Kite.henley/sandbox.shelters

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Survival shelters are not always the extreme situations of being stuck on an abandoned island, being lost in the snow of Antarctica. There are many everyday places where the skills of making a quick shelter are handy.

The best improvised shelters are the ones you have tried out yourself before the need ... Be Prepared!

Materials

The materials you have available will affect how long it take for you to make the shelter and how weather proof it is.
You can make shelters using

Styles of shelters

Each type of shelter has advantages and weaknesses - if we know these weaknesses before hand we can choose the design best suited for the situation and the equipment we have:

The main types of

  • A-frame tent
  • Lean-to
  • Teepee
  • Wedge-type
  • Envelope

Weather conditions

The protection needed depends also on the weather. With heavy rain the protection is largely from the top, we also may want the sheet to extend under our kit and sleeping bags to keep dry

If the problem includes wind then we need to reduce the height of the shelter and make sure wind doesn't get below the roof into our shelter.

When the problem is heat and sun we can build a shelter that is higher off the ground with open sides for ventilation.

Techniques

Attach a rope to a plastic sheet, emergency blanket or a tarpaulin

  • Use a sheet bend to attach a line (or rope) to a loop made from the corner of the sheet.
  • Wrap the sheet around a stone and use a Marlinspike hitch

Downloadable materials


See Also