will not have large pallets of food (such as bagged wheat or rice from a warehouse wholesaler) delivered to his house during the day.  Another way to see it: a GM wouldn't have his new 70 inch flatpanel plasma delivered during the afternoon directly after work, nor would he then leave the box from the television outside on his curb for all to see.  Instead, he'll bring food and supplies home in smaller increments, or make it look like a standard grocery trip as he brings bags into his house.  Neighbors who see him won't think "I have a pretty good idea where we can get some food, get me my shotgun!" when the lights go Out and they have hungry kids.
• The Grey Man has decided his plan in a natural disaster includes bugging out.  The Grey Man will not choose bug out clothing that is SWAT black, military camouflage, or multicam, or that features tacticool internet gear-company tactical vests or military style backpacks covered in pouches bulging with AR-15 magazines. He knows this is a clear red flag to anyone who may driving by, such as a local law enforcement officer that he might be a Bad Guy.  Instead, he'll wear something like jeans, a dark colored jacket or sweater, and a backpack made for camping.  All the room, none of the "Hey, I might have multiple guns on my person, and clearly believe that I am a spec-ops SWAT team G-man in training, detain me, please!"
• The Grey Man has decided to take his family out to the movies.  The Grey Man will not wear that free Ruger hat he was given after his last firearm purchase, nor the Glock shirt he was given by a relative that knows he's into firearms.  When he pulls up in his non-flashy car, it will not have a bumper sticker on the back that says "I dial 1911", nor does the house he and his family left have signs out front that say "If you can read this, you're in range!!" 

The concept to take away from this is simple: be invisible.  Conceal carry folks use this term to describe the efforts they go to in order to make sure they aren't "memorable".  Many more extreme Grey Men drive dull cars, live in nondescript houses, do not wear flashy jewelry or dress in a way that stands out.  In this way, they feel this puts them at a tactical advantage should they be in a store when robbers kick the door in and rush in brandishing guns.  They are essentially prepping themselves to be more effective defenders in such a situation, whereas if they were wearing clothing that advertised their firearm ownership to the world, they become an instant target.  Invisibility.  In fact, there are almost certainly Grey Men around you anywhere you go in public these days. 

So, during all your preparing, remember what I said about OPSEC.  Invisibility is a HUGE part of that.  Your preparations are a considerable expenditure of time and resources.  A lot, a lot of survival boards/blogs/videos will make a point of discussing firearms (don't worry, I'll get there myself) as a means of defending what's yours.  I don't disagree with this viewpoint, but see it this way.  By not making yourself a target, or a known source of supplies, you cut out a large portion of trouble that might otherwise head your way.  Because let's be candid for a moment.  Most people aren't Rambo.  They aren't chomping at the bit just waiting for the balloon to go up, so they can rush out and start mowing people down with that AR-15 and the 25,000 rounds they hoarded because EFF YEAH, IT'S THE END-TIMES!  Most people aren't killers.  I am not a killer.  You almost certainly aren't either.  I own many firearms, but at no time do I fantasize about shooting someone with them.  If I ever had to, I would.  But it's not something I look forward to, so if I can avoid it, I will.  Alright, end of that particular sermon.  Be invisible, hide your valuables, not just physically, but conceptually, as in, don't talk about them, or let people you don't know, know you have a stockpile of supplies at your house.  You may think this is me being dramatic, but honestly, there are plenty of stories posted up of people going on vacation and coming home to find their house was broken into and cleaned out while they were gone, because one of the family posted on Facebook or wherever that they were all going on vacation, yay!  Same concept here.

That's not just common sense, that's smart planning.  I myself utilize the GMC where I can in my life.  I purposely keep the exterior of my home nondescript, even though I'd love to cover the front with plants and such to make it unique.  Sadly, I am not able to do it much in my personal life, as I am what you might call a memorable personality.  I drive a flashy car (that I do not park in my driveway, but in the street across the way), and am a tall, loud person.  Just the way I'm made.  That said, when on the road, due to what I do for a living, I practice the GMC pretty strictly.  I dress in faded jeans and a tee-shirt.  I do not make eye contact with people, nor do I strike up conversations.  Yes, it is entirely at odds with who I am at home when surrounded by coworkers, friends, or family. But you just never really know with people these days.

