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Survival Skills and

Survival Equip

Wilderness survival used

to be part of daily life. But

even though we feel

protected inside our modern cocoons, getting a grip on

survival skills is still a smart 'just in case' set of skills to

acquire. Even in today's world, survival skills are not only

for the Backpacker, outdoors enthusiasts or sportsman

any more.

But what are survival skills?

Survival Skills are the techniques and the know-how that

might help you to make it through hazardous conditions

(such as storms or earthquakes), dangerous locations (like

the desert, the mountains, the jungle and other extreme

environments.

As soon as practicable, try to learn the essential survival

skills, for example, ways to avoid getting lost, how to

construct a shelter, the best way to pack a survival kit,

how to make a fire, and how to get access to clean and

safe water are the critical skills to lean for every extreme

environment - whether winter survival, desert survival,

forest, mountain or other environment.

So what should you do if you find yourself lost or stuck in

an extreme environment?

The order of which survival skills to focus on first are

based on basic human needs and the particular

hazardous circumstance you find yourself in. However,

creating a shelter to protect yourself from the harsh

conditions is usually your first and principal task. No

matter whether you create a lean-to shelter or a poncho

shelter - making sure you are safely out of the harsh

weather condition should be your immediate focus. Next is

water.

Getting clean drinking water is perhaps the second most

critical element in surviving a life threatening situation.

Water might be collected in several different ways, one

way in desert or hot climates for example is through

condensation traps or solar stills but however you find

your water, it should be brought to a rolling boil to purify

and make it drinkable via fire. That leads us to the next

critical survival skill and that is knowing how to create fire.

Fire is an extremely useful tool for survival. From drying

your clothing, purifying water and even aiding in the

making of tools and keeping threatening animals or pesky

insects at bay, fire is necessary for both warmth and

protection. Fire will definitely make it more comfortable but

a shelter is more important in most situations.

A First Aid Kit (If you are Prepared!):

My survival equipment includes a critical book on survival

(the U.S. Army Survival Manual) and your first aid kit is

most likely to be the most essential item in any emergency

kit and having the right equipment is imperative for

wilderness survival.

Why a first aid kit?

Because injuries should be tended to as soon as they

occur to avoid further complications or infection.

Your first aid kit should include bandages, antiseptic and

ideally, you should have taken a first aid course and know

the best ways to deal with heat stroke, snake or poisonous

insect bites, abrasions and other injuries. A great first step

is getting the US Army Survival manual which covers most

of the critical information you'll need.

Ideal Foods--- low fat, high fiber foods and artificially

sweetened beverages.

Drinks - Drink all you want of diet sodas, tea, coffee or

Kool-Aid either unsweetened or sweetened with an

artificial sweetener such as Splenda, Sweet 'N Low, Equal,

saccharin or a blend.

Travel In Extreme Winter Conditions:

With skis you can get farther into the back country faster

than any other way, so winter survival skills are crucial for

all levels of ski mountaineering.

Useful skills include lighting a fire, finding shelter, making

water safe to drink, finding and identifying food, treating

injuries, and climbing, swimming, and using specific or

makeshift tools. Almost all Survival Skills are environment

specific and require training in a particular environment.

Learn basic survival skills, such as how to avoid getting

lost, how to build a shelter, how to pack a survival kit, how

to build a fire, and more by using the US Army Survival

Manual

Knowing fundamental survival knowledge will help you

keep your cool in most circumstances. Do your best to

hone your survival knowledge so that you will be efficient

in the essentials for example navigation, creating fire,

getting and cooking food and water for risk-free

consumption, and creating shelters. Get prepared by

referring to the US Army Survival Guide - a great starting

point for ensuring you and your family are ready for any

extreme environment.

A bug out vehicle is a vehicle that you can use in place of

a bug out location. It will always be full of your needed

gear just in case of a natural disaster or any other situation

that might come up and ready to go on a moment's notice.

A bug out location is normally a piece of land or a family

member's home that you have set aside beforehand to go

to in case of any disaster. Some prefer having a bug out

vehicle instead because you always have your gear and

temporary cover from the vehicle with you at all times

which is important because sometimes you might not

make it to your bug out location. The vehicle can be your

shelter and what you plan on staying in if that were to

happen.

A good bug out vehicle will have the gear you need.

Normally it's suggested to have at least 72 hours worth,

but with a vehicle you can easily back in quite a bit more

than this. Be sure to have your proper survival gear, food,

water, medications, and anything else you might need as

you might not be sure how long you will be gone for

whatever the situation is.

