Debris Shelter builders unite!

[the_alias]

Inspired by dogbane's threadon Shelter pron I was pretty darn envious of his debris shelters in there. So today I managed to get out into the woods and had a crack at trying my own hand, have made some before but not this type. I only got half-way and hope to work on it tomorrow after work.

I hope this thread can be a place to share tips on different types of debris shelter and show off. Maybe we can even put together some instructional info for the ZSS Feed.

So yes my rather lame first attempt.


Starting out



How I left it today!


Me with my CS Bushman that I was putting through it's paces today. It worked pretty darn well to be honest.

[dogbane]

Looks good! That design is what Roger Daltrey made in the bushcraft episode of Extreme History. He said you couldn't get too rowdy with a woman in there or you'd be bumping your arse on the ceiling. The debris shelter that I made was made partly with fallen leaves collected from my yard and my neighbor's yard, so I had an unnatural advantage in making it well-insulated. That shelter is now a major component of my compost pile!

I have a friend who once made a really good one against a boulder in an Alabama deciduous forest. It was on a hill, so the shelter blended right into the contour and was made with leaves gathered from the surrounding forest floor. It was practically invisible and had to be pointed out to me as I walked past it.

[HITMAN13]

This totally brings me back to my youth. Wilderness Survival merit badge = WIN!

[Storm Crow]

When it comes time to start really insulating it, don't forget to put a thick layer down on the ground. The more you can isolate yourself from the ground, the warmer you'll be. Also, the tighter the sheleter is around you, i.e. the less room for getting wild with a woman , the warmer. You can also make a nice door for these shelters by taking green branches and weaving them into a grid, or coiling them into a spiral.

Not that I'm an expert on debris shelter building, but I did take a class on them once.

Have fun with your Bushman! In the primitive skills group I'm with, a lot of people bought them when they had a sale of three for $30, so it's kind of like our unofficial knife.

[Lucretius]

Nice work!

In the woods around here, people have put up a lot of similar shelters. Odds are I'm better off finding one those abandoned, rather than spending the time and work to build a new one...

My point? I'm really grateful for you guys building these things...

[dogbane]

When it comes time to start really insulating it, don't forget to put a thick layer down on the ground.

Big plus one to that.

[dogbane]

Repost from other thread:

Say, look at that there pile of leaves.

Waitaminnit, that's not just any ordinary pile of leaves....It's...it's...a debris shelter!

Got the construction idea from Tom Brown's Outdoor Survival Skills book. I had one in my woods back in TN, but a wife's relative, who was a neighbor and a local, convinced that no city boy like me could build a blind that good, assumed it was a poacher's blind and tore it apart. The one pictured is now part of my compost project and the site has been improved to accommodate a tent.

You can see that I hadn't filled it with leaves yet and the floor lacks the insulation Storm Crow mentioned. Once I had dumped a few bags of white oak leaves in there, it became quite cozy.

Expect them to get buggy over time.

[the_alias]

Oh yeah if this was not a practice one then a good bough bedding would be on the ground. It's saved my ass before when winter camping!
So far from just today I've learnt to gather materials first then start building so you aren't wandering around fussing over bits. Though where I was did have lots of debris and I had to barely cut anything. Hopefully I can find some green boughs and cover it with that, again in a real situation it would need the leaf/humus debris to be truly insulating. I hope to try a few other types of debris shelter out soon.

And yes the Bushman is pretty darn good for that it is, though I may take my gransfors next time hehe

[Bubba Enfield]

Good job. More folks should try things out instead of reading about it. Here's a tip: it's easier to put your ground insulation in first, than to try and cram it in when you're done. Also, if you expect rain or cold, the debris on the top should be about as deep as your arm.

And think about marking your site in some way. Debris huts have a tendency to disappear. I've been within a few feet of mine at dusk and not seen it right away.

[DOOMCREW]

Repost from other thread:

Say, look at that there pile of leaves.

Waitaminnit, that's not just any ordinary pile of leaves....It's...it's...a debris shelter!

Got the construction idea from Tom Brown's Outdoor Survival Skills book. I had one in my woods back in TN, but a wife's relative, who was a neighbor and a local, convinced that no city boy like me could build a blind that good, assumed it was a poacher's blind and tore it apart. The one pictured is now part of my compost project and the site has been improved to accommodate a tent.

You can see that I hadn't filled it with leaves yet and the floor lacks the insulation Storm Crow mentioned. Once I had dumped a few bags of white oak leaves in there, it became quite cozy.

Expect them to get buggy over time.

Awesome camo job. Most wouldn't take a second look at that. Just be careful with the campfire since your "siding" is made of tinder. Lol.

[Y.T.]

these are so very cool. I've seen similar structures in videos, but it's so impressive to see "regular" folks actually being able to build them.

you lucky people with your "trees" and "leaves" and such.

