Prepper Convention / Expo: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

A while back I was traveling for work and managed to stumble across an announcement that a prepper convention was taking place in my area, I figured why not check it out so that I could report my findings here.  I had nothing better going on and slipping into the convention for a couple hours wouldn’t exactly crush my schedule so I gave it a go.  What follows are my findings and remember, to each his own so take my opinion with a grain of salt.

You should know that I took the reverse gray man approach when going to the convention and quite frankly, it worked.  I won’t divulge my complete outfit but I looked more like I should be walking in an outdoor mall near the beach versus a prepper convention, a disguise which warranted barely a glance from most vendors or attendees, they literally dismissed me as a curious traveler no doubt.  This versus the majority with their over the shoulder bags, camo, 5.11 gear, paracord this or that, operator beards and American flag hats.    It was truly a bit over the top and while I’m not opposed to cargo pants and hiking gear this place took it to a whole new level.  I almost thought to ask if something something tactical gear was giving out awards for most tactical outfit of the day.

The Good.

1- For those flirting with the idea of prepping this would be an awesome experience.  The event was not too extreme, although there was a vendor for underground bunkers most of the stuff was common disasters / self reliance related.   Prepping for everyday occurrences which threaten our livelihood and most of it common sense based.  There were vendors for long term storage food, gardening, homesteading, solar power, and much more.

2- While I didn’t attract much attention most of the vendors I spoke with were down to earth and willing to share information.  I even sat through a quick trauma class at a booth and went through a practical exercise on suturing a wound.  Good stuff.

3- Good well rounded representation from the prepping community.  Vendors selling water bricks, long term food storage, hydroponics and aquaponics, sun ovens, tactical this and that, medicinal herbs and much more.

4- Being in a convention center with like minded people is never a bad thing.

The Bad.

1- Some of the vendors might have been intimidating to some newer preppers.  As previously stated there was a proliferation of multicam, cargo pants and 5.11 gear.  One booth had no less than 10 wannabe operators pimping tactical something or other, I mean seriously calm down bro.

2- Pricing was a bit high versus what could be purchased online from other reputable sources.  I understand that local mom and pop shops can’t match what the high volume stores do, but still some of the stuff seemed exorbitant versus what I have paid for bulk items online.

3- While there were some decent vendors and speakers there, I got the feeling that this was a bust.  I passed by one of the speaking sessions and literally, there were 5 people in the audience. I had never heard of most of the vendors and the big names were noticeably absent, although some of the recognizable products were there at a substantial markup.

The Ugly.

1- Did I mention the price?  Not only were most of the items overpriced we paid almost $20 per person JUST TO GAIN ENTRY.  What a ripoff.

2-  My biggest beef.  This event was held…IN A GUN FREE ZONE!  No gun stickers everywhere, I left my Glock in the car just because I wanted to check out the event (I knew I wanted to write about it) but it was simply unreal.   How do you have a prepper event in a place which doesn’t allow guns?  The coordinators of this event need cold water splashed in their face…I question their legitimacy.

3- Overall disappointment.  Nothing I viewed at the convention was eye opening, I almost yawned at one point. For the new prepper I suppose it might have been a great experience but for me I knew that there was nothing there needed and if the desire did arise, online vendors would suit me much better.

Conclusion.

If you have a prepper convention in your local area check it out, it surely can’t hurt.  Just leave the 5.11 gear and multicam hat behind…nobody cares bro.