What are Survival Shelters?
Temporary shelters that can be built in emergencies, often by a single person, are known as survival shelters. These structures can improve your likelihood of survival in situations where you are stranded away from home, in the wilderness, or in a distant area. They’ll serve as your survival headquarters, where you can store your water, food, as well as crucial survival gear.
Why Is Shelter Important for Survival?
Although some people may perceive shelter as a luxury, it is a fundamental physiological requirement, just like food and water. As a matter of fact, establishing a secure shelter should be made a priority even before seeking out food and water, as it provides protection from unforeseeable and unmanageable circumstances.
In case you find yourself lost in the wilderness or face a catastrophic event, you might not be able to reach a secure destination the very same day. It is vital to have a means of shelter to protect yourself from harsh conditions and exposure in such an emergency. Moreover, your shelter will offer additional defense against predators, pests, insects, and snakes.
Common Types of Survival Shelters
While this list certainly isn’t exhaustive, it does represent the most common styles and types of survival shelters for both short- and long-term survival. With each one, we’ll make sure we cover what they’re made out of, how to build it, and any tools or other equipment that you may need to accomplish the build.
Bough Bed
A survival shelter may not always be necessary, but a comfortable resting spot can be. Those who are comfortable sleeping outdoors can opt for a bough bed, made from evergreen boughs, grass, leaves, moss, and other soft materials.
Place two logs parallelly on the ground, keeping them about 3 feet apart. Stuff the gap between them with branches of different sizes, laying them in multiple layers. Incorporating the branches in clusters not just improves the cushioning of the bed but also offers enhanced protection against the chilly ground.
Tarp Tipi
With just a handful of poles, some of your own cordage, and a bit of time, it’s possible to construct a fairly strong tarp tipi that provides protection from various elements such as rain, wind, and sun. Because the tipi can be built using a variety of materials and tied together quickly, it is incredibly versatile and can be set up easily.
Tie together long and straight poles at one end using cordage, allowing them to spread out at the opposite end. Keep adding poles in a circular manner until you have formed the walls of the tipi. Then, wrap the tarp around it and secure it at the top by tying it. For a door, keep a flap open at the bottom.
Wickiup
The wickiup shares similarities with the tipi, but has a broader shape, shorter height, and a bigger entryway. Though they are known to be popular in the southwest, they can also be discovered globally. For its construction, it is necessary to commence with a few poles, preferably those that come with forked ends.
Create a tripod by placing the forks of the first poles together, and then lean additional poles onto it. As more poles are added, the structure will become sturdy enough to be covered with grasses, leaves, or a tarp. In damp climates, it may be beneficial to use thick moss blankets as insulation and to soak up excess moisture.
Snow Cave
The Offgrid Recoil features a winter shelter snow cave for the USMC.
In locations with considerable snowfall, constructing winter survival shelters that are not made of snow can prove ineffective. This is where the snow cave becomes essential. Even though it is the most hazardous type of shelter one can create in the snow, it may be one’s only hope in a dire situation.
A solid and extremely deep snow bank is required to form a “cold well” by digging into its side to capture the cold air. The next step is to excavate over and across the well to construct a spacious platform to sleep on. It is important to make sure that this platform is the highest point of the shelter, so that all the warm air is gathered there.
It is important to create a small ventilation hole, with a diameter of only 6 inches, somewhere in the roof when building a snow cave, especially if you plan to seal the entrance once inside.
Quinzee
Creating a quinzhee is very easy and it is one of the most basic snow structures. Its shape resembles a dome like an igloo, but it is shorter and simpler to build. Unlike an igloo that needs a particular amount of snow, you can make a quinzee with almost any kind of packable snow.
To construct a quinzee, begin by stacking your equipment in a heap under a tarp. Any backpacks, rucksacks, or coolers you have available can be utilized. Following that, cover the tarp with snow and compress it as tightly as you can. You’ll need at least two feet of snow to remove some of it.
Place 12-inch sticks along the perimeter to indicate when you’ve dug 12 inches from the interior. Proceed to dig into the structure and remove snow towards the exterior until you have approached all of the markers. Create a ventilation hole in the middle of the roof and your task is complete.
Ramada
The ramada is a straightforward construction that is suitable for warmer, sunny climates where slight shading is needed to shield the locals. Its uncomplicated design comprises four poles and a flat, rectangular roof. It may not provide shelter from a sudden downpour, but it could be perfect when stranded in a tropical or arid area with high temperatures and scarce rainfall.
After installing the corner beams, the roof can be built using a wide variety of materials. Frequently, branches are utilized to frame out the roof and then covered with a tarp to offer essential protection against harsh weather conditions. If needed, walls can be incorporated, but they must be detachable to permit the circulation of fresh air during the day.
