Unfortunately, one constant of venturing off the beaten path in North America is that chances are better than a person will find a discarded plastic bottle of some sort. The vast majority people will find are those XX ounce bottles soda comes in, but they will also find a fair amount of 2-liter bottles as…
How to Predict the Weather with Clouds
If a person is an avid fisherman, particularly if they typically fish on lakes, ponds or the ocean, chances are they are pretty good at predicting the weather. Or rather, they are probably pretty good at looking at an electronic radar image, gauging how fast a storm is moving across the image’s map and predicting…
Hurricane Harvey: A Case Study in the Need for Survival Preparedness
Hurricane Harvey battered Texas recently and almost immediately it became obvious that no matter where we lived, or how prepared people were, this storm and its aftermath would pose a monumental challenge for weeks if not months to come. Houston appears to have the acutest challenges, with residents stranded and emergency shelters overwhelmed, but the…
What to Stock in Preparation and What to Do When the Power Goes Out
Power outages are one survival scenario that affects all of us unless we are living completely “off-grid” and do not rely on traditional power supplies at all. They can hit at any point in the year, making them easily the most common sort of survival scenario most of us will face at any given time.…
Lessons We Should Learn Now Before We’re in a Post-EMP World
One of the more realistic but often ignored threats to civilization is the EMP. Were one to hit North America, almost every electronic system or component we possess would be rendered useless – phones, computers, vehicles, refrigerators, the power supply – all would be turned into various iterations of very expensive anchors. While the plausibility…
(Video) How to Start a Fire in the Rain – Mastering the Basics
Of all the challenges you can face in a survival situation if you are in the wilderness, starting a fire in the rain has to rank at the top. If any of several variables go wrong, you can find yourself spending a good amount of time to manhandle wet materials and no fire! Worse, if…
Post Disaster Skills that Everyone Will Need
It is difficult for many to imagine a world without smart phones, computers, automated processes and the relative ease with which we in North America live our lives. If, though, we experienced a life altering, infrastructure decimating survival event, a lot of that ease would very quickly go by the wayside. Instead of getting all…
(Video) Survival Vehicles: Selecting One for Individual Survival Needs
If you are preparing for a major survival incident and its aftermath, unless you live on a property that is in and of itself completely self-sustaining, you will need a vehicle to get around with. You may have to bug-out to safety, or get to the grocery store if the survival situation you face is…
At What Point We Should Rely on FEMA and Whether it is Even Necessary
When the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) came out and recommended that every American have a few days to a few weeks worth of survival supplies on hand at all times, many of us were skeptical. If the US federal government was recommending citizens be prepared for a survival crisis, even a short-term one, what…
Emergency Foods for a Shorter-Term Survival Crisis
This post covers food you should stock up for short to medium term survival situations – foods that can help out in a pinch but should not be the foundation of your survival situation food store. While it is fine to plan on a longer-term survival situation and prepare as such, we more often than…
Survival Items Every Vehicle Must Have
If you are like most of us, you spend a lot of time in your vehicle – not as much as you spend in your home, but pretty close to it, especially on days you do not have to work. That reality and the more time you spend in your vehicle increases the odds that…
Bug Out Locations to Consider When the World is Ending
Imagine this scenario. You live in a beach community and there is a hurricane heading straight for you Emergency officials have been warning for days that you need to evacuate and if you wait much longer, there is nothing they could do to help you until the survival crisis has passed and you are mired…
Nonfood Items That Must be Stockpiled
Chances are when you search on a survival topic, if “stockpile” is in the search phrase you are using, you end up with a bunch of food related lists. These are lists related to storing enough food and water to last you through just about every type of survival situation. What you do not always…
Is Off-Grid Living a Good Idea? Here’s One Family’s Story:
The decision to move to an off-grid lifestyle often is constructed in the abstract. It is a dream, sure, maybe even a realistic dream, but much of that dream relies upon the romantic aspects of being independent, self-contained and free to pursue a life external to the chaos of the world around us. What is…
(Video) A Self-Feeding Fire System for Those Who Need to Keep the Fire Going
How often have we camped out, had a roaring fire, have that fire die down and by morning, all we have is a smoldering pile of ash? In most situations, as long as you contain the fire and follow all campfire precautions, that is fine. If, however, you are looking to sustain a fire over multiple…
How to Find and Hunt 4 Different Types of Bucks
Hunting season is approaching; in a few short weeks the first fall hunting seasons will open and that, of course, means deer season is just around the corner. Knowing the land you hunt is, of course, critical to ensuring a successful (and safe) hunt, but so is understanding the nature, disposition, type and habits of…
Night Vision Devices That Are Effective for Night Vision Security
Note: If you plan on utilizing night vision technology, please check with your local laws and regulations pertaining to their purchase, ownership, and use. Some municipalities have restricted all of the above and while night vision equipment gives you a very big advantage in a survival situation, you do not want to inadvertently run afoul…
7 Tips to Get Home Safely Following an EMP
The recent solar eclipse, despite all the hype, had at least one significant characteristic that applies to preparing for a survival scenario: It should have impressed upon everyone that certain events, benign or otherwise, are beyond our control and can happen at any moment. We had ample warnings about the coming eclipse and that let…
Preppers Who Know What They Are Doing Have These Excellent Habits
Like any specific pursuit in life, there are certain traits that a successful person possesses. That is not to say those without these traits cannot be successful, but their path is much more difficult than if they possessed those traits. Stephen Covey covered them in his 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and they apply…
Gourmet Vegetables That Are Perfect for a Fall Harvest
As we approach the end of summer, it is time to start thinking about fall crops. While most fruits and vegetables require too long to mature, there are many that you can plant now and still get in at least one harvest before any hard frost, or, if you live in an area that does…