I have typed way too much as usual, but hopefully, I've given you, the possible new prepper a few basic things to consider and/or add to your plans.  Stay safe out there.

- Unnamed Prepper


"Perhaps catastrophe is the natural human environment, and even though we spend a good deal of energy trying to get away from it, we are programmed for survival amid catastrophe."
- Germaine Greer    

Don't Skip the Planning Stage!

In the last post, I mentioned having a goal with regard to getting going on your preparations.  Having thought more about this, I think a better way to express that idea might be to have instead said: have a plan.  Yes, I'm aware that this seems self-explanatory, or that it seems to be a concept so simple and ingrained that it's a waste of time to even discuss it.  The problem is, these days, common sense isn't so common.  Actually, it isn't common at all anymore.  If someone who is new to prepping does a general search online for prepping/survival blogs, they may find and visit this page.  So, I feel like I should be writing for those folks who may be new to the subject and who may possibly stumble over a blog that was initially begun more for just myself and a small number of friends whom I might give the link to.  Well, if you are reading this, welcome!

Where was I?

Ah yes, planning.  Make no mistake.  The more I read, the more I discover how much I don't know, as well as how many layers there are to each subcategory of prepping.  It can be pretty mind-boggling.  Food storage, prepping on a budget, homesteading, sources of water, bugging out, bugging in, wilderness survival, urban survival, suburban survival, defense of your supplies, area, bugout/in location, bugout bags, first-aid, get-home bags, first-aid bags, which rifle is the best for WROL situations, which $500 knife do I need?  It just goes on and on.  But before you worry about any of that, come up with a plan of action.  Period.   

If you start out with a clear goal in mind, it will make your efforts a lot simpler, less jumbled, and less overwhelming.  There is an endless amount of information out there, and if you try to read all of it, you'll fail, first of all.  Secondly, you'll run into some serious scope-creep.  Example:

You've decided that your plan will primarily consist being prepared for "Bugging in"* in the event of natural disaster striking your area.  Alright, solid choice.  So, since you are planning to hole up at home, it's probably not a good idea to worry much about doing some of the more extreme preps you've seen people on Youtube talking about, such as geo-caching supplies along a planned route that you intend to traverse on foot to a bug-out location many miles away, or spending a disproportionate amount of your available funds on firearms and ammunition because you believe that you'll be fending off packs of leatherclad Road Warrior raiders for the week or so that power's out in your town.   Remember, your plan is to stay put.  So, focus your time, energies, planning, and (highly importantly) funds on sticking to your plan.  I will go out on a limb and say it's not really possible to plan for everything, so again, try to keep to a realistic scenario/concern.  How do you know what those are?  Well, like everyone else, I have my own opinions.  Let's talk about those.

Realistic Concerns:

• Natural Disasters: You live in an area of the country that is prone to certain natural weather-based disasters.  A hurricane, tornado, or flood is a real possibility for you.  Plan your preparations accordingly.  You know that at some point power, water service, and cable will be restored to your area, so you just need to last through until that happens.  You may also have to leave the area due to your home being directly threatened.  So, it may not be the best idea to have five years of food and water squirreled away, because when the tornado hits, or the water rises, all that may be washed away.
• The Economy: Fifteen years ago, I'd have placed this concern squarely in the "Never going to happen" column.  But not these days.  Many people have watched their retirement vehicles dry up, and are watching a currency that remains devalued versus the Euro, and they've watched unemployment remain high.  They have watched the news as the government (on both sides of the damn aisle!) rampantly spending money the country doesn't actually have, with nothing to show for it.  Examples include bailouts and "stimulus" packages that really only serve to reward those who shouldn't have been rewarded.  They've watched as fuel and food prices continue to climb.  They've watched the government take our country further and further into debt with foreign nations, many of whom do not like us (the Chinese are NOT our friends).  All of this combines to have people who actually watch the news and are able to read between the lines pretty concerned, and rightfully so.  The only downside to this, is that prepping for this will take years and will consume a lot of your financial resources.  Of course, might as well spend those dollars while they're still worth something! 

