This article is a follow up of a post I made just a couple weeks ago asking you guys to recommend the prepper gear you use and love.
The question came about because I’d made an article listing the best prepper gear I could think of without price point being much of a factor. I tried to concentrate on high-end products I thought would make long-term survival easier, and while some thought I made decent suggestions, others thought I should’ve recommended different products.
Well, I’m not one who minds being corrected, so I turned the table onto you guys, asking you to list which prepper gear you’ve found in your experience to be the very best – favourites you’d come across and been using as well as any items you’d pretty much be happy to recommend to other preppers and survivalists – no matter how expensive or cheap. The result? It’s obvious – I ended up with a huge list of quite a few excellent gear recommendations as well as some great conversation on the topic of using that gear.
Hazard 4 Switchback Sling Backpack – Amazon
So here I am compiling the responses I got in the comments section of that post into a few different sections. I have listed Section 1: knives, Section 2: machetes, Section 3: air rifles, golocks, tomahawks, & multitools, Section 4: at-home, BOB, & EDC gear, and Section 4: wilderness survival & bushcraft supply recommendations. That should make it a lot easier to scroll down to the sections you’re interested in and skip over the ones you’re not. Grouped together, the following can essentially be seen as a list of prepper gear preppers are happy to recommend to other preppers.
Want to share your personal favourite products? Have your own suggestions to add to this list? Approve of someone else’s recommendation and want to jump in with a +1 so that others know the gear picked out is great? Please drop a comment down below and when I update this post, I’ll do my best to work in as many more gear recommendations and nods of approval as I can.
Without futher ado, reader recommendations of prepper gear sorted by category.
Ontario SP10 Marine Raider Bowie – Amazon / Blade HQ
Prepper Knife Recommendations
1. Ontario SPEC Plus SP-6 Fighting Knife
Recommended by Tom Elliott. He’s a fan of the Ontario Spec Plus line of knives, though also states in case you’re not the biggest fan of Ontario: “Whichever brand you choose, get a full tang knife (the blade steel goes the full length of the handle).” For survival applications, full tang knives are the best.
Availability: Amazon • Blade HQ • eBay
2. Ontario SPEC Plus SP-2 Air Force
Another solid Tom Elliott recommendation. Plus a few wise words on buying prepper knives from him: “Whatever you prefer don’t be afraid to spend the $$ to get the best you can afford, you can’t send them in for warranty replacement in a SHTF situation.”
Availability: Amazon • Blade HQ • eBay
3. Gerber Prodigy
This knife was recommended by Moonshade, who states that the Gerber Prodigy is excellent as a combat/survival knife.
Availability: Amazon • Blade HQ • eBay
4. Fallkniven A1
Recommended by Jake W. Why this knife? Jake says it’s “a do-everything knife which won’t break, the convex grind maintains a working edge forever, and won’t corrode.”
Availability: Amazon • Blade HQ • eBay
5. ESEE 6
Also recommended by Jake W, though more as a second choice. On the topic of the ESEE 6, he says – “Esee-6 is a good knife as well, with a great warranty, but high carbon steel will corrode and it doesn’t maintain a working edge as long as the Fallkniven.”
Availability: Amazon • Blade HQ • eBay
Gerber Gator Machete Saw Back Outdoor Knife – Amazon
Prepper Machete Recommendations
1. Gerber Gator Machete
The Gerber Gator Machete was recommended by Government Mule for keeping in a get home bag. Ben Leucking also stated he keeps the junior version of this machete in his bug out vehicle.
Read our review of the Gerber Gator Machete
2. Ontario Knife 12″ “D” Handle Camper Knife
This Ontario machete is a second machete recommended by Ben Leucking. He stated this machete lives with the Geber Gator Machete Jr. in his bug out vehicle.
