Tactieken voor de verstandige prepper: Navigeren door noodsituaties met gezond verstand

Because being prepared is useful,how your preparation should also be meaningful! Unfortunately, many people who want to be better prepared get confused or follow bad advice from blogs and social media. After years of experience with personal preparation and teaching others, we have created the "The Wise Prepper" rules to keep things rational and valuable. We use them to write articles for you and you should use them when making your personal decisions.

One of the reasons we started SOS Central is because we've found from our own prepping that a lot of the advice you find online is either dangerously wrong or causes more confusion and complications than necessary.

This bad advice leads to countless hours, wasted money, and too much fear and frustration. Or worse - you end up less prepared because everything has become too complicated.

Preparation should be:

• Responsible. It is smart and normal to prepare for emergencies.
• Valuable. The whole point is that you benefit from being prepared if you ever need it.
• Easy. Don't waste hundreds of hours wading through incorrect and confusing content.
• Affordable. Almost any budget can cover the basics of prepping.
• Comfortable. Peace of mind that you and your family are ready.
• Fun. It's challenging and fun to figure out how to become a more self-sufficient person. It's like scouting for adults.

"The Wise Prepper" Rules:

• You can't predict what's going to happen. There are just too many variables. Don't get tunnel vision and don't get caught up in what people are saying on social media.
• Facts and reason must always win over opinions and impractical ideas.
• Follow the 80-20 rule to focus on the right things and get the most value.
• It is impossible to be 100% prepared for 100% of scenarios.
• Good preparation is a mix of equipment, supplies, skills, practice, planning, community, and yourself.
• To be useful, equipment and skills must be as simple, practical and reliable as possible. That means good preps are always finished and double dipping is bad.
• Don't try to memorize lists and instructions. Focus on learning effective concepts and buying effective equipment so you can think quickly and adapt.
• Any budget level can prepare, but you get what you pay for. When it comes to saving your life, it's better to pay a little more.
• Be proud that you are taking steps to be responsible and self-sufficient. Share that responsibility with your family, friends and neighbors.
• Prepping shouldn't dominate or degrade your life. Spend a healthy amount of time, money and energy on it.

When thinking about the list of what to pack in your bug out bag, an extremely common and dangerous mistake people make is packing too much weight into a bag that is too large and too flashy.

We see people packing 20, 25, 30 or even 45 kilos of gear into a bug out bag of over 60 litres (for reference, the largest airline carry-on is about 45-50 litres) with all sorts of fake military patches and camouflage.

Your equipment must practical andusable be, otherwise it's almost worse than having nothing at all. Have you ever walked five kilometers with a huge pack of 30 kilos and little water? Ask any soldier... it sucks.

Because we know that equipment trustworthy should be at useful to be and that our human brain doesn't work so well in a crisis and we the thingssimple must keep, it is important to have a bug out bag always packed and ready to go. You can’t be fumbling around trying to get your stuff together or remember where you put it when every second counts.

You cando not predict what will happen, when, where you will be, who will be with you, whether it is summer or winter, day or night, whether you will be injured, whether the roads will be usable, and so on.

Some people will defend the reason for their heavy bug out bag by saying “well my plan is to just throw it in the car and drive to my bug out location, duh!”.

Can we borrow your crystal ball for a moment?

Then they'll argue, "What does it matter if it's too heavy? If I end up having to walk, I'll just take some of the weight off."

What if you don't have time and have to run away quickly?

Sloppy planning ahead of time means you may have bought two different products for two different things instead of one product that does both. What do you throw away? Or maybe you filled your bag with heavy canned soup instead of real food because you didn’t like the flavors.

Your bug out bag must durable are and blend in with your surroundings. Saving $70 on a cheap knockoff bag isn't worth the risk of your only bag falling apart in the field. You don't want to be walking around with a bright orange backpack that screams "Hey, I've got supplies!"

Too many preppers make narrow plans or invest too much in specific equipment while ignoring the big holes in their plans. What's the point of being super-prepared for a nuclear war if you can't handle a simple hurricane?

