A shelter can protect you from the sun, insects, wind, rain, snow, and hot or cold temperatures. It can give you a feeling of well-being and in extreme circumstances can 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). An exhausted person may develop a "passive" outlook, thereby losing the will to survive.

The most common error in making a shelter is to make it too large. A shelter must be large enough to protect you. It must also be small enough to contain your body heat, especially in cold climates.  

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. Two requisites are: -

1. It must contain material to make the type of shelter you need.
2. It must be large enough and level enough for you to lie down comfortably.

You must also consider whether the site: -

1. Provides protection against wild animals and rocks and dead trees that might fall.

2. Is free from insects, reptiles, and poisonous plants.

You must also remember the problems that could arise in your environment. For instance: -

Avoid flash flood areas in foothills.

Avoid avalanche or rockslide areas in mountainous terrain.

Avoid sites near bodies of water that are below the high water mark.

In some areas, the season of the year has a strong bearing on the site you select.

Ideal sites for a shelter differ in winter and summer.

During cold winter months you will want a site that will protect you from the cold and wind, but will have a source of fuel and water.

During summer months in the same area you will want a source of water, but you will want the site to be almost insect free.

When considering shelter site selection, use the word BLISS as a guide.

B - Blend in with the surroundings.

L - Low silhouette.

I - Irregular shape.

S - Small.

S - Secluded location.

When looking for a shelter site, keep in mind the type of shelter (protection) you need. However, you must also consider: -

1. How much time and effort you need to build the shelter.
2. If the shelter will adequately protect you from the elements (sun, wind, rain, snow).
3. If you have the tools to build it. If not, can you make improvised tools?
4. If you have the type and amount of materials needed to build it.

To answer these questions, you need to know how to make various types of shelters and what materials you need to make them.

These are some of the many types of shelters that can be constructed using limited materials.

With all shelters, to reduce heat loss to the ground, place some type of insulating material, such as leaves or pine needles, inside your shelter.

Note: When at rest, you lose as much as 80 percent of your body heat to the ground.

For warmth and ease of construction, this shelter is one of the best. When shelter is essential to survival, build this shelter.

Build it by making a tripod with two short stakes and a long ridgepole or by placing one end of a long ridgepole on top of a sturdy base.

Secure the ridgepole (pole running the length of the shelter) using the tripod method or by anchoring it to a tree at about waist height.

Prop large sticks along both sides of the ridgepole to create a wedge-shaped ribbing effect. Ensure the ribbing is wide enough to accommodate your body and steep enough to shed moisture.

Place finer sticks and brush crosswise on the ribbing. These form a latticework that will keep the insulating material (grass, pine needles, leaves) from falling through the ribbing into the sleeping area.

Add light, dry, if possible, soft debris over the ribbing until the insulating material is at least 1 meter thick--the thicker the better.

Place a 30cm layer of insulating material inside the shelter.

At the entrance, pile insulating material that you can drag to you once inside the shelter to close the entrance or build a door.

As a final step in constructing this shelter, add shingling material or branches on top of the debris layer to prevent the insulating material from blowing away in a storm.

This tent provides a low silhouette. It also protects you from the elements on two sides. To make this tent, you need a groundsheet, Rope, six sharpened sticks about 30cm long, and two trees 2 to 3 meters apart.

Tie the rope at about knee height to two trees 2 to 3 meters apart and fold the groundsheet over it.

Use two shorter pieces of rope to stretch each end of the groundsheet towards each tree.

Draw one side of the groundsheet out and secure it to the ground pushing sharpened sticks through. Alternatively you can use small stones if available.

Follow the same procedure on the other side.

A short branch can be used as a centre support if required.

A one-man shelter you can easily make using a groundsheet or large piece of plastic as a canopy. It requires a tree and three poles, one of which should be about 4.5 meters long and the other two about 3 meters long.

Secure the 4.5 meter pole to the tree at about waist height.

Lay the two 3 meter poles on the ground on either side of and in the same direction as the 4.5 meter pole.

Lay the folded canopy over the 4.5 meter pole so that about the same amount of material hangs on both sides.

Tuck the excess material under the 3-meter poles, and spread it on the ground inside to serve as a floor.

Stake down or put a spreader between the two 3-meter poles at the shelter's entrance so they will not slide inward.

Use any excess material to cover the entrance.

The groundsheet makes this shelter wind resistant, and the shelter is small enough that it is easily warmed. A candle, used carefully, can keep the inside temperature comfortable.

If you are in a wooded area and have enough natural materials, you can make a lean-to like the one shown below without the aid of tools or with only a knife. It takes longer to make this type of shelter than it does to make other types, but it will protect you from the elements.

1. You will need two trees (or upright poles) about 2 meters apart;
2. one pole about 2 meters long and 2.5 centimetres in diameter;
3. five to eight poles about 3 meters long and 2.5 centimetres in diameter for beams;
4. cord or vines for securing the horizontal support to the trees;
5. and other poles, saplings, or vines to crisscross the beams.

Tie the 2-meter pole to the two trees at waist to chest height. This is the horizontal support. If a standing tree is not available, construct a biped using Y-shaped sticks or two tripods.

Place one end of the beams (3-meter poles) on one side of the horizontal support. As with all lean-to type shelters, be sure to place the lean-to's backside into the wind.

Crisscross saplings or vines on the beams.

Cover the framework with brush, leaves, pine needles, or grass, starting at the bottom and working your way up like shingling.

Place straw, leaves, pine needles, or grass inside the shelter for bedding.

In cold weather, add to your lean-to's comfort by building a fire reflector wall. Drive four 1.5-meter-long stakes into the ground to support the wall. Stack green logs on top of one another between the support stakes. Form two rows of stacked logs to create an inner space within the wall that you can fill with dirt. This action not only strengthens the wall but makes it more heat reflective. Bind the top of the support stakes so that the green logs and dirt will stay in place.

Natural formations can provide excellent shelter. Examples are 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: -

• 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 harbours more insects.

• Check for poisonous snakes, ticks, mites, etc etc....

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

With all shelters it is VERY important to remember to make sure that no evidence is left of your stay. Make sure that any natural materials that you used to make your shelter are returned to where you found them. 

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