Author: Pat Henry

Learn how to survive a nuclear disaster—from fallout protection to EMP threats. Real-world tips, myth-busting, and a long-term survival plan for preppers.

For years, the idea of food independence has conjured images of sprawling gardens, backyard chickens, and rows of home-canned goods. But let’s be real: not everyone has an acre of land—or even a backyard. Does that mean food independence is out of reach? Not by a long shot. In 2025, it’s time to rethink what food self-reliance looks like. Whether you’re in an apartment, a condo, or just don’t have the time or space for traditional homesteading, you can still build a pantry that’s resilient against supply chain hiccups, inflation, and shortages. Step 1: Maximize Shelf-Stable Staples You don’t need…

If you’ve been paying attention to the headlines lately, you’ve probably heard the rumblings about new tariffs and trade tensions. And if you haven’t—you should. Because when international costs go up, it hits you right in the gear bag. Tariffs, supply chain disruptions, and inflation aren’t just talking points for economists. They’re warnings for preppers. It means the things we rely on—tools, gear, medical supplies, even food—are about to get more expensive. Or worse, harder to find at all. So what should you be stocking up on now, before the next wave of price hikes and shortages? Here’s a rundown…

Prepping often gets romanticized—think cabins in the woods, off-grid solar, hunting for your food with a bow and arrow. But for most people? Crisis is going to hit right where they live—and that’s in or near a city. And cities are a different beast altogether. Urban environments come with unique urban prepping threats—many of which get overlooked by preppers who focus too much on rural survival scenarios. If you live in or near a population center, this list is your wake-up call. 1. Crowd-Triggered Chaos When things go sideways in the city, they go sideways fast. People panic. Mobs form.…

Feeling burned out on prepping? Preparedness fatigue is real. Here’s how to stay sharp, focused, and ready—without losing your sanity or your edge.

There was a time when bugging out was borderline fun to think about—gear testing in the woods, fantasy scenarios with your go-bag slung over your shoulder. In 2025, looking like that guy gets you followed, flagged, or worse.

Any readers of The Prepper Journal will know that one of my favorite and recommended prepping supplies is lights. The importance of being able to see when the lights go out can’t be overstated so naturally, I recommend everyone have a lighting option. If you are looking for a way to check off three bases at once, take a look at the Vont Ultimate Survival Kit. Now, this isn’t a normal survival kit you would load in your Bug Out Bag to live off of, but as far as lighting goes, the Vont kit has a lot of lighting needs…

When I got into Prepping back in around 2005, I felt compelled by a certain feeling in my gut that things were not going in the right direction. I saw potential threats to my family everywhere, so I began an intense study of the possibilities and likelihood of many different events. Most of my imagined threats were along the lines of a doomsday scenario but more and more I’m convinced that some of the top threats to Preppers are sneaking in among us as we speak. I know for myself, I expected a giant explosion or some catastrophic event that…

I have heard about 80% receivers for years but never fully appreciated their usefulness or purpose. Of course, I have purchased firearms in the past and while the prospect of building my own sounded interesting, it did not reach the level of interest that I wanted to pursue it too much further. That is until I was approached for a review of the 80 Percent Arms Easy Jig. What I wanted to show in this article was what I learned from the process and my experience first-hand with the 80% Arms Easy Jig. I am not an engineer by any…

It is probably the hallmark of any survival gear item that preppers focus on first when they are getting started and that is the 72 Hour Survival Backpack. This is the bag meant to be grabbed as you are running out the door, or that lives in the trunk of your bug out vehicle waiting for some crisis to happen. It should contain most everything you need to survive for three days in the woods, on the run or hiding in a cave somewhere. There are many options for survival backpacks out there including building your own from scratch. I…

Our world is facing uncertain times. Rumors, distrust, and bad information are everywhere you look, and the last thing preppers should be doing is making things worse. No, I am not talking about Coronavirus, but the never-ending drumbeat of how we need to “curb the spread” prompted an idea in my mind today for how that phrase can apply to something preppers should be mindful of.   Preppers are frequently painted as people who are making fear-based decisions which usually manifest in an overreliance on buying stuff. Now, I will be one of the first to admit that some part of prepping should involve increasing…