It's best to try to get a vehicle that has some off road

capabilities in case you need to go off in the woods where

there might not be maintained roads. Get a vehicle with a

large gas tank. Be smart and keep this vehicle filled up

with gasoline at all times. You never know when you might

have to leave. When evacuating a city, sometimes you get

stuck in traffic for hours and hours. At home keep some

extra gasoline that you might be able to take with you just

in case.

If nothing serious ever happens like a major disaster, at

least you have a vehicle with some basic supplies for the

more probable personal disasters like getting stuck on the

side of the road overnight or going off into a snowbank.

Survival Skills are the secret to whether someone lives or

dies!

2 person 72 hr bug out bag

2 person 72 hr bug out bag

We all know what it takes to survive:

● Food

● Water

● Shelter

But do you know how to survive if you had nothing but a

survival pack? And what would you have in it to ensure

that you could live long enough to get rescued?

Here is a tip that you may or may not know: If I was lost in

the wilderness and I needed to find water I would start out

by heading east or west. Rivers predominately run north

and south so my chances of finding water are greatly

increased by heading east or west.

I also know that water runs downhill, so I would be

checking for low lying areas along the way. I would also be

using the sun to help keep my directions on a true easterly

or westerly course because.. Almost everyone that

becomes lost or stranded in the wilderness tends to travel

in circles.

I would DEFINITELY be sure if it were summer time that I

had a large trash bag in my survival kit. It's the miracle

water bag if you know how to use it properly!

Very large trees can produce up to 100 gallons of water

per day through a process called transpiration . We just do

not see it because of evaporation.

How To Collect It:

Place a large leafy branch of a tree inside of the trash bag

(leave it attached to the tree of course) and tie the bags

opening tight to the limb, to stop the evaporation process.

Then leave it alone throughout the rest of the day and

through the night.(approx.12-14 hrs). Remove the bag

from the limb the next morning and inside you will find...

PLENTY OF WATER --A Tasty Treat For Your Thirst!

Be sure that you acquire the skills that will keep you alive

in any situation, because life is unpredictable. If YOU or

YOUR FAMILIES LIFE were put into YOUR

HANDS...What would be the out come?...It's up to you!

There's no secret that survival is a group effort. While

prepping is a growing movement, by no means is it

anything close to mainstream. This means if you are a

prepper, you're likely having a lonely go at it. There are a

number of reasons for this, all which would make articles

on their own. The point I'm trying to make is that you need

to find people you can rely on if the world as we know it

comes crashing down. So here are some do's and don'ts

as I see them.

DO - Find local preppers in your area. This may include

people from local forums, gun clubs, hunting and fishing

clubs, anywhere online or off you might find like-minded

people.

DON'T - Assume that every prepper is trustworthy. People

are people no matter what their believe system is. You

must find someone you can trust, someone who trusts

you, and people you get along with. Prepping is the end

point but those others come first, or it'll all fall apart.

DO - Recruit family members. No one knows you like your

closest kin, and there's no love like family love. Trust is the

#1 most valuable resource in group survival and your

loved ones have it in spades.

DON'T - Recruit family members just because they are

some sort of relative of yours. Everyone has those aunts,

uncles, cousins and in-laws that are, well, not good

people. I said above that there's no love like family love.

That's true. That doesn't necessarily apply to every and all

family members. Leave those 'family' members that are

nothing but sponges, blowhards and self indulged drama

makers behind. This sounds harsh, but there is no trust

when there is no family love.

DO - Recruit friends. Friends are a fantastic resource and

just like family love, friends can bring trust in spades. In a

survival situation you need someone who you can have

your back to and know you won't get a knife in it.

DON'T - Recruit fair-weather friends. Fair-weather friends

are a lot more common than real friends. These people

think only for themselves and only associate with you

when they want something from you. It's easy to get lost in

the glamour of having a large social group, real or

imagined, but you MUST do soul-searching in this

situation. Take a good hard look at your social circle and

eliminate all those from your list who are fair-weather

friends - when it comes down to eat or die, these people

will as soon kill you to get your things if they think it'll help

them than help you as a group. There is no trust in that.

Now that you've read this, do you have a list in your mind

of who you'd want around you if TSHTF? Keep in mind

that this list doesn't mean these people are preppers or

have to be preppers. These people will be survivalists

when TSHTF whether they like it or not. These are just the

people whom you trust and vice versa. So create your

short list. If they won't prep, fine, prep for them. They will

provide the most valuable resource imaginable, that of the

group. Now, I have my short list. I'm sure you will too.

Mike Em is an outdoors man, hunter and survivalist. He

believes that history can repeat and being prepared for the

worst can mean the difference between life and death.

