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The Problems With Some Preppers Today.

Keith

Keith

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The problems with some preppers today.


One problem some preppers seem to have is the inability to prepare for a variety of disasters. This is really not that hard, yet many just don’t get it. They also have what is known as 24 hour & 72 hour bug out bags. Why not just have a bag that will carry you through long term? How do you know it is only going to last 24 hours?!!! I understand the concept of carrying a small survival kit in your vehicle to get you home, but apart from that why have multiple bug-out bags at home? How many can you carry all at one time?

Modern gadgets are a big problem because they are promoted to look so exciting & necessary. When in fact many if not all modern gadgets are likely to fail or run out in the first 6 months. Then this so called prepper will find themselves living a Paleolithic lifestyle trying to learn primitive skills, or they will simply die.

Why don’t many preppers see the common sense in adopting sustainable equipment & skills from the 18th or 19th centuries? Well many treat prepping as simply a hobby, they like the idea of being self-reliant, but in fact they don’t really expect to ever have to face a major shtf situation. For these people it is all about going camping & using the gadgets. If a ferocerium rod breaks or deteriorates, they simply purchase another; in fact many carry a variety of fire lighting tools, none of which are sustainable over a long period of time.

Modern gadgets take up room in the pack & they add weight. Once they have become useless they are discarded, BUT, these gadgets were taking up room in the bug-out bag where real priority items should have been stored! Now there is neither!

Do yourself a favour, keep the life straw if you want, definitely keep the modern medical kit. Get rid of everything else & start again. Look to the 18th & 19th centuries for practical sustainable equipment that will keep you alive in relative comfort in a long term wilderness living situation.

Keith.
http://australiansurvivalandpreppers.blogspot.com.au/2017/10/the-problems-with-some-preppers-today.html
 
because for most people prepping is nothing more than a hobby, an extension of camping(not wilderness living full time) and even if its used to survive some event its the 24 hour or 3 day type of situation then its back to life as normal. very few people will even consider the possibility that it will never be "normal" again, that is too horrible a concept and so it is ignored or such people who try to discuss it are called "paranoid" or referred to as "dinosaurs", I am proud of the fact I am a dinosaur!!!:lol:I am glad I have the ability to plan past the end of next week.
 
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sorry but I think there is an element of over egging the pudding in terms of the speed at which modernity will fall apart mankind will be back to the 18th century; some things will break, others will last a while and depending on the scenario you are considering there MAY be plenty of spares lying about.

People MAY have a period of adjustment to practise/learn new skills to be ready for the ferro rod to wear out; they MAY find that it is not the end of modern life as we know it and some of their gadgets have utility in the new world.

Whilst I agree that its worth learning and practising new skills, not because I believe we are about to see a cataclismic event but because I find it interesting to do, the fact is no one actually knows what would happen and its just supposition.

If something cataclismic did happen then it is likely that some of modernity would survive at least through a transition period and we would be foolish to discard all of science and technologies benefits and immeditately step back in time when there was no requirment to do so.

38
 
there has always been this kind of thinking, I expect the Ancient Romans thought the same.
the thing is we have a "just in time" delivery system and when that fails/shuts down/ is no longer possible, things will fall apart very quickly.
whilst there may be lots of spare parts and stuff lying about it will be used up very quickly as there wont be a functioning manufacturing base to replace what is used, its surprising in a modern country just how much stuff we do consume, and consume is the right word.
I wouldn't want to even assume that there is lots of lovely resources for me to just walk out and grab post SHTF, basing whether I live or die on that possibility is not something I want to contemplate.
 
with our modern "just in time" delivery system( which was invented by the Japanese by the way) the majority of places(not just supermarkets) only keep a bare minimum of stock-3 days normal sales for supermarkets maybe a few days more for non food shops- once the panic sets in and the looting starts- especially in the big cities- just how long do you think these stocks of goods are going to be around? remember they wont be replaced, a case of "when its gone-its gone". if someone dosent stock up in preparation then they are liable to miss out.
 
all technology has one core problem and its called ELECTRICITY, once the power grid shuts down and its come close to demand outstripping supply for several years in a row, that technology will be so much scrap metal.
we've only been able to manage to keep the grid going by buying in extra power from France and that may not be possible post SHTF- it may not even be possible once we leave the EU!!
 
Sorry LW, but youre not answering the same issue put forward by keith that all of our gadgets will fail and we should revert now to an 18th century lifelstyle.

Some of the trappings of modernity could dissapear but thats not a reason to discard them all straight away. A national grid COULD fail at some point in the future but that doesnt mean localised electricity wouldnt be avialble be it generated by solar, wind, hydro or even a a steam engine. i wouldnt be bothered if i couldnt play on an Xbox because I dont play them now but I would use electicity if it was available to maintian refrigeration, charge batteries or use powertools amongst many other things, all of which can be done via 12v which isnt that hard to do at all. you'll also forgive my ignorence but i struggle to see how my ferro rods (of which i have about bout ten) require electricity to function.

its also a case of what are you prepping for; if its a truely cataclismic event then we MAY be stepping back in time in many respects but we wont univent the wheel, the ability to generate electricity on a small scale or many of the other gadgets that exist now. if you are prepping for extended bad weather then electricity may be patchy or may be gone for a while but again it MAY be coming back.

We can GUESS whats going to happen, we can repare ourselves by learning to look after ourselves in as many ways as possible and we can prepare our kit as we see fit but we DONT POSTITIVELY KNOW what the future holds and to state X is going to happen so you will need to be able to live without B becusae it DEFINITELY will not be available is as poor a logic as believeing that there will always be 240v available from the wall.

