Do you "TRULY" believe most preppers are serious...???

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Actually I do not truly believe that most preppers are serious.

I actually believe that most preppers only prepare enough to:

1) Reduce their own personal anxiety to an acceptable level - but most underestimate the threats - so their anxiety is an invalid datapoint (and is usually irrational anyway)
2) Feel good about being better prepared than "normal" folks - but again, with most people being almost entirely unprepared, comparison with them is pointless
3) Address every day events, that really should be just considered part of normal life - like power failures, storms, illness, job loss, etc

......and because of the above, when someone starts to talk about real prepping on internet discussion forums, people who think they are more serious about prepping than they really are, get uncomfortable......then angry......then come out swinging.

If that person is a moderator on a dedicated survival forum, then they lock all those threads (and I am talking about another forum, not this one).
 
Do you "TRULY" believe most preppers are serious...???

I think there are 4 types of preppers in the community:

There are Armchair Preppers, they watch hunting, fishing, and prepping programs on TV thinking it will give them an edge, then call themselves a prepper.
There are Hobby Preppers, they kind of do it but they haven't thought about their situation or their plans much
There are Tunnel Vision Preppers, they are the kind that focus on 1 type of event to the exclusion of everything else, this is how I saw many of the Extreme Preppers on TV.
There are Lifestyle Preppers, that do it everyday as part of their daily routine, it has become second nature to them.

As for MOST preppers being serious, I would say yes in their own way. Excluding the Armchair Preppers.

But when you consider that all Preppers are less than 1% of the population, in any SHTF event they will be vastly outnumbered by the unprepared looking to get by at the expense of the prepared...
 
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Some people may store enough food, even if it isn't the best food during an emergency or long term event. Some people may have a firearm or two or more and either a small supply of ammo or plenty of ammo. Some people may be able to handle simple emergency chores. But few people are prepared for a long term event or capable of making major repairs or major SHTF engineering of survival necessities.
But, whatever makes them comfortable is what is best for them. After a few weeks or longer the herd will thin and more and more supplies and parts and necessities will become available to those who know how to make something from nothing.
I think, maybe, possibly that is the situation with people who think they are preppers.
 
I will also add that when people run out of their "yummy" highly processed food and begin eating things like grains or dehydrated veggies or meats their body will react to the very different food quality and they will start to think they are sick. Processed foods that make up most of the standard American diet are very bad for the body but the body adjusts and tolerates them. When people switch to better quality "survival" foods it will take a few weeks for their insides to adjust and they wont be very happen about the bodies "ejection" process. Years ago I went with the ex to a food storage discussion at her LDS ward and the person suggested occasionally practicing cooking with the food storage foods so they would know how to cook them when an emergency situation occurs. Someone mentioned family members having stomach issues after eating food storage food. The answer was "Maybe your body's problem is with your normal diet, not with the food storage diet." Meaning once the unhealthy processed food is gone your body will need to learn to process the better quality foods but until your body adjusts it will act very unpleasantly. However, this will "pass".
 
I AM NOT a "prepper". I have some stuff for short term, guns and ammo cause I like shooting, a generator for a couple days to keep the fridge and freezer running, food to eat if we can't get to the store, etc. Axes, shovels, gardening tools, all in supply, but the engine that runs the manual stuff has the check engine light on. Lots of stuff cause I am a pack rat with a lot of different interests and hobbies. Camping/backpacking sets you up with some gear and some skills, etc etc.
 
I think UrbanHunter hit the nail on the head. People who are "serious" about prepping are all serious in their own way. Everybody has restraints be they physical, mental, financial, whatever. We do what we can given the resources that we have, and what we do we take seriously. If I hit the lottery things would be a lot different. When you have serious health issues you don't move to a place that is 50 miles from the nearest hospital. I do not live a self sustaining lifestyle, but I am serious about what I do.

This is an opinion. I will use a little different analogy. Opinions are like children. Sometimes your own aren't the best. Who are we to judge anybody's opinion.
 