Availability: Amazon • Blade HQ • eBay
3. Ontario SP-8 Survival Machete
Tom Elliott‘s recommendation when it comes to machetes. About the Ontario SP-8, he states: “It’s not a long standard-style machete, sort of a machete/hatchet/planer.” Considering it’s so unique, it’d be hard to find a replacement or alternative for this on the market.
Leatherman Signal Wilderness Survival Multi-Tool – Amazon
Prepper List of Recommended Air Rifles, Golocks, Tomahawks, & Multi-Tools
1. Benjamin Trail Air Rifle
OutdoorsGuy stated he uses the Benjamin Trail. Stated that his Benjamin Trail is an “inert gas powered pellet rifle with the 4X40 scope on it.” Further, he states, “If I can see a squirrel or a rabbit in that scope, chances are it will be dead after the first pellet. This rifle is dead accurate up to about 40 yards as long as the wind isn’t blowing like crazy, and it has a 2 stage trigger like a more expensive target rifle is equipped with and would be powerful enough to bring down a bird as large as a pheasant or a grouse if you could catch one sitting. I am not much of a wing shot but food is food in a survival situation so you take it any way you can.”
2. Condor Pack Golok
Danjo‘s recommendation. About the Condor Pack Golok he says: “One of the best surprises has been my Condor Pack Golok. It cost around $70.00 (US), and is a MONSTER at chopping. It has an 11 inch blade and is about 1/4 inch thick. To me, it chops better than most hatchets I’ve used, and can be used as a machete as well. It’s very well balanced and comes with the usual awesome leather sheath. 1075 carbon steel. I’ve taken it camping a few times and have easily chopped through 12-16 inch logs in no time.”
Availability: Amazon • Blade HQ • eBay
3. United Cutlery M48 Tomahawk
Government Mule mentioned he keeps this particular tomahawk in his get home bag.
4. Sog Powerlock V-Cutter Multitool
Moonshade mentioned the SOG Powerlock as a multi-tool he’s used and trusts.
Availability: Amazon • Blade HQ • eBay
LifeStraw Personal Water Filter – Amazon
List of At-Home, BOB, & EDC Prepper Gear Recommended
- Sawyer squeeze water filtration
- Tesla Lighter
- Stanley Wonderbar
- Celox Packets
- Israeli Bandages
- Premier Hunting Pellets
Preppers List of Ideal Wilderness Survival & Bushcraft Supplies
- Aqua Quest Safari 10 x 10 Tarp
- Military Grade Ponchos
- MilSpec paracord
- 100 mph tape
- Nylon String + Eagle Claw Hooks (to use as a trot-line or didy-pole)
- Blast Match
- WetFire Tinder
- Sawyer Mini Water Filter
- LifeStraw
- Katadyn Filter
- Canteen, Pouch + Cup Set
- Strike-Anywhere Kitchen Matches
- Waterproof Match Case
- 1 Quart, 1 Gallon & 2.5 Gallon Freezer Zip-Bags
- Trioxane Fuel Tabs
Your Prepper Gear Recommendations
Now it’s time to list your prepper gear recommendations in the comments down below.
What have been your favourites over the years?
Any gear you think is missing from this list?
Let me know by leaving a comment!
A friend of mine bought the Benjamin Trail Air riffle and yes it is a must have for all preppers. Light weight very accurate and powerful for small game. I’m looking at purchasing one very soon.
Seems from the reviews at Amazon, and elsewhere, pellet gun owners all say to get blue thread locker.
I wonder how much is enough and how long does it last in a bottle, opened and unopened.
Thanks for the mention. Someone actually listens!
I wish I had mentioned that I also carry a Buck 124 – thick, heavy full tang blade.
LifeStraws, Katadyn filter, stainless mess kit, poncho, camo tarp.
Did I mention silver? 20 – 1 oz Maple Leafs.
G21 (.45 Glock) & ammo.
Fishing gear.
Lots of incidental gear like paracord, Leatherman Supertool, water bottle, toboggan, gloves, hand warmers etc, etc.
