Camping & Prepping

They are different but somehow touch each other.

One memmber mentioned in my other thread that including camping sub-forum in ETS will dilute the concentration (focus) on survival.

This thread is NOT about adding a sub-forum on camping , but it is about using the camping fun to lure people to accept preppring, or at least - in case of negative people - camouflague our preps like Go Bags as "camping supplies". In one U-tube video, a lady named Prepper wife starts her video saying that she calls those items ( Camping gear) while her husband calls them ( survival gear ) !!

Anyways, camping/backpacking/hiking seems to offer a few things for preppers like :

- Camouflague intention from negative people
- Practice survival skills while camping/backpacking
- Increase value of purchased items. Instead of buying a $100 knife and store in BOB , just in case , you can use it when you camp, and justify the cost.
- Companies manufacture stuff for campers/backpakers that preppers can benifit from ( e.g. backpacks, boots, sleeping bags, stoves, compasses ..etc.)

So, what you say about camping/backpacking/hiking resources an usefulness for prepping ??

Here's this story from my experience

Our stores do not have many "survival" stuff. Even the word is not heard of except in rare coverages - like once a year, about some American militia , or a survivalist-linked news.

So, last month, I posted in a Facebook page of a local hardware store , a request to include a few things like Esbit stoves in their inventory. Off course, I didn't mention "survival" or preparedness for (possible mishaps) but used (my interest in backpacking ) as an excuse.

BTW, even backpacking is seen as a "funny thing" around here, let alone survival preparedness. A few years ago, 4 college boys hiked between two cities ( about 140 km = 87 miles ). Most local forums blasted them with negative comments !!!

Although these boys have taken less than the minimum needed for such a trip ( for lack of experience) but still one poster asked angrily : One of these boys mentioned carrying a stick (staff) and a knife. WHY a stick and a knife ?? Are they going to fight a war ?? Another one answered : Maybe they will beat up anyone advicing them against this stunt.

So, in such extremely negative atmosphere it is wise to be careful and use familiar excuses to justify your requests.

Sure, there is a lot of overlap in the camping and surviving skill sets, especially when the particular surviving scenario involves leaving an urban or residential area. I wish I could camp more often to keep up the practice. So I agree on that score.

On the other hand, there are things that just do not overlap. Preparing for bugging in, the active shooter scenario, water/power outage, etc. Of course, who'd find out about such preparation except for people close to our lives? I assume this is what you are referring to by "negative people": our family, close friends, close co-workers, etc. Surely I won't advertise the fact that I have a pantry full of emergency food, or that I have stocked up on gasoline, etc? So I'm not sure that camping can really successfully deceive our own people. It may provide an excuse for people who are basically willing to go along (e.g., the person who refers to their prep goods as "camping gear" that you mention). But for the "hardcore" prepper haters, I fear camping won't work as an excuse.

I do think that convincing our people to go along with prep is worth discussing. It's probably been done before on this forum, though.



Come on, you know this is not just about survival prep. You want a nice knife, don't you?

Da Bing

As I recall,there are still some Bedouins left.How does modern day society view these,Dashing,adventerous folks?Would it be difficult to dress in their(Bedouin)attire,& travel to the various stores to purchase the equipment you desire?Surely nobody would question their motives,would they?Afterall,most of what you are seeking,is used by them on a daily basis.Would it be too difficult to use their accent/slang to give decent authentication to questioning merchants & such?Good luck with your endeavours!

I don't know that I would advocate using backpacking/hiking as a cover for developing survival skills; they are quite valid in their own right. It just happens that the skills, attitudes and expectations one develops in knocking around the woods can come in handy when the home situation becomes suboptimal, to say nothing of all that gear.

Once you have worthwhile outdoor skills, and not before, what you want to do is join your local outdoor search and rescue unit. You will then become quite accustomed to responding to situations at all hours, improvising, problem solving, pushing your mental and physical limits, working in a team, and learning your own capabilities. Someday down the road that capability may well come in handy.....

I know there are several on this forum currently serving in this capacity. My SAR experience is basically now history, although I was an avid responder for about twenty years. I would love to hear comments from those currently active.....

