Are Luxury Survival Kits Worth It?
Pricey Preppi bug-out bags are proof you’ll need more than wealth to survive.
After surviving a terrifying 4.4 earthquake in Los Angeles in 2014, Ryan Kuhlman and Lauren Tafuri decided to form Preppi, a company dedicated to providing luxury survival kits to the wealthy and clueless.
Naming a survival company Preppi, which evokes images of prep school students in pastel plaids, is something that would only make sense to those who have very little chance of surviving TEOTWAWKI. That is precisely why sales of the bag took off not among wealthy preppers, but among people who read Vogue and shop at Goop.
What Is in the Prepster Ultra Luxe?
Preppi’s most expensive product, the Prepster Ultra-Advanced Fireproof Emergency Bag, is available online for $4,995. For that price, what could be inside? After taking a closer look, we learned the price isn’t about what’s on the inside; it’s about what’s on the outside. It’s all about being seen with a superficial item that signifies wealth.
The problems with Preppi’s products will be apparent to anyone with a genuine interest in survivalism as soon as you take a look at the products on their website.
In the Prepster’s product description it mentions a lack of sling or shoulder straps, “so you’ll need to carry it like a giant purse.” When you’re using two hands to lug a giant purse around, whose hands are you supposed to use for actual survival tasks? Does it matter if the handle is made from natural bridle leather if you have to decide between carrying the bag and doing anything else?
Inside the Prepster Ultra Luxe you will find:
- Solar panel
- Two rain ponchos
- Power & charging kit
- Mylar sleeping bags
- Water filter
- Space pen
- LED headband
- LED lantern
- Rope
- First-aid kit
- Field notes notebook
- Flashlight
- Dopp kit
- A $55 tobacco-scented Malin + Goetz candle
- $32 Malin + Goetz Essentials Kit, because are you really surviving if you don’t have a good grapefruit cleanser on-hand?
- MAST Coffee Chocolate bar
- Waterproof matches
- Pricey Marvis dental products
- Poker set
- Satellite messenger
- Water supply
- Food supply and additional “emergency food”
- Night vision goggles
- Leatherman tool
- Flask
Ironically, these products may represent that last taste of coffee and whiff of tobacco you may ever have, unless you trade the bag for actual coffee and tobacco later on.
Best of all, the Prepster comes with complimentary monogramming. That way after the SHTF, when someone kills you for the bag or what they imagine might be useful inside it, they’ll know what your initials were.
Preppi’s Mission
According to their website’s About Us page, at Preppi they “want everyone to be prepared when the unexpected happens.” In other words, the same goal every prepper company has. They also state that they want you help “you face real emergency situations with confidence.” In other words, the confidence only upscale designer goods can bring.
Here at Rob Raskin’s Millionaire Survivalist, the aspect of Preppi we found most unsettling was the focus on making sure you have only the most expensive items when paired with the complete absence of any mention of training. What good does it do anyone to have a high-end rope and designer gloves to use to jump out of their second-story loft if they’ll break their neck because they have no idea what they’re doing?
Preppi’s focus on style over substance isn’t surprising when you consider the owners’ professional backgrounds and the skills they bring to the table. Kuhlman is a a film director and Tafuri is a costume designer and stylist. It should surprise no one that their focus would be on aesthetics.
On Preppi’s site they state, “… it is no longer an option to treat the topic of preparedness lightly,” then they include a $72-per-case coffee chocolate bar in their most expensive survival kit to show you just how much weight they give the subject themselves.
Their Instagram features photos of Gwyneth Paltrow, people wearing their bags at expensive travel destinations, and their bags in carefully curated luxury properties, also with no mention of survival skills or training.
The good news is, Preppi offers a lifetime guarantee on their products. The bad news? In an apocalyptic event, if you’re relying on their products to survive, you’re not going to need to take them up on it.
Why Instant Survival Kits Aren’t Right for You
No matter what the price tag, every prepper will have different needs that no one-size-fits-all kit could possibly address. You have the means, so it’s worth taking the time to find out who the best people are to customize your survival plan and make sure you have the correct gear.
Next week at Millionaire Survivalist, we’re going to discuss who the top survival pros you can hire are in the US today.
Ready for a laugh? Take a look inside Preppi’s $5K bag.
Take a look inside this “doomsday closet” to see a better use of $5K.