[dogbane]

these are so very cool. I've seen similar structures in videos, but it's so impressive to see "regular" folks actually being able to build them.

you lucky people with your "trees" and "leaves" and such.

A friend of mine who was in Sonora teaching a screenwriter survival skills used dead saguaro skeletons and yucca to make debris shelters. Of course, they soon discovered that the saguaros were full of scorpions.

[Real_Ale_Act]

Those are very cool indeed. California live oak and dry golden grassland do not offer much help for constructing something like that.

the_alias, I noticed that you actually do bear a passing resemblance to your avatar, except for the haircut

[Y.T.]

A friend of mine who was in Sonora teaching a screenwriter survival skills used dead saguaro skeletons and yucca to make debris shelters. Of course, they soon discovered that the saguaros were full of scorpions.

*L* scorpions, yes. and spiders.

it's not uncommon for people here to use dead saguaro, yucca, or cholla for fencing or even patio roofing. however coming across these is rare, let alone finding an amount large enough to make a shelter. doing so probably requires a lot of energy expenditure as well, since you may be hunting for them over a largish area and in the heat.

If you're collecting them over time to do so or are fortunate enough to know a natural stash it's feasible. but it's not the same as walking through the woods plentiful with branches and being able to put together a shelter right then and there. it's one of those things I'd like to learn at some point though.

[spacecase0]

so I guess you just build a new one when it gets full of bugs...
or is letting it freeze over night enough in the winter ?

[the_alias]

I look a bit like Thoreau? Awesome! Thanks Real_Ale!

Arg I've not had a chance to get back out and finish it due to being ill (swine flu possibly but meh) I reckon it's probably full of bugs or been bust up. Will find out when recovered.

I've always seen these kind of shelters as 2 night deals at max, I think would look to create a more comfortable setup for longer periods of time. Maybe like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsbSMplJ6g4. Which I aim to have a crack at soon.

[Real_Ale_Act]

[quote="the_alias"]I look a bit like Thoreau? Awesome! Thanks Real_Ale!
quote]

But do yourself a favor and don't try to sport the neck beard. You could get away with tomcat whiskers/muttonchops though.

Sorry, all. /derail

[the_alias]

I look a bit like Thoreau? Awesome! Thanks Real_Ale!
quote]

But do yourself a favor and don't try to sport the neck beard. You could get away with tomcat whiskers/muttonchops though.

Sorry, all. /derail

Don't worry I shaved, though mutton chops eh... hmmm!

[Bubba Enfield]

so I guess you just build a new one when it gets full of bugs...
or is letting it freeze over night enough in the winter ?

Actually, it starts out full of bugs. Smudge the inside after it's built if you're squeamish. Of course, you could just make peace with your insect buddies; trust me, it can be done.

[tails359]

Heres a couple pics I dug up. This was, Gods, six or seven years ago I think. I took my buddy Chris out to teach him some survival skills, Ive been into it sense early high school. When Im with a buddy making these huts, I like to have them connected at a common tree. This way the entrances are next to each other so we can talk. A single fire with a reflector will warm both huts nicely. Ah, the good old days...

[the_alias]

Winter is here, went out yesterday and today and made half a shelter. It is unfinished as I'm not sure on the laws regarding cutting stuff hence no spruce boughs added but practice is practice. Made this with no cutting and from stuff on the ground. Some paracord did the lashings. Enjoy.


Bed, loads of spruce boughs would go in here to provide insulation.


Crossbar up, yes it is wonky I know!


Back side, how I left it.


Front side. Again would use more wood and boughs to properly insulate the shelter and a length way fire in front with a reflector.

Good fun.

[Tetra Grammaton Cleric]

Awesome stuff.

-

[Dak Kovar]

Very cool shelters guys. When I was 16 a friend and I, on a lark, thought we could walk over a mountain....at night, to go see these girls we knew. We got to about 7K feet and ran out of steam about 12mi. short of where we were going. We were COLD, hungry and tired. The wind came up and I knew we were in trouble as both of us were already shivering and it was just getting colder.

We dug a couple of shallow 'graves' in the deep pine needle bed under the trees. We put some dead fall branches over the holes and covered them with huge piles of pine needles and crawled in. I remember that I was very cold but the shivering stopped after a bit. I dozed off and on for a few hours. We both decided that we had enough just as it was starting to get light enough to move cross country (short cut) to get off the mountain. After getting out of the wind/cold for that little time and dozing a bit I felt good enough that it was a quick and easy run off of the mountain. When we got to the bottom and looked back up to where we were we both said,"Well that was fucking dumb." and laughed. The whole thing was a very bad idea but I learned a lot.

DK

[AZMedic]

This totally brings me back to my youth. Wilderness Survival merit badge = WIN!

I loved doing this for that badge. After I got it I would make one the first day of Boy Scout Camp. My leaders told the younger kids no you cannot use his.

Made that sucker a multiple room shelter after day 2.