Frequently Asked Questions about Prepping

No one is ever going to be as prepared as they want to be - especially when no one can calculate the future. But prepping is about the journey as much as it is about the destination. learning, and growing and becoming more capable along the way is one of the best parts of the prepping journey. From a practical perspective: being prepped in any way for a given scenario, already puts you in better stead during said event. Having the mindset for planning, and putting pen to paper as it were, allows you deeper insights, and will help to improve your overall capabilities, even if you don't fell fully prepared for a given event. 

Right here! We've been covering oddball things as part of this project for years. And by oddball, we mean completely satisfying, totally interesting things that people actually ask, but a lot of people are afraid to in a public space. Let us look like the crazy people - we think it's important that everyone who wants to approach prepping can do so without difficulty and without hesitancy. Don't let your freak side hide - if you've got a crazy question - ask us to cover it - we'd love to be part of your prepping journey. Most of what we cover though, will apply to the mainstream preppers and the small subsegments of the market too. We aim to be a broad resource for all those who want to try this lifestyle. 

You do what you do because you care about your family. It doesn't mean they are going to show their affection for you in the same way. It also doesn't mean that they don't support you and wouldn't be extremely happy that you have preps, if a major event does affect you. Sometimes prepping is a personal journey that can benefit others - sometimes it jsut takes a catalyst for others to get involved. It's important to be transparent and voice your opinions and explain your feelings about why you prep. Even if people aren't as into it as you are, they can still be supportive and still benefit from it. It's not a popularity game - it's a long-term viability thing. Practical prepping is an important goal to have. Being smart about how each addition in skills and tooling for your prepping journey is an important factor.

We know how ridiculous it feels to hear everyone and their sister recommend a new piece of EDC Gear or Prepper product as a "MUST HAVE". It's why we take our product lists so seriously. It's important to us to not just throw a bunch of affiliate links out there just because. We offer affiliate links to help us pay the bills, but we promise to be thorough, and accurate, and to tell the truth instead of taking a payoff from the manufacturer. Visit our Prepper Product hub and see what you think. We would welcome any feedback.

There's a saying that goes roughly like this: In extreme conditions, you can survive 3 minutes without air, 3 hours without shelter, 3 days without water and 3 weeks without food - We think that's a good place to start. If you're prepping for less essential things in your early prepping journey, make sure you've evaluated your realistic concerns. Oh, yeah, and how long does it take to bleed out, or be negatively affected by shock, or have a self defense concern? There are plenty of things to help you find a way to start prepping. But we think life continuance is #1, always. Comfort is awesome, but life is crucial. If this answer is a bit to hardcore - check out our "THINGS PEOPLE PREP FOR" page.

It’s hard to rely on every piece of information you may see in the prepper space – there are a lot of poorly fact-checked pieces of content. There are also a lot of marketers-cum-experts that are regurgitating poorly orchestrated information. At Defiel.com, we employ real-world experts with hardcore resumes, and ask them to be stringent in sourcing information. You can tell from our content that our information passes the gut check, and we are a living breathing organization that can and will modify information to maintain accuracy and suitability for our readership. We invite you to interact with our people and ask their input, and challenge their content, too. We’re excited to have a robust panel of professionals that work tirelessly to provide strong content for our fans and viewers.

No one is ever going to be as prepared as they want to be – especially when no one can calculate the future. But prepping is about the journey as much as it is about the destination. learning, and growing and becoming more capable along the way is one of the best parts of the prepping journey. From a practical perspective: being prepped in any way for a given scenario, already puts you in better stead during said event. Having the mindset for planning, and putting pen to paper as it were, allows you deeper insights, and will help to improve your overall capabilities, even if you don’t fell fully prepared for a given event. 

Right here! We’ve been covering oddball things as part of this project for years. And by oddball, we mean completely satisfying, totally interesting things that people actually ask, but a lot of people are afraid to in a public space. Let us look like the crazy people – we think it’s important that everyone who wants to approach prepping can do so without difficulty and without hesitancy. Don’t let your freak side hide – if you’ve got a crazy question – ask us to cover it – we’d love to be part of your prepping journey. Most of what we cover though, will apply to the mainstream preppers and the small subsegments of the market too. We aim to be a broad resource for all those who want to try this lifestyle. 

You do what you do because you care about your family. It doesn’t mean they are going to show their affection for you in the same way. It also doesn’t mean that they don’t support you and wouldn’t be extremely happy that you have preps, if a major event does affect you. Sometimes prepping is a personal journey that can benefit others – sometimes it jsut takes a catalyst for others to get involved. It’s important to be transparent and voice your opinions and explain your feelings about why you prep. Even if people aren’t as into it as you are, they can still be supportive and still benefit from it. It’s not a popularity game – it’s a long-term viability thing. Practical prepping is an important goal to have. Being smart about how each addition in skills and tooling for your prepping journey is an important factor.

