optimum one person natural shelter

[Toddy]

It's raining today; real rain for the first time in several weeks, and suddenly the world is no longer just damp, but dripping wet again.

I hope it's dry for your course Sam

Tamoko, thank you for the photos very good to see, but it does look dry, doesn't it ? but those sheets of bark really do show why wooden slates were (and are) used to such good effect.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[Man of Tanith]

Meh if it rains I get wet

 

[Toddy]

That's the attitude
It's only rain

M

 

[mousey]

As long as your not cold as well...

 

[Man of Tanith]

Hi Sam, me again. The outing you are doing sounds to me to be every bit as demanding as the journeyman was, perhaps more. Once you've done this I reckon the JM would be straightforward enough. You'd breeze it.

Cheers mate.
I have been told its more demanding than the Journeyman. As its all solo and all on my head.
does mean I can do it exactly how I want to without having to discuss it with others.
Pros and cons there im sure

 

[cranmere]

If you're staying for a month then space becomes important. When we were kids in New Zealand we found that circular huts were easier and quicker to build and stronger. I would go for a single pole circular shape, start off with a segment of the circle to shelter you from the prevailing wind and you can then enlarge it easily when you have the time and inclination. A decent sapling makes a good central pole with no need for cutting down large timber.

 

[sandbender]

Meh if it rains I get wet

Thats the spirit!

 

[Man of Tanith]

Thats the spirit!

Well I'm not made of sugar I wont dissolve

I have many cunning plans up my sleeve along with the watch and the tattoos

 

[decorum]

Meh if it rains I get wet

If it rains then sourcing and filtering sufficient water becomes a whole lot easier ...

 

[Man of Tanith]

Yup just wring it out me beard

 

[santaman2000]

Well I'm not made of sugar I wont dissolve ....

I said something similar to an ex GF. She said, "Sh** melts too." LOL

 

[S.C.M.]

huh, looking at the "bender"/tinkers tent on youtube and piccies online, it seems like it doesn't have to be round per se, it could be elongated into an oval/elipse, have a lower roof, and a low-point door to minimise heat loss. The only real drawback I can see is it needs soft ground to work. hmmm, I wonder if bamboo could be made to work, you'd have to plit it to bend without breaking, but...

 

[Toddy]

We've built them on shingle, on sand, on heavy clay, on woodland among tree roots, and on red ash of an old bing, and they all worked.
Canes only work if they're long and still relatively fresh. You can soak them a bit, but they're inclined to splinter we found.
If canes are all you have, I found that making triangular panel pieces and lashing those together worked. If you cross brace them across all sides into the middle it gives load of tie on points for bunches of greenery, etc.,

M

 

[S.C.M.]

Yeah Toddy, there's not much harvestable 'round here, just "Canas"(=s**te bamboo) or diddy bushes. And the ground's rock-like in the summer
Of course, if you can't get the ends into the ground (like here in the summer/dry weather) you can anchor them with rocks.
Split bamboo (well, canes, not bamboo) bends quite well, but I don't think I'd want just that as structure, now I think about it!
Hmmm, trianglular panels... sounds like a tipi(teepee?) to me
By cross-brace in the middle do you mean sort-of like the letter A?

 

[Matt77]

Sorry for the necro post !

Ive lived in benders for long periods of time during all types of weather. Benders varying from the ultimate long term bender ( coppiced willow poked into the ground in a circular pattern, then bent over and woven together to form an upside down basket, then covered in woolen blankets, then covered in a truck tarpaulin, and a floor made of pallets) to the basic ( what ever green wood was available poked into the ground in a circular fashion, then woven into an upside down basket, then horizontaly woven with ferns and small branches, then starting from the bottom - woven with ferns bunches)

For long term camps they are great, possibly the best. You do get a nice space that does regulate tempature, and on a smaller scale, they can be made very sturdily - very easily. However, if there is no bendable green wood available on site, the design swiftly becomes impracatable.

 

[boatman]

With the withies or rods you could make a coracle when dismantling the bender. In fact the "basket" is the foundation of civilisation. We once made a coracle with recovered hazel rods from a bender that was used as a sweat lodge.

 

[Matt77]

Nice idea... ☺

 

[Toddy]

In general hazel and willow don't really do re-use though. They become brittle, they crack and split. Did you just keep the original bender curve as it was ?

M

 

[nic a char]

SLUGS! The boom is caused by widespread sub/urban decking, imho...

 

[boatman]

In general hazel and willow don't really do re-use though. They become brittle, they crack and split. Did you just keep the original bender curve as it was ?

M

You are right, a lot of the sticks were brittle but enough remained to make the frame and some of the bends were incorporated.