You know what I want to see? A prepper debate on TV. This is the second season of watching and the modes and methods of prepping vary so much. Why can’t people prep for what really happens? Power outages, inclement weather, crime, a city emergency that keeps people indoors. I’m sure there’s some ‘Prepper Summit’ out there in one form or another, but as long as folks spend thousands on scenarios that aren’t likely to happen, they get the side eye from the ‘future marauders.’
Prepper: Bob Kay Temecula, California. Married with two children. Creator of a vitamin supplement.
Lives on a spacious estate surrounded by 2 1/2 acres with winery views.
Scenario: Earthquake. He lives in the area of 6 earthquake faults. He worries about the highways being effected and the infrastructure, impacting the movement of supplies. Bob spent $150, 000 on his preps in the past year. In addition to that, he spent $110,000 on 6 motorcycles, $35,000 landscaping so every tree and shrub serves the purpose of being edible. 300 plants in all and $100k on a pool for 35,000 gallons of water to filter into potable drinking water. Bob’s kids are not allowed to swim during day, no matter how hot it gets. He doesn’t want their sunscreen to mess with the water. His oldest daughter, Alexa, is a supporter of his and goes with him to get food items for storage. On this trip, he spent 10 times the yearly amount the average American spends on groceries in one day. His total for freeze-dried food: $40,000 and the goods had to be hauled to the house by an 18-wheeler.
Alexa practices martial arts and knife throwing as a means to protect the home. She also gets to train on their private shooting range with professionals. She equates a lot of her defense experiences with video games. Bob’s wife thinks he spends way too much money on something that may not happen. She thinks it’s a bit of crazy. She’s the one who lives with him, so…
He’s also worried about the nearby nuclear plant and the impact an earthquake would have. So, Bob considers whipping out the debit card to get whatever he needs. This could include a helicopter. Bob and Alexa head to the airport to meet with a pilot. He has the pilot do a bug out exercise with the helicopter coming to pick the family up. The helo seats 4 so the youngest daughter is not even riding safely.
Expert Prepper’s Assessment: Raise chickens and rabbits for more protein. Pool is a good water supply start, but if the filter fails, you’ll be stuck with only chlorine filled water.
Scale rating: Food, shelter, water, security and X-factor score 61 out of 100. 9 months initial survival time.
Bob thinks business and barter activities would enhance his readiness score.
Experts say that there’s an 11% chance of a 6.7 or higher earthquake hitting the Temecula area in the next 30 years.
Hey Bob! If you’re so worried about the faults, and you spent $335,00 on preps/food while seriously considering a half million on a helicopter, I have a suggestion: MOVE. Build another pool so your kids can be kids and swim when it’s hot. With the conflict between husband and wife, your kids may grow up very confused about money and normal activities. They live far out, swim at night and live in fear of ‘the big one’.
Prepper: Josh Wander, married father of 6, moved from Israel to Pittsburgh, Pa. Orthodox Jew running for city council. Has to balance his prep activities with his religious beliefs.
Scenario: He’s a political prepper who is urging citizens to prepare for a series of terrorist attacks. Any place is subject to suicide bombers and first responders would also be at risk. He wants the city of Pittsburgh to begin prepping which is why he’s running for city council. Josh believes a terrorist attack can happen any day. He thinks he’ll be a target as a politician, so he drills his staff in a mass casualty scenario. Josh was an EMT in Israel and uses these skills for the exercise. 
Josh prepares to bug in for 3 months minimum. He’s been building his food storage, but the challenge is staying Kosher. It’s taken 3 years to get just 3 months of the proper food. His religion does allow breaking the rules when it comes to saving lives. They are raising rabbits for possible food. His kids are not allowed to name the rabbits since they may be on their plate one day. The obligatory bug out drive off and weapons training inserted here. Josh compares prepping to the Exodus and the march out of Egypt. Moses survived on his preps.
Expert Prepper’s Assessment: Rainwater catchment is good idea but 250 gallons is not enough for a family of 8. Include others in your plans, especially in an urban area.
Scale rating: Food, shelter, water, security and X-factor score 70 out of 100. 12 months initial survival time. Josh isn’t satisfied and looking for ways to do better.
Update: Things have been getting alot worse in this country, the now bearded Josh says. They’ve decided to possibly move back to Israel where Jews are protected and safe.
Terrorist attacks worldwide have dropped 12% to a 5 year low post 9-11.
So, it wasn’t a bunch of terrorist attacks at the core of the prepping and trying to get on the local government? Did he lose the election? I’m confused by his update about moving to Israel to be protected as a Jew. That was not what he said in his original piece. Told y’all. Most of these scenarios are crap lies, either dramatized by production or used in place of what the prepper doesn’t want to say.
Prepper: Ryan Croft, former Airman in the Air Force and weapons manufacturer, married with 5 teenaged boys. Asheville, North Carolina
Scenario: Worldwide financial collapse. Can FEMA arrive in a thousand cities at once? He’s not going to sit and wait for someone else to come up with solutions. The government solutions “Suuucck.”
The economy and society will collapse. We’re in the gentle glide of a financial collapse that has already started. The temporary glue is consumer confidence. Chaos will occur if that goes away.
There is no bug out plan. They love their community and the town. He will help his neighbors. Ryan is growing Spirulina. This is an algae that contains high-quality protein, vitamins, calcium, iron and amino acids. A person could survive on it and water alone. He estimates that he’d need 30 Spirulina aquariums to feed his family. Ryan believes in having people from the community involved in his preps. The goal is to set up Spirulina farms in their homes. Earthworms are the other option. Ryan’s not into the small prepper groupings. Everyone lives, no one dies if you do it as a community or regionally. Taking care of yourself with what nature has is a skill that should be cultivated. Ryan is not into having a huge stockpile, so he has about three months worth of shelf food.
Another food alternative is field mice. He teaches his boys how to make a trap out of sticks and a rock using peanut butter as bait. He caught one during this exercise. He hammers it out on a rock and drops him in the fire. The best part to eat? The head. Just one of his sons is willing to have some critter cuisine. The risk of eating field mice and other rodents is tapeworms and bacteria.
Defense of his community is very important to Ryan. Being armed changes the game and more is better than less, so he’s creating a custom weapon. A hybrid of an AK-47 and an AR-15, using their best aspects.
Expert Prepper’s Assessment: Commended for community action plan. Varied and non-conventional food sources are clever, but a large family will need supplemental food.
Scale rating: Food, shelter, water, security and X-factor score 63 out of 100. 10 months initial survival time. Ryan deeply appreciates the assessment.
Update: Spirulina is doing well. They’ve posted videos on YouTube on how to go about growing their own.
Economists believe a depression is unlikely. Odds of a global collapse leading to the breakdown of society are remote.
I’m so sick of the worldwide financial collapse scenario. Just once, I’d like to hear some facts and figures that the prepper has researched on their own to substantiate this one.
With some of these preppers, there’s a haughtiness that they can control when ‘the shit hits the fan’. When the updates happen, I’ve been shocked to see the drastic changes people have made in their lives and then they attribute it to things ‘getting worse’. What is getting worse? Allegedly, based on my recent recap, there’s some dude with a mail order Columbian bride, shaking in a weekend size camping trailer. As far as I know, Boston hasn’t been nuked.
I do enjoy the show and have learned a few things that aren’t ‘prepper use only’ things. What I’ve noticed is the money preppers take it to a whole other level simply because they can and in a disturbing observation, some preppers seem to be salivating for their scenario to occur now.
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