What Is 4Patriots? A Complete Guide to the Preparedness Company Behind Patriot Power Generators, Survival Food and Off-Grid Gear

4Patriots is a privately held American emergency-preparedness company headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded by husband-and-wife team Allen and Erin Baler in 2008, the company sells emergency food, portable solar generators, water-filtration equipment, survival gear and related preparedness products primarily through direct-to-consumer ecommerce.

The company’s catalog has expanded well beyond its original offerings. Today it covers solar generators, camp cooking equipment, portable refrigeration, water filtration, emergency lighting, survival radios, bug-out bags, heating and cooling products and preparedness education courses. If you have spent any time looking at off-grid power, backcountry water solutions or long-term food storage, you have probably encountered 4Patriots advertising.

The company describes itself as promoting “freedom and self-reliance.” Its official terms identify 4Patriots, LLC as the operator of 4Patriots.com.

Allen is currently identified by the company as co-founder and CEO, while Erin is identified as co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer.

History of 4Patriots

Most articles about 4Patriots start and stop with “Allen and Erin started the company at their kitchen table.” The actual corporate history is considerably more interesting than that, and it explains why the company’s product catalog looks the way it does today.

Founding in 2008

Allen and Erin Baler left corporate careers, relocated from New England to Nashville and launched the business in 2008. The original corporate name was not 4Patriots. It was Reboot Marketing LLC.

That name matters. It tells you the company’s DNA was direct-response marketing from the start, not traditional retail. And its first product was not freeze-dried food or a solar generator. According to the company’s own newsroom, 4Patriots began with a series of how-to guides. The original business was selling preparedness information.

Power4Patriots and Early Preparedness Products

Federal trademark history shows the POWER4PATRIOTS mark entered commercial use by December 2011, originally covering educational materials about off-grid power. The original trademark holder was Reboot Marketing LLC.

This is a useful detail for anyone trying to understand the company’s evolution. Before the modern product catalog existed, 4Patriots was primarily a preparedness-information publisher with a direct-response marketing engine. The physical products came later.

Reboot Marketing appeared on the Inc. 500 list during this period, according to the company’s later rebranding announcement.

Food4Patriots

The FOOD4PATRIOTS trademark shows first commercial use in July 2013, covering prepared emergency food kits.

People still search for “Food4Patriots” and “Food 4 Patriots.” It was not a separate company. It was an earlier 4Patriots-branded emergency-food product line that preceded the unified 4Patriots brand identity consumers see today.

The 4Patriots Brand Emerges

Federal trademark records list first commercial use of the 4PATRIOTS name in July 2014. A USPTO assignment record confirms that Reboot Marketing LLC changed its name to 4Patriots, LLC in April 2014, with a public announcement following in July.

So the progression looks like this: Reboot Marketing built individual preparedness brands (Power4Patriots, Food4Patriots) and then unified everything under 4Patriots.

Expansion Into Solar Generators

The Patriot Power Generator trademark dates to July 2014, establishing when the company moved heavily into portable power hardware. This was the beginning of what would become one of 4Patriots’ central product families.

Today the Patriot Power generator lineup includes models from compact portable units through large-capacity stations designed for extended off-grid use, home backup and RV applications.

Company Timeline

Who Founded 4Patriots?

Allen Baler

Allen Baler is co-founder and CEO of 4Patriots. A 2017 profile reported that Baler holds a Harvard English degree and worked in corporate marketing at Eaton Press and Danbury Mint before launching the preparedness business.

That background is relevant context. 4Patriots did not grow out of a military-surplus store or a homesteading operation. It grew out of direct-response marketing expertise applied to the preparedness category.

Erin Baler

Erin Baler is co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer. She is not simply “the founder’s wife,” which some lazy writeups may imply. She is publicly involved in company strategy and representation.

You may encounter older sources listing her as COO. A 2025 company release used that title. Current 2026 material identifies her as CSO.

Who Owns 4Patriots?

This is one of those questions that deserves a more careful answer than most articles provide.

