The 7 Most Efficient Shelters for Survival

How Important is a Shelter in a Survival Situation?

A shelter can protect you from the sun, insects, wind, rain, snow, hot or cold temperatures, and undesirable observation from others. It can give you a feeling of well-being and help you maintain your will to survive.

In some areas, your need for shelter may take precedence over your need for food and possibly even your need for water. For example, prolonged exposure to cold can cause excessive fatigue and weakness (exhaustion) in a very short time.  If in doubt about the importance of shelter, remember the “Rule of Threes”: You can survive 3 minutes without air, 3 days without water, 3 weeks without food, and in extreme, harsh environments – only 3 hours without shelter.

Selecting the Site

When you are in a survival situation and realize that shelter is a high priority, start looking for shelter as soon as possible. As you do so, remember what you will need at the site.

Avoid:

1. Flash flood areas in foothills.

2. Avalanche or rockslide areas in mountainous terrain.

3. Sites near bodies of water that are below the high-water mark.

The 7 Most Efficient Shelters for Survival

1.Learn To Shelter

The Lean-To is one of the most basic shelters you can set up. It doesn’t take long to get this shelter built, and you don’t need a lot of resources to prepare it either. It’s the ultimate low-maintenance shelter that is perfect for those situations where you don’t want to spend too much time or energy to keep yourself safe. As its name suggests, the lean-to is made by leaning several branches against a solid support.

To get this shelter built, you’ll first want to find a long, solid branch or pole. You can then place this pole between a pair of trees. Then you simply have to line up several other branches along one side of the pole to form a wall. You can add leaves or grasses over the top of this wall for extra protection and insulation.

The lean-to won’t keep you particularly warm or safe, and it needs to be built with the wall in the right area, otherwise the rain and wind will be coming into your face.

2.Tarp Hammock

If you’re in a wet or bug-infested area, it’s nice to have a shelter that keeps your body away from the ground. In addition, the tarp hammock is very easy to set up, so you won’t need to waste a lot of time getting it ready. This hammock can even keep you safe against other animals like snakes. We recommend spraying some bug repellent around the lines to make it even more effective.

To prepare your tarp hammock, you’ll need a simple tarp and some rope or cord. Put the tarp flat on the ground and then roll one of the longer sides in towards the center. Do the same on the side so that the two edges meet in the middle. Next, tie some cord or rope at each end, leaving plenty free to tie around the trees.

Try to find some strong-looking trees that are about ten feet apart. Tie your hammock around them, using half hitch knots for extra stability. Remember to tie the hammock quite high up, as it will sink a little when you climb into it. If you have an extra tarp, tie it above your hammock as a roof.

3. Leaf Hut

It has pretty good insulating and weatherproofing qualities that can save your life during a crisis. This wedge-shaped, two-sided lean-to should be approximately 10 feet in length.

Line up thick sticks on two sides of a stump or rock, and then like a lean-to, fill in the gaps between the sticks with mud, grass, pine needles, or leaves. It’s important that you place the sticks close together so that your “filler” doesn’t leak through into your sleeping area. If you’re in an area that’s experiencing high wind, then add a layer of twigs or sticks over the entire structure to prevent the vegetation from being stripped away.

4. Round Lodge

The round lodge is a basic, effective design that can keep you safe against all of the elements, as well as offering good protection against animals and other threats. You can even start up a fire in this type of shelter, provided you make it large enough. Before preparing your own round lodge, you’ll need to gather a lot of long branches.

Making the round lodge is simple. Stand up the branches in a circular pattern, with each branch meeting the others in the middle, remembering to leave a gap at the front for you to get in and out. Dig the bases of the branches into the ground slightly for a bit of extra stability and security. Add grass or leaves over the roof and walls for extra insulation.

5. Ramada Sun Shelter

If you’re in a sunny area, shelter might not seem as important, but it’s still vital to keep yourself protected from the sun’s rays. Shade is your ally in these areas, as issues like dehydration and sunstroke can quickly arise if you spend too much time in sunny spots. A ramada is built with a flat roof to provide a barrier between your skin and the sun’s UV rays. The good thing about this shelter is its versatility; you can use a variety of materials to make the roof.

To prepare a Ramada, Simply dig four posts into the ground and then place the roof over the top. Use a tarp or mat as the roof, tying it into place with rope or cord, or find some large leaves and balance them in place with extra branches and supports. This is an ideal shelter to set up in desert environments.

6. Quinzee Snow Shelter

This is a snow-based shelter formed in the shape of a dome, quite like an igloo. The great advantage of the quinzee is that it can be prepared with almost any kind of snow.

To make a quinzee, bundle your gear together in a ball, and wrap it up with a tarp. Then pack snow all around the tarp, continuing until the snow is about two feet in thickness. Gather around thirty or forty similarly-sized sticks, with each one being about a foot in length, and insert them all around the dome.

Finally, dig your way into the dome and get your gear out. Get inside the dome yourself and carefully excavate outwards until you see the bottoms of your sticks. Do this for every stick to ensure that your dome is balanced all the way around.

7. Natural Shelters

The most energy-saving method is to use the natural shelter provided by geological formations.Examples of natural shelters include caves, rocky crevices, clumps of bushes, small depressions, large rocks on leeward sides of hills, large trees with low-hanging limbs, and fallen trees with thick branches. However, when selecting a natural formation:

1.Stay away from low ground such as ravines, narrow valleys, or creek beds. Low areas collect the heavy cold air at night and are therefore colder than the surrounding high ground. Thick, brushy, low ground also harbors more insects.

2. Check for poisonous snakes, ticks, mites, scorpions, and stinging ants.

3. Look for loose rocks, dead limbs, coconuts, or other natural growth than could fall on your shelter.

Source: nwtoutfitters.com  & Tim MacWelch