After all, it's much smarter to be prepared for something

that doesn't happen then the other way around. Read

more about prepping on his website

http://www.rednecksurvivalist.com

I want to talk about bunkers. I want to talk specifically

about their use, intent, survivability and the pros and cons

of a bunker being the central part of your survival plans in

a SHTF event.

Bunkering is an ages old tactic of defense wherein a

person or group of people pluck themselves away in a

small shelter capable of providing security against the

source of harm that is outside. I am guessing the first

cavemen started this idea when large predators would

come near them. I don't know that for sure, but it seems

like something plausible to me.

Today a bunker is much more than a small crevice where

big things can't get you. They range in size and scope

from bad weather bunkers meant to support 2-4 people for

a few hours to massive underground complexes capable

of sustaining life for several years without intervention

from outside sources. These bunkers can be homemade

or commercial made and can range in cost from $10,000

to well over $1 million dollars. The vast majority of people

that are planning to bunker themselves in a SHTF event

are utilizing small to mid size bunkers capable of

supporting 4-6 people for roughly 6 months to a year.

Why Bunkers?

I think many people lean toward bunkers because of

natural instinct. Survival is often associated with hiding or

remaining unnoticed and being underground in an

enclosed container is certainly going to seem like a way to

remain out of sight. Another factor is probably the belief

that it would be easier to survive any chemical, biological,

radiological or meteorological affects that might be

associated with the SHTF event if you can just "batten

down the hatches" and ride it out in your bunker. In a

nicely appointed bunker you can control your temperature,

air quality and sanitation through readily available systems

that can be purchased for bunkers.

The Intent of a Bunker

In my opinion bunkers were always intended for short term

survival of an imminent or ongoing event. It wasn't until the

advent of nuclear weapons that bunkers became "long

term" survival solutions. Prior to Fat Man and Little Boy

being dropped and the beginning of the Cold War there

was never really a reason for staying in a bunker for more

than a few hours or perhaps a day. Once it began

however, there was no turning back.

During the Cold War bunkers were springing up all over

the country. Nearly every town or city in the country had

some sort of plan that involved bunkering for safety. Many

people didn't realize that these bunkers may help them

survive the initial blast but they were not appointed with

the proper supplies for long term survival. These bunkers

had very little in the way of stored food, no blast doors,

inadequate sanitation and no air filtration systems. Private

citizens were even purchasing or building their own

bunkering solutions, which although may have been more

comfortable, wouldn't have provided any more real safety

than the public shelter.

The federal government has bunkers for long term

survival, but most of us wont be in those, so let's

concentrate on private bunkers.

Survivability

This is a tough topic for bunkers. There are SO many

different variables that must be taken into account in order

to accurately determine the survivability of a bunker

scenario. What some people consider strengths, others

may consider weaknesses. Thus goes the argument and

depending on which side of the fence you stand, the rest

of this article may just piss you off. Suffice it to say I am

simply trying to provide information in the hopes that

people reading the article say "Hey, good point" and

become a little better informed. So here we go...

In regards to general survivability I think bunkers are great

for immediate impact events that will hit and be gone.

Again, this is subjective and must be taken with a large

dose of common sense and the term "probability" comes

into play. Most people don't purchase or build bunkers in

case of alien attack, it just isn't a high probability event.

Many people do however build bunkers in case of nuclear

attack, asteroid impact or conventional attack/invasion.

Some people build bunkers to live in during periods of

social unrest and some people build them fully believing

that a SHTF event is coming that will completely destroy

the social fabric of this nation and toss all of the survivors

into a post apocalyptic survival scenario that looks like a

cross between Mad Max, The Road and The Book of Eli.

I personally don't feel that a bunker (again this is a

commercial or private bunker, not a government complex)

is a viable long term survival option for many reasons. I

feel that the graph of survivability in a bunker is a negative

slope decreasing exponentially over time. Let's talk about

the cons of a bunker to get that out of the way.

CONS of Bunker Life

*Note these are in no particular order of importance or

degree

Psychology

First let's talk about the psychological affects of bunker

life. Although many people can eventually get used to

living in the confined quarters of a bunker there are also

many that will never get used to it. I have heard the

argument "sailors do it on subs all the time" but that

argument doesn't hold water with me (pun intended)

because a sub is absolutely HUGE in comparison to the

bunker you are going to plant in your back yard or the

woods behind your house. If you have small children then

you need to really consider the affects on them as well.

One thing you really don't want to do is build your entire

survival plan around a bunker just to have your kids spaz

out on day three, five or ten.

One thing that is reported to happen as time progresses in

a bunker type environment is that the space seems to

shrink in on the person. What is clearly 25 feet of walking

space becomes 15, 10 or even 5 feet to your mind.

Perhaps this could be countered by having a permanent

line the length of the floor labeled with the distance every

few feet... who knows.

