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Build a Primitive Survival Shelter with No Tools
Posted on June 27, 2019 by RobinDee

So you’re in a survival situation, and you need to build a shelter, but you’ve got no tools. You need to keep warm, you need to stay out the wind, and, ideally, you need to stay dry. You’Ve got to use the resources that are around you.

This is my take on making a short-term survival shelter for a 24 hour situation. The first thing I want to do is check out what resources are surrounding me. Obviously, if I was in a survival situation, I’m not now, but if I was I’d, need to be conserving my energy try not to waste it.

So I’d want to do the minimal amount of effort and work as possible, but get the maximum amount of reward from it. So the first thing I need to do is take in the environment. What’S around me the nature, the situation, the weather? The first thing I need to take in is the resources.

What’S behind me is I’m in a coniferous woodland? It’S not such a soft wood. It’S pine! This is all Scots pine, there’s loads of it around. I know instantly that that’s going to be quite good for fire lighting.

The other thing I noticed is that it’s fairly dense in this woodland, which means there’s the chance or every chance of a tree that could blow down in a strong wind situation. So I’d need to be aware of the sight of where I choose to set up.

My shelter to make sure that it’s not near any trees that are half sort of falling down or branches that are looking like they’re gonna fall down. On top of me, my safety comes first at the end of the day.

So let’s go have a look at the environment and see what we can get looking at this woodland. Incidentally, I can see there’s plenty of deadfall and dead trees around now. That’S a great thing because there’s loads of resources for shelter, however, it was also a bad thing, because it can mean that things can fold fall down.

On top of me, there’s also moss around, which means it’s a fairly damp area and doesn’t see much sunlight. It’S likely to get a little bit more cold, but, judging by all these dead branches, they look like they’re, be fairly easy to snap and great to get shelter going so now I need to find my sight of where I’m going to set up the shelter over Here I can already see a natural area where I’d like to set up a shelter.

There’S a big tree here, that’s fallen down, it’s snaps looks like it snapped down at the roots here, so it’s rotting away. It’S gone right there and that’s probably the root system. There this has been down a long time because there’s moss growing on it as well, but this looks like an ideal height.

It’S not too high. There’S a few overhanging branches here which I’d probably need to get rid of because they look a bit unstable. Then I need to check above looking above there’s a few. I would call widow-makers there’s not set necessarily gonna do too much damage, but these little branches that have bent over here.

I need to move that out the way, but above the actual shelter log here, the main ridge line that I’m going to use. It looks like we’re pretty clear above so this looks like a safe place to set up a shelter, so I’ve already got a natural ridge line of this tree.

I just want to check where the top of the tree is there that it’s not going to slip down because there’s going to be weight on this ridge line. If I put too much weight and that ridge line slips down, it could fall on top of me and damage me during the night.

So here’s the end of the log here there is a bit of spring in it. There’S a bit of a moderates falling through here, but if you can see, naturally, if this slips down it’s going to slip into that v-notch section, there don’t throw away these resources because these can all be used to help build the shelter I’m just clearing the area.

A bit of any loose branches, okay, say: there’s a branch here above my head that could be dangerous. There’S a couple of pokey branches. Here I don’t want to poke my eyes out with I’d like the entrance to the shelter that side.

I just want to get with these pokey branches out of the way so that I have a comfortable ground to work. The ridgepole has plenty of these protruding sticks where branches used to come out. I’M actually going to leave these on, because they’ll help to balance any sticks that are leaning up against this and stop them from sliding back down or sliding forward off.

It means that there’s less work for me having to pull these off and obviously it’s more of a stable and secure structure so leave. I leave these on on the underside I’ll, probably take them off, because that’s where you can either poke your eye poke your head.

Could cause some damage so I’ll? Take the underside ones off, but I’ll leave any any ones on the side on the top. The style of shelter that I’m going for is what’s called an a-frame shelter, it’s one of the most simple and rudimentary forms of bushcraft shelters that you can make.

I’Ve got plenty of a-frame shelters in the past and the common mistake that I’ve made personally is I’ve. Always started up near the top of the ridge pole here, and I’ve ended up making the shelter far bigger than it ever needed to be so.

