3 Survival Blogs That Answer, “How to Become a Survival Expert?”

| Last Updated: February 25, 2021

Wouldn’t you like to know how to become a survival expert and what the top experts are doing and thinking about when it comes to wilderness survival, what’s on their gear list and prepping? We thought the same thing! So we asked over 150+ known survivalist who have any sort of credibility, and surprisingly the only ones who got back with sensible answers were from the most popular sites in the arena.

Showing that they’re number one in the scene not only for quality information provided, but also for their desire to ensure that inquiring minds are taken care of. Which speaks volumes for these individuals! We narrowed the field down to 3 leaders in this area, and we have their exact answers for you today. 

At Survivethewild, we want you to be equipped with all the right information, and we know that we don’t have all the answers for every question. Which is why we took the time to reach out to others who have different but similar focuses in our area.

The last thing we want is to limit your knowledge for the sake of growing readership, we would rather have you find what you’re looking for with another credible source rather than wasting time waiting for us to figure it out or make a post about it.

So with all that said let’s get into what the questions are and who the top 3 experts are that we were lucky enough to get some time with! These guys aren’t just focused on survivalism or being a “prepper”, they are one in the same because you can’t expect to be ready for anything if you’re putting all your eggs in one basket. So with that here’s the real stars of the post and the questions….

Questions:

1. What would you say is the most valuable survival item to ALWAYS have with you?

2. Which resource was the most helpful to help you get started on survival?

3. In North America what is the situation that most need to prepare for?

4. (in reference to previous question) How would we most effectively and cost efficiently prepare?

These questions were researched and vetted to ensure that we are serving the audience that is just starting out in the prepping and ​survivalist lifestyle. However, there is knowledge to be gleaned from these answers for even the most veteran of survivalist and preppers.

Once the student has stopped learning he’s started dying, and revisiting old lessons improves wisdom. So don’t discount these questions or the answers given, because there are nuggets of information in these questions and answers for everyone!

Since it would take a very long long long loooooong time to go through all of the answers we got, and for the fact that some were repeated almost verbatim, we have compiled the top 4 of the experts and their unique answers that come from different perspectives. From former desk jockeys to military trained individuals, these people are about to drop some serious knowledge!

There are sites that do receive “honorable mention”, due to the fact that they’re busy and probably didn’t have much time to answer questions. We will list sites that we follow and recommend as authorities in this field at the end of this post.

Lets Start With Survivalist & Prepper Tips From theprepperjournal

When it comes to a practical application of knowledge, this site takes the cake any day of the week! From discussing the effects prepping can have on marriages to detailed (almost meticulous) instructions on survival, Pat over at theprepperjournal has some of the highest quality skills in writing and customer relationships.

1. What would you say is the most valuable survival item to ALWAYS have with you?

 It may sound cheesy but the most valuable survival item is your brain. You can never forget it, it shouldn’t expire and you won’t lose it on some camping trip last year. Your brain does more than just think for you, it should allow you to constantly view life through a prism of survival. By that I mean even if you don’t have any survival gear on your person, you can evaluate situations, look for alternative exits, watch activity that may impact you quickly and prepare to take action. Simply paying attention and being ready to act quickly can save your life more readily than any tool in your bag.

2. Which resource was the most helpful to help you get started on survival?

I personally read a lot. I started with prepping blogs. That led to YouTube videos and then Prepper Fiction like Patriots from James Wesley Rawles and One Second After by William Forstchen. The blogs and books gave me scenarios I could imagine as well as alternative takes on news and information I wasn’t getting in the mainstream media. Truth be told, there is a lot of information out there from many voices, each with their own viewpoints and perspective. I took a lot of it in and conducted my own research and formed my own opinions. You quickly learn what resonates with you personally and what you consider unimportant.

