Posts tagged shelter
I'd like to try tarp camping. 3m x 3m (9ft x 9ft) and 3m x 4m (9ft x 12ft) tarps of differing material are plentiful and many are even affordable. Which tarp shape is more versatile in the number...
Last weekend I spent a night in an igloo. The event was organised by professionals (it was a company retreat) and during the night there was always one of the guides awake making rounds and checkin...
My girlfriend and I both like sleeping in hammocks in the outdoors. We now sleep in two separate hammocks. However, I've seen many hammocks that are designed, or at least make it possible to sleep ...
This question asks what the downsides are to hammock camping, but doesn't really address the reasons why you would want to sleep in a hammock to camp. Let's say I'm backpacker new to the idea of s...
Cedar is a great example of a log that makes a good log cabin foundation. Solid and naturally rot resistant. Are there other species' logs suitable as foundations in northeast USA? Rocks can also b...
I'm exploring primitive shelter building in northern cool temperate climates. I mean primitive as a compliment: the prime, first, original, indigenous, low-tech/base-tech. Things like the Haudenosa...
So I built my survival shelter and I decide a nice fire would really warm things up. Is there a way I can build a fire that would heat the shelter without too much smoke? I know I could make the sh...
If I want to build an igloo to keep me warm in a snowy climate, how can I go about this? What size blocks should I cut? How big should the entrance be? How can I mitigate the risk of the igloo co...
Inspired by a space blanket being included in emergency winter kits, I wonder if there's any rigorous study about whether these things actually work and in what ways to best use them. In my own ex...
Within the mountains (and other wilderness areas) of Västerbotten and Norrbotten in Sweden, there is a lot of cultural heritage, with Sami huts ("kåta") like Måskåsj-gammen or like this one between...
I was at an event this weekend and noticed that many of the portable canopies had weights on the legs. My Canopy has stakes and rope tie downs, but often the soil is not appropriate for these (to...
From this answer, -148 °F has been survived inside a snow cave, and this question is asking for the unadjusted temperature, which leads me to wonder how much the wind chill would matter. If you ha...
I'm interested in building a small Lincoln-log style cabin (more like a shed, <200 square feet) in hardiness zone 4/5 of northeast USA. Available timbers are mostly red spruce, some eastern heml...
I spent some time in a wigwam today, and due to the wind conditions, it was very difficult to keep the smoke out. Are there some tricks one can use in a situation like that to make the wigwam more...
I have been trekking nearly for a decade now and all those years I have never had a tent with me. It was roughly a couple of years ago, I bought my first tent. :-) I had always relied on natural ca...
Tangentially related to Pitching a tent in the rain? I want to know what the fastest way is for one person to setup a tarp as a big umbrella over a section of camp or as a leantoo for folks to gath...
I am going to be relocating to the Colorado desert for a long-term research project and need a portable shelter. The only one I've found so far that will conform to my needs in the turtle tuff shel...
Sometimes when mountaineering, there may be an emergency situation which leaves you in bad weather with no or damaged shelter (such as returning from a summit attempt or after a wild and crazy stor...
What would be the easiest type of shelter for a young kid to build, alone and with minimal tools, in a deep winter survival situation? For a kid 10-12 years old, carrying only a Swiss army-knife, ...
I'm in the process of designing a more functional "hood" to block UV / sun exposure and also provide shelter from rain. I believe that the best gear and products are developed by "looking to natur...
This may be better asked as two questions; if so, I will edit. The question is prompted by a section in Neanderthal Man: In Search of Lost Genomes by Svante Pääbo, who was the first to sequence Ne...
If you are sleeping in a rainstorm it would be warmer to sleep under a tarp, since otherwise you are going to get wet. It would be rather difficult to enclose a space with a tarp to the level that...
A snow saw is useful for building snow shelters and for avalanche danger testing. Some models are said to be easily attached to ski/trek poles in order to increase the handle length. Under what cir...
What is the best way for a trekking group of two to sleep in deep snow (meter or more). What equipment is to be brought? Preferably, the technique should work on shallow snow and plain frozen gro...
Since it's the season coming up for many (and snow seems to be in the game this year in eastern NA at least). What would be the best/optimal strategy with regards to breathing holes for a quinzee ...
I have recently discovered the lean-to, a shelter with three walls. It seems considered as a shelter with more proximity to the nature. I have some worries though, regarding the wind and the war...
I'm trying to figure out how busy the AT will be in early October in western Maine? We're looking to do a 6 day section and I'm trying to determine whether we need to carry a tent, or if we can ...
I am thinking about getting some tarp as a 1-person shelter for hiking this summer. There is a large choice of tarps on the market. The difference between them are often the size and the material i...
I have heard that a fire in a cave or under an overhang can cause a rock collapse, potentially injuring the occupant. Is this a real risk?
I've recently learned about tree tents such as Tentsile and while they certainly look interesting and fun, they seem to combine the drawbacks of hammocks (heat loss due to wind and need for trees) ...
In European campgrounds, it is common that there is a kitchen shelter with a freezer, where people who camp without electricity can freeze their ice packs, in order to subsequently use those with c...
So that I can have some spaces to wear Down or Fleece inside the jacket? Normally Large size shell is too large for me, or I should buy the same size so as fit as possible?
One recommendation I got in case of emergency or intentional sheltering in a snowy location is to dig a lower hole, so that the cold air can move there, while one can sleep higher up where the heat...
Say you are caught out without a tent in mild temperature conditions, e.g. moorland/woods. What material would you look for to make a good shelter roof out of?