From experience from my experience, I prefer to start building the shelter and resting sticks up against the bottom. The lower part of the ridge Pole, and that way you can gauge how big you want your shelter and not set it too big and end up doing too much work.

So all I need to do now is snap up loads of smaller sort of logs and sticks of which there’s plenty around here, get them here and then I’ll start building it to begin with, I’m only going to need sticks really that are kind of this length.

I can use fairly rotten ones for download for lowdown, and I want them slightly angled forward because well that pressure eventually is going to push this way. I don’t want them angle this way, they’re just going to slide off.

I personally like to slightly angle them a little bit forward like that. I don’t like smashing them against trees like that, because a obviously damages the tree but B. This could whip around and go back in my eye like that, nice, clean break to pretty even size sticks, obviously other ways of breaking the sticks or putting your foot or your heel on there pulling up and leaving here and probably not as good for your back, Because you’re bending over and you will get tired but a good way of snapping, obviously thicker logs once you start getting to thicker diameter branches or logs, you won’t obviously be able to split them with your foot.

You need to find a pivot point in between two trees and use the trees as a as a breaking point for this, the stick itself just need to make sure. Now I go towards the end of the stick, so I’ve got the most leverage.

Probably keep that long, one there I’m using all Deadwood it’s all found on the draw, I’m not cutting down in the trees. I’Ve got no cutting tools. You can genuinely identified the rotten and dying trees from the lichen or the moss or fungi growing on it.

Be aware that the more fungi or liking it or moss that it has growing on it, it’s likely to be weak and form a weak spot in your structure. Just be aware of that. At this point, I can test whether I need to put anymore sticks in, because I can just lie down, and I know that that faster here even knows three.

I don’t really need because my head’s under the shelter already – and this is why I always start at the bottom of the shelter – then work up. It’S just my way of doing it. I’M happy with that. So the basic structure of the shelter complete, obviously there’s loads of gaps.

It would act like a sieve at the moment if it did rain, so I need to plug in those gaps again with natural materials that I can find around me. It’S easiest to use the resources that are most abundant because it saves you having to travel far distances to then bring it back and again you’re expending more energy.

Then one of the most common things we’ve got is down here because it’s a very dense woodland but moss some sphagnum Moss, there’s different other different species of moss as well. But this is ideal because it’s very peaty soil.

It’S so easy to just peel this back. In nice, big clumps, like that, you can actually see the clay underneath this sword as well. This sort of sand and clay there and that’s the Pitti area of the soil, but this just peels back in really large clumps and actually what you could do is roll.

It back almost like turf, like you do on your garden lawn and if you just keep rolling it like that, that’s generally the technique I use, then, once it breaks off you’ve got yourself I’ll. Show you here a pretty large area.

Almost this can act like shingles. Really, and that should help to at least water resist, it might not prevent all of the water that rains, because moss does tend to absorb water, but it also does retain it as well.

At the end of the day, if I have my shelter as it is and leave it like, it is now I’m definitely gonna get wet in there, whereas, if I have Moss like this, it’s gonna just help slow down that rainfall.

Yes, I will still probably get wet, but at least it will prevent it. You slow it down a little bit more, but what it will do is stop the wind it’ll act as a windshield. If I work from the bottom up, it gives that Moss that’s placed on the top of the shelter something to lean up against.

If I ended up doing it from the top down. Eventually, it’s going to slide down and leave exposed parts at the top of the shelter, so it’s much easier to start building it up from the bottom, as you can see that that was one piece of layer that I got there so this, if I am in A survival situation which I’m obviously not now, I’m just I’m just simulating it, but if I was, I then got a large amount of material with very little energy expenditure, and you know it’s nice and quick today.

It’S also widely available right down below the shelter. Just here just keep rolling it back toughen it up, it’s handy cuz. It grows right near the shelter what is and just roll it getting a year, the roots of the moss up.