We know how ridiculous it feels to hear everyone and their sister recommend a new piece of EDC Gear or Prepper product as a “MUST HAVE”. It’s why we take our product lists so seriously. It’s important to us to not just throw a bunch of affiliate links out there just because. We offer affiliate links to help us pay the bills, but we promise to be thorough, and accurate, and to tell the truth instead of taking a payoff from the manufacturer. Visit our Prepper Product hub and see what you think. We would welcome any feedback.

There’s a saying that goes roughly like this: In extreme conditions, you can survive 3 minutes without air, 3 hours without shelter, 3 days without water and 3 weeks without food – We think that’s a good place to start. If you’re prepping for less essential things in your early prepping journey, make sure you’ve evaluated your realistic concerns. Oh, yeah, and how long does it take to bleed out, or be negatively affected by shock, or have a self defense concern? There are plenty of things to help you find a way to start prepping. But we think life continuance is #1, always. Comfort is awesome, but life is crucial. If this answer is a bit to hardcore – check out our “THINGS PEOPLE PREP FOR” page.

Natural disasters are often seen as a catalyst even for new preppers. That is: when an unexpected natural disaster like a wildfire that threatens homes; or a flood that was caused by freak weather events occur, that can help people realize the importance of having some preparedness mindset in their general day-to-day life. 

People like feeling secure. Natural disasters are not easy things to wrap your head around, and they are certainly not predictable. 

A volcano eruption can change farming prospects for an entire country in a matter of days with effects lasting for months or even full seasons. 

An earthquake can rupture gas lines, and storage of chemicals – something that causes multiple ancillary concerns that threaten safety. 

A flood can cause lasting damage, and make a community face years of rebuilding with additional long-term health and infrastructure concerns. 

Wildfires cause smoke issues for whole regions; they cause difficulty with erosion control and they are not just a threat in dry areas during certain times of the year. Given the right conditions, a fire could be started by an arsonist or on accident that causes massive potential for casualty and displacement – not to mention years of disruption to normalcy. 

Natural disasters are a real threat. Think: Tornado Alley. Think about the Carribean and the gulf coast states and their near-yearly threat of major damage. Hurricanes in Louisiana, Florida, Puerto Rico, and even the Northeastern corridor cause billions of dollars in damage and cost thousands of people their lives. 

If you’re not thinking about what’s possible in your area – it’s important to evaluate your feelings and your preparedness for a natrual disaster in your geographic location. 

You may not have seen an apocalyptic version of global financial collapse in your lifetime, but it’s unlikely that you don’t see major impacts on your life, due to changes in the economy. Sometimes people don’t prep because they think we will go to a Mad-Max style world where marauders are going around trading for stolen goods and killing strangers for their wares. Sometimes, people prep because they want to be able to more comfortably weather high inflation. Sometimes people prep to improve their ability to survive if one of their family’s breadwinners is laid off, disabled, or unable to continue to work consistently.

There was a recent situation in South Africa that caused some major economic and trade pressures which left food suplies very difficult to get for weeks at a time, and there was a sharp increase in violence in some major cities throughout the country. And South Africa is a single example. Many other locations have difficulty in supplying food or jobs to a large swath of their country or city’s people.

In the past several decades, someone you know has been affected negatively by financial market movements that wiped out a large percentage of retirement savings. Sometimes, using a prepper mentality can help when there are market downturns.

It was impossible to get some food items and toilet paper, and a lot of other necessaities during the COVID pandemic as supply lines and even whole cities were shut down by governmental agencies. this was not isolated to any specific geography.

Financial crisis is a real thing that happens in many places throughout the year and has been present over the past several years – it just doesn’t necessarily get to the point of a full societal disentegration (it may never, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be prepped for at some level).

And that may be the most important thing about prepping – it’s not always about the end of the world as we know it (TEOTWAWKI). Sometimes it’s just about surviving to the next paycheck, or until you can get the right items at the market again.

Who doesn’t want additional peace of mind? Some prepper grew up poor, and went without things. It may be a catalyst for them. 

Some people just want to not have to worry about the basics in life so that their children or family can feel secure throughout the year. 

Some people have real societal concerns  that need to be dealt with. In certain countries the high crime rates and low availability to self defense weapons may mean that other methods of protection, training, and preparedness becomes more important. 

In certain countries where natural disasters or weather events could cause a whole season’s worth of agri-business to be wiped out. Being prepared to compensate for that loss of labor and goods is an important consideration – sometimes the difference between life and death. 

We all want to sleep better, have more comfort and feel fulfilled. Prepping can impact all of those things positively. peace of mind is more about vocalizing a concept than it really is a realistic goal on a list. Everything that makes life in an unexpected event or during a difficult time, easier, contributes to peace of mind. That doesn’t mean that all preppers live comfortable, stress-free lives year round – it means that preppers can remove one more serious risk or worry from their checklist. 

