One mans answer to the question of are survival skills better than having prepping supplies.
In the Prepping community there are some topics that draw familiar responses from people of all walks of life. Naturally I am guilty of throwing out my own clichéd responses to these core conceptual questions from time to time – hopefully with enough of my own opinion in there, also hopefully unique enough to warrant someone spending five minutes to read or share what I have written.
Topics like these either draw a lot of comments or none. You can tell how controversial your post is by looking at the comments section and we have some great readers who are very experienced and just as opinionated if not more than I am. When an issue is drawing a lot of comments there is a great debate going on that is usually pretty civil and always interesting.
One of the debate threads or concepts that I frequently see has to do with this prepper mantra that survival skills are better than stuff. For those who haven’t heard of that phrase before, it is simply the idea that you can have all of the supplies in the world but if you lack the knowledge of either A) how to use those supplies or B) alternative ways of accomplishing the same thing without those prepping supplies, you are in a worse position.
On the surface this argument makes perfect sense. Let’s take the subject of a firearm for example. You can spend $1200 on the best AR-15 in the world, tricked out with the best weapon light, laser guided night sights, the best AR-15 scope, complete with the best camo paintjob.
In the end, that AR-15 might be the most awesome weapon in the world and end up costing you more than most of our first cars. That Rifle represents “Stuff”. But, if you don’t know how to hit the broad side of a barn with that expensive piece of metal and plastic, or strip it and perform basic weapon maintenance, are you better off? If you can’t effectively clear a jam, reload under high-stress environments and accurately engage targets out to at a minimum 100 yards (Skills), what good is it? What good are you?
Are Survival Skills better than Stuff
In many cases it is clear to see how having skill is a particular area is highly advantageous over simply having the means to buy stuff. We use this argument all of the time to temper the thoughts of some preppers that feel compelled to wear out their credit card to get the latest prepper gear and supplies and go from zero to prepped in a single Amazon.com transaction. Skills are better than stuff in many cases, but is that a universal truth like some preppers seem to rely on when admonishing their fellow preppers?
Before I get into that side of the argument let’s take a look at a few skills that I believe we can universally agree are wise for any prepper to have in a TEOTWAWKI scenario.
What are good survival skills to know?
- How to build an emergency shelter
- How to catch wild game with snares
- How to provide basic first aid
- How to build a fire
- How to find your way home
- How to find water and make it safe for drinking
There are probably hundreds more survival skills I could list out, but I think you understand the idea. It is at its most basic, the knowledge to take care of yourself with the most limited amount of stuff to help you.
Todd Walker over at Survival Sherpa exemplifies the best part of the Skills mindset for me and his articles are full of amazingly creative and practical tips for making do without many of the conveniences we rely on. Our “Stuff”.
The bottom line is that if we did go through TEOTWAWKI, I would want a guy like Todd on my side. He has great articles that speak directly to skills such as:
- How to Make a Plumbers Stove for Cooking and Warmth
- How to Make a Sturdy Sawbuck with Logs and Rope
- Making Containers via Primitive Process Pottery
Daisy Luther is another blogger you likely already know over at her site, The Organic Prepper and she also has great skills based articles like:
And there are hundreds more skills based articles out there in the world of Prepper Websites. You can find other great sources for information on our Prepper Resources page. There are millions of them. How to make a fire, how to forage for wild berries and how to tan hides, build shelter or create your own water filtration system to homeopathic medicine.
These survival skills are important and some skills can’t be easily replaced, but I maintain that some “Stuff” isn’t easily replaced by skills either, so we should find a balance.
When Stuff is better than skills
If you strip any “Survival Expert” naked and throw them into the woods on their own – I imagine most will be able to “Survive” but unless you are planning on being naked in the woods, why wouldn’t you try to increase your advantages in any place you can?
Going back to my earlier example with firearms. The Skills purist might say that you don’t need a modern firearm if you have the skills to build a bow. You don’t need to stock up ammo if you can make arrows, a spear or a flint knife. I will concede that knowing how to do that is valuable, but limited knowledge in a lot of scenarios.
“Your supplies will run out”! and I completely understand that argument too. Even if you have stored years’ worth of Freeze-Dried foods in your underground bunker, eventually it will run out. Wouldn’t the person who can forage for wild food, trap animals with snares and “live off the land” be better suited for a TEOTWAWKI world? It sounds compelling, but I don’t necessarily agree completely with that line of thinking in all cases.
