Sep 12
27
Shelter picture
We posted on our Facebook page:
Robert Cheever posted this picture below, what do you think? He said “Wasn’t the best shelter ever, but it was better than sleeping without anything over your head.”
Some comments we received:
Comment #1: Honestly, depends on where and season. Personally, I’d never build a shelter that big – that offers no real protection from weather, other than having a very thin covering over your head. And a fire, even a small one, right inside the shelter, asking for trouble. But I guess it can depend on where you are, what the weather is like and what tools you have on hand. I spend my time camping in the mountains where the temperature can get close to freezing at night so you don’t want a lot of space in the shelter as it’s just more air you have to heat up with your own body temperature.
Comment #2: I like it…it’s a simple and quick “Wickiup Shelter”. This is an idea shelter for most elements except prolonged rain…and if you heap insulation along the bottom it’s good for chilly night’s….and as far as the fire…it is small and manageable.. a Wickiup is designed to be used with a fire inside it just like a Wigwam or Tepee.
Comment #3: Shelters, aren’t always for protection from elements, or warding off cold. It’s psychological too. You feel better outdoors, with something that obscures you, surrounds you, and provides a “spot” for you to return to on excursions. I would say… job well done. may need some adjustments to weather protect given the climate/situation, but those are resolved with practice, and experience. as for the poles… I often wonder why people point out the obvious? Lol… I think it’s cool, he used the extra gear as reference. You could easily makeshift the same set up, using cast off supplies found/scavenged. Remember, not ALL survival, means… ” primitive wilderness” survival.
Comment #4: A tube tent or a simple lean-to would have been much easier to build. This looks like a project for more than one person to build and definitely would take longer than 20 minutes. I agree, it puts something over your head but as one previous poster mentioned, if you have the room for the cooking tripod and pots, you have room for a shelter. If this was to be a long term shelter then sure, spend all kinds of time building it. If it was for a short term immediate shelter issue, you expend far more energy gathering materials, preparing those materials as is trimming, cutting, etc and building it than it would take to just whip out a sheet of plastic, duct tape, wire ties and some 550 cord to make a lean-to.
Comment #5: Looks decent enough depending on the climate, regarding the fire: I would move it out a little further and then build a reflector with small logs to reflect warmth into the shelter if it’s purpose is to warm it, if the fire is just for cooking/light move it out more anyway, there are however other shelter designs that allow for inside fires and smoke escape, worth looking into… If you allow for a SAFE fire and are building for more than an immediate short term need, you can build bigger as you won’t have to worry about heating with body heat…