+1 on camping = practicing self-sufficiency and using emergency gear.
Hikermor is quite right, though, that there's a difference between wilderness survival and urban survival. There some cross-over but I wouldn't rely sole on my camping skills as prep for an urban scenario. That's going to require a different skill set. Although the way some people camp, that statement could well be reversed for them.

As others have said, I think goals of camping, especially backpacking, and preparedness are essentially the same: to live & survive comfortably in the absence of modern amenities and support systems.

It seems natural that the gear & skills for one would also be beneficial for the other even if, as others noted, there isn't full overlap.

If I was trying to placate negative people though, I think I tend more towards modelling my preps after the recommendations of the Red Cross or a government initiative & would communicate the fact. For some that could shift their perception from paranoid wingnut to responsible citizen following the advice of experts.

Wow, where do you live?

I anyone asks, you could always say you're preparing for whatever natural disasters are likely in the area. Which is true. And as others have said, camping stuff is prepping stuff. If you don't prefer buying online, most big box stores carry tons of camping equipment. Or, make a day of it, and drive to the closest REI store to stock up. Camping equipment at local hardware stores is usually more expensive anyway.

Eastern Saudi Arabia

Camping , here , is almost always a family or large group thing. Friends will go together in several cars/trucks and may take EVERYTHING, including several kitchen sinks. Don't be surprised if you see a dish antena outside the large tent.

@Richlcal


I see them and hear their accents, but their old ways is only a TV thing now. Much as Red Indians are in western movies. Many of them ARE modern society now. OK, some of them still own camels ..etc. but I doubt many of them can ride those camels across 10 miles of desert !

The term 'prepper' is an interesting concept.



I think the whole phenomenon of the prepper (Anxious now middle aged Yuppies from the late 80s??) is caused by deep rooted anxiety of how personal or societal future prospects are perceived and is dependent on whether a person is an optimist or a pragmatic pessimist. I think preppers fall into the latter of pragmatic pessimist.

Backpackers and hikers, I think have really have quite a different outlook on life. They really just enjoy the outdoors and peace and quiet and the aesthetic of natural world. There is some cross over with the 'bush crafters' who take this mindset to the next level as they attempt to minimise and redact the technology and commercialism requirements of the backpacker and hiker. There are also different subsets of backpacker and hikers such as the ultralighters (who are more interested in moving light and fast and far at the expense of camp comfort) etc.

Then we have the survivalist type of mindset.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivalism

I think it would be somewhat unfair to describe the survivalist as an everyday disappointed prepper who hasn't yet found a need for his Main Battle Rifle, as society had failed to brake down on that particular day. A 'prepper with a sense of humor bypass' might be more appropriate.

I don't really see anything wrong with those who have an interest in fishing, DIY, backpacking and hiking, bushcraft, gardening, cooking and baking, Scuba, mountaineering, electronics, computing and sustainable energy, shooting, bicycling, bird watching etc. It beats siting in front of the TV watching mindless soap and celebrity and turning into a couch potato and improves on the Will To Live (WTL).

My DW was negative a few years back. She knew of my craze about "safety". She used to get upset when I unplug ANY unused appliances around the house including the iron which she has left and is coming back to "in a few minutes". She has never adopted my view of being alert to possible sources of danger. And we almost always argued when we went shopping and I took a few extra jars of honey or poeanut butter.

It was something else that convinced her : higher food prices. So, now I buy most foods by the case, because it is the ECONOMICAL way !!! So there we go again : prepping camouflagued by something else.

Camping is about temporarily living elsewhere, usually with fewer modern conveniences, so yes it absolutely has relevance to survival/prep, whatever you call it. I've long camped for fun and don't need it as a ruse for acquiring survival gear.

I accelerated my camping gear acquisition twenty years ago precisely because a week-long series of ice storms and power outages made me thank God for the gear I had and its utility for comfortably surviving an emergency situation.

Car camping can be good practice for "bugging out" (my gear is always packed and I know how much can fit in and on the car and how long packing it takes) and for living in the backyard if need be because the house is uninhabitable for some reason. I have a teardrop trailer stored 100 miles west of Washington and that could prove useful in some evacuation scenarios.

After the week we've had around here (earthquake, Hurricane Irene), preparedness is a pretty common topic. Heck, since 9/11/01 it has been a perfectly normal conversation around here. But that's not to be confused with a TEOTWAWKI sort of focus. I'm not in that camp.