The most you should do in this regard is think about where you live and what is likely to happen in your area.

Do you live on the coast or near major rivers? You’ll need to consider flood scenarios and perhaps adjust your emergency kit once you’ve covered the 80-20 basics. Do you live in a remote area? You’re less likely to receive government emergency services, but you may be better able to find fresh water.

You can’t predict what will happen, when, where you will be or what the circumstances will be. You could be out grocery shopping when you are caught in a power cut or you could be naked in a sauna. You could be on a Greek island vacation or standing on a mountain during your skiing holiday. During the day, at night, alone, with strangers, on the bus, drunk, your car is at the garage or you are sitting at home with a broken leg. Who knows?

Another common mistake is about timing. This is why we think the more marketed “72-hour bags” are flawed. Or why we disagree that one emergency kit has food but no cooking or hunting gear, while another has only cooking and hunting gear but no quick food to eat.

The danger is that if you predict that you will need a bag to support you for 72 hours, you will make different decisions about what to put in it (such as food) and be less prepared for longer situations.

It’s helpful to think about duration, but don’t let it limit you. In future blog posts, you’ll see data on the average number of days it took people to survive in different scenarios, like hurricanes or extended power outages.

Our caveman brains function differently in a crisis. Some things get better, like our senses and our ability to run. But other things get worse, like our memory or our ability to make rational decisions when we need those skills most.

For these and other reasons (such as not knowing what is going to happen) it is important that your preparations are practical and actionable. In other words, the less you have to remember or figure out on the spot, the better it will go.

If your 10 year old had to use a piece of your equipment, even though they’d never seen it before, would they be able to? What if they had to hook up the generator? What if your arm was injured – would you be able to apply that field tourniquet with one hand?

These practical and usable considerations influence many of our product reviews and guides on this site. Not only to favor one product over another, but sometimes we avoid a skill or item altogether because it is simply too impractical for most people without specific training.

Decompression needles and esophageal tubes are a good example. They are standard equipment in military IFAKs (Individual First Aid Kits) and soldiers receive some training in their use. However, for most people, these devices are impractical enough and can cause harm if used incorrectly, that we generally do not recommend them.

Our brains can only remember so much. That’s why Steve Jobs would always cover three main points during his famous presentations. Add a quick emergency situation with lots of adrenaline and you have a recipe for not thinking clearly.

For this reason, and because we can’t predict what will happen, it’s important to always have your emergency kit ready. This is easier said than done. Life gets in the way – maybe you started to update the batteries in your emergency kit, but forgot to finish and now they’re scattered around the house.

Most people work within a budget, and almost everyone hates wasting money. So a common prep situation is something like, “I want a fallback bag, but I already have a decent backpack to travel with, so I’ll just use that bag in case something goes wrong and I have to flee.”

In most cases, this kind of thinking will do you more harm than good. Even if the travel backpack is suitable for an emergency scenario, part of the value of a bug out bag is that you can have it packed and ready to go without having to worry about where you left something or where the bag is hidden.

Assuming that you will have the presence of mind and enough time to assemble your bug out bag when you most need it is dangerous thinking.

Of course, there are times when it’s okay (or even good) to double-dip. If you’re going on a day hike and want to bring your water bottle with built-in filtration, that’s fine. Grab it on the go and put it back in your bug out bag when you get home. You can also test your gear to see if it works, how it works, if it’s going to expire soon, if you remember where it is, etc. But the key is to be smart and disciplined about it.

High leverage means that you get a high reward for a small amount of effort. It also means things that are easy to remember and use, or a simple product that does many things.

There are a lot of clickbait pages on the internet for beginning preppers with titles like “18 Ways to Use Zip Ties After a Disaster” or “How to Build a Wind Generator Using Old Bicycle Parts.”

The wrong thing is to try to remember those 18 ways to tie a zip tie. If there's a disaster five years from now, you're not going to sit on a log and think, "What's the 14th way to tie a zip tie?"