If you lose your ability to tell time due to clocks losing

power or watches not working, then your circadian cycle

will get fouled up and time will stretch, according to most

psychological experiments. What you perceive as 1

second may actually be as much as 5 seconds. In one

experiment the subject had to count to 120 by 1, with each

number spaced by 1 second. After just a few weeks in a

cave it took him 5 minutes to count 120 seconds.

Anyone that has ever lived in a small, cramped apartment

knows how quickly you can lose your temper when there

is no where to escape to be alone. I have three small

children... yeah, I would lose my mind. On top of that I

have no idea how they would cope considering they can't

sit still for more than 30 seconds at a time without damn

near exploding.

Security

At first glance the idea of a bunker puts feelings of

security, safety and survival at the forefront of your

thoughts. What could be better than having a hidey hole

that you can jump into during an emergency?! Fill it with

food and batteries and other goodies to keep you alive

and happy and BAMMO! you're a survivor! I have several

problems with this line of thought.

A secure bunker has one way in and one way out,

typically. First though, what if you are in the bunker and

something happens that makes that route impassable?

What could happen? Fire, Earthquake, metal fatigue,

malfunction, blockage externally... there are more but I'll

stop there.

Let's say you don't experience any of those issues,

eventually you will run out of stored foods, water or other

items that you will require. Foraging outside of the bunker

will become necessary, which means entering and leaving

the bunker. Anyone familiar with security operations

knows that this process is dangerous because it can easily

give away your hidden position. If Bill the Bad Guy sees

you leaving or entering he can go get his friends and sit on

that entrance until you return or go out again, thereby

potentially gaining entry to your secure bunker by virtue of

force or coercion.

Even if you are pretty slick and Bill the Bad Guy never

sees you entering or leaving your secret bunker,

eventually you will wear down a path leading him right to

your door. A good tracker will notice the trail before you

do, and even a bad tracker will notice a warn path. You

may be safe and secure and take different paths to and

from the bunker, but at some point you have to converge

on the entrance and there will be a path. Bill the Bad Guy

sees it, sits on it and BOOM, your his.

So let's say you have surveillance equipment watching the

outside and you see Bill sitting on your bunker entrance

waiting to catch you unaware. You still need to go out for

supplies. You can wait till he's asleep and hope to catch

him off guard and take him out, but what if he has friends?

You're a trapped rat. Maybe he gets tired of waiting and

starts searching for a fresh air return for the bunker?

Maybe he decides that you have pissed him off and just

barricades or disables the door? There's no limit to what

can happen and the second someone knows where your

bunker is at is the second your bunker becomes a liability.

Utility

In reality there are very few long term situations in which a

bunker will serve as a proper shelter. Short term situations

abound, so don't think I am knocking bunkers as useless, I

am not. Over the long term your bunker becomes a trap if

you return to daily. It becomes easily identifiable over time

(if used constantly) and the area surrounding it becomes a

tell tale sign of habitation that can't be missed. Once you

run out of stored food you need to start growing food. As

this will probably not be possible internally, planting

externally will become necessary. If you place your garden

near the bunker, well... you can do the math on that.

Placing your garden a good distance from your bunker

seems wise, but then you have to constantly make the trek

to and from, thus creating worn paths, and you also run

the risk of increasing your operational area and running

into people accidentally.

Basically the point is that once you have to leave and

return to your bunker on a regular basis it's advantage of

being hidden is lost. If you come under any sort of assault

or scrutiny you can simply walk away and try to come back

another time, but if you are in the bunker when it happens,

those options are eliminated.

Before anyone goes Rambo on me and says that a

bunker, if constructed properly, should include an area for

cover and return fire I will simply say this, if they know

where you are, the battle is easily lost to you. Yes, you

could out shoot them and survive but the odds are greatly

in their favor if you are bunkered.

PROS of Bunker Life

Bunkers are great for short term survival of life threatening

events. If properly built, maintained and supplied they can

be fantastic places to ride out a storm or event in relative

comfort knowing you and yours are most likely going to be

safe from whatever is happening outside. If you have

enough money bunkers can provide enough space for

light exercise, privacy for adults, decent sanitation and

even entertainment if you have good sources for electricity

and such. If you are going to build a bunker, I would say

build it out for a good 30-60 day survival period if you have

the money to do it.

The greatest thing about bunkers is that once they are

built and stocked, they are relatively easy to maintain if

they have only basic services. The more advanced the

systems, the more regular maintenance is required to

ensure the bunker performs as required when needed.

Bunkers are hidden places to safely ensconce your family

when the SHTF. Now, before you jump on me for flip

flopping please let me explain that statement. It is my

opinion that bunkers should ONLY be used when a threat

is imminent. Once the threat has passed I believe the

bunker should be vacated and restored to pre-use status.

