Survival Debate: Gear or Knowledge

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By Joel Jefferson •  2 min read

Since I run an entire website about survival gear you’d think I would be firmly in the camp that says gear is more important than knowledge.  Well, that’s not always the case.  Here we’ll look at a few of the important aspects of each and you can decide where your priorities lie.

Gear Vs Knowledge

Gear

Gear is any object, tool, or supplies that you physically use to accomplish a task. Tools are great because they allow us to perform tasks we may otherwise not be able to do. They as also allow us to be more efficient and effective in the work.

Pro

Con

Knowledge

The collective information a person has learned in their life. In the absence of tools and gear, knowledge allows us to create them or to find a different way of completing a task. Knowledge is always with us, never breaks, and is flexible in its use.

Pro

Con

Middle Ground

Obviously the middle ground here is the intelligent choice. You will want gear to make things easier, but of course you should have both the skills to use your gear, and the skills to survive if you have no gear.

Which is more important to you?

If you were to ask someone like Tom Brown, he would say you don’t need gear at all, simply the knowledge to survive. However, most modern preppers aren’t that skilled at wilderness survival. So, at this point in your prepping which do you value more? Tell us what you are doing to improve both areas.

Joel Jefferson

Joel is one of the original founders of SurvivalCache.com. After college, he joined the USMC where he served as an (0302) Marine Infantry Officer. Joel is an avid outdoorsman and spends much of his free time in the mountains. Joel’s hobby is researching survival gear & weapons as well as prepping. Read his full interview here.