It's best to skip that article altogether, or if you do read it, try to take one thing from it that you can store in the back of your mind.

Perhaps the real value is learning that zip ties are actually very strong and versatile, so they should be something you have in your gear and think about when solving problems ranging from how to handcuff someone to how to hang a deer for skinning.

We do our part at SOS Central by investing extra time in creating quality content that teaches these building blocks. After all, it's quicker and easier (and cheaper) to just spew out lists of things that don't really teach you.

The 80-20 "Pareto" rule is famous for very good reasons. It occurs with uncanny frequency and accuracy in nature, human society, and economics. For example, 20% of people determine 80% of the politics, or 20% of the readers post 80% of the comments.

The 80-20 rule is a great framework for prepping. With a little work, you can achieve the greatest amount of potential value. If you simply have two weeks of supplies and a fallback bag, you are already better prepared for emergencies than 80% of the population.

Going from 80% prepared to 90% prepared requires a lot more work. You’ll need to invest in massive home batteries (along with solar panels) and water filtration for your home, years of supplies, lessons in emergency field medicine, and so on. All of this is worthwhile (and fun!), but it takes a hell of a lot more time and money.

It’s impossible to bend over backwards. You’ll always be able to conjure up a scenario that you’re not fully prepared for, but you’ll lose your mind (and wallet) if you try to be 100% ready.

Don’t get caught up in micro-optimization. If you google the prepper world, you’ll read 1000 different opinions and end up more confused than when you started. The 80-20 framework will help you find a good enough answer, especially if you want to find it fast.

For example, there’s an endless debate about what caliber of ammo is best for an emergency handgun. As you venture further into prepper land, keep in mind that just because people are debating something doesn’t mean it’s a valid debate. When we see people debating something, whether it’s prepping or climate change, our brains assume it’s a relevant and reasonable debate (“oh, this must still be an important and undecided topic!”) But more often than not, it’s not. Or the debate only matters to the 1% of people who are well past their 80-20s and need something to argue about.

Preppers can generally be divided into two camps. Those who rely on their gear but have little skill versus those who have skill but don’t like gear.

The right answer lies somewhere in between. Relying too much on one element is inherently flawed because you are trying to predict the future by assuming that one thing is the "right" thing.

Gear is important. Skills are important. Physical and mental fitness is important. The ability to survive on your own and help a community is important.

If you have a very professional, extensive equipment, but you don't know how to cook raw food, then you have a problem. If you have the best vegetable garden, but you can't defend yourself against those who want to take your food, then you are in trouble.

We strongly believe that the average person should spend more money on being prepared. We have even tried and failed to find reliable data on how much the average person spends on prepping today - which reinforces our personal experience that the answer is $0.

Budgeting is an understandable concern for many people. But the good news is that almost any budget level can prepare, especially to cover those 80-20 basic needs like two weeks of home supplies.

One of the most difficult things we face when making recommendations is finding a balance between quality and cost.

Prepping is one of those areas where it’s very true that you get what you pay for. When it comes to things that will save you and your family’s lives, we think it’s better to make a painful one-time expense than to scrimp.

The difference between a $100 generator and an $800 generator could be that the higher quality generator will last 10 years longer than the cheaper one and won’t crash in the field when you need it most. Since we plan for a wide range of scenarios and you may not need that generator for a very long time, it’s better to invest in quality that will last.

Whenever possible, we try to include our top recommendation and a backup "budget pick." But sometimes we don't include the budget pick if the budget options are so trashy that you'd be wasting your money.

A good example is walkie talkies. The right choice for most people costs around 150 euros and the "budget" ones that fall apart cost 50 euros. It is not worth saving 100 euros for a worthless one.

We personally tested one of the highest rated "budget" walkie talkies available on Amazon.com. It has five stars because people buy it, try it, it works, and give it a positive review. But we tested it after it had been sitting on our shelf for three years and was completely dead and beyond repair - luckily we found out before we really needed it.

Sometimes the opposite is true. For example, some of the cooking gear we buy for our personal camping is $20 cheaper than $80 gear because we really want to use it in the field, beat it up, test it, learn from it, and then replace it.