Let's break that out into two different examples to make it

clear:

1) Bill and his family have a bunker behind their house and

the entrance is in the rear corner of a medium sized

garage. A tornado warning is issued and Bill grabs the

family and runs to the bunker. They weather the storm and

once the all clear is given, which they hear on their

emergency radio, they leave the bunker and head back

into the house. Great job, Bill.

2) Bill and his family watch in horror as the global

economy crashes and the United States is plunged into

civil war. The social fabric of this nation is destroyed and

on the other side of the event emerges a country devoid of

central government and rife with lawlessness and strife.

Bill and his family have prepared for this by building their

hidden bunker and stockpiling it. Because they live in the

country they continue their lifestyle and become

homesteaders. Occasionally when someone comes

through the area Bill will send his family into their bunker

to hide while he stays behind to make sure the person

doesn't locate their goods or damage their property. If the

intruder looks as though he is determined to cause harm,

Bill may have to defend himself and his family.

Once the threat is removed, either by force or lack of

interest, the family can return from the bunker when Bill

gives them the sign it's clear.

3) Same global scenario as number 2 above. In this event

a large group of intruders are seen making their way to

Bill's house. Bill and his family can either choose to run

into their hidden bunker, or simply evacuate to a

predetermined BOL and wait to see what happens.

a) Bill and the family run into the bunker and hide. The

intruders find the garden and the well stocked home and

decide to stay. If they find the bunker entrance, they will

try to get inside. If they cannot get in they will most likely

figure there are people inside and try to get them out.

Hopefully the intruders are peaceful and will be fine. Most

likely they are not peaceful and Bill and his family are

trapped like rats.

b) Bill and the family evacuate the farm and head to a

secret BOL that was build two years earlier. From there

they can either continue their evacuation to find a new

place to live, or make plans to retake their farm from the

intruders. Either way they have choices.

Now, some people will say that you can use a story to go

anyway you want it doesn't mean it's true. Those people

would be right. Some people would say that because I

prefer homesteads to bunkers, I am biased and this is all

opinion. Those people would be mostly right.

The facts are simple, if you place yourself into a bunker

and something bad happens, you have drastically

eliminated the choices you have in regards to where you

are going and how you are getting there. If you are

homesteading and trouble comes, you have more choices.

You can fortify firing positions which get you the

advantage, you can build traps and obstacles, you can

rely on help from trained dogs, you can move and use

fields of fire to combat your enemies... choices.

Once you enter a bunker your choices are extremely

limited. If you are unaware of the threat when you enter

the bunker you have given your attacker the element of

surprise unless you have maintained some form of

external surveillance. Even if you know they are out there,

you still have to enter and exit from a specific location,

thus giving your attacker the tactical advantage.

There are factions in the world today that are interested in

achieving world supremacy. Various powers are busy

figuring out how to dominate and destroy other world

powers they clearly have no interest in securing peace for

the world. Many nations are hiding nuclear arsenals, while

others, such as Iran, are developing nuclear weapons

while endeavoring to keep their plans secret from the

other nations of the world.

Emergency Survival During A Civil War

With the use of nuclear weapons, a third world war

breaking out is not that hard to imagine. However, while

this is cause for concern for people, there is an

unfortunate scenario of a more immediate nature that they

should pay attention to.

This article is referring to the potential eruption of a civil

war in almost any nation. It is a constant risk that people

should study closely. This includes not just the church and

world leaders, but everybody who cares about the security

of their families and entire communities.

Wars are deadly, and a war between factions of the same

country is no different. It can affect a good portion of the

population, including children who are too young to take

care of and protect themselves. Civil wars usually come

with abuses on human rights by both civilians and the

military.

A civil war always ends in tragedy, no matter where it

occurs. Millions suffer in Ethiopia and Somalia. Some four

million residents of Sudan were displaced, two million

have died, and over 70 million Ethiopians are starving.

Most recently, Syria has been in the news headlines. This

is what civil war looks like.

Families must craft emergency survival plans regardless

of the type of emergency. Rather than pin their hopes on

the government helping them out, they should rely on

themselves. This is how they will avoid experiencing

suffering, death and separation in evacuation camps

designated by the government.

Every family should think about enrolling in survival

courses that include gun firing and self-defense lessons.

With gun firing, it can be a kind of family activity. However,

the kids need to be warned about the perils of handling

firearms during normal situations.

It makes sense to prepare emergency first-aid kits

containing basic medications for typical illnesses. For

families with special disorders like asthma and diabetes,

other maintenance and life-saving drugs should be added

to the safety kits.