I’m afraid I may have to walk home sometime – I travel up to 375 miles from home for work. I’m more likely to be on the road than at home when it all goes south.
I figure a realistic number I can manage is 10 mi/day, which means I could possibly be on the road 5 wks.
The one item I want to carry – but I’m afraid of the weight – is my .22 rifle. I may yet talk myself into adding it as well.
We try, we try!! :)
Wow, 375 miles from home to work – that’s a lot!! How many hours is that to drive for you? Can you leave a bike in your trunk so you could at least use that instead of walking home (if you have to)? Would be a nightmare walking that distance.
Wow ! I’m honored
Well you gave great advice ;). Screams “feature me!” :)
The Gerber Gator machete sucks. Apologies to whoever feels that it is good enough to be in this list, but it simply isn’t. The saw is useless, the steel is weak, chips easily, and doesn’t hold an edge, and it is all around weak. It can’t hold up to any kind of abuse.
This site even posted a review on it. They agreed.
I am really curious though as to who had such a good experience with it to mention it here. Why? In my experience it has really been terrible.
Not so. I’ve had it on the trail with me while hiking in Appalachia. It cuts, chops, saws without hesitation, has never failed me and is (nearly) as sharp as when I bought it.
Really!? Now I’m surprised. In my experience it has really not been a good machete. At the risk of sounding insulting and coming across as a ignoramus, I must ask: what other machetes do you own? It all depends on what you compare things to after all. Compared to my Cold Steel’s its cheap.
I suppose it could by some stretch of probability be just my model, but Thomas reviewed as well, and his conclusion was the same as mine. What year did you get yours in? I have read that the early ones had some good steel. Mine dents when you look at it wrong.
One knife I almost never see on blogs like this is the Ontario Knife Co.’s Old Hickory butcher knife. Granted it’s not sexy or tactical but for someone on a tight budget or as a back up in case your $100 plus survival knife gets damaged or lost you could do a lot worse. With a seven inch carbon steel blade and a full tang handle for about 10 dollars new, it’s a real bargain. These knives have been in use for almost a hundred years now and I still run across them at yard sales all the time that look like they may have been in that first production run. These older knives have usually been re-sharpened so often they look more like a boning or fillet knife but still hold an edge. The K-Bar leather sheath listed on Amazon for $9.95 fits this knife perfectly; so for less than $25 you can have a great camp knife that’ll do just about anything the more expensive “survival knives” will do and if you lose it or damage it you won’t lose a lot of sleep over a costly mistake.
Thanks for the recommendation!
This may be a bit off topic, but it relates to the importance of prepping for a non-violent “real world” home situation. I live in Norway, close to the arctic circle. A few years ago we had a real bad winter storm during the x-mas hollyday, followed by a week of COLD weather. In my area trees blocked the roads, and destroyed power lines all over. The power was gone for over a week certain places, and many people were isolated. We “the paranoid preppers” however, had two woodburning stoves, canned and dry foods, water, battery radio and a fuel driven power supply +++ So what turned out to be a nightmare to most people, was actually kind of “cosy” in our home. Bottom line is: we got to see that our prepping system worked, and also got to help a lot of people in the process. Wich i think is an underrated and important part of prepping. So for home prepping my favourite items are the ones listed above.
Living in comfort during a winter emergency – 100% one of the best benefits of being a prepper ;).
That is essentially what happened to us when the power went out for almost a week in the winter in Toronto (wrote about it here) – though we were on the receiving end of the good will since our neighbour was the one with the much-appreciated wood burning stove in his garage. We spent it toasty and happy in good company, and well informed thanks to the radio. I daresay without him, we would’ve been miserable during the cold days, though a lot of people ended up going to spend their time in malls that luckily had generators so they could keep selling throughout this kind of an emergency.
Anyway I’d have to agree with you that what most deem obvious are 100% the best prepping items in the long run. Those wood burning stoves especially. Do absolute wonders.