Like most everything else in society there is varying levels of seriousness to prepping. I think Urbans description is pretty much accurate. People tend to do what they can and know, peppers that is, for the most part. The ones that try and incorporate it to a lifestyle continue to learn new skills to gain additional advantage
 
I think for many people "prepping" is just a fad. And not really serious about prepping.
It turns out I was prepping long before it had a name. Back then it was just being self-sufficient and independent. In the old days people didn't run to the store every day, because there wasn't any store close by. We stocked up on canned goods and dry foods just in case of a bad storm, and to save miles and gas on our vehicles. Many of us kept a freezer locker in town or at the local feed mill before home freezers became widely available. We kept tools and parts around because we maintained our own vehicles and equipment. My dad would never take any of his vehicles to a mechanic for any reason. Except for our house and the main barn, I built all of the buildings mysef.
We kept guns and ammo around for hunting, not to run around the woods playing GI Joe or prepping for a zombie attack.
I know it's different for urban dwellers vs rural people due to space limitations etc. To me, any person that is serious about living independently or self-sufficient should do whatever it takes to get out the urban area and get at least a few acres and move.
 
Many people are serious about being prepped. But having said that, for a real SHTF scenario I don't think it will make a lot of difference in the end. A few months, half a year, maybe a full year for the really hard core prepped. And that year will not be fun.

I myself am only seriously prepped for a short term disaster where things are still normal in other parts of the country, and will return to livable conditions where I happen to be in relatively short order (weeks, to a few months).

I am not in the slightest bit serious about living totally on my own for years after the world has collapsed. Personally, I think prepping for that is folly, but have nothing against those who want to attempt it. They will no doubt live a bit longer than I will when the world ends.

So you could call me "serious" in that I am well prepped for what I want to be prepped for. But if "serious" means that I am ready to face the world as one of the last surviving humans, I am not serious at all. I am a total clown in that department.

It all depends on what your definition of "serious" is.
 
In my humble opinion preps are to get us over the hump when the services stop. They are not meant to last you the rest of your days they are meant to allow you to transition from buying what you need to making what you need. Yes that's way over simplified but you all should get the message.
 
A lot of people think they are prepared when in fact they are kidding themselves.
I am not a long term prepper.
We would survive a few weeks without going to the store or having power.
Water would be our biggest problem but I can solve that with very little effort or cost.
I'm ready for short term situations but realistically we have no chance of long term survival.
Age and medical issues would be our main problems.
 
If all the stores closed tomorrow we are in a position to last until crops get harvested. Yes we have everything on hand including meat animals to plant and harvest all our own food if it becomes necessary. Fuel would become an issue after the first year or two but that's something that can be dealt with in one way or another.
 
Mountain trapper said:
I think for many people "prepping" is just a fad. And not really serious about prepping.
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I think it was, and I am in the same boat. I was doing it long before it had a name. In the last 20+ years we have had the Y2K scare, and then the Mayan Apocolypse. That created a cottage industry. People who started prepping then did it because it was a fad. They probably have a closet full of expired food, and have gone back to their old habits.

Those who took it more seriously are still prepping, and hopefully, have made it a lifestyle.
 
Mountain trapper said:
I think for many people "prepping" is just a fad. And not really serious about prepping.
It turns out I was prepping long before it had a name. Back then it was just being self-sufficient and independent. In the old days people didn't run to the store every day, because there wasn't any store close by. We stocked up on canned goods and dry foods just in case of a bad storm, and to save miles and gas on our vehicles. Many of us kept a freezer locker in town or at the local feed mill before home freezers became widely available. We kept tools and parts around because we maintained our own vehicles and equipment. My dad would never take any of his vehicles to a mechanic for any reason. Except for our house and the main barn, I built all of the buildings mysef.
We kept guns and ammo around for hunting, not to run around the woods playing GI Joe or prepping for a zombie attack.
I know it's different for urban dwellers vs rural people due to space limitations etc. To me, any person that is serious about living independently or self-sufficient should do whatever it takes to get out the urban area and get at least a few acres and move.
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Being a child of Depression Era parents I think I was raised with the mindset to not throw away things that are still useful, or that could be useful. I am not a hoarder but those metal pipe type brackets and pieces from the old porch swings were saved and later used for a cage around the horse food to keep his hungry nose out of the expensive grub. The microfiber material from an old worn out sectional couch was stripped off before the rest ended up in the trash and it found a new home a few years later covering a platform in the back of my pickup, which made a good bed for cross country road trips when I needed a nap but had no time to get a hotel. The thousands of rocks I collected off the ground on my property were stacked into a pile until I decided they would make great gabions for fence posts on the property.
Just because it is "junk" today doesn't mean it isnt useful.
Biggkidd said:
If all the stores closed tomorrow we are in a position to last until crops get harvested. Yes we have everything on hand including meat animals to plant and harvest all our own food if it becomes necessary. Fuel would become an issue after the first year or two but that's something that can be dealt with in one way or another.
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Haertig said:
I need to learn how to plant meat animals.
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I was thinking the same thing. How deep do I plant the chickens and rabbits? Do you leave the head above ground to let them breathe?
 
