The Lost Ways vs Lost Frontier Handbook: Pioneer-Skills Depth or Multi-Discipline Breadth?

The Lost Ways and Lost Frontier Handbook both teach traditional survival skills to the same hands-on learner audience, but they are built for different levels of commitment and different purchase goals. The Lost Ways is a 300-page project-based pioneer-skills reference covering acorn flour, smoking meat, charcoal water filters, and rocket stoves — skills that take time, space, and effort to build but are genuinely functional. Lost Frontier Handbook is a 150-page multi-discipline reference covering food preservation, plant medicine, water, and bushcraft in one browsable PDF at the lowest price in the niche. Both have nearly identical gravity (4.10 vs 4.13). The key differentiator is depth versus breadth — and one critical billing difference.

Quick Comparison

	The Lost Ways	Lost Frontier Handbook
Best For	Hands-on preppers and homesteaders who will actually build the projects — acorn flour, charcoal water filter, rocket stove, smoking rack — and want the deepest project-based reference for pre-industrial skills	Beginners wanting food preservation, plant medicine, water, and bushcraft in one organized survey PDF with zero recurring billing at the lowest price in the niche
Core Gap Filled	Pioneer-era skills depth — step-by-step instructions for building and making things from scratch: food preservation, water filtration, fire, and shelter using pre-industrial methods	Multi-discipline breadth — food preservation, plant medicine, water purification, and basic bushcraft surveyed across one 150-page reference
Standout Section	Pre-industrial food preservation (acorn flour, smoking meat from scratch, fermenting without modern starters) and DIY water filtration (charcoal filter construction with layered materials)	Food-preservation chapter (smoking, drying, fermenting without modern gear); medicinal plants bonus (‘Medicinal Plants of North America’ field guide with line drawings)
Length	~300 pages	~150 pages
Format	Main guide PDF (~300pp) + ‘The Lost Ways 2’ bonus PDF + ‘Surviving the Economic Collapse’ bonus + printable pantry/tool checklists + optional Facebook group	Main guide PDF (~150pp) + ‘Lost Frontier Recipes’ bonus + ‘Medicinal Plants of North America’ field guide + ‘72-Hour Frontier Kit’ checklist + optional members group
Price	$34 one-time at front checkout	$39 one-time
Recurring Billing	hasRecurring: true — post-checkout upsell screens include optional recurring add-ons; read every screen and decline what you do not want	None — $39 flat, no post-checkout recurring offers
Refund	60 days, ClickBank-honored	60 days, ClickBank-honored
ClickBank Gravity	4.10	4.13 (fractionally higher)
Earned Per Sale	$66.76 (reflects upsell conversions)	$39.17
Rating	8.7/10	8.7/10

The Lost Ways: Best for hands-on project builders

Best use case: You are a hands-on learner or homesteader who will actually build the projects — you want to make acorn flour, build a charcoal water filter, construct a rocket stove from scrap, and smoke meat without electricity. You want the deepest single-PDF reference for pre-industrial skills. You understand that The Lost Ways is $34 at the front checkout but carries post-checkout upsell screens, including at least one with a recurring subscription option — you will read every screen carefully and decline what you do not need.

Method: A ~300-page PDF organized as a project and skill reference. The pre-industrial food preservation chapters are the strongest: step-by-step instructions for making acorn flour (debittering, grinding, meal uses), smoking meat without modern equipment, fermenting without commercial starters, and drying food using sun and wind techniques. The water chapter covers charcoal water filter construction layer by layer. The shelter chapter covers building debris huts and basic log structures. The fire chapter covers friction fire and coal-carrying techniques. Bonus PDFs include ‘The Lost Ways 2’ (additional skills, some overlap) and ‘Surviving the Economic Collapse’ (a shorter, more topical add-on). Printable pantry stocking and tool-gathering checklists included.

Strength: The Lost Ways delivers the deepest project-based coverage of pre-industrial skills in this price range. At ~300 pages it is double the page count of Lost Frontier Handbook for $5 less at the front checkout. The instructions are step-by-step and testable — you can attempt acorn flour or a rocket stove the same weekend you read the chapter. The skills are genuine: smoking meat, charcoal filtration, and acorn flour are historically verified methods, not modern approximations. The gravity (4.10) and Earned Per Sale ($66.76) reflect a committed buyer base that converts on the full product stack. Rated 8.7/10, tied with Lost Frontier Handbook.

Weakness: The Lost Ways has recurring billing risk. Post-checkout screens include upsell offers, and at least one may include a recurring subscription component — you must read every screen after the main purchase and decline anything you do not want. The ‘Surviving the Economic Collapse’ bonus is thin (roughly 30 pages) and repeats basic prepping advice. The included Facebook group is quiet and adds minimal real value. Without the time, space, and tools to actually build the projects, the guide sits unread. Much of the content is drawn from older public-domain books and free archives. The ‘frontier’ content in ‘The Lost Ways 2’ overlaps significantly with the main guide. Gravity (4.10) is the fractionally lower of the two.

Cost reality: $34 one-time at the front checkout. Post-checkout screens appear — read each one carefully. At least one includes a recurring subscription option that you must actively decline. Total cost without upsells: $34 flat. The high Earned Per Sale ($66.76) reflects the average including buyers who accepted add-ons. Refund: 60 days, ClickBank-honored.