38
 
the national grid WILL fail at some point, its already come close and further demand on it will only make it happen sooner.
yes a small scale local solar set up could be possible but again the emphasis is on the small.
I have lived without electricity before, as has my wife, our plan is to live that lifestyle again post SHTF.
keep it simple, don't over complicate things- that's my philosophy.
 
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I think Keith's approach to gadgetry makes a lot of sense but even he hasn't said he'll be giving up his solar panels and deep cycle batteries just yet LW, just being able to run a freezer or a water pump makes a hell of a difference to your lifestyle when you're living in the back of beyond.
Roughing it is great fun when you know that you can go home to a hot bath and a cold beer. Roughing it when you're cold and hungry and all you have to look forward to is more of the same isn't quite so much fun.
If you have the option of giving yourself a few little luxuries to see you through the dark times then I'm all for micro generation.
 
38thfoot said:
Sorry LW, but youre not answering the same issue put forward by keith that all of our gadgets will fail and we should revert now to an 18th century lifelstyle.

Some of the trappings of modernity could dissapear but thats not a reason to discard them all straight away. A national grid COULD fail at some point in the future but that doesnt mean localised electricity wouldnt be avialble be it generated by solar, wind, hydro or even a a steam engine. i wouldnt be bothered if i couldnt play on an Xbox because I dont play them now but I would use electicity if it was available to maintian refrigeration, charge batteries or use powertools amongst many other things, all of which can be done via 12v which isnt that hard to do at all. you'll also forgive my ignorence but i struggle to see how my ferro rods (of which i have about bout ten) require electricity to function.

its also a case of what are you prepping for; if its a truely cataclismic event then we MAY be stepping back in time in many respects but we wont univent the wheel, the ability to generate electricity on a small scale or many of the other gadgets that exist now. if you are prepping for extended bad weather then electricity may be patchy or may be gone for a while but again it MAY be coming back.

We can GUESS whats going to happen, we can repare ourselves by learning to look after ourselves in as many ways as possible and we can prepare our kit as we see fit but we DONT POSTITIVELY KNOW what the future holds and to state X is going to happen so you will need to be able to live without B becusae it DEFINITELY will not be available is as poor a logic as believeing that there will always be 240v available from the wall.

38
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38thfoot said:
Sorry LW, but youre not answering the same issue put forward by keith that all of our gadgets will fail and we should revert now to an 18th century lifelstyle.

Some of the trappings of modernity could dissapear but thats not a reason to discard them all straight away. A national grid COULD fail at some point in the future but that doesnt mean localised electricity wouldnt be avialble be it generated by solar, wind, hydro or even a a steam engine. i wouldnt be bothered if i couldnt play on an Xbox because I dont play them now but I would use electicity if it was available to maintian refrigeration, charge batteries or use powertools amongst many other things, all of which can be done via 12v which isnt that hard to do at all. you'll also forgive my ignorence but i struggle to see how my ferro rods (of which i have about bout ten) require electricity to function.

its also a case of what are you prepping for; if its a truely cataclismic event then we MAY be stepping back in time in many respects but we wont univent the wheel, the ability to generate electricity on a small scale or many of the other gadgets that exist now. if you are prepping for extended bad weather then electricity may be patchy or may be gone for a while but again it MAY be coming back.

We can GUESS whats going to happen, we can repare ourselves by learning to look after ourselves in as many ways as possible and we can prepare our kit as we see fit but we DONT POSTITIVELY KNOW what the future holds and to state X is going to happen so you will need to be able to live without B becusae it DEFINITELY will not be available is as poor a logic as believeing that there will always be 240v available from the wall.

38
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You need to read my post in its entirety 38thfoot, I am talking about "bugging out". A ferocerium rod is just manufactured flint, the same stuff used in cigarette lighters. Not only can it deteriorate, but if you drop it on a hard surface or accidently tread on it or put your knee on it then it can break. Small pieces I have no doubt can still be used, up to a certain length. All I am saying is that I don't think it is wise for anyone to rely on non sustainable gadgets, & as I said, if you have worked your gear out properly in your backpack, there should be no room left for non essentials. No matter which way I look at it, carrying extra modern gadgets has to compromise your safety. By all means carry a ferocerium rod on your waist belt, but make sure you have flint & steel in your pack & learn all there is to know about plant & fungi tinders & how to prepare them.
Any extra room I have in my pack weight wise will be taken up with essentials, food, water, medical supplies & ammunition. I have no room for non sustainable gadgets.
Keith.
 
ystranc said:
I think Keith's approach to gadgetry makes a lot of sense but even he hasn't said he'll be giving up his solar panels and deep cycle batteries just yet LW, just being able to run a freezer or a water pump makes a hell of a difference to your lifestyle when you're living in the back of beyond.
Roughing it is great fun when you know that you can go home to a hot bath and a cold beer. Roughing it when you're cold and hungry and all you have to look forward to is more of the same isn't quite so much fun.
If you have the option of giving yourself a few little luxuries to see you through the dark times then I'm all for micro generation.
Click to expand...
who said anything about "roughing" it ? I lived like that for 12 years and loved every minute of it.
we always said in the scouts" if you think your roughing it your doing it wrong!!":lol:
 
Interesting thread......there seem to be two camps, one is a modernist camp and the other is a traditionalist camp. Neither is right or wrong until put to the test. For me , modern gadgetry has a place I am currently typing this on my laptop. I do prefer a more "old fashioned" way for most things, but as I suspect society will only fall slowly I have no fear of electrical blackouts etc. I would cope just fine, but maybe that's my age, we didn't have gadgetry when I were a lad ;)
 
no supermarkets when I was growing up, no mobile phones, shops didn't open on a sunday and the tv only had 2 channels and you had to get off your backside to change those!!!:rofl:
 
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