I thought this was a really insightful and important video to make, about bugging out in the city, and sleeping under a bridge at night. I think it’s really easy to imagine bugging out including simply heading for the hills and camping out there, but for a lot of people, being stuck in an urban … Read more
One of the primary reasons we rely on today’s energy grids, such as gas and electric, are to preserve, prepare, and store our foods. When you go off-grid, one of your top concerns will be on how to cook your food. Here are a few of the best ways to cook food entirely off-grid, whether … Read more
When you commit to hunting for your dinner, a good recipe that can be cooked over the open fire really makes the experience. This simple, delicious recipe can be used with just about any game animal, but we’ve chosen rabbit. For convenience, prep your ingredients ahead of time and pack them in your cooler. If … Read more
If you find yourself getting tired of energy bars and protein shakes every time you’re out on the trail, it’s time to liven up your camp cooking. The right tools keep the fun in preparing the fuel that keeps you going. No matter your culinary skills or preferences, these essentials deserve a spot in your … Read more
Every avid hiker or outdoorsman knows the value of a quality pair of hiking boots. A bad pair can ruin a camping trip or even cause an injury, so you need to be sure you get the right boots for your needs. First, consider how they’ll be used. The most common hiking injuries are … Read more
There’s a lot about survival we can learn from the military. You never know when you might need to defend your homestead in a militant fashion, when government systems have failed in a post-disaster or war-like scenario. If you’re not fortunate enough to have a trained soldier in your household, you can still glean from … Read more
Today I wanted to discuss a bit about basic flood preparedness. Now, you might live in an area where floods are a reality and you’re already well-prepared for them. But if California is any example, extreme weather is causing flooding in areas that aren’t used to it, so if you’re near a river, dam, … Read more
It’s always been hard to get an accurate picture of what’s really going on at the Fukushima Daichi nuclear plant in Japan since its cooling system was damaged and failed in the 2011 tsunami. The Japanese government is notoriously tight-lipped about the nuclear disaster, but time to time we hear updates on what we’ve all … Read more
Potatoes are one of the best survival foods you can grow. They are caloric and starchy and will keep for a long time if stored correctly. You can grow herbs and vegetables all day, but nothing will sustain you like potatoes, and they require little space and maintenance to grow. Fortunately, wherever you live, you … Read more
There are many guns available on the market, both for sport, home defense, and concealment, and it might be a bit overwhelming when you’re new to concealment to know how to chose the best weapon for everyday carry. If you are not fortunate enough to buy several guns or holsters for sport and hobby and … Read more
Thousands of Northern California residents of the town of Oroville have been evacuated in recent days due to an anticipated failure of an axuilary spillway in the Oroville Dam on the Feather River. After years of severe drought, California has been hammered with rain and snow this winter and the previously drained lake is now hundreds … Read more
Meat can be difficult to store, but provides important calories and nutrients for sustenance that can’t be ignored. While beef jerky will only last a few months on the shelf, it’s still worth knowing how to make. You can make in large batches, keep on hand, and simply freeze or eat before it spoils. If … Read more
Women have a unique challenge for preparedness in terms of safety. There are many ways to defend oneself and train for physical defense and endurance, but there might come a time in a post-disaster scenario when masking one’s gender just might be the most prudent thing to do. This certainly won’t replace regular self-defense preparedness, … Read more
Water is one of the essentials of disaster preparedness, but if you don’t store it properly, bacteria can grow in your containers, the containers can deteriorate and leech plastic into the water, or it will mold. Now, canning water might sound kind of silly, but given it’s a natural substance that’s subject to a sort … Read more
When preparing for medical needs, oftentimes preppers will just make sure to have the standard first aid kit items on hand and assume that’s good. Short-term treatment of wounds, bruises, and scrapes is great, of course. But you have to keep in mind that if you’re preparing for a long-term post-disaster scenario, you’re not just … Read more
We’ve mentioned a few time on this blog how crucial gunsmithing will be after a disaster hits, especially in the mass breakdown of civilization. But unlike many other survival skills, it’s not exactly something you can easily learn at home. It takes specialized tools, skills, knowledge, and time. That being said, it is still an … Read more
Preppers have recently assumed the nickname “doomsday” preppers, because, in a lot of cases, that’s what many people are preparing for, or at least that’s what non-preppers perceive it as. Eschatologically speaking, the ultimate doomsday/apocalypse from the Bible isn’t something you’ll necessarily survive, to get technical, so what is it we are prepping for? Well, to be … Read more
Garlic is touted as both a delicious ingredient good for almost all savory cooking and a potent natural medicine. Honey, too, is both a sweet treat and a powerful antibiotic. Here is an incredibly easy recipe in which their forces are combined to make a savory lightly fermented infusion. The syrup can be taken to … Read more
If you live in the Southwestern portion of the United States, you are never very far from a desert. Whether you enjoy hiking in the desert or you simply drive through it, you need to take the time to learn some important yet simple skills that will help you to survive just in case … Read more
How often have you had a friend or even a family member look at you as though you’ve lost your mind and asked you why you do what you do? Why do you need those survival skills? They tell you that you can just buy your food at the grocery store and that you can … Read more
