Questions tagged [shelter]
A shelter is a basic structure that provides cover in adverse conditions.
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Sleeping in twos in one hammock
My girlfriend and I both like sleeping in hammocks in the outdoors. We now sleep in two separate hammocks. However, I've seen many hammocks that are designed, or at least make it possible to sleep ...
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Is digging a "cold hole" really effective when sheltering in a snowed area?
One recommendation I got in case of emergency or intentional sheltering in a snowy location is to dig a lower hole, so that the cold air can move there, while one can sleep higher up where the heat ...
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How do you make a snow shelter?
Sometimes when mountaineering, there may be an emergency situation which leaves you in bad weather with no or damaged shelter (such as returning from a summit attempt or after a wild and crazy storm). ...
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Can I heat a shelter with fire?
So I built my survival shelter and I decide a nice fire would really warm things up. Is there a way I can build a fire that would heat the shelter without too much smoke? I know I could make the ...
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What is the best breathing holes strategy for a quinzee?
Since it's the season coming up for many (and snow seems to be in the game this year in eastern NA at least).
What would be the best/optimal strategy with regards to breathing holes for a quinzee (...
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Are fires in natural caves/overhangs safe?
I have heard that a fire in a cave or under an overhang can cause a rock collapse, potentially injuring the occupant. Is this a real risk?
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Advantages to hammock camping on multi-night trips
This question asks what the downsides are to hammock camping, but doesn't really address the reasons why you would want to sleep in a hammock to camp.
Let's say I'm backpacker new to the idea of ...
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Do emergency space blankets actually work?
Inspired by a space blanket being included in emergency winter kits, I wonder if there's any rigorous study about whether these things actually work and in what ways to best use them.
In my own ...
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How real is the danger of suffocation in an Igloo?
Last weekend I spent a night in an igloo. The event was organised by professionals (it was a company retreat) and during the night there was always one of the guides awake making rounds and checking ...
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What sleeping gear should I use in a lean-to?
I have recently discovered the lean-to, a shelter with three walls. It seems considered as a shelter with more proximity to the nature.
I have some worries though, regarding the wind and the warmth. ...
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Best approach to camping in snow?
What is the best way for a trekking group of two to sleep in deep snow (meter or more). What equipment is to be brought?
Preferably, the technique should work on shallow snow and plain frozen ground ...
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How can I build a safe, effective igloo?
If I want to build an igloo to keep me warm in a snowy climate, how can I go about this?
What size blocks should I cut?
How big should the entrance be?
How can I mitigate the risk of the igloo ...
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Large Tents and Traditional Campsites
I am going to be relocating to the Colorado desert for a long-term research project and need a portable shelter. The only one I've found so far that will conform to my needs in the turtle tuff shelter ...
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Setting up a shelter
I have been trekking nearly for a decade now and all those years I have never had a tent with me. It was roughly a couple of years ago, I bought my first tent. :-)
I had always relied on natural caves ...
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How to decide which tarp size to take?
I am thinking about getting some tarp as a 1-person shelter for hiking this summer. There is a large choice of tarps on the market. The difference between them are often the size and the material it ...
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How much difference does wind chill make if you are inside a snow cave?
From this answer, -148 °F has been survived inside a snow cave, and this question is asking for the unadjusted temperature, which leads me to wonder how much the wind chill would matter.
If you ...
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Quick and easy winter shelter for kids to build
What would be the easiest type of shelter for a young kid to build, alone and with minimal tools, in a deep winter survival situation?
For a kid 10-12 years old, carrying only a Swiss army-knife, a ...
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Timing on building a small log cabin
I'm interested in building a small Lincoln-log style cabin (more like a shed, <200 square feet) in hardiness zone 4/5 of northeast USA. Available timbers are mostly red spruce, some eastern hemlock,...
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How do I distinguish a dirt floor in a cave from a floor formed of very old coprolites?
This may be better asked as two questions; if so, I will edit.
The question is prompted by a section in Neanderthal Man: In Search of Lost Genomes by Svante Pääbo, who was the first to sequence ...
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Are square or rectangular tarp shapes more versatile?