Lost Frontier Handbook: Best for beginners who want multi-discipline breadth with zero billing risk

Best use case: You are a beginner or early-stage prepper who wants food preservation, plant medicine, water purification, and basic bushcraft covered in one browsable PDF before you specialize. You want zero recurring billing risk at checkout — no post-checkout screens to navigate, no subscriptions to decline. At $39 flat you get the broadest multi-discipline coverage available in the survival PDF niche with the simplest billing.

Method: A ~150-page PDF organized by topic. The food-preservation chapter is the standout: step-by-step instructions for smoking, drying, and fermenting without modern gear in clear, accessible form. The plant medicine section introduces natural remedies with field identification guidance. The water chapter covers basic purification methods. The bushcraft section covers fire and basic shelter. Bonus deliverables include ‘Lost Frontier Recipes’ (a dozen heritage recipes for pemmican and hardtack), a ‘Medicinal Plants of North America’ field guide with line drawings (clean printable quick-reference), and a ‘72-Hour Frontier Kit’ packing checklist.

Strength: Lost Frontier Handbook is the only survival PDF under $40 that covers food, plant medicine, water, and bushcraft in one organized reference with zero recurring billing. For beginners who want a survey across all four traditional skills areas before specializing, it provides the widest coverage at the lowest price point and with the simplest billing structure of any comparable guide. The food-preservation chapter is genuinely useful: smoking, drying, and fermenting are presented as doable weekend projects without special equipment. The ‘Medicinal Plants of North America’ bonus is a clean, printable field guide. Gravity (4.13) is fractionally higher than The Lost Ways (4.10), and at 8.7/10 both guides are rated equally. No billing complexity whatsoever.

Weakness: At 150 pages, Lost Frontier Handbook covers four disciplines more shallowly than a specialist guide covers one. The Lost Ways delivers double the page count at $5 less at the front checkout. If you want project-based depth on acorn flour, charcoal water filters, or rocket stove construction, Lost Frontier Handbook’s coverage is thinner. The ‘frontier’ theme is mostly branding — the skills are general survival basics that experienced preppers will have seen. The optional members group adds almost nothing. Lost Frontier Handbook costs $5 more than The Lost Ways at the front checkout.

Cost reality: $39 one-time. No post-checkout recurring offers. $39 flat is the total. Refund: 60 days, ClickBank-honored.

Which one should you choose?

Pick The Lost Ways if:

• You are a hands-on learner or homesteader who will actually build the projects: acorn flour, smoking rack, charcoal water filter, rocket stove
• You want the deepest project-based reference for pre-industrial skills — 300 pages of step-by-step instructions vs 150 pages of multi-topic survey
• You are comfortable reading post-checkout screens carefully and declining any recurring add-ons you do not want
• You prioritize page count and skill depth over billing simplicity — $34 front checkout vs $39 flat
• You want the most comprehensive single guide for long-horizon pioneer-skills building across food, water, fire, and shelter
• You already have a basic survival overview and are ready to go deep on specific pre-industrial techniques

Pick Lost Frontier Handbook if:

• You are a beginner who wants food preservation, plant medicine, water, and bushcraft surveyed in one PDF before specializing
• Billing simplicity is a priority — you want $39 flat with no post-checkout screens to navigate and no recurring add-ons to decline
• You want the ‘Medicinal Plants of North America’ field guide with line drawings as a printable quick-reference bonus
• You are not yet at the stage of building multi-step projects (charcoal filters, rocket stoves) and want a browsable overview first
• You want the food-preservation chapter as a starting point for smoking, drying, and fermenting without committing to a 300-page project reference
• The 72-Hour Frontier Kit checklist appeals to you as a structured starting-point packing guide

Real talk

The Lost Ways and Lost Frontier Handbook are the most similar pairing in the survival PDF niche — nearly identical gravity (4.10 vs 4.13), identical rating (8.7/10), and substantial skill overlap in food preservation. The differences that matter are depth, page count, and billing. Our Lost Frontier Handbook review has the full breakdown.

The Lost Ways wins on depth and volume: 300 pages vs 150, $34 vs $39 at the front checkout, and project instructions detailed enough to actually execute. For a hands-on homesteader who will build an acorn flour process or a charcoal water filter, The Lost Ways is the better reference by a large margin. The high Earned Per Sale ($66.76 vs $39.17) reflects a buyer base that converts on the full product stack — if you plan to go deep on pre-industrial skills, the additional investment pays off. Our The Lost Ways review has the full breakdown.

Lost Frontier Handbook wins on billing simplicity: $39 flat, zero post-checkout recurring offers, no screens to navigate. For a beginner who wants four disciplines surveyed in one PDF without billing complexity, it is the cleaner purchase. The ‘Medicinal Plants of North America’ field guide bonus is a stronger standalone deliverable than The Lost Ways’ bonus PDFs.

The natural sequence for a serious traditional-skills library is both: Lost Frontier Handbook first ($39, no recurring) for the multi-discipline survey and baseline, then The Lost Ways ($34 + careful checkout) when you are ready to go deep on the project-based techniques — $73 combined, four disciplines covered at depth. There is meaningful overlap in food preservation, but the depth difference justifies both for committed learners. If budget requires choosing one: beginners start with LFH for the billing simplicity and breadth; experienced preppers ready to build start with The Lost Ways for the depth.