When you start to consider prepping, one of the first things you need to start prepping for is your prepper food storage. Beyond the basics, many of us look at this increased focus on food capacity as our survival pantry. Simply put, food is one essential you need to live, and your family must have a sufficient supply of food on hand to keep you fed should any emergency strike. Because of our just-in-time supply chain model, most grocery stores do not have more than 3 days’ worth of food stocked. The shortcomings with JIT were clearly evident during the…

Have you always thought it wise to be better prepared for emergencies but need help knowing where to start? This prepping basics emergency preparedness checklist walks you through the primary disciplines you need to consider and links to more in-depth information for each area. Use these prepping basics as your go-to guide for emergency preparedness, and when you’re done, you’ll be ready to handle events that could happen in the future. Prepping priorities Before we start, it helps to identify what you need to prepare for. When we visit preparedness sites, sometimes we’re immediately struck by the enormous loads of…

From the fanatical doomsday prepper to people who are just trying to be more self-sufficient and everyone in between, each type of prepper has its strengths and weaknesses. Increasingly often though I keep hearing from self-described “Sensible preppers.” On the surface, the phrase is understandable, but I am starting to think that those who describe themselves as a sensible prepper could be leaving themselves open to problems at best. At worst, it could be minimizing the importance of prepping overall. When I refer to “sensible preppers” I specifically mean, self-identified preppers who view anything more than very cursory preparations as symptoms of lunacy and panic. I’ll give you an example. I was reading a social media thread a few…

Some situations in life do not give you time to think a lot. Sometimes you just must act in the interests of protecting your family. If you are ever faced with having to evacuate your home quickly, a packed go bag is your best bet of getting out of the house fast with the supplies you need to survive, potentially without anything else. There are few things that provide preppers with a sense of security like a well-thought-out go-bag. Go bags are the same thing as a Bug Out Bag. It is a bag personalized to you and your situation…

The Inauguration on January 20th went off without a hitch and we have a new President of the United States, Joe Biden. This is a fact that many still have a very hard time dealing with. There are some who remain anxious – waiting for a declaration of Martial Law or some violent action to kick-off, promised by a shadowy internet rumor gone amok. I fear that if these people and many others in the larger “Patriot Movement” do not use their heads, you and I could find ourselves labeled as a domestic terrorist in the near future. I don’t…

Following last week’s news that in the wake of the capital protests, the FBI is warning of “plans for armed protests at all 50 state capitals”. Many of us live in a capital city and if you have concerns that you could be affected by potentially armed protests, you have some decisions to make quickly. I took part in a Reddit discussion on r/preppers a couple of days ago about this subject and felt that it warranted a little more exploration for the audience of the Prepper Journal. Time is counting down to prepare for any violence, but there is…

In the world of Prepping, we group our topics that people want to learn about into just a few major categories when you think of it. The overarching goal of prepping or survival is to stay alive, but the disciplines that feed into Survival could be broken simply into food, water, shelter, self-defense, and first aid. There are many other branches but is a simplistic way of looking at priorities. Self Defense is one that has more urgency, and our home fortification plans are some of the most important parts of initial survival we can discuss. As a parent of…

As we kick off 2021, I wanted to share some prepper resolutions I have made for myself that might help you on your prepping journey to more than survive this year. Each January we reach a time of reflection on the year that has passed. In a “normal” year, I usually have only a couple of big events that frame my point of reference. There are good times with family and friends, perhaps a good vacation I had with my family. For some years, there are sad times with the loss of someone close to you. Regardless of the year,…

It is a question I keep asking myself. Regardless of where you stand on current events – their cause or validity, one thing must be clear and that is we are in for massive changes in our lives. 2020 will go down in my mind as the year everything changed, but the reality for me anyway is that we have been on a path that started long ago. What comes next? For various reasons, we have given up freedom in the name of public safety, but it was prompted by and continues to flourish in a spirit of fear. We…