I'd like to try tarp camping. 3m x 3m (9ft x 9ft) and 3m x 4m (9ft x 12ft) tarps of differing material are plentiful and many are even affordable. Which tarp shape is more versatile in the number of ...
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Under what circumstances would I wish to extend the handle length of a snow saw?
A snow saw is useful for building snow shelters and for avalanche danger testing. Some models are said to be easily attached to ski/trek poles in order to increase the handle length. Under what ...
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Keeping smoke level in a wigwam low
I spent some time in a wigwam today, and due to the wind conditions, it was very difficult to keep the smoke out. Are there some tricks one can use in a situation like that to make the wigwam more ...
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What is the best material to make an outdoor shelter roof out of?
Say you are caught out without a tent in mild temperature conditions, e.g. moorland/woods. What material would you look for to make a good shelter roof out of?
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When are the peak seasons for Appalachian Trail though hikers in western Maine?
I'm trying to figure out how busy the AT will be in early October in western Maine?
We're looking to do a 6 day section and I'm trying to determine whether we need to carry a tent, or if we can ...
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Without rain/snow/wind would it be significantly warmer to sleep under a tarp?
If you are sleeping in a rainstorm it would be warmer to sleep under a tarp, since otherwise you are going to get wet.
It would be rather difficult to enclose a space with a tarp to the level that a ...
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Benefits of tree tents over typical shelters?
I've recently learned about tree tents such as Tentsile and while they certainly look interesting and fun, they seem to combine the drawbacks of hammocks (heat loss due to wind and need for trees) ...
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Where in nature can we find examples of natural "hoods" - either for reducing UV / sun exposure or for providing shelter from rain?
I'm in the process of designing a more functional "hood" to block UV / sun exposure and also provide shelter from rain. I believe that the best gear and products are developed by "looking to nature" ...
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How to lash a corner of a bamboo pergola?
I'm considering building something akin to a bamboo pergola and tying it together with a rope. What would be the best method for tying its 'corners' where three poles meet?
From the Wikipedia article ...
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In Canada, does a frontcountry campground kitchen shelter typically include a freezer?
In European campgrounds, it is common that there is a kitchen shelter with a freezer, where people who camp without electricity can freeze their ice packs, in order to subsequently use those with cool ...
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Shall I buy a Large size shell if I am wearing Medium size Down Jacket?
So that I can have some spaces to wear Down or Fleece inside the jacket?
Normally Large size shell is too large for me, or I should buy the same size so as fit as possible?
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Why does a Plains Indian teepee tent have so many poles?
I tried to find answers elsewhere, but I have only suppositions.
A tepee is a portable shelter, so:
Why have so many poles? These weigh a lot and require more work to dismantle and rebuild it. I ...
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Portable canopy leg weights, how heavy?
I was at an event this weekend and noticed that many of the portable canopies had weights on the legs.
My Canopy has stakes and rope tie downs, but often the soil is not appropriate for these (to ...
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What is a kassakåta?
Within the mountains (and other wilderness areas) of Västerbotten and Norrbotten in Sweden, there is a lot of cultural heritage, with Sami huts ("kåta") like Måskåsj-gammen or like this one between ...
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What's the fastest way for a single person to setup a tarp umbrella/leantoo in the rain in a nothern temperate forest?
Tangentially related to Pitching a tent in the rain? I want to know what the fastest way is for one person to setup a tarp as a big umbrella over a section of camp or as a leantoo for folks to gather ...
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What woods have been used to build primitive shelters in northern climates, especially around the Adirondacks Mountains?
I'm exploring primitive shelter building in northern cool temperate climates. I mean primitive as a compliment: the prime, first, original, indigenous, low-tech/base-tech. Things like the ...
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What in the forest is suitable as a foundation to primitive structures such as log cabins, in northeast USA?
Cedar is a great example of a log that makes a good log cabin foundation. Solid and naturally rot resistant. Are there other species' logs suitable as foundations in northeast USA? Rocks can also be ...
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Having a condensation problem under a tarp that's enclosed outside with 2 heaters. Help!
Ok so I have attached a 2 sided massive tarp to my house and then added tarps around the sides to create walls. It's built over my back porch and a concrete patio with some ground showing and some ...
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