The Operating Company

A 2026 Florida annual filing for 4Patriots, LLC identifies Allen Baler and Erin Baler as members of the Tennessee LLC. The filing uses the Nashville Berry Hill Drive address.

That supports a straightforward statement: public corporate filings identify founders Allen and Erin Baler as members of 4Patriots, LLC.

Avalon Group, LLC

Federal trademark records show that 4Patriots, LLC assigned major intellectual-property assets to a separate entity, Avalon Group, LLC, in July 2018.

Avalon now holds trademarks including 4PATRIOTS, FOOD4PATRIOTS, POWER4PATRIOTS, PATRIOT POWER GENERATOR and FRANK BATES.

Avalon Group’s current trademark filings use the same Nashville address as 4Patriots, LLC: 2920 Berry Hill Drive, Suite 300.

The important distinction: trademark assignment records establish that Avalon owns significant IP. They do not, by themselves, establish that Avalon owns the operating company. Most online articles either miss this entirely or oversimplify it.

Where Is 4Patriots Located?

Nashville Headquarters

The corporate headquarters is at 2920 Berry Hill Drive, Suite 300, Nashville, Tennessee 37204. Both the BBB profile and corporate filings confirm that address.

Warehouses and Fulfillment

4Patriots says orders ship from facilities in Salt Lake City, Utah and Atlanta, Georgia.

This is worth keeping straight because the three locations serve different functions: Nashville is headquarters, Utah handles at least some food packing and fulfillment, and Georgia serves as an additional fulfillment center. HQ, manufacturing and fulfillment are not the same thing, even though some articles treat them as interchangeable.

4Patriots Portable Power and Solar Generators

For anyone interested in off-grid power, camping backup electricity or emergency home power, the Patriot Power generator lineup is the product family most people associate with 4Patriots.

Current Generator Lineup

The company’s current catalog includes multiple portable solar generators at different capacity tiers:

• Patriot Power Generator 2500X and 2200X: the larger-capacity units designed for extended off-grid use, RV power and home emergency backup
• Patriot Power Generator 2000X: a mid-range portable power station
• Patriot Power Generator 1800: another mid-capacity option
• Patriot Power Generator 1500 and 1200: smaller, lighter units

Each generator is designed to pair with 4Patriots’ own solar panel kits for solar charging and can be expanded with additional battery packs.

Portable Power and Charging

Beyond the full-sized generators, 4Patriots sells smaller power products aimed at camping, hiking and everyday carry:

• Patriot Power Sidekick Solar Generator: a compact unit positioned for lighter-duty portable use
• Patriot Power Cell-CX: a portable solar power bank for phone and small device charging
• 4Patriots Solar Panels: standalone panels compatible with the generator lineup
• Generator expansion battery packs: additional storage capacity for the larger power stations

Where Are Patriot Power Generators Made?

4Patriots is direct about this. Its FAQ says the solar products are designed and developed at its Tennessee office, while most lithium-battery products are manufactured in Asia. A current generator sales page puts it plainly: the generators are designed in the USA and manufactured overseas to company specifications.

So if the question is “are Patriot Power generators American-made,” the accurate answer is that they are American-designed and overseas-manufactured. The company’s patriotic branding makes this a predictable question, and the company itself answers it clearly.

4Patriots Water Filtration

Water is arguably the single most critical off-grid resource, and 4Patriots has built a full product line around it under the Patriot Pure brand.

Patriot Pure Products

The current water lineup includes:

• Patriot Pure Ultimate Water Filtration System: the company’s full-sized countertop gravity-fed filter
• Patriot Pure NanoMesh Water Filter: a filter element that 4Patriots specifically markets as made in the USA
• Patriot Pure Water Pitcher: a smaller pitcher-style filtration option
• Patriot Pure Personal Water Filter: a portable filter designed for backcountry, camping and emergency use
• Water filter straws: individual-use survival/camping water filters
• Emergency water storage: containers for water stockpiling
• Replacement filters: for the countertop and pitcher systems

The NanoMesh filter is worth noting specifically because it is one of the few 4Patriots products the company explicitly advertises as manufactured in the United States.