Prepping is meant to be a practical analysis and implementation of solutions for things that are unexpected, or even expected. But the goal is progression towards a better quality of live, through understanding that some risks are being managed at a higher level. 

For many preppers, “war” is not a daily concern. But during the Cold War in America, we taught nuclear bomb drills in schools. In the 1950’s the Korean war caused similar drills in America. (Yes, most of our visitors are based in America, so we tend to focus on that area). But that is a concept that may be geographically isolated from the perspective of a Western Country like the United States. Right, now the USA has some geopolitical concerns, but nothing that rises to the level of engaging in combat in the short term future most likely. 

But let’s look outside the bubble of the USA for a minute – Japan, Singapore, the Philippines and Korea all have realistic threats that they deal with on a daily basis. From things that seem trivial, like China overfishing the areas offshore from the Philippines, or disregarding some sovereignty in the waters near the country, to South Korea worrying about satellite or missile launches from their hermit neighbor to the North. 

What about Ukraine? While many expected Russian aggression, maybe the fear didn’t rise to the level of imminent danger – but if you asked most Ukrainians – they probably would have told you that they have been prepping for years for such an event in some ways. A year and a half after a Russian combat offensive started, there is no hint of a retracement of troops and combat in the region. One might even be able to make the argument that war is on the doorstep for much of the Euro region, or at least the Eastern Bloc. 

There are actual civil wars occurring in Africa right now. Warlords are taking relief aid and building more solider reserves with the stores. 

The south Side of Chicago seems like a warzone for some neighborhoods on some nights. While we try to remain a bit like Switzerland on the political front, it’s hard to discount the crime increase in Chicago. 

Furthermore, there is a massive increase in organized crime in city centers throughout the United States, and there is a massive increase in crime figures generally, as the inflation rates climb and a concerted effort to de-police certain areas gains steam. We aren’t here to argue for policy on either side – but there are real world issues that aren’t yet solved, and sometimes normal places feel a lot like a battlefield. 

Prepping can give enhanced security, from lots of different aspects. Whether it be for food storage, or prepper finances, or for self-defense. 

Why someone preps as an individual can be varied and may never make sense to you as an individual – because everyone is different and their decisions and lifestyles are influenced and impacted by so many different variables. 

Here are some things we see pretty often when it comes to why people prep:

• Some people prep because they like having more control, or like to know what to expect – even in unexpected or unpredictable scenarios
• Others prep because they grew up that way, or something in their youth catalyzed their need for prepping
• A lot of people prep because it gives them a way to implement their normal downtime or “fun money” which to someone who is in need or doesn’t have a lot of free time or money may seem crazy. But this is sometimes a hobby or an interesting path to travel down, that progresses on a lot of different levels, but is very experiential
• Some prep because they experienced something they never want to experience again
• Some are forced into being more proactive about their personal security, or their food supply, or their clean water supply because of geopolitical concerns or government issues
• There are a ton of reasons that people prep, but more often than not, prepping is associated with creating a buffer, or a realistic expectation about what might happen in the event of something that a prepper fears is a potential event or situation

That’s a bit myopic a viewpoint – most preppers are among the most well informed and well-adjusted, and realistic folks about what might occur. That doesn’t mean their thought process will always align with yours, or anyone else’s for that matter. But it is to say: Preppers are generally very self-aware, even if their fears may be somewhat overexaggerated at times to the mainstream onlooker. 

Preparedness is not about retiring as a billionaire if the market collapses – it’s more about being able to survive is normalcy no longer exists – even in a micro economic or micro-political spectrum. Realistic threats are the fundamental base for the vast majority of preppers. Practical prepping is a much more mainstream idea post-COVID. It used to be that everyone tried to lump preppers into the “doomsday prepper” bucket – as if they were all the part of this group that had unfounded concerns, and unrealistic ideas about how to solve them. Not everything on that TV show was insane. 

Today, solar generators aren’t the purview of the people that think solar flares are capable of causing EMP’s (electromagnetic pulses). While this is a legitimate fear based on the actual science of the world we live in, prepping has become mainstream because of a lot of changes in the world and in innovation. 

Today, being smart about finances because you may not be able to get your money out of the bank is not just a storyline on the famous movie “It’s a Wonderful Life”. Bank Runs have happened as recent as a couple weeks or months ago in some places (Including the USA – at the time of this writing).  

The idea that Governments wield a lot of power is fresh in many memories as a lot of places basically shut down during 2020-22. 

Will the answer always be: “The world is failing, grab what you can!”? No. But, having some preparations in place can take the edge off of the survival scenarios that sometimes show up during unexpected political, weather, governmental, and economic scenarios.