Why is shelter needed for survival

Always seek shelter from the hottest part of the day in a survival situation. Beyond cold or hot air, temperatures exposure can also result from simple wind and rain. If you get wet, you will lose body heat much faster than normal. If there is wind blowing across you, you will likewise shed heat even faster.

This is particularly dangerous, and more than a few people have gotten in serious trouble or even lost their lives because they arrogantly or ignorantly disregarded the threat posed by bad weather conditions on a pleasant but cool spring day.

A good shelter will keep both wind and rain off of you, or at least reduce its effects upon you, and enable you to keep more of your precious body heat. Even if you are in an area warm enough where getting wet is not an issue in and of itself, being soaking wet is rarely a morale booster and having a dry, cozy shelter to retreat into when the weather turns bad can only be a good thing for your morale.

Some preppers, when they imagine a survival shelter in the context of an emergency or disaster, imagine something like a teepee, primitive cabin or a big tent.

These are all good shelters for various reasons, but a worthy shelter does not even have to be that advanced! In fact, smaller shelters are often more efficient than larger ones because far less energy is required to keep the air contained by them warm — that will keep you warm!

Shelter is an incredibly important survival consideration because it is second only to air in importance when conditions are suboptimal for human existence. In as little as a couple of hours one can die from exposure and you might be incapacitated before then. We should avoid poisonous plants. Carrying a tarpaulin or poncho can be extremely useful. The materials used are contingent of the situation faced. Are we stranded in the woods, or did we survive a plane crash? If there are any materials near by from a wreckage, then we can use them.

Otherwise nature usually provides excellent resources. Vegetation: leaves, moss, grass, bark and saplings. We can also use snow, soil, rocks. Any time you are building a shelter, it is a good idea to wear gloves. It may seem absurd but I have made it a point to keep a set of gloves in my backpack. Keep in mind that you will be reaching into rocks, leaves and picking up wood. Gloves can protect your hands from thorns, sharp edges, and some insects. Taking the proper precautions before moving objects is a must.

Always think what could be laying under an object before moving it. Materials that can be used are: canvas , plastic, ponchos, mylar emergency blanket,trash bag a Lean-to b Double lean-to a-frame c Jungle A-Frame.

A scout pit is essentially a pit or hole dug into the earth. Branches are laid across the top of the pit which are covered with dirt. This camouflaged shelter remains warmer in winter and cooler in the warmer months. Learning to work with nature to our advantage is a skill that is learned through practice.

As with any aspect of Bushcraft and Survival, we must try to adapt to a situation. While we are out hiking, take the time to look at different natural structures and ask yourself how you could use them to build a shelter. A fallen tree, or a rock overhang. Walk up to it and study the structure. We always recommend building shelters and practicing emergency scenarios when our life does not depend on it. Experience and knowledge of the available materials in your area will help us have confidence and the needed skills in event of an emergency.

The option to carry less equipment while backpacking can make the trip more enjoyable. During our trips to the colder climates, we have used the base of a large spruce tree to help build shelter quickly. The dying branches at the base of the tree make perfect tinder, and there is less snow to dig in order to reach the ground.

If the snow on the ground is not the proper texture to build a snow cave, simply digging out around a fallen tree can help get us out of the wind. Add some branches with pine boughs and make a modified lean to shelter. Adding a layer of snow after the shelter is built will help make it wind proof. Rock formations and overhangs can help us find immediate refuge from the elements during an emergency.

Using rocks to help stay warm is a technique used since the beginning of time. You can use rocks to create a fire bed, to reflect the heat and sometimes to protect you from precipitation. Rocks will become a heat sink capturing the sun's heat during the day and re-radiating it back at night. Warning: Quickly heating a stone in a cold region could cause cracks on the rocks. The same technique can be used to warm rocks around our shelter or smaller stones that can be brought into the shelter.

In an emergency a rock overhang can be used as a shelter. Again consider the possibility of a rock slide. Look at the terrain carefully. Is possible we use a fire outside of the cave to 'smoke' the cave out before entering. The smoke should help remove rodents and other unwanted animals. During a backpacking trip we found this small cave. We used a small fire to smoke the cave before entering. When it rained, some water would work its way down the walls, but it kept us dry.