Off-Grid Cooking and Refrigeration

This is where 4Patriots has expanded most visibly beyond its original food-and-generators identity. For campers, RV owners and off-grid users, these products fill practical gaps.

Sun Kettle and Sun Kettle XL

The Sun Kettle is a solar-powered water heater. You set it in direct sunlight and it heats water without fuel, electricity or fire. The Sun Kettle XL is the larger-capacity version.

For backcountry camping where fire restrictions apply, or for off-grid setups where you want to conserve generator capacity for other loads, a solar kettle is a genuinely useful piece of kit.

StarFire Camp Stove

The StarFire Camp Stove is a compact portable stove. In the context of 4Patriots’ broader catalog, it fills the camp-cooking role alongside the solar kettle and the company’s emergency food products.

Solar Go Fridge and Freedom Fridge

These are portable refrigeration products designed for camping, RV use and off-grid applications:

• Solar Go Fridge: a portable solar-compatible refrigerator
• Freedom Fridge: another portable fridge option in the 4Patriots lineup

Portable refrigeration is one of those product categories that makes more practical sense once you realize 4Patriots also sells the solar generators and panels to power them. The company is building an interconnected off-grid ecosystem, not just selling isolated products.

4Patriots Freeze Dryer

4Patriots also sells a home freeze-drying system for people who want to preserve their own food rather than buying pre-packaged survival meals.

4Patriots Emergency Food Kits, Supplies and Meals

Emergency food is where 4Patriots built much of its early reputation, and it remains a central product category.

Food Kit Sizes

The current lineup includes kits at several duration tiers:

The calorie-per-day figures matter. The one-year kit works out to roughly 1,555 calories per day and the company explicitly notes that individual calorie requirements may be higher. These are survival rations, not full daily nutrition for someone doing hard physical work.

Current 4Patriots food pages are more transparent about calorie counts than older preparedness-industry marketing tended to be. This became relevant during a 2022 advertising review (covered later in this article).

Where Is 4Patriots Food Made?

Current 4Patriots pages say its survival food is hand-packed in Utah using ingredients sourced from the United States and around the world.

The accurate statement: 4Patriots survival food is packed domestically in Utah, but not all ingredients are necessarily of U.S. origin. Do not assume “Handpacked in USA” means every ingredient was grown or produced in the United States.

Food Formats

Beyond the multi-day kits, 4Patriots sells:

• Freeze-dried and dehydrated individual meals and entrees
• Freeze-dried meat and protein products
• Fruits, vegetables, milk and egg products in #10 cans
• MRE-style meals
• Emergency food bars

Individual food offerings have included breakfast dishes, rice and bean meals, rice-and-vegetable entrees, scrambled eggs, meat products and various shelf-stable options. The catalog rotates, so specific items may vary.

Survival Gear, Radios and Emergency Essentials

4Patriots rounds out its catalog with a range of general preparedness and outdoor equipment.

Communications and Lighting

• Liberty Band Solar Radio (also called the Liberty Band Tactical Solar Radio): an emergency radio with solar charging capability
• HaloXT Multi-Use Flashlight: a tactical flashlight
• BugOut Solar Lantern: a portable inflatable solar-powered lantern for camp lighting and emergencies

Other Preparedness Products

The broader catalog includes bug-out bags, car emergency kits, survival seed kits (marketed as Victory Garden Seed Kits), portable air purification, heating and cooling products, storage solutions and various tools.

The product range has grown significantly since the company’s early days of selling how-to guides and single-brand product lines. Today 4Patriots functions more as a full preparedness retailer than a single-product company.

4Patriots University

4Patriots University offers online preparedness education covering emergency planning, water preparedness and related subjects. The company identifies Seth Weller as senior manager of its customer-education team and lead instructor.

This is worth noting because it closes a loop in the company’s history. 4Patriots began in 2008 by selling preparedness information products. It evolved heavily toward physical goods through the 2010s. Now it also maintains a structured educational arm alongside the product business. The information-product DNA never fully went away.

How 4Patriots Makes Money

4Patriots is a direct-to-consumer ecommerce company. The company itself uses that description.