If you are just starting out with prepping, you should expect to spend at least $800-$1,000 on yourself. A family of four could spend at least $2,500. Once you have spent that money, maintaining that basic gear will only cost you about $50 a year.

You don't have to spend all that money at once. We'll lay the steps to start preparing, including the order of priority. For example, you can buy the most important thing for 40 euros, then save up, buy the next thing, etc. It is always better to start now, even if you only have 20 euros.

If you are wondering whether it is worth the money, think about the money you spend on things like car insurance or home insurance. Why spend hundreds of dollars a year on expensive home insurance, but not a one-time $1,000 to make sure your family survives a flood?

There is an outdated belief that you must be completely anonymous and hide your prep from everyone.

We go into more detail about the historical reasons for this in our article on why you should share your prepping with your friends and recruit them to join your prepper group. Some of the main reasons are social stigma and "operational safety". Basically, you don't want random starving people showing up on your doorstep during a crisis.

But we include some degree of “operational safety” as part of the Wise Prepper Framework because thinking has evolved and it influences many of our decisions.

You saw the earlier example about bug out bags and why brightly colored backpacks were a bad choice. When things get so bad that you only have one bag to support your life, you want it to be inconspicuous so you don’t attract attackers and you can hide it if you need to.

On the other hand, there are many examples where there is strength in numbers. Even if you ignore the selfless “love thy neighbor” social aspect of prepping and think purely selfishly (which is okay!), you will benefit from including more people in your inner circle.

For example, your neighbors will likely see the solar panels on your roof, the generator or huge home batteries, and your vegetable garden. By talking to you about everyday things or things like politics, they can see that you are a thoughtful person who understands the current state of the world and has “your shit together.”

So if a major disaster strikes, they'll likely come knocking on your door, even if they have no idea you have a basement bunker with ten years' worth of supplies.

You can improve your own preparation by reducing the chance of people around you messing up your plans or taking your supplies, or you can help each other out if one of your items breaks.

The benefits of encouraging your loved ones to prepare far outweigh the risk of them exploiting you in a crisis because you told them about prepping once.

This may seem obvious, but it is sorely lacking among the traditional prepper crowd.

There's a reason the same questions and debates keep coming up and why there are over 1 million search engine results for "best bug out bag."

When prepping became a thing and people started their personal blogs and YouTube channels, it was mostly personal advice. “This is what I put in my bag, so you should too!” That’s a great place to start, but it created so much noise that you just don’t know what the right answer is anymore.

We’ve seen popular bloggers suggest things like canned soup for your bug out bag, which is a terrible, terrible idea, but people read it, assume it’s true, and move on.

SOS Central is based on the value that we make recommendations based on the best possible research, data, experience, and expert advice. Some people say we're obsessed, but we just want to find the right answers and share them with you.

Whether you read this blog or another blog, keep your scientist hat on and challenge what you read. Including our content! If you disagree, question, or think we missed something, we always want to hear from you.

The prepping community is a passionate and involved group, and that's part of what makes it so much fun.

But there's a common problem with so much passion - sometimes people get so caught up in the preparedness that it takes over their lives and money, or they let the fear grow so much that they stop enjoying the life they have now.

There's a balance between enjoying life today versus preparing for when things fall apart.

We’ve been asked, “By preparing, aren’t you admitting defeat at a time when we need great people to consult with and help solve these problems before they happen?” An excellent question, but preparation and problem solving are not mutually exclusive.

Hope for the best, plan for the worst. You can and should still do what you can to improve your world, but having a backup plan isn’t hypocritical. It’s smart.

Spend a reasonable amount of time, money, and energy on preparation. SOS Central tries to help you by publishing fewer articles with a higher impact. Not the normal daily blog spam you find elsewhere. Our articles are up to 10 times longer than an average blog post, but will save you a lot of time in the long run.

Here is a list of important reasons why everyone should preparewith proof.

Look at our preppers guide for beginners.