Snakes and scorpions. A lot of these creatures are nocturnal. They will try to find a place to keep warm or hide from the sun as the day breaks. Trees Standing and fallen trees could save your life. Some standing trees have dense enough leaves that can help to keep you away from the rain or snow Spruce and Oak trees are good examples. Having a layer above you, can help you retain some of the heat lost by radiative cooling.

Take a look at the base of a different trees after a rain storm. Some trees will have a completely dry base. Next time you are out hiking in the snow, take a look at the base of a spruce tree. The lower branches make wonderful tinder and the base of the tree will often be dry. Whether you are simply hiking for the day, or lost in the woods, a tree shelter can really be helpful. We can use a fallen tree as a strong base for a shelter. Leaning branches against a tree can speed up build time for a modified lean to shelter.

If you will notice the image below, here I was able to actually use the tree as a shelter and find dry tinder. With some branches and debris such as dried leaves, we would be able to make a lean-to or double lean-to. I kept the fire very small, but it was enough to keep me warm and dry for a night. Note: I did have to build a layer of mud between the tree and the fire. Again, always use common sense. The fire would only be temporary as to avoid catching the tree on fire but could save your life in an emergency.

Please ensure all fires are put out properly before walking away. In that case a windbreak can make things tolerable. The core temperature of our bodies cannot deviate more than a few degrees above or below Food processors use a combination of cold and wind to quickly chill foods, wind removes heat very rapidly. We can live for days without water, weeks without food, but if the body temperature changes too much it can be over for us quickly.

I read a few months ago a tragic story of a man and his two sons that all died in less than a day to exposure, hypothermia in this case. The family had been staying in a lodge in the Midwestern US, the father took his boys on a hike in the surrounding countryside.

A rainstorm came up they were not prepared for, the temperatures dropped, trying to get back they took a wrong turn on the trail, they were found by searchers the next morning soaking wet, the father was dead, the sons could not be revived.

A rain poncho may have been enough to have saved them. It made me sick to read the story and to think of the tragedy for that family; a mother, her two daughters and a young son left to mourn the loss. It holds up to two people inside, and it can be a lifesaver in emergency situations. If anyone is caught by the cold weather, it creates a warm internal microclimate for the bi-standards. This is one of the best tents for hikers who may get in a bind when the temperatures drop.

Tube Tents are one-piece tents which are well insulated, they have floors, and are easy to spot with its bright orange color. The insulation is an aluminized coating and the fabric is nylon. Tube tents come in handy for emergency shelters and camping. Click for more information and reveiws of Tube Tents.

Extra durable and completely durably, it will protect you from the harshest weather. The tent has a D-shaped entry doors that tightly closes after you get inside. You select a different size that fits the number of people in your company, up to 6 people — or you can just but it for yourself.

Click for more information and reveiws of Coleman Sundome Tent. This tent can be set up in sixty seconds flat. It is ideal for the family or a large friendly gathering and holds up to nine people.

Two queen sized mattresses can easily fit inside and are the perfect height for anyone to stand up comfortably. The outer material is waterproof and it has an adjustable vent on the ground. Inside there are dividers for separate rooms and the walls have pockets for storing stuff and keeping everything organized.

It comes with all the setup devices and has a port for an electrical cord which closes when it is not in use. Click for more information and reveiws of Core Instant Cabin Tent. This tent is made of polyester and holds six people comfortably. There is a ground vent which is adjustable and has a hook to hold a lantern for light. It also comes with pockets for storage and organizing and it has a one-year limited warranty. Click for more information and reveiws of Core Dome Tent.

This is one of the most durable shelters created and they are perfect for hikers in the toughest weather conditions. This shelter holds 8 people safely, and it is bright orange in color with reflectors.

It has a porthole for the persons inside to check the weather conditions outside. The seams are taped, and the shelter is completely waterproof from the floor to the roof. There are flysheet vents with mesh to eliminate condensation and add ventilation inside the emergency shelter.