3. In North America what is the situation that most need to prepare for?

Even in North America there is so much diversity of climate and location. For me personally, I plan for situations that can happen anywhere. Loss of power, water supply issues, urban unrest, loss of job – possibly for a long time, natural disasters. No matter what the situation is, you will always need the same things to live. Food, Water, Shelter and Security. Without those four things you can’t live. Sanitation is another one that gets overlooked some times, but when you get sick on top of lacking food, possibly because of poor quality water that can only make things worse. Diseases travel quickly in disaster situations where the lack of modern safeguards cause millions to fall ill.

4. (in reference to previous question) How would we most effectively and cost efficiently prepare?

Going back to the 4 things you need to survive anything I would start stocking up. Stocking up for almost everyone is the simplest thing you can do with the least amount of time and resources. Even the most under resourced economically are eating and drinking right now or else you shouldn’t be sitting at that computer or smart phone reading this. Start small if you like and stock an extra week worth of the food you already eat in your home. Water in the amount of 1 gallon per person, per day is needed and the easiest way to do this is buy a couple of cases of water or some 5 gallon water jugs from Walmart. Once you have a week worth of food and water, build from there as you income and space allow making sure to rotate your food so that you are eating what you store and replenishing as you go. Shelter really just means staying out of the elements. Do you have camping gear? Tarps you can make into shelters? Do you have an alternate heat source for your home if the power goes out? Security comes down to the laws where you live in a lot of cases and your own personal values. I recommend firearms for legal, lawful adults who respect them and aren’t afraid to use them if their life is in jeopardy. In a true SHTF, that might happen sooner than you think.

Very well put! Clearly theprepperjournal has no trouble with thinking outside the bounds of “normal” answers. When asked about which item would be most necessary in a survival situation, anyone could have written of a solid object or tool you need, but their answer certainly takes it in the right direction of forward thinking! And as the quote goes “A leader is a reader”, this is obvious by Pat’s answer to the second question regarding how the journey into survivalism and prepper lifestyle began.

After that question he dropped some real knowledge and insight into not focusing on one specific situation when  prepping, rather to have a general knowledge base of survivalism and prepper mentality. Couple that with his recommendations for supplies on a budget and you have a survivalist guide to surviving the wild or end times in any situation!

Thank you so much Pat and theprepperjournal, we hope to have you back to share more of your insights soon!

 Let’s Hear What Awesome Survivalist Tips Offgridsurvival Has in Store!

If you’ve followed the blog for any amount of time you know that we are RAVING fans of Robert over at offgridsurvival! These guys have a great balance of survivalism and prepper mentality. The visual appeal of their site alone is enough to get the message across that you’re going to learn some hard core survival tactics in some not so conventional ways!

Some of the answers are similar (which you should pay attention to, because these people are the best of the best), so please take a moment to glean from what Robert at offgridsurvival has to share.

1. What would you say is the most valuable survival item to ALWAYS have with you?

The only thing you can really count on during a survival situation is yourself. While having certain types of gear may be helpful, the biggest factor in any situation is going to be the knowledge and the training that you bring into that situation. I believe people need to spend more time focusing on stockpiling knowledge and less time worrying about stockpiling gear. For every piece of gear that you rely on, you need to figure out how you would do without it during a survival situation.

2. Which resource was the most helpful to help you get started on survival?

The most helpful thing for me is getting out there and practicing any skill that I read about. It’s one thing to read how to do something, it’s another to get out there and perform that same skill during a stressful situation.

One of the most helpful things you can do is to train as much as possible. Go out there and do the hardest things first. For instance, if you’re going camping don’t take the easy way out and start your fire with a Bic lighter. Practice the harder fire starting techniques first; the ones that require you to feel a little uncomfortable. The more you practice, the more these things become second nature.

3. In North America what is the situation that most need to prepare for?

I think that’s a great question. Far too often people get into prepping without a real plan, and often times without a real understanding what they are actually preparing for. While the most likely disaster is going to a bit different for everyone, I think you want to look at what disasters have affected your area in the past and start there.