Nighthiker and Bacpacjac pretty much sum it up the best.

For us, camping and being prepared are one and the same. This does not matter if you are camping at a provincial or local state park or miles from the nearest civilization, there is a lot to be learned by simply camping that is easily applied in an urban setting. I would suspect that the recent hurricane/tropical storm that hit the US eastern starboard has a lot of people who have no power etc, using their camping gear and having their previously learned skills put to the test.

As for using camping to lure people into prepping, this not my style. I prefer to lure people into camping / hiking to learn about and enjoy the quiet peacefulness of the outdoors. This coming long weekend, we are taking my SO's 11 yr old niece on a 4 night / 5 day base camp and hiking trip where the nearest town will be 60 km away (35 miles.) Needless to say, niece is thrilled as her parents are not real outdoors people and this is her first time on a trip of this type. That to me, this is what it is all about...

You're right that these two camps are somewhat distinct socially, though they may overlap in function. I fall more into the prepper category. I love nature, but for me it's cheaper, less time-consuming, and far more convenient to go to the opera than to go camping. (I can tell you about surviving in the opera house. First rule: avoid any event that begins with "three.")

Does prepping derive from anxiety about the future of society? I'm not so sure. There has always been emergencies, natural or man-made. Emergency services are probably better today that they were 50 years ago (I'm just guessing here, so you SAR types feel free to correct me). I don't think civilization is going to fall apart, but I just don't want to take the chance of falling through the cracks of emergency services.

Now, a larger interesting issue, I think, is self-sufficiency vs. cooperation. (Am not trying to imply they are paragonal.) Observing the earthquake/tsunami/nuclear disaster in Japan taught me that if we are able to prep and cooperate as a group, we can afford to do less as individuals. The Japanese maintained order voluntarily, there was virtually no looting or theft, lost properties were turned in to the authorities, people shared resources, made individual sacrifices for the group. As a result there was no mob chaos and additional man-made problems, stores remained open, and in general as much of normal life was preserved. This doesn't cost a cent. It takes a certain culture and a certain mode of behavior.

We, on the other hand, tend to focus on the materiel of preparation: which stove to get, which bag to get, etc. The assumption is that we're going to be on our own, in a possibly dog-eat-dog world. We regard this as self-sufficiency or personal responsibility. This is when some people start talking about "armament." Now, the Japanese do earthquake prep, etc., but I'll bet that they don't think much about armament. That just isn't a serious risk over there. We undertake greater expenses, at a greater individual cost, to prepare for disasters because our society tends more towards violence and selfishness in times of crisis. The chaos of Katrina is an example.

What is the point I'm making? I have no delusions about the pros and cons of Japanese culture, I hope, but I do think that prepping does not have to be equated with self-sufficiency or some analogue of camping. After all, our civilization is in a sense a big survival project. It is a complex network that transforms hostile nature into an inhabitable environment where a person does not have to spend all his time and energy finding the next meal. We pool our resources in order to afford services that we individually cannot afford: emergency services, policing, firefighting, education, etc. That might have been what happened in Japan: people were collectively sufficient in crisis, even though individually they were probably nowhere nearly as well-equipped. (I don't think camping is such a big hobby over there.) By contrast, in American culture we have this lone cowboy mentality, and as long as we are all lone cowboys, we cannot join force and make surviving in emergencies easier. I know some people on this forum are attempting to network via homeowners associations and such, but I look at my neighbors and am filled with pessimism.

Da Bing

IMO, recreational camping IS survival minus the urgency and possible misery.

The equipment and skills learned and refined in camping, backpacking, and hiking would transfer to nearly any survival scenario.

Look at refugee camps and in this country, depression 'ditch camps' for a look at what happens in hard times. Although dirty and ill-equipped, these people are 'hiking and camping for their lives'.

practical handgun shooting has been my principal hobby for the last 30 years...it has morphed into serious 3 gun competition in the last 15 or so...from comments, a lot of the members of this forum are firearm owners, but without competition how do you judge your skill level or competence? ....I go out of my way to promote the sport shooting games like USPSA/IPSC, and multi gun competition...although ammunition is some what expensive, compared to other hobbies it is not out of line...