They might be bandied about in the same breath by some people but is there a difference between Prepping and Survival? What are those differences? Or are they to all intents and purposes the two sides of pretty much the same coin?
Let’s take a closer look.
Prepper or Survivalist?
For many of the proponents on both sides of the divide, the Prepper v. Survivalist argument boils down to Stores v. Skills.
In this simplest of distinctions, Preppers are engaged in preparing for emergencies – natural and man-made. For Preppers, preparing for a crisis large or small is largely a question of having sufficient emergency supplies and stores. Those stores can run the whole gamut from food and water to supplies and any gear or equipment that might be needed.
Survival, on the other hand, is essentially about skills. While Preppers are busy gathering essential stores, Survivalists are learning and assembling the skillset they will need in order to survive during an emergency or disaster.
Putting the respective skillsets to use
As the Trauma Survival Kits website [sh1] puts it, Preppers may focus on assembling large stockpiles of non-perishable food. Their aim is not only to stay safe and alive during any crisis or disaster but even make themselves relatively comfortable in their straitened circumstances. Their stockpile of stores may be designed to last not only for as long as the crisis endures, but even after the event.
On the strength of appearances alone, Preppers might seem to be more “serious” or committed to their task or lifestyle than Survivalists. As the stockpile of food and supplies grows, so the activities of the average Prepper may become more and more obvious to those around them.
Survivalists, on the other hand, are more likely to cut the much quieter, lower profile of what is almost a lone wolf.
Survivalists concentrate on honing their Survivalist skills. Outward appearances are minimalist. The Survivalist is likely to be constantly on the move, from one place to another, without a care for comfort but the acquisition of the mere basics of water, food, heat, and shelter.
Blurring the lines
While the Prepper might be focussing on stores and the Survivalist on his or her skillset, both are doing what they do with a single purpose in mind – to survive whatever hardships, inconveniences and threats any crisis or disaster may throw at them.
They may bring different angles and points of view to the challenge, but the endpoint is the same.
An article in Metro newspaper on the 1st of January[sh2] not only set out to illustrate that prepping is not a question of preparing for any kind of “zombie” apocalypse but also gave several examples of individuals who regard themselves as both Survivalists as well as Preppers.
The article explained how – far from being a Doomsday Cult – Preppers might have some background in survival skills but that is by no means necessary. Instead, said one of the paper’s interviewees, “prepping is just the first step towards self-reliance and self-sufficiency” adding that both are “worthy goals for the betterment of society”.
