Its a question that I have asked myself several times over the years and will continue to do so. There have been those times when I wavered in the lifestyle, when I wished I could not know all that I do and not give a damn about the world situation but those quickly passed (thankfully). I've been in this lifestyle for nearly twenty years now and have learned many lessons, not all of them pleasant. The last eight years or so I have really picked it up in regards to prepping and doing more. I am currently better networked than at any point since beginning to live a more prepared lifestyle. I don't know it all and never will and so continue to learn.

For me this is more than a fad, a weekend kick or something that will pass. I'm a prepper and proud of it.

So here's a few questions and for the record yes I have asked and answered all of these for myself as well.

1. Have you taken an objective look at your own skills and experience?
2. Are your disaster (insert type of disaster here) plans realistic?
3. Are you networked with those who are serious about prepping?
4. How often do you train and practice with your equipment?
5. How serious are you about being prepared?

1. Have you taken an objective look at your own skills and experience?
I have a library of books, buying faster than I can read
Practice the knowledge gained wherever applicable.

2. Are your disaster (insert type of disaster here) plans realistic?
Sure, I don't go to work that day, week, month, ever again, etc

3. Are you networked with those who are serious about prepping?
Depends, I know the locals - none are serious. Expecting someone I know from the internets to take a BOV to my BOL is not happening.

4. How often do you train and practice with your equipment?
I cut firewood all the time, play with guns for a living, garden year round, hunt and fish every chance - few other things to do IMHO.

5. How serious are you about being prepared?
"It almost ruined my marriage" serious

Deadly Serious
And Yes to all but the networking

I wouldn't say it is all consuming unless one worries and brings stress into their lives over it, I find it is a rather enjoyable hobby.

Not very. Beyond a tornado or fire I don't see anything happening to me here. I have places to go/things to do if something worse happens, but short of a meteor strike or nucular war, I don't see anything worse happening.

1. Have you taken an objective look at your own skills and experience?
Yes, made improvements in some areas and ignore some.  I'm not the guy to clear a room or repel.  I plan on taking some more advance training in 2012.  May start reloading.  Plan on the following for 2012: HAM License Technician (end of Jan), Learn to make fire from friction (june), Practice making tortillas (each qtr), Per-fect Bread making (each qtr).

2. Are your disaster (insert type of disaster here) plans realistic?
Yes,  weather first and TEOTWAWKI last. Preparing for scenario's in between.

3. Are you networked with those who are serious about prepping?
No.  That depends.  I don't talk about preps to anyone or try to convert anyone. Weather related power outages are more likely than an invasion or Zombie Armageddon.  I know people that I use as a resource: EMT, cops, .mil, Dr, lawyer, Indian Chief. My immediate family are on board, my brother and his sons.  I have a niece on the wife's side of the family that dabbles in 'zombie SHTFantasy.'  One of my shooting buds in another state is a an RV dealer/servicer; I have a list of questions and a shopping list.

4. How often do you train and practice with your equipment?
Frequently to all the time. To me prepping is a hobby.  I enjoy shooting, camping, campfire cooking, piddling with the generator, RV Fridge and camp stoves.  

5. How serious are you about being prepared?
Serious and on a budget.  I'll own some property someday.  We live in the country and own our home.  Water well.  List weaknesses and try to improve them.

1. Have you taken an objective look at your own skills and experience?
Yes as well as my wife's. We constantly try and improve our skill set by taking classes on a variety of things related to home steading. We are also constantly reading as well as not only implementling what we learn, but improving upon. There are a lot of things that we don't know and there are a lot of things we need improvement on, but we're off to a better start than most around here.

I would also like to add under this section that personal health should be evaluated and improved upon if needed.

2. Are your disaster (insert type of disaster here) plans realistic?
This is subjective as my thoughts on preparedness for an event will most probably be different than someone else's (including my wife's at times). With that said I would answer yes, but there are new potential disasters to prep for everytime I read the news.

3. Are you networked with those who are serious about prepping?
This is an aspect that we're woefully lacking in. We have talked a little with some neighbors and people at work, but it's difficult to talk too much with opsec in mind. We have run across very few people in our classes and work who share the same mind set we do, but when we do find someone it's certainly refreshing and we stay in touch sharing ideas and tips.

4. How often do you train and practice with your equipment?
It depends on the equipment and time of year, but generally speaking I can pick up whatever and be proficient with it. Sure there's room for improvement on some things, but there always will be. If you don't use it you lose it.

5. How serious are you about being prepared?
Serious enough to be considered a right wing extremist/terrorist by the DHS, a domestic terrorist by the FBI and probably on several watch lists Seriously though, it's a way of life for the both of us and we incorporate preparedness into our daily routine. If anything I'm the more doom and gloom one and I have to be careful not to get too caught up in everything. We still enjoy life and too much negativity sure puts a damper on it.

I prep for what  seems to makes sense. A bad winter storm, tornado, extended power outage. If the SHTF we will be prepared better than most but what does that actually mean, I'm not sure.

