delusional

[Tartar Horde]

There seems to be a lot of "preppers" out there in youtube land who believe that when and if tshtf they can just bug out to "the Woods" and survive. Their videos are nothing but glorified camping trips with an excuse to show off the latest gadget and have a jolly old time with their mates on an "overnighter", an overnighter eh, my how they must test themselves with the inconvenience. These people are utterly delusional to think they could take their families (if they have any) and thrive in these conditions for any length of time. Am I being a "meanie", or does anyone agree with my viewpoint?

[Barneyboy]

Yes mate 100%,a lot of them would die off in the cold and wet ,I think I for one would struggle for the long term bug out

[Steve]

You're right TH, they're delusional. Future archeologists will find their bones, surrounded by empty MRE packets, broken saw-backed Rambo knives, paracord bracelets and half-made flint arrowheads.

[Straight Shooter]

IF any would be prepper thinks testing gear over a weekend will cut the mustard over the long term effects of shtf event ....they may well be delusional to a point ...but trying out different scenarios has got to be a positive step forwards to master different aspects , the other thing is how the person perceives what tshtf is and the perceived duration of it.

Having the best gear possible is great in the beginning of the event after all that will give you the best chances of survival ...but what then ? .....Good old fashioned knowledge and common sense will prevail , and out strip any modern gizmo's and old tried and tested ways ,will get you in front and may well keep you in front with the most basic old equipment ....the key is knowledge of the old ways with a touch of modern thrown in....i doubt it will be fun and games....... it will be do or die .

So if you test your stuff and your endurance on weekend ...good for you and i encourage you to do it ....but have the good sense to read a book of old ways and knowledge with you ...your future deliverance may well depend upon it.....survival is a serious matter ...if your a serious prepper.

[bigpaul]

if anyone thinks they can survive in the woods in a typical wet British winter they need to come here to North Devon, the fields and woods are so saturated they wont get 6 feet from any gateway without being up to their knees in mud and water.
you cant pitch a tent on it, its like a sponge, and any firewood will be soaking wet.

[Lightspeed]

I don't waste my time on those prepper channel youtube clips.

The posters are not just deluded narcissists, they are also misguiding others weather intentionally or not.

If all the free time you have for testing is over a weekend, OK its not really enough but better than nothing. If that's the case, I ask myself why bother wasting any of that precious time staging, filming, editing and uploading?

Best stuff I've seen is that series called Alone that someone on here pointed us at (NR?) That really brought home the reality of living in the wild.

[MaryN]

It's just laughable, isn't it? As BP says, a wet winter in British woods is not a nice place to be. Just add a few factors to that - perhaps youngsters or a screaming baby, winter flu or the norovirus and you could be in for a really cheery time. I simply cannot imagine anyone being idiot enough to think that bugging out in the UK is an option. It may be if you have the wilds of Alaska on your doorstep - good iuck and watch out for the bears - but in an overcrowded little country like this one well, you have to be delusional.

I still think that the way to go is in developing strong little local communities that can back each other up in times of woe and hardship. I may well be delusional in that wish, but there you go.

[T-oddity]

Don't bother much with the weekend preper stuff on youtube, trying out your gear and skills is important thats how you find out what works, but you also need to be relistic, I've spent a fair bit of time living outdoors staying dry, warm, fed and watered is a full time job and the bigger the group the harder it gets unless everyone knows what to do and works as a team, I've had the whole family out on trips to the woods, I'm lucky the misses is up for camping out and we are well geared up for it, if we are vehicle born we can be down right comfy, but we still regard bugging out as an absolute last resort.

Agree with MaryN on trying to developing a strong local community of like minded people.

[bigpaul]

"a local community of like minded people" is very laudible, but is that even possible in this day and age ?, most people don't have the skills outside of their normal day to day job, skills that my parents and grandparents took for granted.
I can see other people being a problem and a hinderance not a help.
this becomes more pronounced in the larger urban centres and big cities where the normal practise is to "get someone in".

[MaryN]

One can only hope, BP. There must be some like-minded folk out there, although I do agree that such community spirit is not that likely in bigger urban centres. But then, I've never lived in a large town, so I may be talking out of turn.