Preppers and Survivalists

[The Local Ned]

I think preppers are more general in scope - whereas survivalists , in general , are more outdoorsy.

Survivalists will have an excellent grasp of natural resources , and how to best utilise them to survive in that environment.

Preppers are preparing for the collapse of law and order in whichever guise it takes , whose knowledge touches a broad range of survival , traditional meds , surrogate technologies to use once the power goes down to maintain vital tech items....

I don't want to live in the wilds , but I will try damn hard to make sure I have the necessary equipment , skills and knowledge to cope in the short term , and to exist in the long.

I don't see a survivalist lugging a battery box around so he can power things he probably won't have.

Alternatively - I dont see many of us heading out to the hills - before - TSHTF.

My thinking here is - a survivalist is a prepper who cannot reach their food cache , and who has lost most of their equipment.
ergo - the prepper is a survivalist who also has stores of food and tech at hand.

[Lightspeed]

I see Prepping and Survivalism as two stages of the same process:

Stage 1: Prepping. Scenario modelling, planning and logistics.

Stage 2: Survivalism. Acquisition and application of techniques to stay alive. This includes making use of preps accumulated in the prepping stage.

[grumpy old man]

i'am thinking forget prepping and survivalism just get a ship and be a pirate worked for jack sparrow lol.
who knows want the future holds and i can't find a bov that can carry all the shit we need and i can't afford the farm to stay put and grow what we need so it looks like we are all turkeys waiting for christmas dinner, stuffing anyone ?

[IB1]

Maybe Preppers came about because some people wanted to separate themselves from the public idea of what a Survivalist was.

The problem is that it works the other way as well. How many times do you see condescending comments on prepping sites like "it's not all about tshtf you know" as soon as someone mentions bugging out or tshtf. Well, it's also not all about just popping out to a hotel if you have a fire or selling someone a t-shirt or a patch either. I think that some sites have gone too far the other way, places to chat about anything you like as long as its not Survival

[NorthernRaider]

I trend to view Survivalism as the fit young paramilitary male type prepared to bug out and live off Bushcraft skills or in a retreat well out the way. I see preppers as normally family types wanting to make commoin sense insurance preps against severe events.
The former tends to put being armed to the teeth as the answer to most issues, the later tends to put flexability and adaptability first.

Both do not want to become refugees or reliant on the state.

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(26 September 2012, 06:50)IB1 Wrote: Maybe Preppers came about because some people wanted to separate themselves from the public idea of what a Survivalist was.

The problem is that it works the other way as well. How many times do you see condescending comments on prepping sites like "it's not all about tshtf you know" as soon as someone mentions bugging out or tshtf. Well, it's also not all about just popping out to a hotel if you have a fire or selling someone a t-shirt or a patch either. I think that some sites have gone too far the other way, places to chat about anything you like as long as its not Survival

You need to remember that on a lot of forums many people are their just pretending to be preppers but actually just use the forum for socialising, trolling, or trying to fill a space in their sad and unfullfilled lives.

Theres definately three sides to the coin, full blown rampant preppers who cannot relax at all and focus entirely on getting ready for armageddon, then we have middle of the road common sense preppers just getting on with life but adapting their way of like to be better preppers, and the armchairs, wannabes, apologists, forum hogs, and bored middle aged lonely people

I put a good 95% of the wonderfully inteligent people on this forum who I learn so much from in the middle common sense prepper section. I dont mind a bit of banter when things are quiet as it helps break down barriers between us but I appreciate that some forums are nowt more than chat rooms.

[David075]

(26 September 2012, 07:47)NorthernRaider Wrote: I trend to view Survivalism as the fit young paramilitary male type prepared to bug out and live off Bushcraft skills or in a retreat well out the way. I see preppers as normally family types wanting to make commoin sense insurance preps against severe events.
The former tends to put being armed to the teeth as the answer to most issues, the later tends to put flexability and adaptability first.

Both do not want to become refugees or reliant on the state.

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(26 September 2012, 06:50)IB1 Wrote: Maybe Preppers came about because some people wanted to separate themselves from the public idea of what a Survivalist was.

