Category: SurvivalBlog

Writing Contest Prize Winners Announced — Round 123

We’ve announced the winners of Round 123 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest, which ended yesterday. Note to the top three prize winners: Please contact me and let me know your UPS and USPS address(es), for your prizes. Thanks. – JWR The top three prize winners will each receive some great prize packages. The winners for Round 123 are… First Prize Winner: First Prize goes to Lodge Pole, for Raising, Hunting, and Harvesting Animals. It was posted Feburary 11-16, 2026. See: (See: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, and Part 6.)  He will receive as prizes: A …


Update: Now Mailing the March, 2026 S.O.S. Newsletter

I’ve completed the new issue of the SurvivaBlog Old School (SOS) newsletter.  The March, 2026 issue will be mailed starting today, over the next several days. This issue’s emphasis is on suppressor construction with detailed specifications, tips, and tricks. This is our third issue, and it is six pages long. SOS is a traditional hardcopy mailed newsletter intended as a backup to Internet delivery, in the event of any sort of disruption — whether natural or man-made. Normally, you’ll receive just one issue each year, with some practical information that is not published in the online edition of SurvivalBlog. But …


Writing Contest Prize Winners Announced — Round 122

We’ve announced the winners of Round 122 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. Note to the top three prize winners: Please contact me and let me know your UPS and USPS address(es), for your prizes. Thanks. – JWR The top three prize winners will each receive some great prize packages. The winners for Round 122 are… First Prize Winner: First Prize goes to A.F., for Introducing Your Community to Emergency Preparedness. It was posted January 8-10, 2026. See:  Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.) He will receive as prizes: A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used …


Annual Reminder: The Ten Cent Challenge

Each year, I only post one reminder, encouraging voluntary Ten Cent Challenge tip subscriptions, and this is it. Back in August, we celebrated our 20th blogiversary. Thanks for making SurvivalBlog such a success! There are now more than 41,400 archived articles and columns. SurvivalBlog is well-established as the world’s most widely-read daily blog on family preparedness. Hopefully, some readers appreciate the fact that I only post an appeal once a year. And I’m confident that most readers appreciate that SurvivalBlog is one of the last of the “Old School” blogs that is still posted with fresh content from blog readers …


The 20th Anniversary SurvivalBlog Archive USB Sticks

I have some great news: The new batch of 32-gigabyte waterproof SurvivalBlog archive USB sticks is now available for pre-ordering. To order, see the 2005-2025 SurvivalBlog Archive USB stick ordering pages: Standard Edition Keepsake Edition in a custom steel tin, packaged with a keychain (Sold Out) Many folks have asked about what is included in the new 20th Anniversary  2005-2025 SurvivalBlog Archive USB stick. There certainly is a lot! Of course, these sticks will have everything that has ever been posted in SurvivalBlog, dating back to its launch in August, 2005, and up to December 31, 2025. In my humble …


Writing Contest Prize Winners Announced — Round 121

We’ve announced the winners of Round 121 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. Note to the top three prize winners: Please contact me and let me know your UPS and USPS address(es), for your prizes. Thanks. – JWR The top three prize winners will each receive some great prize packages. The winners for Round 120 are… First Prize Winner: First Prize goes to  The Chemical Engineer, for Loaves, Fishes, Tree Bark, Seeds, and Knowledge. See: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, and Part 8. It was posted October 20-27, 2025. He will …


A Top-10 Prepping List, Multi-Tool Not Included – Part 4, by St. Funogas

(Continued from Part 3.) 7. ELECTRICITY Prepping for electricity was only on one of the top-10 lists I could find, and wasn’t mentioned at all even on most of the lengthier prepping lists. Of all the things we take for granted in our daily lives, electricity has to be one of the most common. If the Schumer hits the fan, there’s no need to step back to the 1800s and punish ourselves by living electricity free when there are some inexpensive, easy-to-use modern-day options. Too many preppers haven’t gotten past that 1800s mentality and modernized their thought, a conclusion I …


Letter: Writing Articles For SurvivalBlog, by Richard T.

