What got you into prepping?

[Warriorhealer22]

Prepping? I was born into it. Really. My dad was determined to survive the nuclear holocaust. I grew up learning how to make do without the grid (electric, water, sewage, gas) small scale farming, hunting, fishing, bugging out and in, and of course how to defend myself from anyone and anything. Its funny to think how long some of our hidey holes have lasted. I knew how to don an Israeli gas mask and fight before I could drive. We still have a favorite book- Ragnar Benson's Guide to the Recreational use of Homemade Explosives. (If you buy it nowadays, I'm sure you'll be on a watchlist). Author Jerry Ahern's "Survivalist" series turned me into a gun nut. He was excited when I joined the Army but I could here his disappointment when I wasn't accepted to Special Forces.

Now, its for most the same reasons as everyone else. I believe that localized event should always be prepped for. As far as the bug stuff, This forum is a great piece of gear, we aren't going to make it just by ourselves, so we should know of other like minded individuals. I remember no matter where I was stationed, planning how I could get back home in a worst case scenario. Being stationed in Egypt was the worst one but I still had a plan.

 

[Dani]

Honestly, I never did any of this as a kid growing up. I read the "little house series" books as a kid and feel in love with the country life. Mom from Colorado and dad from New York. I have been fascinated on "prepping" as a small child though. I have been gardening and canning since I was about 18, but never got the opportunity to live out my dreams until about 6 months ago. I now have the large garden and all the critters I can use. Those "critters" supply my milk, yogurt, cheese, eggs, and meat. I don't have to go to the store often now days.

 

[Gazrok]

Here in Florida, Hurricane Season pretty much means a degree of prepping. After seeing how devastating Katrina was, I thought maybe we should beef it up a bit. A little over a year ago, we inherited a small ranch in the country...the kind of place both of us always dreamed of. It's an ideal setting to prep, and while more my thing than the wife's....after a bout of unemployment, and a major water leak, my puny preps at the time still helped us out a lot. So, after seeing the value firsthand, she's much more on board now. But, every prep has to have an immediate use and benefit also. This is actually easier than you think though. I don't prep for any one scenario, but more for the idea that a time may come when our society as we know it (for whatever reason), just may collapse. So, we'd like to be more self-sufficient. We aren't about the doom and gloom. Chances are nothing will happen in my lifetime. I hope it doesn't. I like AC, cable, and electricity. But, there are plenty of immediate benefits too, and we live to enjoy life, and part of that includes not having to worry about the future.

 

[jontte]

we had our last war 70 yrs ago and everything should be ok here,but what I see everyday at work,drugaddicts more and more,unemplyment and a government who can't do or don't wanna do anything about it and then came the ukraine thing,russia building up its armed forces along our border.
there is so much moore insecurity everywhere.
so I just decided to store some easy-carry food and other gear if something should happen

 

[TheShadowKnows]

Zombies. No, not really, but kinda.

My wife and I, like many young adults these days, are machete-deep in zombies, by which I mean in the popular media. (We particularly share a love for zombie games, like Left4Dead and the Dead Island series, but I love it all: movies, comics, you name it.) We always talked in hypotheticals about what we'd do, where we'd go, etc.

Then, last year, we were watching a reality show set in Louisiana which featured some clips of post-Katrina New Orleans. We were absolutely stunned not only by the devastation, but by the extent of the civil unrest and looting that was going on. The government not only did a bad job of disaster recovery, they kept the whole thing relatively under wraps. It was then that we decided that we could put no faith at all in the government to even maintain order, much less help with relief efforts. I'm also really not a fan of an economy literally created out of debt so I feel that financial collapse is a matter of if, not when. Like an above poster, however, we do our best to prepare for the collapse of society as we know it, and not a particular disaster. (It's interesting how often we refer to it as "zombie" prepping in public, and no-one really seems to question it.)

 

[psalm 7]

Growing up hunting , fishing , trapping then as I got older I got into the survivalist thing in the late 70's early 80,s . Rual life style , preparedness nature , careing about who our Country puts into political office . Not wanting to be a victim .

 

[jontte]

yep,there might not come the zombiething,byt if shtf your unpreppared neighbour(e.i zombie) could try to kill you over a pack of food and I don't wanna give my food and stuff away wich could save my kids

 

[tntboy13]

Personally, I just look at the world and think "how the heck can I think this is going to last?"
I also am researchin various areas of the economy, and I have come to the conclusion that we are screwed. One way or another. I won't speculate as to when, because I don't know. But I can't seem to find a way that steers me away from believing the end of the system is inevitable. I'd say that's a good reason in it of itself.
I am also a boyscout so I had many of these skills, and yet no way to really use them in my everyday life. Prepping helped me get back to improving the skill set I had. And helped me remember how useful the skills I had could be.
Prepping has not always been my way of life, but I hope one day, when I'm older, I can make a more complete transition to a self sustaining lifestyle.

 

[Brent S]

Personally, I just look at the world and think "how the heck can I think this is going to last?"
I also am researchin various areas of the economy, and I have come to the conclusion that we are screwed. One way or another. I won't speculate as to when, because I don't know. But I can't seem to find a way that steers me away from believing the end of the system is inevitable. I'd say that's a good reason in it of itself.
I am also a boyscout so I had many of these skills, and yet no way to really use them in my everyday life. Prepping helped me get back to improving the skill set I had. And helped me remember how useful the skills I had could be.
Prepping has not always been my way of life, but I hope one day, when I'm older, I can make a more complete transition to a self sustaining lifestyle.

You seem pretty wise for someone of your age!

 

[Brent S]

What got me into prepping? I could go on about hurricanes, tornados, economic disaster and so on. But I think two words are enough here, Common Sense!

 

[eireguy]

Common sense and the ability to read and comprehend

 

[realisticdude]

Growing up the son of Depression-era parents in hurricane alley. My father never trusted the government, but he did think his vote counted. I'm a natural-born prepper........... maybe a bit of a hoarder........wife also on both counts.

 

[ViolentJ]

I got into prepping (surprisingly) from watching Doomsday Preppers, despite the shows main aim being focusing on nutcases it actually made me think about situations. Then after some research into what prepping was (not just the extreme versions I had seen) it made sense so got on board.