 UNrealistic Concerns:

• The Rapture: Some sects of Christianity believe in an event called the Rapture wherein at some point, all dutiful Christians will be vanished away to Heaven to be at God's side.  Not through death, but as in, they will all suddenly just up and vanish, leaving their possessions, cars, and homes all just sitting there to be fought over by the non-believers.  I'm sorry, I just don't think or believe this is going to happen.  Not even close.
• Zombie Apocalypse: Yes, I realize that many ZA folks argue that the zombie reference merely serves as a catch-all term for any sort of WROL/SHTF, and I'd accept that, if I hadn't met, seen online, or overheard at the gunshop all too many braying asses talking about how when the Zeds come, man, I'm grabbing my motherfucking shotgun bro, and it's gonna be fuckin' World War III, knowutImean???  Insert eyeroll here.  
• TEOSAWKI: The big one, as far as I'm concerned: the end of society as we know it.  I am just going to be clear.  I think this one is highly unrealistic, despite it being one of the most prepped for concerns voiced by preppers/survivalists all over the place.  There are just so many roadblocks in place to this ever happening, that it's hard to know where to start.  I'll just mention a few reasons that come to mind first: 
• First and foremost: Preppers make up a very small percentage of the total number of people in this country.  What that means, is that people are going to want their comforts back in the event of some massive government shut-down/degradation/end of rule-of-law.  That means, people will band together, and put together groups that fulfill the same functions as they enjoyed during the "before times" or whatever, and they will rebuild a democratic society.  So, all those survival people on the internet talking about how they'll be lone wolves living off the land shooting anyone who comes sniffing around their area, eventually, you're going to be a part of society again, whether you like it or not. So, I wouldn't slap on that cammo jacket and tac vest full of loaded AR mags, and run out the door just yet.
• The simple understanding that Government has many different levels.  Some sort of federal government shut-down, doesn't mean "Fuck yeah, it's the end-times, gotta grab my bug-out bag, my assault rifle, and high-tail it to the woods!"  Local government will still be functioning, and you walking down the road with a backpack and an AR-15 in your hands will proooobably get you stopped by local law enforcement.  Also, vice versa.  Your town goes bankrupt, and the local government shuts down.  How long do you think it will be before the state governor sends in the National Guard? You probably don't want to be spotted sneaking through town in anything remotely resembling a militaristic outfit carrying a visible weapon.
• A massive disaster that mimics Katrina, turning your area into Directly-Post-Katrina-NO: yeah, how long did that last, before the government showed up to restore order?  Yes, it took awhile, but it DID happen.  So, if you're dreaming of setting up a community where you're the overwarden just because you stockpiled more ammo than everyone else, be ready to get steamrolled when the government comes back in to set the place back to rights.   

There have been others, a few as covered on "Doomsday Preppers", such as viral pandemics, or perhaps the Yellowstone caldera going up and covering the country in ashes, or of course the ubiquitous sun putting out a huge burst that results in a massive EMP burst taking out the country's power grid.  Those events all have a very statistically low chance of happening, but if you've done a ton of reading and have convinced yourself otherwise, then by all means.  The ultimate point is, have a plan. After all, at the end of the day, your preps may just save you from an entirely mundane disaster, such as you or your spouse losing your job.  Whatever you do, look at the logistics first before you go out and start spending money on things you may not even need.  Stay safe out there.

- Unnamed Prepper


“We could do it, you know."
"What?"
"Leave the district. Run off. Live in the woods. You and I, we could make it.”
― Suzanne Collins, "The Hunger Games" 













* Translation: in a disaster or civil-unrest scenario, your plan is to hole up in your home where all your supplies are stored and do your best to stay safe and hidden.

What Type of Prepper Am I?

I think you can see at this point that I'm a wordy goof.  I type fast and so these posts tend to run long.  Sometimes my writing may seem like a stream of consciousness, but all I can say is hey, have patience with me!  Onward!