In practice, the business model works through paid advertising driving traffic to standalone landing pages, email and SMS marketing, bundled product offers, upsells, installment-payment options and repeat preparedness purchases.

If you have visited a 4Patriots product page, you have seen the format: long-form sales pages, “buy X and receive Y free” promotions, limited-time bundles, installment pricing and large bonus packages. The company’s current site uses these structures extensively.

None of this is unusual in direct-response ecommerce. It is simply the classic direct-response marketing playbook applied to preparedness products. And it makes more sense when you remember the company started as Reboot Marketing and originally sold information products. The marketing infrastructure came first. The physical products followed.

4Patriots’ Marketing and Political Image

This is one of the most frequently searched questions about 4Patriots, and it deserves a better answer than most articles give it.

Patriotic and Conservative Marketing History

WIRED’s 2026 profile of the company documented a long history of advertising to conservative audiences. According to that reporting, the company’s founder began buying advertising with Newsmax in 2011 and later expanded to National Review, The Blaze and Fox News. The earlier customer profile was explicitly described as older conservatives in red states.

The company historically used marketing themes involving government distrust, grid failure and self-reliance, with earlier messaging that invoked political fears and alleged government threats.

Broader Mainstream Positioning

The brand today is broader. Current 4Patriots positioning emphasizes hurricanes, wildfires, blackouts, camping, RV use, homesteading and ordinary emergency preparedness rather than exclusively partisan themes. The company’s own more recent material describes its founding mission as a “common-sense, apolitical resource.”

So the answer to “Is 4Patriots a MAGA company?” is more nuanced than a yes or no.

4Patriots has deep historical ties to conservative-oriented direct-response marketing and built much of its early customer base among politically conservative consumers. That marketing history is not the same thing as proof that 4Patriots is formally affiliated with MAGA, Donald Trump or the Republican Party. Advertising on conservative media and using patriotic branding does not automatically constitute a formal political affiliation.

Who Is Frank Bates, and Is That His Real Name?

Frank Bates is one of those genuinely odd pieces of company history that most articles either skip entirely or get wrong.

According to 4Patriots, Frank Bates is a real person. “Frank Bates” is a pen name. The company says he is a Vietnam-era Navy veteran who lives in Tennessee and has served as a longtime company spokesman. He appeared extensively in older newsletters, marketing copy and preparedness content.

4Patriots says he writes less frequently now because of his age but continues appearing in videos and blog material.

Here is the additional wrinkle: FRANK BATES is itself a registered trademark, part of Avalon Group’s intellectual-property portfolio. That does not mean Frank is fictional. It means the public-facing name became a formal commercial brand asset.

WIRED’s 2026 reporting also covered the history of questions surrounding his identity and the company’s explanation.

4Patriots Spokespeople and Endorsements

Cade Courtley

Cade Courtley is a former Navy SEAL who appears in 4Patriots marketing and preparedness content.

4Patriots openly discloses that Courtley is compensated for helping test and endorse its products. The company also explicitly states that the United States military and Navy SEALs do not endorse 4Patriots or its products.

This is the correct way to read his involvement: Courtley is a paid product endorser with relevant military credentials. His participation does not constitute a U.S. military endorsement.

Customer Reviews and Paid Feedback

4Patriots publishes customer testimonials and product reviews on its site. The company discloses that some reviewers have received free products in exchange for honest feedback. This is standard practice in ecommerce, but it is useful context when evaluating reviews hosted on the company’s own pages.

4Patriots Customer Reviews and Reputation

Better Business Bureau

At the time of this research, the BBB lists 4Patriots as accredited with an A+ business rating. Accreditation began June 4, 2020, and the BBB file on the business dates to January 2010.

However, the A+ organizational rating is not the same as customer-review sentiment. BBB currently shows approximately 3.16 out of 5 from around 340 customer reviews. And its complaints page reports 314 complaints during the previous three years, with 28 closed during the previous 12 months. BBB notes that complaint volume is high enough that it publishes details for only about 60% of submitted complaints.

These are three separate data points:

A good article does not flatten these into a single verdict.

