Many people cannot survive for hours without a dependable survival shelter. Building a resilient shelter should be a top priority in a harsh environment if one wants to survive. People who do not stay in the outdoors most often die from losing their body heat. So, we all deserve to have shelter to stave off wind, rain, snow, and other elements and keep body heat trapped.
What is a Survival Shelter?
It is a structure that can be either naturally occurring or artificial, which helps protect individuals from predators, insects, and the elements. Survival shelters can range from simple dugout snow tunnels to sophisticated wooden structures. They also come in various forms and serve a variety of purposes.
When planning to build a survival shelter, it is vital to select a decent place to build it. It should be a dry spot, as making a shelter in a wet place will draw one’s body heat even faster. If the weather is not too cold, one can build a shelter on high ground. The breezes will keep the bugs away, and it will also be easier for a search party to locate a lost person. On the contrary, if the weather is cold, one needs to select a sheltered spot by trees. It is not advisable to build a shelter in the bottom of deep valleys or ravines as cold air settles in these places at night. Some tools and supplies from your monthly outdoor subscription boxes can always come in handy to set up a shelter. Make sure always to bring them along.
Depending on the material available, one’s location, and the primary tools at hand, one can quickly build a survival shelter. Here, we talk about the best survival shelters:
- The Tarp Shelter
Suppose one has a tarpaulin sheet, a sheet of plastic, and some cordage or ropes with them. Then they can quickly make for a tarp shelter. There are various tarp shelter plans like a basic A-Frame tarp shelter, Ground Tarp Sheet, and Half Box Shelter. The tarp shelter is relatively easier to build and great for large groups. Still, it provides inadequate protection from wind and rain and can easily break from falling objects. It is also futile against animal attacks.
Source: Pixabay
- Hammock Survival Shelter
Hammocks are ideal shelters for warm, wet climates. They are effective if they swarm with spiders, snakes, and other insects and in jungle situations. Different materials can be used to build a hammock. It can be nylon ropes, thick bed sheets, tarps, among others. It is a variation of the tarp tent just off the ground. However, it cannot provide decent protection from other elements.
- Fallen Tree Shelter
A fallen tree shelter relies on one being able to find a fallen tree. However, it is easily adaptable to any situation. One can use the tree in multiple ways, such as draping a tarp over a fallen tree to make a tent. Or one can also bolster debris around the tree to act as a sheltering wall. If the weather is too cold, one can also use debris to block off the entrance. It is excellent for protection from elements like snow, and one can easily make it. First, however, one needs to ward off bugs that can creep around from the rotting log.
Source: Pixabay
- Snow Shelter
Suppose a person stands in a snowy environment like high elevation mountains. Then they have no other option but to build their shelter composed entirely of ice and snow. Snow shelters can be of various kinds, such as a Quinzhee, Snow Cave, and Igloo.
- A Quinzhee is a large pile of snow hollowed out to create living space.
- A snow cave, if constructed correctly, is a great shelter to survive freezing temperatures.
- An igloo is mainly composed of ice rather than snow. However, building an igloo requires some tools to break apart and create ice blocks and is time-consuming.
- Leaf Hut
A leaf but is a wilderness shelter that provides warmth by trapping a person’s body heat. One can effortlessly construct it with their bare hands and materials readily available in the wild like sticks, leaves, grass, and other dry materials. If suitably built, it can hold most of one’s body heat and keep one dry. However, leaf huts easily camouflage with the surroundings, and search parties can quickly lose sight of it.
Source: Pixabay
The Bottom Line
Building a survival shelter is the no. 1 survival priority for anyone lost in the wild or caught in a storm. So, being aware of creating a survival shelter is something any wildlife or outdoor enthusiast should know. Besides making a shelter, one should know what areas to pick up to build a shelter and which areas to avoid. For example, it is advisable to avoid areas where the ground is damp, mountaintops, or open ridges where the person can be exposed to cold winds and avoid ravines where water runs when it rains.
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