Basic Expedient Shelters

[mitunnelrat]

Having just come in from my first full bugout drill a few days ago - a 24 hour trip - Since my tent is in for warranty repair, I had the pleasure of also building my first expedient shelter. I may have overbuilt it



The components I packed in can be seen here, excepting an emergency poncho I used to keep my gear dry.


I also made use of natural materials, including snow for insulation


The manmade materials came from a nearby pile, a good thing to watch for

All in all, it did pretty well. The length was just a bit beyond my height, and the widest point gave me just enough room for my pack and entrance.

So, I've shown you mine. Wanna show me your's?

[The Stig]

How long did you stay in it?

How warm was it?

Great tip on using man-made items to augment nature.

That is really cool, by the way. Thanks for sharing it with us.

[mitunnelrat]

It was a very warm setup. Enough so that I slept pretty soundly for a full 8 hours, and woke to find the snow I packed around it had almost all melted away. Being used to a tent I was hesitant to do this, but I enjoyed it enough I'll do it again. Hopefully with a more efficient use of my resources.

[RedJohn]

This is cool.

[mitunnelrat]

Thank you, to both of you!

[The Stig]

Quick question: how do you keep creepy crawlies and other critters out of this?

Being in the snow helps with the bugs I'm assuming but I've been thinking about Mississippi fire-ants, snakes and other crawling crap ending up in my sleeping bag. I don't find that a pleasant thought. Yes, I am a wuss.

[mitunnelrat]

The shelter's pretty wide open, so there isn't much that can be done with that, but I do know nothing but a deer came within yards of my tent. I checked the snow for tracks the next morning because I'm a wuss about it myself, and was curious. The goretex outer shell on the MSS closes up pretty well though, and one idea I've had is sewing a mesh panel in - with velcro tear offs - to seal it completely from bugs and snakes.

[Kodiak]

That is awesome, some day i hope to get my lazy but in gear and do something similar. And i like the idea of doing it in winter where you actually have to put some effort into it. Anyone can go out in the woods when its warm and spend a night, but when its cold out thats a different story.

[x-cop]

Our group is doing another cold weather bug out drill soon

[chicom]

Summer




Winter (taken under construction, since been completed.)