Editor’s Introductory Note:   This kind unsolicited letter was written by a blog reader who has written nine SurvivalBlog feature articles since 2019. – JWR — I frequently read in the SurvivalBlog the need, too often an urgent need, for new entries to the writing contest. Why aren’t more articles submitted? Obviously, it is not because readers of the blog do not have any ideas. Is it fear of rejection? lack of confidence? Whatever it is, if it keeps you from ever making an entry it is not just your loss, but the reader’s loss as well. (I have no affiliation …


Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — August 6, 2025

We are now celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the founding of SurvivalBlog. My first blog post was on August 5, 2005. That was just three weeks before the first report that Hurricane Katrina had formed. There are now 40,836 archived SurvivalBlog posts. That includes 7,296 quotes, with Bible verses on every Saturday and Sunday. All of the blog archives will remain freely available. Thanks for spreading the word and making the blog such a great success. Our special thanks to the 2% of readers who voluntarily subscribe. I hope that more folks will recognize the usefulness of SurvivalBlog as a …


Writing Contest Prize Winners Announced — Round 118

We’ve announced the winners of Round 118 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The top three prize winners will each receive some great prize packages. The winners for Round 118 are… First Prize Winner: First Prize goes to R.T. for: The Repair Teardown. See Part 1 and Part 2. It was posted April 12-13, 2025.  He will receive as prizes: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any …


The Survival Mindset: A Two-Decade Retrospective

Introduction SurvivalBlog is now in its 20th calendar year. I began posting the blog in August, 2005.  That was just a few weeks before Hurricane Katrina. Over the past two decades, I’ve had many opportunities to write about what I generally term The Survival Mindset. The following is a mashup and updates to four brief blog essays that I wrote and posted in SurvivalBlog in November, 2005 and in April, 2006: Prepper Angst Many of my recent consulting clients have mentioned the same feeling of unease about the coming years. Perhaps it is just the general predisposition of my consulting …


Writing Contest Prize Winners Announced for Round 117

We’ve announced the winners of Round 117 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The top three prize winners will each receive some great prize packages. The winners for Round 117 are… First Prize Winner: First Prize goes to M.B., for:  3D-Printed Gun Components, for a six-part article posted March 11-16, 2025.  See:  Part 1, Part 2,  Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, and Part 6.) He will receive as prizes: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000. A Gunsite Academy …


Writing Contest Prize Winners Announced for Round 116

We’ve announced the winners of Round 116 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The top three prize winners will each receive some great prize packages. — But before we announce those winners, we’d like to introduce the most recent writing contest prize sponsor, starting this month with Round 117: 3Vgear.com.  Take a look at their website for details on their top-quality outdoor and preparedness gear. This Utah-based company makes backpacks and bags, rifle cases, MOLLE pouches, pack covers, hydration systems, and more. For their prize, they will be generously providing an ultimate bug-out bag bundle that includes their 3-day Paratus …


The New SurvivalBlog 2005-2024 Archive USB Sticks

I have some great news: The new batch of 32-gigabyte waterproof SurvivalBlog archive USB sticks is now available for pre-sale. I’ve had some folks write to ask about what is included in the new 2005-2024 SurvivalBlog Archive USB stick. There certainly is a lot! These sticks of course have everything that has ever been posted in SurvivalBlog, dating back to its launch in August, 2005, and up to December 31, 2024. In my humble opinion, these feature articles, product reviews, columns, and quotations just by themselves are worth the price of the archive stick. But then there is also a …


2025 Annual Appeal: The Ten Cent Challenge

I hope that you get at least 10 cents worth of knowledge, entertainment, and motivation each day from SurvivalBlog. It has been posted with fresh content daily, since August, 2005. In nearly 20 years I’ve only missed posting on a few days — most notably in the week after my first wife passed away. I do my best to mention the Ten Cent Challenge editorially only once each year — and this post is it, for all of 2025. Unlike PBS, we don’t run agonizingly endless pledge drives. Just this one brief reminder, annually. But we do depend on voluntary …