As I made clear in my last post, I am not a professional prepper or survival expert, nor do I play one on TV.  However, I do a lot of reading and watching of videos in my spare time, probably more than is healthy.   So, I've come across quite a lot of information on a wide variety of subtopics dealing with prepping and survival.  What I've discovered is that not all preppers are created equal.  There are multiple types.  A short dissertation on what seem to be the most common types:

Gun/Knife/Gear Gurus
These are the guys you may have seen whose Youtube channels and blogs are primarily gun/knife/tacticool gear reviews, interspersed with posts about their particular philosophies about WROL or SHTF situations.  They post videos of themselves at the gun-range, or perhaps out on a tract of private land running around and talking about "tactics".  If you want to know who makes the best tactical vest, or the best folding knife, or perhaps the best assault rifle, then these are the guys you want to be watching, but be careful.  This is the group that has the biggest segment of "ex-military/special forces/law enforcement" claimants out of all of 'em.  These folks seem to think that survival is based primarily on whether or not you have the coolest gear.  The $1,800 AR?  A $800 fixed blade knife strapped to your leg?  A $350 SWAT team looking vest covered in pouches full of magazines?  Cool carbon-fiber knuckle gloves?  You're ready to take on the end of the world!  Yeah, no thanks.  I have always had the impression that some of these folks are missing the message entirely.  Living through a natural disaster, or a terrible collapse of society isn't cool, and it's not going to be fun or easy no matter how much you spent on tacticool gear.  Sorry.

Zombie Apocalypse People:
These are the folks who constantly talk about what they'll do "when the zombies come".  Everyone who may read this knows some people like this.  I certainly do.  "Man, when the zombies come, I'm going to grab my bag and my shotgun, and I'm going to totally set up on a rooftop, and I'm going to be all BLAOW and BOOM! FUCK YEAH! and BLAMBLAMBLAM with my Glock!"  Yeah, ok.  The issue I have with this particular group is that many of them seem to almost want society to fail, so they can live out their video game/zombie movie fueled fantasies involving lots of gunfire, headshots, and spent shells raining down on the camera lens.  They generally are the ones who talk about having a ton of ammo stockpiled "just in case".  Listen, there is nothing healthy about wanting society to end.  Fact is, the way I see it, no matter what happens that results in a situation where your preps come into play, it sucks.  And it will continue to suck.  It won't be fun or easy.  Furthermore, it's incredibly short-sighted, in my opinion.  Most of the kids spouting this noise on various forums seem not to really have given any thought on what will come after.  Fact is, there aren't many people in this country who can survive totally independent of any sort of society at all.  Well, I suppose the Amish could, but even they trade with the outside world for various things.  I am all for comments of "Heck yeah, I'm ready for when the zombies come!" while at the range with friends, I've made those comments myself.  But there are a lot of folks out there who actually believe this sort of thing could ever happen.  Yeah, I don't see it.

Rural/Wilderness/Small Town Survivalists:
These are the guys I think I partially identify with.  A lot of these folks live in rural areas, and possibly live on farms, or out on a few (or possibly many more) acres somewhere where they're able to really have a lot of storage, shoot on their private property, that sort of thing.  One thing that I appreciate about them is that their preparations are more of a way of life, rather than a hobby or end goal.  These folks, if they have video channels, post few videos concerning firearms or "tactics", and more videos concerning safe ways to store food, can vegetables, secure potable water, cultivate gardens, that sort of thing.  A lot of these folks are highly concerned with "going off the grid", essentially getting to a point where they have alternate means of water generation (through wells on their property or other means), power generation (through solar or some other means), and growing as much of their food as they can.  These folks aren't preparing for the end of society so much as they are working to ensure that a bad situation doesn't mean the end of life as they know it.  You have to respect that.  Will I ever be at the level that many of these folks are at?  Probably not.  But I respect it all the same. 

Disaster-Specific People:
I have been watching a show recently on the National Geographic channel called Doomsday Preppers.  There are a lot of folks out there who are all prepping for a specific disaster, some which are very possible (such as the collapse of the dollar in the face of the country's crushing debt), and others which I believe are highly improbable (such as the permanent end of society).  This group is pretty self explanatory, and is the one which I feel most describes the motivating force behind my own rapidly growing interest in prepping. 

