Prepper Skills vs Knowledge: What’s the Difference?

eval exampleWhen I was in the Navy, my semi-annual evaluations were based off of different performance traits. The first one on the list was “Professional Knowledge.” On those evals, knowledge and skills were paired together, although they are definitely not the same thing. Even the evals made a point of establishing that if a given person had technical knowledge, were they able to put that knowledge to use, and make a skill out of it?


Knowledge is, simply put, things that you have researched but have never performed the task to make a skill out of it. Anything that you have any kind of interest in, there is some kind of documentation covering it somewhere, and more than likely it is online. YouTube, Wiki’s, Google, the possibilities are endless. Knowledge is awesome, but its even more awesome to have practiced that knowledge and acquired a new skill.


A skill is “a process that you can successfully perform that will produce a positive result.” Unless you are some kind of prodigy, you usually need to perform a task more than once to become proficient at it. Some examples of skills may include:

  • Starting a fire
  • Cleaning your firearm
  • Putting up a tent
  • Reading a compass/map

Notice how these skills are very specific. Being able to read a compass is different than being “good with directions.” In order not to fool yourself or others, you should be honest and specific when listing out your skills.

Fully understanding the difference between skills and knowledge is just part of The Prepper Triangle. A man by the name of Frank Mitchell wrote a short book on this, and other must-have skills in the Family Survival System.

Click here to find out more on the Family Survival System.

This book is over 40 pages crammed full of useful information. Frank Mitchell is a member of the Armed Forces, and has been through multiple disaster and survival courses.The information in this book is solid, and is a must have for families and individuals alike. I personally have a copy of this book, and I was amazed at how much detailed information in this book. For anybody who feels like now is the time to start preparing for the coming times, this book is a must-read.