The problem is that it works the other way as well. How many times do you see condescending comments on prepping sites like "it's not all about tshtf you know" as soon as someone mentions bugging out or tshtf. Well, it's also not all about just popping out to a hotel if you have a fire or selling someone a t-shirt or a patch either. I think that some sites have gone too far the other way, places to chat about anything you like as long as its not Survival

You need to remember that on a lot of forums many people are their just pretending to be preppers but actually just use the forum for socialising, trolling, or trying to fill a space in their sad and unfullfilled lives.

Theres definately three sides to the coin, full blown rampant preppers who cannot relax at all and focus entirely on getting ready for armageddon, then we have middle of the road common sense preppers just getting on with life but adapting their way of like to be better preppers, and the armchairs, wannabes, apologists, forum hogs, and bored middle aged lonely people

I put a good 95% of the wonderfully inteligent people on this forum who I learn so much from in the middle common sense prepper section. I dont mind a bit of banter when things are quiet as it helps break down barriers between us but I appreciate that some forums are nowt more than chat rooms.

Well im not sure what catagory i fit into i make what preps i can when i able to .time and money dictating what i can and cant do , i have a look on this site most days to see whats happening. since i joined this site ive stocked up on some food bought some extra tools etc ive not done much more than that but i hope the knowledge and tips etc ive picked up will help if things go wrong i will get a 4x4 or van but a move out to the country is not an option at the moment.

[bigpaul]

the trouble is, like NR says, there are too many prepping & survival sites out there that are used as chatrooms full of armchair wannabees, trolls and as i recently found out people playing mind games.

[NorthernRaider]

(26 September 2012, 08:36)David075 Wrote: Well im not sure what catagory i fit into i make what preps i can when i able to .time and money dictating what i can and cant do , i have a look on this site most days to see whats happening. since i joined this site ive stocked up on some food bought some extra tools etc ive not done much more than that but i hope the knowledge and tips etc ive picked up will help if things go wrong i will get a 4x4 or van but a move out to the country is not an option at the moment.

Well thats pretty much what most of us on here are TRYING to do , your a middle of the road prepper making the best of what you've got just like BP, Me, SD, LS, Nemesis, PF,GOM, TOF etc etc. We can only do what we can, but the difference between us and others is we tend to try and adapt or involve our preps into our lifestyles.

But your not spending all your families income on bullets and living in some uncivilised empty wilderness (like Liverpool or Teesside ), and you are not making shallow pathetic excuses like " My wifes false leg has to be adjusted every month so we cannot move home" or " I cannot move out the city because the wifes mothers gardeners Labrador has hip dysplacia. You sound as normal as preppers can be normal

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(26 September 2012, 08:46)bigpaul Wrote: the trouble is, like NR says, there are too many prepping & survival sites out there that are used as chatrooms full of armchair wannabees, trolls and as i recently found out people playing mind games.

Naa na na na naaa I know which forums you have been reading sad innit Bless em.

[Paul]

NR, I dunno where "the fit young paramilitary male type" stereo type came from.
It certainly doesn't apply to me.
When I started off my search for information and like minded souls regarding prepping, I was already sliding down the health ladder BUT was and still am actively pursuing the practical side of prepping which some call survivalism.
That's because when my resources run out (and I'm pretty sure every prepper has a limit to their resources), I'm going to have to forage for supplies.

Besides, winters coming and we lose our electricity a lot.
Now I'm thinking fire lighting and lamps.

My water pipes occasionally freeze like most people's do in the village so when the bottled water runs out, snow melting and rain purification skills without electricity come into operation.

Money is tight, bunnies in the field become stew in the pot.
Not only by shooting but also with snares. Not prepping skills, survival skills.

Survivalism isn't all Rambo and for me it's mainly Bambi level regarding fitness and force.
Doesn't mean that I can't survive as knowledge and practice is something that some urban preppers aren't prepared to do.

Hence I classify myself not as a hardened prepper, more as a "prepping survivalist".

[IB1]

(26 September 2012, 08:46)bigpaul Wrote: the trouble is, like NR says, there are too many prepping & survival sites out there that are used as chatrooms full of armchair wannabees, trolls and as i recently found out people playing mind games.

Makes you wonder what they did before the internet was invented

Despite my earlier comment about some prepping sites trying to distance themselves too much from survivalists I go along with what was said earlier, i dont give a crap what people call me and it certainly isnt going to be "prepper" or "survivalist" because no one besides the wife knows about it

As George Foreman said, " call me anything you like just dont call me late for dinner."