A lot of people are intimidated by long rifles, and for good reason. They’re big, loud, and often associated with war and carnage (thanks to the public perception of “assault rifles”, one might argue). But the truth is, for women, they can be great options for home defense. Surprisingly, they’re actually easier to handle than … Read more
Throughout eight years of Obama, many people got deep into prepping, feeling that he was leading us to impending doom. Now that Trump is in office it might be tempting to those same people to relax and hope for growth and security, while those who felt hopeful during Obama’s presidency are turning into the preppers. … Read more
When you want to get started prepping, you will probably find yourself overwhelmed with the amount of options out there for you. It’s common to not know where to start or to find yourself with an inflated sense of urgency to buy all the things. To demystify the process of getting started with prepping, we’ve created … Read more
In a survival situation, even small wounds can be deadly. If not kept clean, your body can go septic, which is difficult to treat without modern medicine. Fortunately, there is an easy DIY antiseptic you can use to quickly and easily clean wounds that is perfect for survivalists and preppers. It’s called Daikin’s solution, and … Read more
When you are putting together your bugout bag, you need to make sure you are packing smart and carrying everything you need. Naturally, this will include things such as water and food, vital elements for “getting out of Dodge” so to speak. However, you have to make sure you are choosing the right types of … Read more
While it’s always great to see anyone on the political spectrum taking advantage of their first amendment rights, an unfortunate tactic of many protestors over the last year or so has been to block traffic. This video of Portland protestors being swarmed by riot police is an important reminder of what can happen if an impassioned … Read more
Tornados are no joke. They form quickly and can plow through whole communities in a matter of minutes, destroying everything in their path. It can be terrifying to hear that blaring siren, so it’s important to know ahead of time what to do when you hear it so you can make smart choices as to … Read more
It can be overwhelming shopping for survival items, especially if you’re buying stuff brand new. We have dollar store survival product suggestions here, but there’s another goldmine for survival supplies you may not have thought of: secondhand stores. Here are some suggestions for stuff to look for at thrift stores that will be useful in … Read more
A few days ago, we published a master guide to food preservation methods. Today I wanted to zero in on preserving one particular food product: meat. Meat is crucial to store because besides rice and beans, it’s probably going to be your primary source of calories, protein, and iron, which are essential to actually stay … Read more
When many people, including many of your friends and family, discuss the topic of survival, the conversation steers toward the latest gadgets and gear aimed at preppers and survivalists. You might have a closet or a garage full of this gear. While it is certainly true that some of this gear will help to make … Read more
Learning how to tie knots is crucial, and back in the day, many little boys would learn their share of scout knots that would be useful throughout life. These days, knot tying isn’t really taught anymore, but for survival, it can be a really great skill to have. There are a ton of suggestions for … Read more
When faced with the task of storing and preserving survival food, if you’re just getting started you might find yourself overwhelmed and confused by all the methods of preserving food for the long-term. Today, we’ll look at the seven major methods of food preservation and how to choose which one is right for you. Canning … Read more
Crisco is not only a great, non-perishable, and cheap cooking fat that you can find at virtually any supermarket, you can also use it to make a ridiculously easy survival candle that will burn for hours and takes literally seconds to make. Crisco is vegetable shortening, which is basically a processed, vegetable-oil based lard. It’s … Read more
OK, I’m not really sure where these super bad firefighter demonstrations were at my fire drills when I was a kid, but if they’d been there, I might have paid more attention. I hope it’s common knowledge that you shouldn’t put a grease fire out with water, but you never know who might not know … Read more
It’s very common to have a survival stash at home, for your kids to do drills at school, or for you to have an EDC survival kit or bug out bag stashed in your car, but do you and your family have a contingency plan for when disaster strikes your area? If there is ever … Read more
Popping popcorn without a microwave is something I’ve done for years, so I forget that for many people, it’s a novelty. Many people have only ever known popcorn as something that you buy in a bag, at a movie theater concession stand, or that you make in a bag in the microwave. What’s great about … Read more
There are many amazing medicinal herbs out there, as we’ve discussed before, and knowing how to harness their healing properties is a crucial survival and self-reliance skill to have. Making a tincture involves steeping the herbs in a natural liquid that extracts and concentrates its healing properties. Tinctures are more potent, longer lasting, and effective … Read more
You might be sitting in your comfortable, warm home right now with a full belly. As a survivalist, you might be comfortable knowing that you have a nice high-powered rifle that you can use to hunt for food just in case the SHTF and you need to feed you and your family. Of course, what happens … Read more
The Walking Dead is one of the most popular television shows of the past several years, and seems to have struck a chord with just about everyone for one reason or another. If you are a survivalist, then you might have watched it with an eye toward how things might work in a real situation. … Read more
If you’ve got a canine companion, you’ve probably thought about keeping extra food and provisions around for them. But have you considered prepping a bug-out bag for your dog? If you’ve got a larger breed of dog, you’re probably planning on taking them with you when you bug out, so you can prepare a bag … Read more