I know food, ammo, batteries etc. are finite and they will run out, but living off the land is hard, prone to injury and leaves you exposed to more (elements, people, fallout?) bad things than the person who is trying to hunker down and live off their supplies for as long as possible. You may survive off the land if you walk out there in good weather, with nothing but your 10 C’s for survival, in good health – provided there aren’t millions of others trying to do the same thing.
Surviving isn’t the same as thriving. I know we humans have been on this planet for a long time, most of that time has been without any of the stuff we rely on now. However, we didn’t live as long, had much harder lives and there weren’t as many people on our big blue dot as there are now.
Skills also can’t replace communication like radios, at least not in anywhere near the same effectiveness. Sure you can learn how to train carrier pigeons, but C’mon! Who is going to do that? Skills are also not going to help you whittle a power supply out of a piece of Hickory so wouldn’t Solar panels be a good use of Stuff in a survival situation? What about light? Sure you can make a fire with your bow saw and create a nice torch with pine resin but is that better than a tactical flashlight with rechargeable batteries and a solar charger?
Just my thoughts and I am always curious to hear yours. I believe there is a balance to be found between skills and stuff. I think you need to have both in good measure. What do you think?
When you live on the ice planet Hoth for about a good six to seven months out of the year, having alot of stuff is more important than having skills. I don’t spend much time trying to learn the latest and greatest farming and gardening techniques, because the growing season here is pretty short to say the least. I would rather invest that time and money into building up my food and ammo preps then buying seeds etc. Even those with survival skills know that you have to stockpile for the lean times. Stuff and Skills go hand in hand,… Read more »
I can see the need for BOTH skills and stuff. However, I try to accomplish both for the area we currently live in. Like LWJ, one has to take advantage of their native terrain to secure what is best for their particular situation. I’ve not ever SEEN an elk in season, much lesson gotten lucky to harvest one! Seems like I’m not skilled at hunting them enough! Have seen plenty of them before and after the season starts and ends though. I agree, we have to stockpile for the lean times that DO come to all of us, all the… Read more »
Post apoc hunting will be both easier in some aspects and much harder in others. You won’t have as much human competition or regulations from game and fish to worry about. On the other hand you won’t have the benefit of as much technolgy to help out either. No GPS as a savior, and no electronic sausage grinder to save time. On the other hand processing the kill will turn into a family affair vs three guys in a garage pulling an all nighter with a case of beer…..
That is the second Star Wars reference this week! Thanks for the comments LWJ and I agree with you. It takes a good bit of both I think and each has their strengths. I just don’t want to die on a high-horse.
First off, thank you for the mention and kind words, Patrick! Secondly, very thought provoking article. I’m finding the deeper I go into self-reliance there is indeed a balance that must be found. Heck, even the mountain men and fur traders of the 18th century developed trade relations with Native Americans and restocked often at outposts. I like to buy the best stuff I can afford and learn as many skills as possible to be able to replace the stuff I’ve bought. The thing about stuff is that it wears out. Building skills that put us in the producer category… Read more »
You are very welcome and thank you very much Todd! I really enjoy your articles and learn something every time.
Pat
Interesting thoughts. It would seem that skill vs stuff is indeed complimentary and occasionally situational. Someone who just woke up from the video game and Facebook trance might be screwed if they decided to go pure Daniel Boone and learn hand to hand combat, water filter construction, and to make lutefisk but the next day teotwawki comes and our subject doesn’t have a shotgun or knife, a functional filter, or a barrel of fish to dry or pickle. You need some stuff. Then become skilled in it’s use and learn alternative methods. Two is one and one is none, and… Read more »
They would be doomed for sure Adam. I think supplies gets you to a point of being self-sufficient for a short period of time that hopefully buys you time to polish up the other areas you have been lacking or at least try to learn quickly.
Agreed. It seems that prepping is ultimately about winning a war of attrition, siege warfare from global interconnection to a fault. I think few of us are as well skilled or supplied as we would like unfortunately.
