In a situation of survival, finding or creating shelter is something you need to prioritize early. A shelter is there to shield you from the natural elements and reduce your exposure to them as much as possible. It’s also found early in the survivor rules of 3: You can survive for 3 hours without a shelter (in a harsh environment).
That means too much exposure to either heat or cold can lead to your untimely demise if you’re not careful, which is why it pays to always be prepared when going out in the woods, be it hiking, camping, or any other activity.
But even with all the preparations in the world, there’s still a chance that the worst-case scenario happens. You get stranded in the middle of who knows where, all your gear is lost when it fell off a cliff at some point, and
the only personal effects that you have are the clothes you’re currently wearing.
It’s a desperate situation, but don’t fret.
After all, humans didn’t just start building houses and skyscrapers from the beginning. They had to do it the hard way: No tools and no hardhats. Just their good old hands and whatever material they could scavenge from the ground.
No matter how improbable your chances of finding yourself in that exact situation, it is always important to account for such possibilities anyway. Here are some shelters that you can build without the use of any tools. We’ll also make a quick pros and cons review at the end of each shelter.
Leaf Shelter
With materials likely sprawled about everywhere, the leaf shelter is one of the simplest and easiest shelters to make.
All you need to do is gather up as many leaves as you can and place it all as a pile on one spot, which is not unlike raking your yard of dead leaves (Just with extra leaves). The pile needs to be big enough to lift you off the ground while also covering most of your body from the elements in the air.
However, if the winds are blowing strong enough, your shelter may find itself falling apart and flying away. Laying on a bed of leaves isn’t exactly the most comfortable way to spend the night either. Meanwhile, bugs like caterpillars may also be crawling inside without your knowledge.
All in all, there are better shelters that you can make out there, but in a pinch, a leaf shelter makes for a very quick and easy shelter to provide insulation for your body.
Pros:
+Very simple and easy to make
+Material is abundant in the woods
Cons:
-Vulnerable to gusts of wind
-Uncomfortable
-Insects or snakes might be hidden on the leaves that you picked
Lean-to Shelter
Picture taken by Erik Fitzpatrick https://www.flickr.com/photos/22244945@N00/3648124948/in/photostream/
The lean-to shelter is a simple but classic shelter.
Not only is it also an easy shelter to make, it’s also very proficient at its job, blocking out most of the elements not just for you, but for other people you might be with as well.
The process of making one shouldn’t take more than a few hours either.
To start with, try to find a natural wall. A large stone face or a fallen tree works. If you can’t find any, you can always make one yourself.
Find a long stick or log that can be propped up by two large sticks or two trees. Once you do, bind them together. This will be the support structure for the “roof” of your lean-to.
Next, set your poles to lean on one side of the future “roof” of your lean-to. They should be placed at a 45-degree angle. This will turn your lean-to into a wall-like structure.
When you’re done, place some leaves, branches, and other debris on the “roof” to cover any possible openings and avoid drafts. After which, you can also choose to add some small branches to the side of your lean-to to create another small wall to help avoid potential drafts and cold winds.
You can also use leaves as your bedding on the floor inside the lean-to.
Afterwards, you can create a firewall, which involves placing a wall where you place four branches in a box-like position. Then, you place your branches or logs inside that box. The firewall helps reflect the heat from your campfire back into your lean-to.
Pros:
+Simple to make
+Properly protects from most of the elements
+Firewall reflects heat back to reduce cold air as much as possible
+Can be spacious if desired
Cons:
-Requires lots of different-sized materials
-Runs the risk of the roof collapsing if not done properly
Note: You can turn the lean-to into an A-frame shelter so that both sides are covered, but only if the log being propped on is extra sturdy. To do so, simply lay poles on both sides of the log, instead of only one like the lean-to does.
Wigwam/Wickiup Shelter
A tall and sturdy structure, the wickiup is used by indigenous people in Australia as well as the western and southwestern of the United States and, despite how it looks, is still a structure that one can build out of scavenged materials and no tools.
Historically speaking, wickiup were made so much larger than lean-tos, and protected against even more of the elements, especially thanks to its encompassing nature. It is waterproof, blocked off the heat of the day, and blocked off the cold of the night. It’s a great shelter, especially considering that it’s one that you can construct simply by scavenging.
To start, you’ll need to find a lot of poles. You want to have enough poles to create a circle with all of them.
Next, you should sharpen these poles on one end, and drive the sharpened ends to the ground, then set these poles against each other. Tie the top with weeds or vines.
After which, you’ll use your other poles to lean against the original poles that you tied together. This is meant to create the “wall” of your wickiup. Make sure to leave an opening for the “door” as well.
You can then stuff the walls with foliage or use flexible horizontal pieces to weave the upper portions of the poles to strengthen its structure.
Pros:
+Best protection out of all the shelters mentioned against all elements
+Proper and sturdy
+More spacious than the lean-to to an extent
Cons:
-Time-consuming and more difficult to make
-Requires a lot of large materials
Conclusion
And there you have it. These three shelters range from simple to difficult, but they are all completely achievable even without any modern tools on hand. If you ever find yourself in such a predicament, you can make one of these shelters according to your needs to ensure your survival.