The Great Reset is a term that I have only recently become aware of but its goal is not new. It is at its heart, a global new world order dream of a rigidly controlled society, ostensibly for the betterment of all. But if you look closely, this planned technocratic utopia, is really the dystopic hell of an Orwellian surveillance and control structure many of us have feared for some time. Created by economist Klaus Schwab; the World Economic Forum Chairman, who also wrote a book called “The Fourth Industrial Revolution”, the Great Reset idea is not necessarily new or…

Premonitions of violence are in the air everywhere here in the USA. You can’t avoid it on social media, the news, and even entertainment. Even though some of the ferocity has been tempered – oddly enough since the election. For many months during this insane year, we have been peppered with rumors of a second civil war, and people on both sides have breathlessly waited and warned of this inevitable reality. The divisive political climate, the riots over the summer, election angst, and protests over all manner of perceived injustices in 2020 seem to clearly show just how at odds…

The dictionary defines survival as “the state or fact of continuing to live or exist, typically in spite of an accident, ordeal, or difficult circumstances.” As Preppers, this is our primary goal even though each person has a unique vision of what that looks like for their life. The Prepper Journal’s survival gear list is designed to help you “continue to live” in spite of “difficult circumstances”. But this equipment for survival is going to be general survival gear in a lot of respects. If you have most or all the items on this gear list, or some reasonable facsimile,…

If you are like me, you hate to forget anything, especially when your significant other already is a little reluctant to leave the creature comforts of her castle to go into the woods and you have promised to take care of everything. If that is you, then this camping essentials list is one you are going to want to print out and check before your next camping trip. There are many camping essentials lists out there and this one will share some common items – which only makes sense because the basic camping gear you are going to want to…

Watching “To the Lake” has made me think about the conditions that could affect my family’s journey if we were bugging out in winter. Winter weather conditions require a little different planning than our regular summer trips might necessitate. Without the proper thought, resources and strategy, your bug out trip could end in disaster instead of delivering you to a safer location. Navigating the roads in the winter is a simple fact of life for millions and yet it still can end badly, especially if you aren’t used to or prepared for this situation. Thinking of a few lessons the…

Don’t let a relatively minor puncture put you out of commission. Simply having a tire plug kit can get you back on the road and back to safety. For years growing up, it was a simple fact of life that any card-carrying member of the “Mans club” had to be proficient at changing a flat tire. My father showed me how to change my first tire when I was much too young to drive, and this simple skill is something that fathers and mothers have instilled in their own children (girls too!) just the same for many decades. We do…

Regardless of who you voted for; this election illustrated one thing very clearly. It showed in no uncertain terms that as a country we are split down the middle along political, moral and philosophical lines. These differences aren’t trivial either and the reactions to disagreements we have with those who don’t agree with us are getting more intense and violent. Add to that the societal changes we are being promised and some of you may have started very seriously prepping for doomsday. What is this doomsday I am talking about you ask? Do I really think the world is going to end just because someone from a different party was elected? What are you afraid of? A 78-year-old man…

Everyday carry items are up close and personal prepping items that each of you should have access to anytime you leave the house. They are tools that can be useful in a myriad of situations, but most importantly, they all share one or more lifesaving properties when used in the right context. Most of us don’t walk out the front door without our keys, wallet and cell phone but there are other EDC items that you should consider if you want an advantage over the next guy when your life is on the line. This article is going to go…

If we do see some other type of disaster or disruption to our lives, are you going to be prepared this time?

When it comes to being prepared for disasters great or small, readers of this blog know I like to have different options. That isn’t to say that I roll out of my house with 3 different kinds of each piece of gear on me and 5 others in the pack in the trunk, but I do have more than one way to skin a cat so to speak. For food, I have different types of food stored and methods of producing my own food. For water, I have stored water plus many different filtration options and methods to obtain more.…