About Us

Who Are We?

thepreparednessexperience.com is a website that aims to clear all your doubts when it comes to survivalism, prepping, camping, and other aspects that help you live off the grid. It was started by Kirk Ballard, who had the opportunity to live close to nature and learn the ways of survivalism in the most natural way possible. Kirk decided to become a full-time survivalist as he became an adult, and he has spent several months in the wild. The idea behind thepreparednessexperience.com is to create a platform where like-minded people can meet. In this case, we love a group interested in survivalism, SHTF preparedness, casual camping, etc.

Our Mission

There are three essential missions to the thepreparednessexperience.com project.

First, the site’s founder wanted to develop an open platform where people interested in survivalism and SHTF preparedness can meet and discuss simple and challenging concepts. It will be an excellent way for people to know about the different survivalist techniques and experience-based stories.

Second, everyone in our team has spent thousands of dollars on the survival gear in the market, but most of them were not good. So, our team understands the problem of buying hiking and survival gear and regretting what they have done. Therefore, we wanted to use the platform to test and recommend some of the best survival equipment you can find on the market. We believe that no one should go through what we went through.

Third but most importantly, we want to build a culture that appreciates the values of survivalism. We want all our readers to be ready for SHTF situations that may or may not happen in the future. We believe that precaution is never a waste of time, and we can say the same regarding emergency preparedness, survivalist skill-building, and more.

How Do We Review?

Testing and reviewing the brand-new and widely popular survivalist gear is one of the things that we love to do at thepreparednessexperience.com. However, we believe that our reservations or biases should not get in the way of purchasing the best product for your needs. Therefore, after going through multiple sources and talking with experts in the field, thepreparednessexperience.com has created a proper structure for product reviews.

The first phase of reviewing any product on thepreparednessexperience.com is rigorous testing. In addition to going through user reviews and expert opinions, we take the device on camping trips with us. This part provides us a clear idea about a specific product that can withstand the real-life demands in a survival scenario. Our team takes note of all things to convert the ideas into an accessible review.

In the second phase, we bring the multiple ideas from varying sources and do the background check on the manufacturer. We do not want our readers to buy products that lack after-sales options, you know. Once it is done, however, we can give you the best review of all products from the category.

Our Team

Kirk Ballard

Kirk Ballard is the founder of thepreparednessexperience.com, and he is one of the biggest survival enthusiasts you will encounter in life. Many reasons turned Kirk into this passionate person who loves survivalism to his core. But the most important one would be the years he spent in the countryside. The situation allowed Kirk to have an upbringing close to flora and fauna. Kirk Ballard does not hate conveniences, but he would love to spend life with the bare minimum in the wilderness if he has an option. thepreparednessexperience.com is Kirk’s brainchild, and he built the website as a platform where he could share the wisdom that he has acquired through multiple years of survivalist adventures, hiking, and camping. In recent years, Kirk has tried to simulate SHTF situations in the wild and help his community and loved ones prepare for some of the devastating incidents in human history — even though many of them would not happen again.

Chris Burrows

Chris Burrows works as the chief editor at thepreparednessexperience.com, and he is an avid hiker. One thing that connects Chris to our founder is the never-ending passion for staying in the wild. After joining the thepreparednessexperience.com team, Chris has learned more than the baby steps of survivalism. Now, you could expect him to go on a hiking adventure and stay in the wild for two days if necessary. Chris is also really passionate about survival gear you can find in the market. He always talks about how the right equipment can amplify the survival experience just as lousy gear can ruin the entire scene. Even before joining us at thepreparednessexperience.com, he spent thousands of dollars buying and testing new survival/hiking gear from Amazon. Now, he gets to share what he thinks about these products on the platform. As a result, Chris has become our go-to guy for content and product testing needs, however big or small.

Alice Walsh

Alice Walsh is one of the senior content writers at thepreparednessexperience.com. Alice has been a professional copywriter for more than a decade, and she has written hundreds of articles on the adventure and active lifestyle. Like other members of the thepreparednessexperience.com team, Alice Walsh also has that green side, which pulls her close to nature more often she admits to. Because of this, she can make the content we publish on the website not just error-free but also passionate and inspiring. At the end of the day, when she does the background research for each article we publish on thepreparednessexperience.com, she gets to learn more about the various aspects of survivalism, hiking, and other adventure sports. She would be the first to admit that her engagement in the group has developed a kind of unquenchable thirst for adventure and leaving all the conveniences for a life of survival.