Bonus points to black5 for completing the intro to survival course today! He built the shelter without prior instruction (except for the helpful links from @ASH..)
Is progress picture 6, you can see plenty of holes in my shelter. I could see them too. In the last picture when I am lying down in the shelter, i had added more spruce bows to fix that. See attached pictures. The picture you saw.. Picture i didn't include in my post as I thought it was clearly visible that I had patched up those holes in the last picture. Anyway boys, I'm withdrawing my entry. My climate is different than the other 3 entries. If we are giving bonus points away for having a fire ( a skill we all have) I guess that was an oversight on my part. Raised beds..Well. if you sleep on the ground in -30, you are in for a long night. raised bed with insulation underneath and on top is standard in this climate. You can;t sleep on the ground in the winder time in these temps. As far as the shelter being drafty...It may have been. I tried to build it deep in the forest where the wind would be at a minimum and added as much spruce bows as possible within a reasonable time frame ( i was trying to be realistic) -- ( you'd have to be here to see what I mean)...I sure would be SOL if the wind was coming at the front of the shelter though! LOL I'm going to go back to that shelter and build a long log fire in front of it and add it to my trip post in my thread just for information purposes. Probably build a windbreak wall around the front of the shelter too. Thank you for the chance to enter this contest. I trust that my withdrawn entry will assist in your tough decision. Take care fellas! -7
Why withdraw? I've got plenty more wrong with mine. Although I agree the different climates and available materials would make judging more difficult. I just had fun doing. I had (as previously stated) no illusion of winning. I couldn't have even come close to building a shelter had it not been for seeing everyone elses.
Oh man, I am happy to participate, bu I'm not going to compete. Mine can serve as one of many examples. All good brother.
Well..ok...i guess... But I do like seeing how you guys do the heavy snow and deep cold stuff. If it drops to the teens down here it becomes critical.
That's nothing man. You should have seen some of my old posts in the old forum. I used to build quinzees and sleep in them. many times. You want pictures? I will post a vintage trip post in my trip thread if you want? It's nuts man. They don't call us frostbacks for nothing.
Here's the remnants of the old "Indian scout pit shelter" I did back in 2012 when I first joined the old forum. Won me my first ESEE, my beloved 6
I remember that STPNWLF. I'm pretty sure we competed against each other. That was a deadly shelter that you built!!
Well boys, I'd love to see more pictures if you can tolerate my asking questions. I gotta warn ya...I'm one of those asses that sit in the front row of the classroom by choice.
oh man I remember that! that was an epic build. I like those kind of shelters in the drier arid regions of BC......not so much down on the wet coast.
Actually was asked today how many classes I had taken by another student. Of course, the answer was none. Between what i learn here and some on the Bush forum I was a step up on several of the other students. I actually get more help here, and more pictures over there.
I assumed that it wasn't finished in that pic, hard to tell in the last pic because some fella was laying in the way lol. It is obvious from your other post that you do know what you are doing when it comes to shelter. I am just being picky now trying to make a decision.
Actually Se7en, that pic you left out adds a lot more detail to me. I can see where that would be a cozy little shelter with the help of some plastic sheeting. I like erik's shelter too, I think I would catch that grass on fire though. STPNWLF's shelter looks right at home for our climate except for this past week. My main concern would be with how well it sheds water. I am sure that it would do fine, those unruly palm fronds just make the finished product look a little haphazard. I can't find much to pick at Black5's shelter either, maybe it could be a little thicker. It is hard to tell with pictures, his wife seemed to be happy with it. It is hard to believe that they didn't teach you this stuff in the Army. lol
Likewise Sheds water fine, and yes the palm fronds stalks can be a challenge to wrap and tuck around the framework. I find notching them helps. As to the weather - I thought I was in Florida
People say that a lot. But unless you're in some high speed low drag special forces, you don't get that training. Our job was based on high speed mobility. (And all of our tracked vehicles had heaters)