The debris shelter is my number one go to shelter when staying warm and dry is an absolute necessity. This shelter does take some time to create and construction time is mainly dependent upon the abundance of debris in your area. Anytime you decide to build a debris hut you should first find a spot that is near a good amount of building materials and somewhat close to water. Building the shelter near your materials will literally cut your time in half. The time consuming aspect of this type of survival shelter in not in the construction of it, but gathering the materials is what consumes 90% of your time! There are many techniques to improve your build time, but the number one time improver is to locate some type of natural shelter that you can build your shelter around. These and the tips below will greatly improve your overall success in primitive shelter construction! Click the youtube link below to see the entire process!
TOP THINGS TO REMEMBER-
-Build shelter near materials
-Minimum 2-3 hr build time in optimal conditions
-If you don’t have a sleeping bag then make the inside much smaller and pack with lots of dry debris for insulation
-Try to pick a spot not to far from water
-Angle your door south east towards the rising sun
-Build your shelter on a southward facing slope near a sunny area that is hidden from the wind.
-2 feet minimum of debris is needed to stay dry in extended down pours
-A side entrance door reduces drafts
-A tunnel entry is needed in colder climates and a log should be placed across front entrance to slow move of colder air
-Debris bed in shelter should be an absolute minimum of 6 inches. Bedding is extremely important!
-Smoke the structure out prior to sleeping in order to fumigate bugs
-Create doorway plug with either triangular door way entrance or a hoop with sandwiched debris
-The colder the climate the more debris is needed. For extremely cold conditions, an excess of 4 feet is needed!
-Create a hot rock pit in your shelter in very cold conditions or place hot rocks under your armpits and between knees to warm you. These are high blood flow areas and will help to warm you quicker!
-If you will be staying longer you can create a work area with covered fireplace in front of entrance and this will further warm the structure.
If you have an interest in learning these skills then we suggest you take our Survival Standard, Advanced Survival Standard, or Primitive Shelter courses
Debris Hut with Internal Heating
Advanced Debris Hut w/ Extension