My interest in prepping is currently pretty simple.  I live in an area of the country that is more prone to a certain type of natural disaster than others.  Hurricanes can (and have) thoroughly wrecked plenty of areas, resulting in power outages, food/water/supply shortages, and a complete disruption of normal daily life.  As everyone watched in horror, New Orleans got really barbaric after Katrina rolled through and destroyed the city, leaving thousands without basic necessities, and no way to get them.  I won't reiterate how bad it got.  All I know is that I don't want to be in that situation myself so, for me, my preps focus on enough supplies to last my family and I for up to a couple months staying home, with backup plans for retreating to one of multiple backup locations that I'll remain necessarily vague about.  And for me, this is fine.  I prefer to think that this is the most plausible scenario that I will realistically face in my area.  That's not to say that I won't take my preparations further, but for now, it's a starting goal for me. 

And that, really, is the main thing that I feel it's important to keep in mind.  Have a realistic goal.  See, it's easy to watch videos, and peruse survival forums and get amped up, and want to run out and blow $10,000 on survival gear, supplies, guns, and ammo.  But the thing to remember is that a lot of those folks who have Youtube channels with a couple hundred thousand followers...have been doing this for years. Some of them are bankrolled by various gear sites, which is how they get all those wonderful toys.  So, don't feel bad if the gear you have isn't up to the same standard.  To coin an adage usually used about conceal carry firearms, the best gear out there?  Is the gear you have right now.  If you're anything like me, all of your paycheck generally goes towards paying your bills/debts and living your life, going out to eat, seeing a movie, buying video games, and so on.  It's a change to start diverting some of your resources in order to start becoming prepared to face whatever natural or social disaster you may face in your area.  So, as with starting any new pursuit, have a realistic goal.  Stay safe out there.

- Unnamed Prepper




"Good history is a question of survival. Without any past, we will deprive ourselves of the defining impression of our being."
- Ken Burns

OPSEC and Balance:

Before I get into my topic for today, I want to point out that when reading anything I write in this blog, keep in mind that these are only my opinions.  I am not a paid professional survivalist like Bear Grylls, nor am I active duty military or law enforcement.  In fact, I have never been military or law enforcement.  I do not own a security company, nor am I a consultant on a popular outdoor television show.

There, just wanted to clear all that up.  There will be no "argument from authority" going on here.  See, it sure seems the rage right now to attach some or all of the above to statements when making comments online about prepping as a means of trying to convince the viewer/reader that the posters Knows What They Are Talking About (tm).  I find this a bit disingenuous, if only because I have watched a LOT of bad videos lately on Youtube where people are discussing things like wilderness survival or firearms training and showing a lot of bad training such as muzzle-sweeping others in the video or suggesting you try plants with "the tip of the tongue" to see if they're poisonous, that sort of thing.  Ridiculous.  So, my advice would be to read everything (including this blog) with an open mind (along with a healthy dose of common sense) and don't be afraid to do further reading or research on anything you see on the internet.  It's also healthy to call bullshit when the situation calls for it.  I have seen a lot of that also, a blogger or YTer gathers a large following, suddenly the guy can do no wrong, and everything he says is gospel.  One major rule of thumb: if a guy says he was ex-special forces, stop listening and walk away.  99.9999999% of the people in your life who will tell you that, were never special forces.  Do not be fooled by a picture or video of a guy holding a tricked-out AR-15 while wearing a $90 tactical vest.  

With that caveat out of the way, let's move forward!