Like many other comments, I think people are serious about what they're worried about. Prepping for mother nature might be "just another Tuesday" for one person, but that doesn't make it any less serious for somebody else. Likewise, prepping to survive a global collapse can be seen as irrational, but it still has merit. There's not a cosmic leaderboard for who survives the ultimate apocalypse better.
 
I think that @Morgan101 is right in a lot of ways, when we started (Late 70s early 80s) it wasn't call "prepping" we were just making 72 hr kits in case we needed to flee some sort of disaster. Then the threats got larger and the writing on the wall became clearer, each time I perceived a "threat" I took any spare cash I had and put it into shelf stable foods (things we ate anyway). We had some real emergencies that usually lasted less than 10 days, our reserves were used and replaced. After each Emergency we stopped to debrief ourselves about what worked and what didn't, we adjusted our plans based on our experience. We did not intend to be Preppers, but we don't want to be caught unprepared. We eat what we store and store what we eat. We have food storage, we try to keep it at a target level: our target is to have all we need, but not enough to allow it to be on the shelf long enough to be "expired". We have some long term food items with shelf lives of longer that 10 years, but even that we use and replenish as part of our normal everyday lives.

As for move out into the country, if the wife was healthy and I had money, we would be packing up to go someplace today... But she is linked to her medical support team and I need to work to cover our needs. So we will be staying put.

I don't think of myself as a prepper, but as an old Scout, I believe in being prepared... and I am serious about that...
 
Well first you build fences then you plant feed crops then you buy / get bacon and beef and egg "seeds" and nurture them until it's time for freezer camp. Meanwhile you keep their offspring for the next crop......


LMAO
 
Hardcalibres said:
a) Actually I do not truly believe that most preppers are serious.

b) ..If that person is a moderator on a dedicated survival forum, then they lock all those threads (and I am talking about another forum, not this one).
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I'll comment in reverse.. :)

b) Pff, ain't That the truth.. ie: Aerindel "banned" from you know where :rolleyes: If people cannot deal with someone's mere 'pointed opinions' (but ones based on Years of Learning from Experience and 'BTDT') and perhaps some 'terse volleys' here/there in a discussion... How the heckfire do they imagine they'll Survive actual desperately-starving neighbors and roving kill-gangs??

And Mods need to remember that "Mod" doesn't start with a Capital G'. 🤔 I think the moderation, herein, is Exponentially Better, than over back at the Wastelands.

a) I think a good 'litmus test of seriousness' is What people 'demonstrate they're willing to sacrifice', in order to-prep for long-term Survival.. ie: Those who cry 'Oh, but I just can't Afford to prep!' - and then proceed to blow $hundreds (I imagine..) on 'cigarettes' (not knocking any smokers, herein, just point out: Cigs are Not a "necessity" for life, etc) or 'Netflix' or excessive-booze or Lotto-tix or whatever. What we each 'give up, to Get', reveals a Lot, imo.

ie: selling that 'Posh place in tranquil Suburbia' - for a dusty, hard-ass Ranch / Farm-life / BOL, but one well-away from the (invariable) Zommie-hordes, whence they break forth, etc, etc..

Also, the level to-which they 'push the envelope', meaning, how extensive one self-starts to Train, Learn more and more, invest in 'advanced Preps' (ie: preparing for a Dental situation, which is beyond the simple 'Eugenol + Zinc Oxide patch-kit', etc..)

