The Prepared Dad
By Ryan Fields-Spack · Former fire captain · 20+ years as a paramedic ·
This is the preparedness side of the site. It sits next to the kit grades. It is not the quiz by itself, and it is not a store.
These are the pieces I am focused on right now: a way to stay connected, emergency gear I can send you to with a clear disclosure, and the home-defense plan that was already here — a safe you will actually use, a plan your family can say out loud, power and water if the lights go out, and the calm to do the next right thing.
Best for
Starlink at our house. Backup communications I also take camping, in a custom Pelican box with its own power. A dedicated page, a setup video, and my referral link.
Get $100 cash or service credit with my Starlink link
New Starlink customers get $100 after two months, as cash to your bank if your account offers it, or as a service credit. You pick in your Starlink account.
View Starlink with my referral link Opens in a new tab.
For new Starlink customers only. Order on starlink.com through my link and keep a Residential or Roam plan for two months. Starlink pays the $100 as a service credit by default. To get cash, choose cash and link your bank account in the Referrals section of your Starlink account before it pays out, if your account offers it. It is not a discount at checkout. Amount shown is the current US offer and can change.
Starlink at our house
Backup communications I also take camping, in a custom Pelican box with its own power. A dedicated page, a setup video, and my referral link.
I use this primarily as backup communications. I also bring it in my vehicle when I go camping, or on a trip, so I always have a way to stay in touch. I built a custom Pelican box with backup power, so it can run on its own with a solar panel.
The dedicated page has the setup video and the referral link, with a plain disclosure next to it.
The full referral terms are on the Starlink page.
A drone so I can look first
I bought an entry-level Bwine F7MINI 4K. It lets me see storm damage, a road, the property, or a lost pet before I walk into it.
Sierra Madre Research
Emergency gear from one maker — shelter, water, and fire tools on their list, and a place we can grow into food and other preparedness later. This is not a family first-aid kit, and it has no grade yet.
Sierra Madre Research is where I send people who want emergency-survival gear from one maker, using my affiliate links.
The full profile is a catalog check from Nov 6, 2026: nine items, led by a reflective sleeping bag and a reflective shelter. Dad Kit Check has not held these items, weighed them, or tested them in cold or water. Nothing on that profile says I own a specific Sierra Madre model. The grade waits until a rubric that fits this gear is signed.
I also want this to be the home for food storage and other preparedness I am still putting together. That part is not on the live profile yet, so I am not going to invent a food list here.
I may earn a commission if you buy through my links. It never changes a grade.
The affiliate dashboard shows a 10% commission on the referral link. The same dashboard shows a separate coupon, RYANFIELDS, as 7% off for the customer. The commission is not the discount. The discount is not the commission. This site has not watched the coupon apply at checkout.
Home defense
The home-defense side of the site, now under The Prepared Dad. A safe, a family plan, power and water, bleeding control, staying calm, and the paperwork pages.
This is the home defense side of the site. It sits next to the kit grades. It is not the quiz, and it is not a store.
A safe you will actually use. A plan your family can say out loud. Power and water if the lights go out. Bleeding control, because a kit is not a person. Staying calm enough to do the next right thing.
Safe storage
A locked gun is the start of the plan. The videos are the walk-through.
Family plan
Say who calls 911, where you meet, and who can open the safe. Then write it down.
Power and water
The quiz does the water and power math for the people in your house. The videos are why.
Bleeding control
Call 911. A genuine tourniquet. A class. The safe video is not filmed yet.
Calm under pressure
You cannot buy calm. You practice the quiet parts before the loud minute.
NFA and permits
Paperwork, in plain language. Not a store, and not legal advice.
Q Lunchbox SD, coming soon
I bought one for the house. It has not shipped. The series starts when it is in my hands.
Prefer a printable checklist? Grab it here
If you want that section on its own page, it still has one: /preparedness/home-defense
What if this is an emergency?
Call 911. This page is education, not medical advice, and it is not a substitute for 911.
Sierra Madre Research
I may earn a commission if you buy through my links. It never changes a grade.