Residents of war-prone areas that are also vulnerable to

other emergencies should pack special kits on top of the

standard first-aid ones. These will be used for storing

durable footwear for the family, an all-purpose knife, basic

toiletries, maps and canned goods.

In preparing for a civil altercation, take only what is

important, particularly the basic necessities. Wars often

leave families displaced, forcing them to survive for weeks

that could stretch into months, walking the roads in an

effort to escape the violence.

Anticipating and getting ready for a civil war does not

mean you want it to happen. You are simply seeing to it

that the family has a better chance of surviving in case

such a tragedy takes place. As the saying goes: better

safe than sorry. That is just what civil war emergency

survival seeks to accomplish.

For more information on emergency survival

[http://emergencysurvivalblog.com] visit The Emergency

Survival Blog [http://emergencysurvivalblog.com].

Article Source:

http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Dan_Annweiler/1084251

Have you been glued to the tv watching reality-based

shows like The Colony where they must accumulate

survival food supplies or perish? Even in those survival

shows such as Man vs Wild and Survivor Man and such,

do you see some of that. Here are some ideas to ensure

that you still have some nourishment in situations like this

is by preparing in advance.

Develop your own garden. You can raise vegetables and

other edible plants in your backyard. You can raise your

plants in a pot or just plainly on the ground.

Learn they types of foods that you can either preserve, dry

or freeze. More so the first two than the latter as you may

not be able to freeze your food in most circumstances.

So plant foods such as nuts and fruit trees in your

backyard. Your fruit trees can grow larger, and in time, you

can make use of the tree's branches as a shade in the

meantime!

Learn how to preserve the food that you grow. There are

many ways in preserving your food. You can do methods

like food-canning and food-drying or dehydrating.

You can buy your own generator and stock up your

storage room with enough fuel. Also, you can buy a

propane generator to keep your food frozen. You can do

any method as long as your food stays frozen. You will be

able to have food for a few days at least even though you

do not have enough electricity. Keep a supply of water,

wood, charcoal and gas so if electricity turns off, you won't

be able to cook your food if you did not prepare gas and

wood or charcoal.

Seal the secret within your home. Never let your neighbors

know that you have a food supply that can last for six

months. When everyone in the neighborhood knows that

you have an enormous amount of food supply, well, the

next thing that you will know is that all of your food is

gone.

A cupboard is not good enough for your survival food

supply so get something especially for this purpose. You

must need a place wherein people won't easily know that

there is food inside. Also, the room must be safe from

getting damped or getting flooded.

Have a supply of private hygiene items. These items

include toilet tissue paper, soap, towels, toothbrush,

toothpaste, and alcohol. These things make you feel better

and thus works on your psychology and you will be able to

think clearer.

Also save some sweets like candies and cookies in a

resealable container or bags to protect them from other

critters who also want to eat.

Do you know how to cook rice without a rice cooker?

Watching these survival shows, I'm actually happy that my

mom taught me how to cook rice from a pot. Learn how to

cook from without the microwave or automatic cookers.

You can also make your own composting toilet.

Learn what types of food are edible in your neck of the

woods and especially, what are not and learn skills of the

hunters and gatherers of the past. You must know how to

catch a fish. You must also prepare supplies for hunting

since hunting will make your food supply continue.

Go to: Survival Food Supplies

[http://www.survivalfoodsupplies.net] for more information

about this topic. You might also be interested in chaos and

the butterfly effect for more about disaster scenarios.

Article Source:

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Asking people in the prepping culture a simple question

such as "What is the best survival method for prepping?

Bunkering, Homesteading, Wilderness Survival or Other"

will generate a great many discussions and even more

very intense and well thought out replies and arguments.

Most people will answer this question very quickly based

on their own opinion or position in life, which is realistically

the best way to answer the question. For those of us in the

"business" of prepping we sometimes have to take a step

back and look at the big picture. This is difficult for so

many of us because we have spent years of time and vast

amounts of resources building up our own preps and

knowledge based on our own opinions and situations.

Instead let's try to view this from the prism of a person

NEW to the prepping movement. A person with no

discernible skill sets and no stored foods or items. The

new prepper feels something bad is likely to happen in the

"next few years".

Bunkering

There are still a large number of people out there that are

buying bunkers and building hidey holes to jump into if the

shit hits the fan. Some of these bunkers are fantastic for

severe weather survival but living long term in a bunker is

fraught with issues. Needless to say I am a firm believer

that bunker prepping is a short term solution to a

potentially long term problem. The end result is that

preppers diving into bunkers may be well protected from

initial problems in a SHTF event, but may very well find

themselves behind the 8-ball in a long term event when

their power systems begin to fail, their stored foods run

out, their water runs dry and they begin to suffer from

some of the many psychological affects of bunker life.