Trustpilot

Trustpilot currently shows a 2.4 out of 5 score from 527 reviews, with 54% rated one star and 29% rated five stars.

Trustpilot also displays a warning that the company has not recently invited customers to review on the platform, meaning the review sample should not automatically be treated as representative of the entire customer base. Self-selected review populations tend to skew toward people with complaints.

Company-Hosted Reviews

4Patriots publishes its own customer testimonials and product reviews. As noted above, the company discloses that some reviewers received free products in exchange for honest feedback.

Recalls and Advertising Disputes

These belong in any honest company history. They do not make 4Patriots a scam, but pretending they did not happen would not make for a credible article either.

2016 Patriot Power Generator Recall

On July 28, 2016, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a recall of approximately 2,200 Patriot Power Generators because the battery could catch fire. CPSC reported 13 generator fires, 2 reports of smoking, 1 report of unusual noise or odor and zero reported injuries.

The recalled units were manufactured in China, sold exclusively through 4Patriots.com between November 2014 and April 2015, and retailed for approximately $2,000.

This was a specific recall involving a specific generation of hardware nearly a decade ago. It does not prove that current Patriot Power generators have the same defect, just as a 2016 automotive recall would not prove a 2026 model of the same vehicle is unsafe.

2022 National Advertising Division Decision

The National Advertising Division (NAD) reviewed claims about 4Patriots’ long-term food kits after a challenge from competitor My Patriot Supply. NAD found some claims adequately supported but recommended modifications to others.

Most notably, NAD recommended clearer disclosures around kit-duration claims and advised against creating the impression that buyers would receive the abundance of food depicted in advertising for the entire stated duration. It also recommended clearer disclosure of material connections with paid endorsers.

In 2023, the roles reversed. 4Patriots challenged My Patriot Supply’s advertising before NAD, and NAD recommended that My Patriot Supply modify or discontinue claims involving fresh fruit depictions, 2,000+ calorie per day claims, Made-in-USA representations, “home-cooked” food descriptions, limited-time sale promotions and website review presentation.

The takeaway is not that one company was “busted” while the other was clean. The two major preparedness-food competitors have repeatedly challenged each other’s marketing before the advertising industry’s self-regulatory system.

Is 4Patriots the Same Company as My Patriot Supply?

No. They are separate, independent companies and direct competitors.

4Patriots and My Patriot Supply both sell emergency food, portable power and water-filtration products. They are not owned by the same people, and their competition is apparently serious enough that they have challenged each other’s advertising claims before the National Advertising Division.

WIRED’s 2026 reporting treats the two companies as major competitors in the modern American preparedness market.

If you are comparing the two, they should be evaluated as competing options, not interchangeable brands.

4Patriots Returns, Warranty and Customer Support

This section comes with a genuine caveat.

The company’s dedicated Warranty, Return and Refund Policy, last updated August 29, 2025, describes a standard 365-day product warranty. However, for non-defective merchandise, returns generally must be initiated within 90 days according to that same policy.

Meanwhile, other currently accessible 4Patriots FAQ and promotional pages still reference a 365-day money-back satisfaction guarantee. The company’s Our Story page currently references a 90-day money-back guarantee.

Because 4Patriots operates numerous product pages and promotional offers with varying terms, check the return conditions attached to the specific product and offer you are purchasing. Do not assume every purchase carries the same guarantee period just because one page says 365 days and another says 90 days.

Veterans and Charitable Giving

Veteran support is a substantial part of 4Patriots’ branding and corporate identity.

The company reports supporting organizations including Operation Homefront, Team Rubicon, Fisher House Foundation, A Soldier’s Child Foundation, Hire Heroes USA, Pets for Vets and For The Troops through cash donations, product contributions and employee volunteer activity.

According to 4Patriots’ current charity page, the company reports cumulative donations of more than $2.05 million to military-oriented organizations. Older company pages show smaller cumulative totals because those figures were published at earlier dates.

Attribution matters here. These are company-reported figures, not independently audited donation totals.

How Large Is 4Patriots?