And, of course, people are always, to some degree, corralled by 'individual / Family circumstances / inherited-health issues', etc, but.. As long as one is Pushing that envelope, as / where-Able - and contiguously - any 'prepper' should be well on their way to a solid 'Transformation' (to it being their Way of Life..) The whole idea of a "72 hr Bug out Bag, and yer All Good, cuz Mama FEMA will show up sooner or later" is just bollocks.

.02
jd
 
If anyone here is on the other forum, read my thread on what crisis humanity is going to face most likely sooner than later (it's in the finance section) . You can't prepare for this. I am not sure I want to survive for example a nuclear war in which most of the planet becomes inhabitable.
Even if you have a year's worth of food and a ton of ammo, you are not going to survive a complete society melt down unless you are young , healthy and very very determined and lucky, so I have stopped worrying about it
 
Asking if preppers are serious about being prepared is answered in the text of the question:
What is a prepper?It would seem to me that if you are a prepper you prepare. Do we all prepare the same way or for the same thing?
I hope not! People who live in wheat country need to prep differently than those in the mountains or in Alaska (as a general rule).
My time is not spent worrying over things that may or may not happen But I have a plan and I carry it out as necessary. I don't worry about a magnitude 9+ earthquake and Tsunami but then I moved out of the area that was likely to have that problem. Still when I built my structures I made sure they were earthquake resistant, wind resistant and fire resistant. I grow some food and have an active pantry and the canning supplies to keep it full. My water comes from a well and is good drinking water.
I doubt that many are prepared in the same manner or to the same extent as I am but I am just as sure that there are others who are better prepped for their circumstances but I have different circumstances. I would think that most, if not all, preppers are serious about being prepared for what they see as necessary in the world they live in.
 
There are many, maybe most in this thread "So Far" that are little more then weaseling out of responsibility. No offence "SHEEPDOG", I simple picked yours as it was at the bottom of posts so far. But it is an example of how "Current prepping think functions. EVERYONE gets a socially acceptable excuse for halfheartedly working at prepping.
We are all different
We all have different lifestyles
We all live in different locations
We all have different financial abilities
We all have different physical abilities
We all have different family situations
etc. times 100
excuses.

The simple truth is that to be serious, requires work, study, focus, effort, commitment, etc. X 100.

So, people sell out to "Good Enough". Everyone wants an "EASY" checklist, of prepping things. Few, very FEW are truly committed to survival.

Hell, the truth is most have zero firsthand experience with experiencing Survival. What passes for survival is one parent is layed-off and trawing unemployment. People are going to be in shock at in-your-face survival in the future. We have been existing in a social illusion.
 
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Sourdough said:
There are many, maybe most in this thread "So Far" that are little more then weaseling out of responsibility. No offence "SHEEPDOG", I simple picked yours as it was at the bottom of posts so far. But it is an example of how "Current prepping think functions. EVERYONE gets a socially acceptable excuse for halfheartedly working at prepping.
We are all different
We all have different lifestyles
We all live in different locations
We all have different financial abilities
We all have different physical abilities
We all have different family situations
etc. times 100
excuses.

The simple truth is that to be serious, requires work, study, focus, effort, commitment, etc. X 100.

So, people sell out to "Good Enough". Everyone wants an "EASY" checklist, of prepping things. Few, very FEW are truly committed to survival.

Hell, the truth is most have zero firsthand experience with experiencing Survival. What passes for survival is one parent is layed-off and trawing unemployment. People are going to be in shock at in-your-face survival in the future. We have been existing in a social illusion.
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Agreed.

....and I would add that for many, prepping is conducted at a token level.....just enough to be part of the club (or keep that anxiety level down at a manageable level).

Some think just talking/arguing about prepping is prepping......that other forum supports that assessment.

It is difficult to run a thread there about advanced survivalism without one or more people jumping in boots and all with the sole intention of trolling the discussion out of existence.

Those threads of yours over there, a week or so ago, even drew JDY out of retirement........and even then a mod locked them all to make the bad men stop scaring the children.
 
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