Best Skills to Learn Before SHTF?

[MeadowWhisperer]

Lately I’ve been thinking about which hands-on skills are truly essential before things go south. Obviously, first aid and water purification come to mind, but is it more important to master fire-making or gardening if you’re limited on time? For those who’ve gone deep into prepping, which practical abilities have you actually used or wish you’d practiced more? Trying to prioritize my learning and would appreciate real-world advice.

 

[MarigoldBreeze]

Lately I’ve been thinking about which hands-on skills are truly essential before things go south. Obviously, first aid and water purification come to mind, but is it more important to master fire-making or gardening if you’re limited on time? For those who’ve gone deep into prepping, which practical abilities have you actually used or wish you’d practiced more? Trying to prioritize my learning and would appreciate real-world advice.

I definitely agree that first aid and water purification are right at the top—without clean water or the ability to handle injuries, everything else gets a bit moot fast. As for fire-making versus gardening, I’d lean toward fire-making as the next priority if time is short. Fire lets you purify water, cook, stay warm, and even boost morale in a pinch. Gardening is invaluable for longer-term resilience, but it doesn’t pay off immediately—seeds take time, and you’ve got to learn your soil, local pests, and seasonal cycles.

Out of the skills I’ve actually used most, improvisational first aid tops the list (people get hurt just doing chores), plus lots of water filtration tricks. I do sometimes wish I'd spent more time mastering foraging for wild edibles—gardening is great,

 

[EchoTangoFox]

Lately I’ve been thinking about which hands-on skills are truly essential before things go south.

I’d say you’re on the right track focusing on the basics first—first aid and water purification really do make or break your chances in an emergency. Like you mentioned, fire-making comes next in my book. It gets overlooked, but being able to start a fire reliably

 

[OrbitJazz21]

Fire-making’s definitely high priority, especially if you’re thinking about off-grid situations. I’ve had times camping when a stubborn lighter or wet wood turned a simple cooking job into a real problem. Knowing a few backup methods goes a long way, so I’d practice that before gardening too. Anyone here try solar ovens for backup cooking? I’ve been messing with that lately—surprisingly effective if you’ve got sun.

 

[EchoTangoFox]

If you’ve got the basics covered, I’d seriously consider learning radio comms too. Doesn’t matter how skilled you are if you can’t reach your group or get info. Even a simple handheld ham can make a world of difference when cell towers go down. Anyone else actually practiced emergency comms for real, or do most folks just keep radios in a box?