Today, I want to start with something that a lot of preppers on the Internet seem not to consider very often: OPSEC*. It seems like such a simple topic, but honestly, it really isn't.  As far as I am concerned, OPSEC should always be in mind.  After all, all those supplies and preparations you've been working to store are (and should be considered) wealth of a sort.  Should the worst come to pass, your preparations would be more valuable than just about anything else you possess.  Let me put it another way.  You wouldn't go around posting pictures of yourself and your house, and posting up your address if you'd just admitted that you had a stash of gold bars, now would you?  Who would do that?  The concept is the same with your preparations.  Always keep this in mind.  To touch on another post to follow here soon, people prep for many reasons.  One of those reasons is that they believe something bad will happen to either society and/or the economy, and the readily available resources found in stores everywhere will dry up.  So, it's in your best interests to ensure that you aren't making yourself a target for people who didn't make any preparations of their own.  Because that will happen.  If events like New Orleans during Katrina have taught us anything, it's this: people get really barbaric when basic resources they take for granted as being something they'll always have access to...suddenly dry up.  People will do nearly anything in order to protect and feed their families.  If they know that you and your family have things they need, they won't hesitate to come try to take them from you.  That's one of the main reasons I started this blog, instead of discussing prepping on my main blog.  I just don't see a need to advertise.  Also, this won't be the last you read on this subject from me.  I take this concept very seriously, and so should you.  Alright, end of sermon.

A second topic I want to discuss is one that many, many people out there in Internet Prepper-Land seem to forget, or worse, never bother considering in the first place.  That topic is Balance. 

Listen, I know that in many ways, prepping is fun.  You watch some disaster or zombie movies, start doing some reading on prepping, and it at first sounds like action camping.  Bug out bags.  Stockpiling cool stuff.  You start perusing neat flashlights, knives, camping equipment, fire-starters, etc.  You'll start buying firearms, and stockpiling ammo, and food, water, and toilet-paper, and so on.  You're becoming prepared to last through ANYthing!  You are ready for the zombie apocalypse, bring on the mayhem!  Well, here's one thing that cool survival blogs, Youtube videos, end-of-the-world movies always seem to skip over: there are considerations besides prepping.  In fact, these considerations could be thought of as "Prepping to prep".  What am I talking about?  A few simple things like your health: physical, mental, AND financial.  There are plenty of other important things, but any strong prepping (or life in general) plan starts with these three.

Although, it's fine (and very easy) to watch all these Youtube videos and read all these blogs, and then want to race right out to a camping store/big box store and start stockpiling supplies, remember that your physical, mental, and financial health comes first.  If you're severely overweight, it might be a good idea to take some of your prepping budget every month and invest in a gym membership.  Zombies can't catch you if you're able to run fast and jump over obstacles in your way.  If you've got a tooth that needs fixing, it might be a good time to go get that done.  You aren't going to find a cushy chair with soft music playing and plenty of top-shelf pain drugs to help with that bad cavity or cracked molar when a tornado tears through your small town and destroys everything.  That is not the time to be living with a toothache!  If you have some issues that are keeping you depressed or down mentally, talk with someone, get those ironed out.  A good mental outlook and strong personal fortitude will be worth more than nearly any other prep you have in a WROL situation.  If you are carrying $10,000 worth of credit card debt, it may be a good idea to start paying that down before you read about prepping, get excited, and run off to spend a ton of money on cool gadgets like knives, guns, ammo, or stockpiles of freeze-dried food. Sure, you want to be ready for zombies, or a bad storm.  But don't forget that you may also want to buy a new car, or a home one day!

I hate to say it, but these are highly important things to consider, and yet, something that most people don't.  They don't think about these basics, because they aren't glamorous, or exciting.  But honestly, look at the people who make it to the end of disaster movies.  If you don't look like that, or are at least in good physical shape, how can you expect to be able to meet all the challenges of the end of the world as we know it?  If you can't even pay your electric bill this month, do you really need to be buying another case of ammo that is going to sit in your closet?  Not much fun counting how many cans of peas you have, having to do it in the dark.  So, in short, while you're preparing for the next world, don't forget that you still live in this one.  It's not glamorous, it's not exciting, but it's just good common sense.  Balance in all things.  Any realistic prepping plans need to include the big three: physical, mental, and financial health.  Start working on these things, and you'll be much more prepared than many Americans to see through a bad situation.  And by many, I mean most.  Stay safe out there.

- Unnamed Prepper

“People will do amazing things to ensure their survival.”
- Patricia Briggs, The Hob's Bargain





*OPerational SECurity