Wilderness Survival

This one is tough to discount because people have

survived in "the wild" since the dawn of man and continue

to do so in many parts of the world. The skills involved in

proper wilderness survival are second to none and

obviously provide the Wilderness Survival Expert with the

tools and know-how to live for years off of the land.

My biggest argument about Wilderness Survival/Bushcraft

is that I don't personally believe it is in and of itself a

"prepping" methodology. I believe that wilderness survival

is a very broad set of skills and expertise that all preppers

should have some knowledge and experience in relative to

their specific environment. I personally believe that these

are the skills that are to be called upon at the on-set of

SHTF, or after an event in which your preps have become

unusable or lost to you. Some of these skills such as

tracking, trapping, hunting, fishing etc can be used in

parallel with other prepping methodologies to increase

survivability.

The downfall of Wilderness Survival as a prepping

methodology is the difficulty of living off of the land with a

family in tow. As time grinds on the family will have to

move in order to secure the resources that are required.

Movement itself brings inherent risk but mainly it makes

life quite difficult when you are slowly roaming from space

to space in order to provide enough sustenance for your

family.

Again, I do believe there is GREAT value in the wilderness

survival / bushcraft skill sets. I simply don't believe that

people new to the prepping movement should be looking

to this area as a complete prepping solution.

What exactly are we talking about?

If we were to take the base question: "What is the best

survival method for prepping?" and place it in the context

of a SHTF event that will last years if not decades the

picture will start to become a little more clear. Bunkering

and Bushcraft are not likely contenders for new preppers

when viewing the problem from a long term angle. Once

you have established you are prepping for a long term

event your available prepping options narrow.

"Nautical" Prepping

As of late there has been a bit of talk about bugging out on

boats or even living at sea for long periods at a time. I

have no issues with using a boat as a bug out vehicle. I

believe that it's a great idea if properly utilized within your

bug out plan. I do not believe people should plan a boat

into their bug out plans so much as determine that using a

boat to bug out is more feasible based on their current

situation. If you happen to live near a large body of water

and your bug out plans will take you across large stretches

of that water, then yes, a bug out boat would suit you.

However, if you live 200 miles from the nearest large body

of water and you plan your bug out to utilize a boat

because you just want to use your boat, you really should

rethink your plan.

Living at sea or sailing open waters for long periods is a

different beast altogether. The knowledge and skills and

equipment necessary to accomplish this are vast and not

easily accumulated. If you have zero sailing experience

today, and you are wanting to prep for an event that you

feel could happen soon, this is probably not the route you

want to travel with your prepping plans. If you happen to

have 20 years of open water experience and a $4 million

boat full of equipment specifically designed to survive long

term at sea and the years of knowledge required to keep

all of those systems running and repair them when they

fail (which they will) as well as the knowledge and

experience to captain that vessel across vast stretches of

open water... well then you are probably not reading this

article.

Once again this article is for NEW preppers. I just don't

see the value of the long term open water boating solution

without years of lead time and vast amounts of resources.

Homesteading

This brings mean to the last category that I have listed in

the opening question. In a post SHTF situation the single

most well prepared person in the world is the one that can

live off the land by growing food and raising livestock. Yes,

there are many other concerns such as shelter, small

equipment repair or manufacturing, security, governance,

medical attention, sanitation, etc. The list goes on and on

and on. However, if you grow your own food you can

sustain your own life and have a viable means of trade. If

you raise livestock you will have more food available as

well as goods such as wool, felt, skins, hair, etc. Livestock

produces manure which is also a trade good. Apples,

pears, peaches, cherries, berries, honey, milk... the list is

never-ending. All of this can be grown and raised on a

farm small enough for just a couple of people to manage

it, with enough left for small amounts of trade for other

things.

Although it may take years to learn to produce a high yield

of crops and a large number of livestock the rudimentary

skills are simple enough that even people with very little

knowledge and experience can grow enough to sustain

life. This can also be supplemented with hunting and

fishing where available. Homesteaders also have the

advantage of open space for movement and growth, root

cellars for storage and canning and preserving for long

term food stores.

Conclusion

This is the very base of the argument. In bunkering you

are producing nothing and your finite supplies will certainly

run out. When you emerge from your hole you stand the

very serious likelihood of emerging at a severe

disadvantage. The great expense of a large bunker with

extended survivability is out of reach of most people in the

first place.

The wilderness survival expert can survive on his own. He

can provide items for trade with locals and live a decent

life most likely. Introduce a family into that situation and

things change quickly.

