Should The Focus Be More Skills?

The future is unpredictable. You might have all the supplies you need to survive a disaster but what if you aren't home and can't get back when shtf? Would you take risks trying to get home and back to your supplies or use your skills to get away and survive?

Still there are some who think supplies are just as important as skills. Question though is which one should one prioritize?

 

I think skills and resources are complementary, you need to be good in every department. It's pointless to have skills if you don't have the resources to survive and it's pointless to have all the resources you need if you don't know how to survive all by yourself. The focus should be on both of them, they are critical.

 

I suppose skills come before supplies. The fact remains that even with supplies, if you are chicken hearted, you are not likely to survive. Some people have been known to survive for 100 days on a water fast. With mental toughness, one can survive even in drastic situations and this is one aspect of commando training. The will and mental resolve and preparedness to survive through the thin and thick is the most crucial aspect of survival.

 

Without skills and knowledge; tools and resources are most likely to be useless. If you have a gun, but lack the skill and knowledge to use it..you are back to square one.

 

The worlds best rifleman without a rifle is just a man!
A carpenter is not unless he has his tools!
A cook is nothing without fire!
An electrician is not without electricity!

Tools and skills are complementary, one is useless without the other!

 

It is not an either-or situation and both matter tremendously. There is also no reason one cannot develop skills all the while stockpiling. To only focus on supplies and equipment is a disaster waiting to happen. But also not having a proper, well thought out, supply storage, tools, and parts is equally foolhardy. For example, I live on rural acreage and we can, and do, produce food, but that doesn't mean we don't keep a very large supply of canned and dried food items. The same holds true for about everything else (e.g., water, energy, weapons, et al.).

 

The more skills you possess, the better off you are. You may need them to survive. You many need them for trade. And gear is very important too. There are countless possibilites that might throw you into a survival situation. So gear is a very broad topic. In one situation you may can use a generator. In another situation a generator may be useless. It would be wise to cover as much ground as possible in the areas of learning skills and collecting gear. This could keep you busy quiet awhile.

 

Skills all the way. Three reasons:
- skills are very useful even without equipment, equipment is usually not very useful if you don't know how to use it properly.
- you can always find or make equipment. It might not be exactly what you would like to have but it will get the job done. Learning skills takes a long time and might be downright impossible depending on the specific skill and scenario.
- skills are always with you and you cannot lose them, nor can they be taken away from you.

 

I think you should set a goal to get your supplies. That should be your first mission, this would put your skills to the test. If it's a survival situation your trying to find things that increase your chances for survival anyway why not go for your own supplies. After you get your supplies you should
try to get help or help someone you can trust.

 

It would depend on the situation you find yourself in. There are a lot of factors that you must take into account. For example, how far is the location of your supplies? Is the journey of going to it worth it? How sure are you that your supplies haven't already been stolen and ransacked? I think that if the situation is really bad, I would rather use my survival skills to stay alive instead or risking my life trying to go to my supply depot that I'm not even sure is still there.