I usually start by looking at geographical threats (natural disasters, localized industrial hazards, crime, etc…) then I look at personal threats (financial problems, job loss, illness, etc…) then I move on and look at larger national problems (terrorism, social unrest, economic problems, etc…). If you have these things covered, you have a pretty good chance of surviving just about any type of disaster.

4. (in reference to previous question) How would we most effectively and cost efficiently prepare?

Knowledge first; it costs nothing. Then you want to focus on the basic necessities of life: water, food, shelter, and self-defense protection. For small scale-disasters you want to start stockpiling supplies that will help you make it at least two-weeks without access to outside services. Once you have that covered you can move on and start stocking up for long-term troubles. But I wouldn’t spend a dime on anything until I had those four essentials covered; once I have those covered then I would start looking at other types of survival gear.

Hmmmm there seems to be a theme running through these answers, which is great! Robert at Offgridsurvival had a few different strategies that are more hands on than prepperjournal, and that’s to be expected, we aren’t here to find the only way to be a survivalist or a prepper, we’re here to find the way that’s best for you. That is why we took the time to find different points of view in order to make sure you have every angle covered.

The last of the top 3 experts comes to us from modernsurvivalonline let’s get into it! 

What Survivalist Tips Does ModernSurvivalOnline Have for Us?

Modernsurvivalonline has to be one of the most heartily patriotic sites for survivalism that I’ve seen in a long time, and it’s truly heart warming! With our great nation going through so many trials as it is we need a few beacons of hope like John at Modernsurvivalonline that still have faith in our American way of life.

John delivers the goods with a no holds bared attitude. The post on the site range from field survival to current politics at home and over seas, which offers great insight as to how to prepare for any situations, also how to best equip yourself as a survivalist in the wild should you be caught stranded on foreign soil.

1. What would you say is the most valuable survival item to ALWAYS have with you?

I believe keeping your head and not panicking is the most important “item” to have with you at all times. I have seen it a million times in day to day life people overreacting and making stupid decisions. I cannot imagine how they would react in a survival situation where not thinking clearly and logically may cost someone their life.

2. Which resource was the most helpful to help you get started on survival?

That is a tough one. When my interest in survival first came on I went to my local Civil Defense office(1980’s) and picked up every paper and brochure they had. Most everything was related to nuclear war survival but mot of the information held true for natural disasters and pretty much everything else as well. The foundation of FOOD, WATER, SHELTER was instilled in me at a very early age and at the beginning of my interest in survival.

3. In North America what is the situation that most need to prepare for?

The most likely and common emergency that should be prepared for is food shortage. The actual cause of the food shortage could be caused by numerous events including natural disasters, economic collapse – or unemployment. 

4. (in reference to previous question) How would we most effectively and cost efficiently prepare?

When it comes to food storage I believe in eating what you store and storing what you eat. Going to discount outlets and stocking up on canned goods, rice, and beans is inexpensive and those foods have excellent shelf lives. Just buy more of what is normally eaten is a great start to food storage.

As you can see, the shoot from the hip style of answers from John from Modernsurvivalonline are compelling and leave no room for ambiguity! This is one of the reasons I love this site, it is a very no nonsense area that get’s down to business and will give you actionable steps to take with clear instructions on what the outcome needs to be.

These answers varied in a way that is just enough to evoke emotion, hopefully, in the reader to make a change and realize the state of the world we’re living in. Thank you again modernsurvivalonline for your time, and we hope to stay in contact!

Well there you have it community, the most popular questions on everyones mind answered by the most knowledgeable people who are kind enough to share what they know for the benefit of others. I hope you enjoyed reading this post as much as we enjoyed getting to interact with the hosts of these top sites!

Now like Offgridsurival said, you can’t just read about these things you need to do, you need to put them into action which is the only way that you’ll be truly prepared when the time comes. So get out there and put these skills to use for the good of your own lives and the lives of your families. Now build your wilderness survival gear lists and get out there!

Honorable Mention

survivallife

shtfplan

thesurvivalistblog

thesurvivalpodcast

survivalcache

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