The captain of the SS BugOut will do well and survive as

long as his equipment continues to function and is

maintained. Eventually the years will catch up and the

equipment will fail and parts will be unavailable and there

will be no more materials to make the parts. The captain is

doomed to rely on outside sources for survival in some

respects.

The homesteaders can survive, and have done so for

generations. There is no doubt as to why the rise of

mankind followed so closely with the knowledge and

technologies of small and medium scale farming. Read

your history books and you will find that farms and grist

mills became the backbone of communities that later

developed into towns and cities. How many bunkers have

become a city? How many boats have become a

community?

Before anyone jumps in and says "wait a second,

homesteading isn't easy!" You are correct, however if the

SHTF event occurs six months from now, is your bunker

stocked and ready? Do you have the knowledge and

experience to live in the wilderness? Is your boat outfitted

and are you properly trained to survive open waters long

term? In regards of starting up and being able to survive,

my money is on the homesteader any day.

In the big picture, long term, resources, trade and

community are what will drive survival. All of the above

mentioned methods of prepping will work for short

duration. Some will work longer if the person has the

proper knowledge and equipment. Only homesteading can

be approached with so little training and knowledge and

also provide so much in return.

Alex Newton

Plan and Prep - http://planandprep.com/home

Author - Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse

Article Source:

http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Alex_D_Newton/1403658

Everyone has some event they are preparing for. Like the

folks on Doomsday Preppers; if it isn't a Super Volcano,

nuclear attack, economic collapse, or even the tragic loss

of a loved one, you are preparing for "something". Let's

say today was the last "normal" day for you, how would

you spend it? Would you run around getting stuff ready

and brace for impact? Would you sit silently in a corner

and forget about the rest of the world? Or would you carry

on like any normal day and try to enjoy it a little more

because you know it may not happen again for some

time? I am asking you these pertinent questions because I

want to provoke thought before we disclose what the most

important prep is.

Have we become so inundated with reading the news for

warning signs of impending doom or scouring the web for

great prices on gear and food that we have become blind

to the most important prep? Yes we have. While this is

easy to do and a trap we fall into from time to time,

hopefully the information I will share will help you avoid

this pitfall. So put down the gear, turn off the television,

and join me for a few minutes of REAL preparedness talk.

Oh, and put down the cell phone, do it now!!

The most important prep is actually free. It doesn't cost a

penny. It is completely natural so there is no shelf life and

no preservatives. It doesn't take up much room in your bug

out bag and no batteries are required. What is it I am

talking about? It is pure, meaningful, and unconditional...

love. I am not going to get all mushy (I will try not to) on

you, but I will state the facts of the matter. I do not claim to

be a mental health professional, so please don't take this

as such. I wanted to speak to our readers as our friends.

My goal is for this article to spark some thought and may

become a call to action for some folks to improve their

relationships with family, friends, co-workers, etc. If you

truly believe that something is going to happen whether it

be a natural disaster or man-made, then you should put

this prep into action soon before it's too late.

If you take a look at everything you have, what is the most

important part of your life? Relationships. The ones you

have with family members, close friends, etc. When you

check on your gear, food storage, or work on skills, do you

ever work on these relationships? Do you set time aside

for your children, spouse, parents, etc.? Do you check on

a friend to see if they are OK? These are some of the

questions I want you to think about. While we may have all

our preps ready to rock in a moment's notice, we may

have the most important things in our lives falling apart in

the background. This is a fail and many will become

casualties.

Again, this is an opinion on what the most important prep

is. Before the shoo shoo hits the fan, you have the

opportunity to create great memories with family and

friends. Because if your worst fear came to pass, these

will be what you can hold onto and no one can take that

away from you. So go with your children and make them

smile. Play games, tell stories, make them laugh. This is

what they will remember. Have a date night with your

spouse. This is the person you chose to spend your life

with. Reconnect and find those things that brought you

together in the first place. Even if you aren't married and

just have a significant other, you can still take an oath of

for better or for worse. There are enough problems to deal

with on a daily basis, so a little kindness goes a long way.

Do you have a friend you haven't spoken to in a long time?

Check up on them. Sometimes just being there to listen is

the best. Someone you know could be going through what

they consider their SHTF moment; the loss of a loved one,

unemployment, financial troubles, etc., but you would

never know. This is what helping each other is all about. It

doesn't need to be with goods and materials, a kind heart

goes a long way.

In the end, adding this positive energy into your preps is

worth its weight in gold. The stress of any SHTF event is

bad enough but when you endure this with people who

you share strong bonds with, it will make survival just that

much easier. So put a little "love" in your bug out/go bag

today.

http://preppercentral.com

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Plan and Prep - http://planandprep.com/home

Author - Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse

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