Round Lodge
Round lodges are a fusion of diverse cultures that incorporate features from both wickiups and tipis, ultimately resulting in a functional shelter that provides protection from wind, rain, snow, and sun. Although the construction process resembles that of a tipi, a round lodge has a firm entrance made by fastening horizontal supports in between two of the upright poles, sustaining a fixed distance between them.
To ensure proper ventilation for the campfire, a hole should be kept in the center of the peak while installing the poles for constructing the structure. After the poles are in place, the sides of the structure can be covered with materials such as grass, leaves, or mats. For a better degree of insulation and camouflage, it can even be buried under the surrounding debris and forest litter.
How to Build a Survival Shelter (Short Term)
1. Debris Shelter
A shelter that can be built quickly and easily for short-term survival is the debris shelter, which utilizes forest floor waste to offer insulation and protection from natural elements. Various methods can be employed to build this kind of shelter, but one may construct it in 10-15 minutes through the use of a solitary ridgepole approach.
One can prop a ridge pole, which is approximately twice the length of their body, onto a tree stump or insert it into the Y of a tree to secure it. Once secured, smaller sticks can be used to line each side.
By utilizing leaves, moss, dry grasses, and even dried soil, you can commence stacking debris at the bottom of your shelter and continue layering it upwards. The objective is to encompass your whole shelter with debris, except for a small entrance to enter through.
To effectively retain body heat and maintain warmth, the debris shelter should not be excessively roomy for survival purposes. It is best to have a confined and insulated space.
2. Leanto
The use of a ridgepole is what sets the leanto apart from other shelters. Mastering the technique of fastening a ridgepole to two trees positioned approximately 7 feet apart requires proficiency in working with cordage.
Essentially, the leanto consists of a group of sticks propped up against the ridge pole at an angle of 40-50 degrees. These sticks can be reinforced to form a solitary wall according to your preference. Personally, I prefer to interlace cordage through the sticks and then insert materials such as pine boughs into the interlacing to enhance its resistance against elements like wind and rain.
One of the first things to learn in building a survival shelter is constructing a leanto.
3. Fallen Tree Shelter
On occasion, one may come across a strong fallen tree by chance. This tree is a natural ridgepole that does not require any cutting. By placing sticks along each side, a basic A-frame shelter can be constructed for temporary use.
The shelter from the fallen tree almost constructs on its own. You can readily waterproof the shelter by covering it with a tarp, provided that you have one.
Be sure that you give the tree some kind of stress test before curling up underneath it. You need to make sure that if you stand on the fallen tree that it will not crack further and crash down on you in the middle of the night.
For maximum overhead space, build the shelter near the stump or the root system.
How to Build a Survival Shelter (Long Term)
4. Teepee
The teepee, a remarkable dwelling that provides ample headspace and can even accommodate a fire, served as the preferred habitat for prairie Indigenous tribes who roamed in pursuit of grazing animals. It was intended for people on the move, and thus, can be disassembled and reconstructed elsewhere.
My top choice for a permanent shelter is due to its mobility feature. If you plan to live in the forest for an extended period, you may have to relocate to various spots throughout the year.
When attempting to signal for rescue, being able to relocate to different positions can be advantageous, and this ability may also prove useful for increasing your chances of being rescued.
5. Rock Shelter
On occasion, nature may offer you a long-term shelter without any effort on your part. It’s not only the shelter made from a fallen tree that is useful. Occasionally, rock formations can merge in a manner that creates overhead and wind protection.
Naturally, there are also caverns. It’s imperative to ascertain that you hold the title of the most perilous occupant within the cave. It’s unfavorable to settle in a cave only to find it occupied by a group of grey wolves. This is not a viable solution for the long haul.
Rock shelters must also be evaluated with regard to the possibility of fire. If the intensity of a fire is high, the heat can cause the rock at the top of the shelter to expand, and eventually rupture. In such an event, the rock could collapse onto anyone underneath.
6. In Ground A-Frame Shelter
Constructing a survival shelter can range from simple to intricate. This specific shelter may fall under the more complicated category.
Several methods for arranging sticks on both sides of a ridgepole to construct a basic A-frame shelter have been deliberated upon. Typically, these shelters serve as a temporary solution. Nonetheless, opt for an in-ground A-frame, and you’ll be employing a considerably more dependable material that will constitute a significant part of your shelter.
To stay in this shelter, it is necessary to excavate a space that is spacious enough to accommodate you, your belongings, and a sleeping area. The excavation should be around 2-3 feet deep, but it won’t serve as the entire shelter. You will have to construct an A-shaped frame over the pit using a ridge pole.
Living in a shelter where approximately one-third of it is beneath the ground provides some degree of climate regulation as compared to living solely above the earth’s surface.
It is possible for the ridgepole to have a lower height as you will be climbing down into your shelter. Additionally, the in-ground A-frame is an excellent option for a hidden shelter due to its height being less than a standard A-frame or leanto, making it easy to conceal.