I don't know how to answer that question.  It seems subjective to me.  Am I serious about prepping?  Or are those who are "more" serious simply neurotic?  Note that I don't think that about "serious" preppers, but there is a point where you spend so much of your time and income on prepping for disaster, that you are more focused on survival in the bad times to enjoy life in the good times.

I have prepped for what I consider likely emergencies, such as a get home bag, basic medical, ability to get water at home without power, ability to generate power, skills for rebuilding or repairing damage to my home, things that will help during or after an ice storm, tornado, flood, black out, etc.

I've prepared a little for what I consider extremely unlikely circumstances, that being a long term (>1 month) degradation of society, meaning long term food storage mostly.  I don't buy gold or silver, or maintain a bug out location, but my lifestyle supports survival in a situation like this as a matter of fact, that being rural, with plenty of seeds, storage, and land to grow, animal husbandry skills, etc.  I lost interest in further preparation for this type of event when I came to the realization of how important networking would be.  I could not survive alone, indefinitely, of if I could survive, I surely couldn't thrive or enjoy life.  It would be a meager existence marked by constant vigilance and paranoia, that any group of 2+ could take what little I had left or worse.

And no one I know, is interested in any kind of prepping.  Literally everyone I know considers ME to be a little neurotic for having a get home bag, or more than 3 guns, or a 6 month supply of food.  And I'm tired of being ridiculed, since I know every one of those people would show up at my doorstep with hands out, given the right situation, offering nothing because "that's crazy, this is America."

So I choose to be the mildly prepared semi-hermit who will turn all others away, defend what he has, and probably die at the hands of a gang of jealous grasshoppers some time after all the shelves are picked bare.  

That is one of the reasons I left Wisconsin.....not much "pioneer" spirit left there unfortunately. Sad really as the state has a wonderful history and great quality of life in many ways. Too many libtard socialists for me though.

You aren't kidding.  Hard to find like minded folks here.  Those that I think might be, always end up cracking that perception when their personal sacred cow comes into question.

Ironically there's three of us in this thread...

Dave_ A's probably still around there somewhere as well.....

I believe he is in Washington

For some reason I thought he was from Wisconsin/in Wisconsin. Guess I never cared enough to really give a shit.....

He was.  Moved to WA.

You need to ask yourself these questions every now and then to establish some degree of honesty with those you are working with.
Being a prepper, for me, has sorta become part of my life. I don't do it on weekends, don't go to gear conventions, etc...but everyday life has some effort placed towards being prepared.
This year, I suspect that those of us who are involved in this process (and I think that is what it is, a process) are going to see more of the chaos we saw when people began freaking out over Y2K. I think there will be a number of people talking about prepping, and a number of companies getting rich on these folks. I suspect most of us who are long-haul preppers will hunker down and avoid the whole deal.
We will watch, wait, and see if there is anything we can improve on as the circus goes on around us.

More than alot of folks....not as much as others.

Finances have been too jacked up to be able to put as much money into it as I wold like.

yes....yes....yes.....often.....very.

1. Have you taken an objective look at your own skills and experience?
Yes and being relatively young I try to make a list of things I would like to accomplish for the year.  Normally a list 10 or so items long.  I actually just accomplished one of my 2012 goals a few weeks ago before I went on vacation.  I got into Nursing school, and will soon check another one off with the cpr course I am scheduled to take.  Another goal of mine this year if I can make enough time to study for NS is getting a few books on wild edibles for my region of the country.  I did know quite a few of them several years ago when going through my upper level bio courses, but have forgotten quite a few of them not being exposed to them.
Once I graduate from NS, I plan to begin adding more from a balanced perspective building our food storage, savings, saving to buy a house, and getting back into martial arts training, and maybe a few shooting courses

2. Are your disaster (insert type of disaster here) plans realistic?
Yes.  Being in my area, the major things we would have to worry about are toronados and massive hurricanes that travel ~200 miles inland of the gulf.  With that being said we have planned accordingly for bugging in and if need be bugging out.

3. Are you networked with those who are serious about prepping?
Not as much as I would like to be, but yes I have one or two close friends who are like-minded.

4. How often do you train and practice with your equipment?
Not as often as I would like.  I tend to go shooting once a month, but would like to bump that to twice a month.  I would also like to get outdoors more often this year.  This is what I enjoyed so much in my forrestry and wildlife management classes that I took in college.

5. How serious are you about being prepared?
I am serious, but the lack of funds until after I get out of Nursing School are the hindering factor.  

1. Have you taken an objective look at your own skills and experience?

I often consider the subject, and while I have good common sense and logical thinking ability even when things are chaotic (things that can't be learned or created through training), there are so many things I could use more training & experience in.

Last night I was talking to a friend about getting some basic medical training and seeing what courses are out there. This year I did a 4 day backpacking trip in a desert area and learned a LOT about what is realistic & unrealistic when it comes to the whole 'bugging out' on foot scenario. As I procure equipment I make it a point to learn how to use it, and how it works & how to fix it as well. I've also been purchasing books & downloading .pdf files on relevant skills in hopes of learning from them.