4Patriots is privately held, so detailed revenue, profit and employee figures are not publicly reported the way they would be for a publicly traded corporation.

The company’s current About and media pages claim approximately $1 billion in preparedness-product sales since founding and 8 million customers served since 2008. That is a cumulative sales figure over nearly two decades, not an annual revenue number.

Employee counts vary across the company’s own pages. Current sources show figures ranging from roughly 125 to 175+ employees depending on which page you check. The BBB currently lists 151. The safest statement is that 4Patriots is a company with well over 100 employees.

Does 4Patriots Have Physical Stores?

4Patriots is primarily an ecommerce and direct-to-consumer operation. The company held its first large parking-lot event at its Utah distribution facility in 2026, but that is not the same thing as a retail store network.

Does 4Patriots Sell on Amazon?

Yes, although not every 4Patriots product appears on Amazon and prices may vary between the company’s own site and Amazon listings.

Does 4Patriots Have an Affiliate Program?

The company confirms an affiliate program, but presents it as something prospective affiliates inquire about directly rather than an open self-service signup. This is useful context for understanding why there are so many third-party 4Patriots reviews and recommendation articles online.

Frequently Asked Questions About 4Patriots

Is 4Patriots legit? Yes, in the basic sense that it is an established operating U.S. company with a business history going back to 2008, a physical Nashville headquarters, registered corporate entities and millions of reported customers. Whether any individual product represents good value is a separate question that depends on the product, the price and what you are comparing it to.

Who owns 4Patriots? Allen and Erin Baler are listed as members of 4Patriots, LLC in current corporate filings. Major trademarks are held by Avalon Group, LLC, a related entity at the same Nashville address.

When was 4Patriots founded? 2008, originally as Reboot Marketing LLC.

Where is 4Patriots headquartered? Nashville, Tennessee.

Is 4Patriots a MAGA company? Is 4Patriots Republican? 4Patriots has historically marketed heavily to conservative and patriotic audiences through conservative media outlets. That marketing history does not by itself establish formal MAGA or Republican Party affiliation. The company’s more recent positioning emphasizes broader mainstream preparedness themes.

Is Food4Patriots the same as 4Patriots? Food4Patriots was an earlier 4Patriots-branded emergency-food product line, not a separate company. The Food4Patriots brand preceded the unified 4Patriots identity that emerged in 2014.

Is My Patriot Supply the same as 4Patriots? No. They are independent competing companies.

Are 4Patriots products made in America? It depends on the product. Patriot Power generators are designed in the USA and manufactured overseas. Survival food is packed in Utah using domestic and internationally sourced ingredients. Certain Patriot Pure NanoMesh filters are specifically advertised as made in the USA.

Where is 4Patriots survival food made? Hand-packed in Utah using ingredients sourced from the United States and around the world.

Where are Patriot Power generators made? Designed in the USA and manufactured overseas to company specifications.

Who is Frank Bates? A longtime 4Patriots spokesman. The company says he is a real person, that “Frank Bates” is a pen name, and that he is a Vietnam-era Navy veteran.

Does 4Patriots have physical stores? The company is primarily ecommerce and direct-to-consumer. It does not operate a retail store network.

Does 4Patriots sell on Amazon? Yes, although not every product is available there and prices may differ.

4Patriots in 2026

Today, 4Patriots sits somewhere between a traditional emergency-supply retailer, a direct-response ecommerce company and a preparedness education brand. Its catalog spans food, backup electricity, water filtration, camp cooking, portable refrigeration and general survival equipment.

The company’s marketing has expanded from its historically conservative preparedness audience toward a broader market of homeowners, homesteaders, campers, RV owners and consumers concerned with increasingly common power outages and severe weather.

For anyone evaluating 4Patriots products for camping, off-grid living or emergency preparedness, the most useful things to understand are the company’s actual history, who runs it, where its products are made and how its marketing model works. The factual record is more interesting than the simplified version most articles provide, and knowing the corporate history, manufacturing origins and product specifics puts you in a better position to make informed purchasing decisions than reading another generic “Is 4Patriots legit?” article ever will.

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