An interesting point was brought up in this discussion. The idea that stuff does break, and will need to be repaired or replaced. Its not a new concept, but the idea that survival skills means finding grubs in fallen logs (or whatever) is silly. Survival skills to me means adaptation. The ability to overcome inconvenience and ‘make it work.’ Maybe the paradigm needs to change. I think its safe to say that everyone here agrees that skills with no stuff, and stuff with no skill are near death sentences. You cannot expect to walk away with your bowie knife and… Read more »
Good points. The Sith v Jedi point was particularly enjoyable.
And that makes three, three Star Wars references. Ah Ah Ah! (that was my Count from Sesame Street impression. Thank you very much)
I think you are right Bob, it is really in how we look at the idea. Maybe I was taking things too literally, but it is almost as though Prepping or Prepper is too limiting in the same way as Survivalist. Those who are really trying to be prepared are doing that to survive. Survivalists prepare in their own way too.
I think this has the potential to be one of the more lively discussions, Pat. I agree with all the comments thus far but there is one other slant I haven’t seen referenced yet and that is the truism that “skills can get/earn you stuff”. If/when things go south people with the skills to keep the lights on and the water flowing will be nearly invaluable. Perhaps even to the point that if you’re a member of a survival group or compound, someone with these skills would be a much greater asset than just another warrior with weapons and a… Read more »
I completely agree Larry and that is a subject I have written down on my master list of article ideas. Learning skills now gives you more advantages, makes you more valuable and gives you more options than someone who for example can only pull a trigger or watch the kids.
Pat, The only problem with carrier pigeons is that they’re edible. It sort of bring brings a new wrinkle to the old saying “don’t shoot the messenger!” Seriously though, I really agree with you and other commenters on the notion that survival chances are enhanced if you have skills associated with operating/maintaining/repairing the “stuff” that people would need in a post TEOTWAWKI situation. Mechanics who can make an engine run without the dozens of computer chips that are now in cars, the ability to rig up or repair photo-voltaic systems, or run a short wave radio station are all skills… Read more »
I like the brick oven thought. Taking it one step back, a person who can make brick ovens can hawk his wares one at a time. The person who makes bricks will have business come to him. Who makes bricks anymore? Or cement for that matter? The person that can make one or both will be rich by any sense of the word post TEOTWAWKI.
Very true Bolo! Lawyers, Philosophers and Social Workers might be lumped into that same boat.
The car mechanics reference reminded me of One Second After where they did just that. Mechanically inclined people will always have value I think.
I have skills AND stuff but even I cannot carry it all. There is an other aspect to consider. If one has never really needed to used their skills or stuff. When time comes will they be able to?
Mike, you have a really good point. I basically consider my truck to be my bug-out bag. I removed the back seats within two weeks of purchase and have used the space to store basic survival gear, food and cooking supplies, three back packs and assorted bug out “stuff.” Even on regular tactical outings the truck bed is loaded to the brim, and none of it is what I would consider frivolous. If I ever had to abandon my truck, my hope is that there will be other folks available to help tote the stuff, since all of it is… Read more »
Sounds like you have the right idea. I can deal with a hurricane and get most my stuff. I need a security forged truck cap that cannot be broken in to. I have a 5×8 enclosed trailer that I can fill but there is so much that even with both filled there will still be things left.
I do not like the term “shelter in place” especially when criminal “authority” shows it’s ugly head.
I am looking for land in south Georgia.
>homeopathic medicine
MUAHAHAHAHHAAHHAAHA
skills and the knowledge to use those skills will last a lifetime, much longer than any store of canned food or any other “stuff”, once these are used up, eaten, consumed, worn out or broken where will you be without skills or knowledge. dead, that’s what.
oh very nice, don’t like my comment so you delete it. nice attitude!!!!
I rarely ever delete comments bigpaul and I have not deleted anything from you. It has to be pretty bad or a link to another site before it gets caught in the first place. Maybe something happened on your end?
Pat
It’s clear we need both skills and stuff. With my extended family included in my survival plans, it is also clearly beyond my ability to tote all that stuff. We have stocked our retreat with most of the stuff, thereby reducing the quantity of stuff to be taken with us. There are many positive aspects to our place and some negatives. It is too small, but is hard to approach against any opposition, the house has poured concrete walls, solar power system, well and septic tank. Wood heat and a large supply of firewood. Also dual fuel generator. Our family… Read more »
Good point Fred. We are all, or should be in the continuous process of preparing.