2. Are your disaster (insert type of disaster here) plans realistic?

I don't have a single plan per se - there are so many potential forms of disaster or unrest, and no single plan (or even several plans) would be able to cover the bases. Flexibility and assessment of the situation as it happens is what I'll be relying on. I could stay in place and use what I have. I could 'bug out' to my family's place out in the country. I could run and hide and sleep in ditches  It all really depends on a million variables.

3. Are you networked with those who are serious about prepping?

Barely. I interact with other preppers and discuss things, but none locally. I have one family member (out in the rurals) and we've discussed these things and could join forces if the situation warrants it.

4. How often do you train and practice with your equipment?

It varies. Emergency lighting/cooking etc gets tested and used often. Guns get taken to the range on occasion, but I could do more. 'Bug out' gear like tent/backpack & related gear get used on occasion. I've started trying my hand at container gardening. There is always room for improvement though.

5. How serious are you about being prepared?

Not as serious as many, but any consideration of it at all is enough to get me labeled 'weird'.


My life isn't centered around prepping to any extreme - I don't sit at home paranoid & peeking out the curtains waiting to see if the sky has fallen yet. But I often consider where things may be headed as various news events come to light, always when I'm out & about I keep an eye out for useful information, books & items that would assist in a 'survival' situation.

1. I'm in pretty much a constant state of evaluating my skills and learning new ones that I think would be interesting or beneficial.
2. I try to plan for everything from the more mundane loss of a job or bad weather to the less likely but still possible things.
3. Networking would be my major problem to work on, for sure. My wife is on board, and I have a buddy that recently has been asking me a lot of questions about equipment. Aside from that.. i'm kind of out there. I've met a bunch of likeminded people from here and elsewhere, but it's a big step from hanging out and talking to actually forming a group or making serious plans.
4. Depending on the equipment, it would range from daily to monthly. Some of the more exotic stuff like night vision gets used and trained with less than more basic things.
5. I'm very serious about it. I don't let it consume my life or hang over my head like a cloud, but I always know the possibility for hard times is there, and I do what I can to ease the impact or make sure my family comes out of a situation okay.

I take it very seriously, and consider my responsibility of teaching my two sons what I know very seriously.  What I know is that things are getting worse.

I go to a krav maga class 2 days a week which eats up 6 hours a week including the commute.  I teach this to my boys too.  I also spend another 2 hours taking my son to karate.  So 8 hours a week of family hand to hand combat.

My 5 year old is a really good shot with his Henry bolt action .22LR.  We went shooting 6 times over the summer.

Both my sons are at the top of their classes academically, and are great with technology.

We spend lots of time camping, hiking, fire starting, reloading, ham radio, disinfecting water, etc.

Run drill, fire escapes, etc.

My neighborhood gets along REALLY well.  Are they survivalists?  No, I don't think so but I can count on them when needed.

I think it is fun, important, and my responsibility.

1. Have you taken an objective look at your own skills and experience?

Yes.  Definitely need improvement in some areas.

2. Are your disaster (insert type of disaster here) plans realistic?

Yes.  Although not as extensive as they should be.

3. Are you networked with those who are serious about prepping?

Kind of.  I know people who prep, but we don't have any sort of mutual aid agreement in case of SHTF.

4. How often do you train and practice with your equipment?

Not as much as I used to.  The economy has put a halt to a lot.

5. How serious are you about being prepared?

Deadly serious.  Essentially, I may have bet my life and that of my families on my preps.


Life threw me a couple of curves lately, my business went to shit (even shut it down at one point b/c I had a job out of state that got rescinded 4 days before I was supposed to start) and shortly thereafter my marriage followed suit.  I'm clawing my way back from the tanked business.  Not sure the marriage can be saved.  If we didn't have kids, it would've ended long ago.

I don't know if I should have included a failed marriage as part of my preps or not.  The divorce lawyer heads for a divorce.

Meh, not so much.  I keep a camping bag always ready that would work just fine as a bug out bag.  I keep enough food for 6 months and keep in shape, but I don't consider it a lifestyle.

I am as serious as my finances allow. Although I have been accused of otherwise, I absolutely do not get consumed by fear... in fact prepping leads to the opposite, a little more peace of mind.

In reality, for me it's a really fun hobby that could have potentially lifesaving consequences. Outdoor skills, really-small scale homesteading, shooting, comms, first aid, whats not to love?   I don't know that there will ever be a SHTF or TEOTWAKI event. But I don't know that there won't, either. I quit trying to play fortuneteller a long time ago and just do what I can with in the bounds of what I consider normal.

Although my mind often looks at most decisions as to what impact they have on prepping, that's because to me prepping and everyday rural life are not really that different. One is just a much more redundant version of the other.

1. Every day.
2. I plan as much as I can but there are to many variables for a plan to not be broken.
3. Only in SF.
4. I train enough to be proficient and knowledgable in it's use and function.
5. Very.

Here's a question 6 for the list:
6. Will you STILL be working and planning for survival 30 years from now if nothing has happened yet?

Yup.  It's a way of life for me.

I'll get back to you in 30 years, then.