Welcome to the Zwielichtpfad prepping hub! Here you’ll find all my guides and videos on staying ready for any situation. From practical skills to smart gear choices, explore the tips and strategies that will help you stay confident, prepared, and self-reliant in the great outdoors or everyday life.
The term prepping comes from the English word to prepare. It’s about preparing for emergencies, whether at home or, often, in the car. Prepping can be divided into different disciplines of crisis preparedness, which I’ll describe here.
Why I Prep
Since I spend a lot of time outdoors and enjoy refining gear setups, I eventually stumbled across the concept of prepping. The fields of outdoor survival and prepping share quite a few overlaps.
There are many reasons why I choose to prepare for emergencies:
- Power outages
- Natural disasters (earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, solar flares)
- Pandemics (globalization and international air travel make these more likely)
- Nuclear disasters (even though many reactors in Germany were shut down, I’m not protected from a meltdown in a neighboring country)
- Economic collapse (banking crises like 2008 or EU countries going bankrupt due to corruption and mismanagement, like Greece)
- Terror attacks such as cyberattacks or an EMP
- Civil War or warlike conditions
Governments and banks regularly fail stress tests or perform poorly. For example, during a U.S. military exercise in 2014, the government was unable to defend a missile silo! Natural disasters also overwhelm governments worldwide on a regular basis. Major earthquakes and tsunamis are often so devastating that other countries must provide aid.
Another example was the failed nationwide Emergency Alert Day in Germany in September 2020. Systems meant to warn the population in case of disaster were tested, and the result was disappointing.
For that reason, even the German government (Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance) offers an official disaster preparedness guide and there is a similar guide for US citizens as well.
If transportation breaks down, supermarkets will likely have empty shelves within just three days. That’s why preparedness matters. A responsible prepper doesn’t rely solely on government assistance during a crisis, but takes reasonable, independent steps to stay safe and self-sufficient.
Preppers are not paranoid
Prepping is not driven by fear or paranoia! It’s about awareness and planning. Just like you wouldn’t call someone paranoid for having health or car insurance, being prepared is simply a practical safeguard. You hope you’ll never need it, but you’ll be grateful you have it if something goes wrong.
It’s also important to understand that official warnings are often timed to avoid unnecessary panic. Authorities sometimes delay or carefully phrase announcements so the public stays calm and evacuation routes, hospitals, or infrastructure don’t get overwhelmed. This doesn’t mean there’s a conspiracy – it simply means that institutions prioritize order and stability during uncertainty. Because of this, having your own basic level of preparedness is both sensible and empowering.
Why You Should Build Your Own Emergency Kit
Buying a ready-made emergency kit might seem quick and convenient, but it rarely gives you what you actually need. Most pre-assembled kits are cheaply made, filled with low-quality items, and often include gear you’ll never use. Even worse, many skip critical essentials – like reliable water purification, proper lighting, or real first-aid supplies.
Creating your own kit, on the other hand, ensures that every item matches your environment, your skill level, your climate, and your personal needs. You know exactly what’s inside, how it works, and how to replace or upgrade it. Building your kit is not only safer and more effective – it’s also usually cheaper in the long run. A good emergency kit is personal, and the best one is the one you assemble yourself.
