When you’re stuck in the wilderness with no supplies and nowhere to go, building a survival shelter can mean the difference between life and death. Even if you’re just camping and want to get out of the elements, it will make your trip much more enjoyable knowing that you have an effective way to protect yourself from the wind, rain, and snow. If you find yourself in this situation then remember that you can build a decent survival shelter without any supplies with a little creativity and some hard work.
The key elements of a survival shelter
It’s useful to first consider how you are going to utilize your survival shelter. For example, if you intend on being in your shelter for more than a couple of days, then you will want something that is more than just 4 sticks tied together with some fabric and leaves. The core requirements for an effective and comfortable survival shelter include: 1) Protection from wind and rain.
Survival shelters built from natural materials
If you find yourself in an emergency situation where you have no resources or means of acquiring them, your next best option is often a natural structure. It doesn’t have to be pretty, but it will serve its purpose—to protect you from environmental threats while providing some protection from wind and rain. From there, you can use surrounding materials to create better shelters.
Survival shelters created from man-made items
Many times you can find materials on hand that you can use to build your own home-made survival shelters. You may have to get creative and possibly find some uses for items you wouldn’t normally consider in a survival situation.
Getting inside your survival shelter
If you are going to build your survival shelter inside a cave or crevice then you don’t have too much work ahead of you, but it would be in your best interest to block off all entrances and exits with rocks and branches. If there is more than one person in your party then make sure that everyone has something to do; maybe some people can block off holes while others gather materials.
