building shelter vs tents

[Tor helge]

I`ve slept in shelters made under and of trees. Some of them decent and some of them utter rubbish (aka waterproof as a sift).
But 98 percent of the time I use a tarp or a tent.
Takes a lot less time to erect a tent than to make a (good) shelter from the materials gathered in the woods.
Besides much of my trips are in the mountains, and there is not much materials to make shelter from up there anyway.

 

[vizsla]

Natural shelters all the way but i only build one when theres enough wood supplies around without disturbing the area too much

Not very good pics im afraid and the blue roll isnt mine!

Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk

 

[Tengu]

What would have our ancestors used?

 

[tinkers]

tarp and bivi for me most of the time, its just so quick to set up and take down. but if i know the weather has a good chance of turning real bad i will take a small tent.

 

[forestwalker]

To a large exgent it depends on how heavily used the area is. Up here in northern Sweden there is large areas where an occational shelter has a minimal impact on the land (fake unit: "impact/km^2"), and thus really is ok. In a heavilly used area I would not build a natural shelter unless I had to.

I figure I could build a ok natural shelter here in less than an hour, and a good one in a couple of hours (if I assume a wool blanket).

A basha, a tent or a hammock is quick, easy and leaves very little impact on the are we pass through. The overall impact of the nylon in my Hennessy, and the shipping all those components have gone through, is another issue. It might very well be the case that a summer of building a new shelter with cut spruce boughts every week has less impact on a global scale; I do not know.

 

[knifefan]

Tarp/basha all the time - light and adaptable - many many methods of pitching, and no condensation problems that u get with tents/bivi bags

 

[varavild]

I mostly use hammocks, I want to be off the ground if I can. I do test and build a lot of shelters using ropes and tarps though. And with tarps I mean everything that can keep the rain out. Here is a vid of me doing my Tarp Hammock / Cocoon Survival shelter. Very comfy and no impact. (even kept my rope intact

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ooqGVd1Xe4

 

[Scottishwanderer]

What would have our ancestors used?

Think it's possible to say for definite they would have used whatever was easiest, best or to hand but thats not the point.

They were living in these things for weeks at a time and most likely moving around a lot. So anything that would give shelter quickly such as a tarp or tent to enable them to hunt and gather for longer would be utilised.

For us it's a hobby we have the luxury of time.

 

[Wayland]

I think shelters can be disruptive to the natural environment, especially if they have involved cutting living wood. For this reason I think tents or tarps are a better choice on this small island of ours. If they have been built in a very large wild area, like some in Scotland, only involved dead tree and leaf material, and they are scrupulously dispersed after use (and not left standing as I have often seen the case) then I suppose it is OK.

That's pretty much how I feel but Snow shelters... Now that's another matter.

 

[leahcim]

wear a breathable rain suit, or get a Bivi bag. Cabela's XPG Bivi x-large bag is the size of a book, and you can sleep in a creek and stay dry. But if you want a dry shelter, look for cedar trees, or Cypress tress, and even thick fir or spruce trees, and crawl under them, and make a debris hut under it using the dead branches at bottom to stuff leaves. It is the quickest and driest shelter if you have that around and the neddles make for a soft sleep. But my way of doing thing, is wear ploarfleece, and rain suit that breathes with seal skin socks and gloves and you can sleep in pouring rain right on the ground. make your clothes the sleeping bag and the tent.

 

[charleslockerbie]

What would have our ancestors used?

Something like a tarp made from animal skins, i think

I tend to hammock, the last time i was in a tent i hated it, planed some nights in a natural shelter at the next NE scotland meet.

 

[Toddy]

We find loads of arcs of very small post holes. The interpretation is that they are the evidence for somekind of willow/hazel/alder windbreak style shelter, perhaps with a curved over roof. Not a roundhouse, not a movable hurdle screen or walling. Just an arc.

One of my basket maker friends and I had a play....we made a half dome in less than half an hour just by inserting long willow rods into the ground and tieing their tips together. We draped a tarp over the lot and tied it down. We had another go using tied on bunches of bracken and that worked too. When we tried the usual roofing of the past of tied faggots of bracken and rushes, it was too heavy and the willow couldn't stay in shape.

Think fishing shelter kind of shapes made from easily found and lightweight materials and you won't be far wrong we reckon.

I think if folks were staying for longer then some kind of roundhouse (see the little basketwoven ones from Ireland (deer park farms) for instance) or turf building.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[Siberianfury]

i always prefer to make my own shelter, if not i use a tarp. most of my long term shelters use lorry canvas as a waterproofing..

 

[rik_uk3]

What tents do you have? they are all easier than shelter building and more weather tight than a tarp.

Shelters are good for a longer stay but if its only one or two nights leave nature alone and use your tent or tarp in you must.

 

[Siberianfury]

What tents do you have? they are all easier than shelter building and more weather tight than a tarp.

Shelters are good for a longer stay but if its only one or two nights leave nature alone and use your tent or tarp in you must.

i would have to agree that tents have their practicality, but i dislike small confined spaces, carrying a heavy weight and condensation. when im doing an overnighter i take a tarp and hammock.

i like the feel of building my own shelter, i like the added space, warmth, homly feel, the addition of a woodburner, having windows fixed ect. a nice shelter is a real home away from home, and as i cant always get home its nice to have somwhere to go.

 

[Norton]

What would have our ancestors used?

Caves maybe?

 

[rik_uk3]

i would have to agree that tents have their practicality, but i dislike small confined spaces, carrying a heavy weight and condensation. when im doing an overnighter i take a tarp and hammock.

i like the feel of building my own shelter, i like the added space, warmth, homly feel, the addition of a woodburner, having windows fixed ect. a nice shelter is a real home away from home, and as i cant always get home its nice to have somwhere to go.

And what would you use when camping our on the Beacons or the Glyders? Leave the woods and explore the beauty of the mountains while your fit enough to do so, there will come a day when you can only look and use your memories of the views from the top and thats an awful feeling.

 

[Siberianfury]

And what would you use when camping our on the Beacons or the Glyders? Leave the woods and explore the beauty of the mountains while your fit enough to do so, there will come a day when you can only look and use your memories of the views from the top and thats an awful feeling.

very good point Sir.

 

[big_swede]

Build your own shelter using a tarp is a hybrid solution. Timesaving and crafty at the same time! Double the fun, half the work!

And siberian fury, a lorry tarp will lead to condensation if used for a shelter too... more so than a modern tent.

 

[Siberianfury]

Build your own shelter using a tarp is a hybrid solution. Timesaving and crafty at the same time! Double the fun, half the work!

And siberian fury, a lorry tarp will lead to condensation if used for a shelter too... more so than a modern tent.

i can see how it would, but whilst living for two months in a lorry canvas shelter i didnt experience any problems.