That was a nice bit like a nice bit of turf there Hank of moss. It’S gonna suck it up here for now. So there is this issue of this tree here, so I may try and get that down because it is, it could obviously fall on a shelter shouldn’t, knock it down, but just to give you an idea and the difference.

Here’S the the one side that I haven’t done with moss, yet plenty of gaps, loads of chance to the rain to get in there still a fairly stable structure. But then this side is the one with the moss on and you can see much much more water site that muscle obviously grow into that wood over time and it’ll all decomposed together.

So it’s all letting nature go back to its original form and the main difference is inside. This is where you can see the difference. Look at that left-hand side here, where there’s no sticks, where there’s no moss, sorry, that would be a geek.

I get completely psyched right hand, side, that’s completely, sealed off from the rain there there might be one or two tiny gaps at the top, but other than that you can see the difference. That Moss makes you can see where I’ve pulled up the moss.

You can actually see the faint kind of darker patches now the PT soil, where I’ve pulled up. This Moss tried to scavenge for the moss really as close to the shelter as possible, so that I don’t have to travel so far.

This Moss will all grow back. Everything around here that I’ve taken here this will all grow back and it will get mossy again, but yeah try it. I’Ve tried to take it as close to the shelter as possible so that it’s the minimum amount of effort that I need to build this shelter here we go.

It was right away now, let’s clear the shelter, so this is the Finnish shelter. Now you can see the a-frame structure to it. I’Ve walked around the shelter and checked for any gaps, especially where the support sticks meet the ridgepole.

That’S a typical place where I’m gonna get gaps and that’s most likely where the rain will enter. I’Ve. Put that as moss over the top like that, just to act as a but runoff ready to get that water coming off as quick as possible.

This will obviously still leak. It’S not going to be perfect, but it’s much better than being out in the open facing the elements. One of the things I didn’t mention earlier was the the wind direction.

That’S a really important thing to think about when you’re setting up a shelter, especially in in a survival situation, you’ve got a you know. The elements at the end of the day are gonna, be the things that we’ll be testing you the most this the wind’s coming from that direction.

So it’s hitting the back of the shelter and coming up over it. Obviously the wind can change, and in that sort of situation this would not be an ideal ideal shelter if it did change and was coming into the shelter.

What I would do is block off this entrance here. Pull a couple of side sticks out and pull the moss away from the side and have a shelter an entrance. Sorry at the side of the shelter, that’s personally what I would do if the wind direction did change and come straight into the shelter so yeah.

This is it, this is home. It’S like a hobbit home little hobbit house, the moss obviously acts. It’S got two things really. It helps to prevent, doesn’t prevent water coming through, but it helps to reduce the water coming in any rain water coming in, and the second thing is that it has very good insulating property, so it will retain that heat downsides of having moss it’s going to retain That water as well, which means that it will, if it does get damp and wet it, will, if it’s if it’s dripping through it, will continue to drip for a fair.

While it’s almost like a sponge, it acts like a sponge in a survival situation. You just got to use the materials that are around you and I have tried to use all the materials that around me. Oh these, no tools, I’ve just used my hands and I’ve just used.

You know the moss in the closed area. I’Ve used sticks in the closed area. I’Ve used the log that was the ridgepole that was already here, so I’ve really tried to expend as little energy as possible. I do realize that this is not a perfect shelter by any means.

It’S not a perfect natural shelter. Things that I would say the disadvantages from this one that I’ve built it’s a little bit flat the angle on it. I would have, rather it be a little bit more steep, the flatter you have it, the more likely it’s gonna collapse and the more likely that when the rain does hit it’s going to puddle and sit on that shelter, I mean it’s a nice steep angle.

I’M quite pleased with it, but it’s not the best. So that’s one of the downsides. Another downside was this Ridge pole. When you saw me earlier bouncing up and down on it its wedged in now, but when I was bouncing up and down – and it is really springy – and I wasn’t too kind of confident in that.

But you know it took my weight and I really was pulling on it and it didn’t give. So if I could do that, I’d figure it’d have to be one hell of a storm to be able to to basically bring it down, but that’s a disadvantage as well.

Another disadvantage – you may have seen me earlier, just clearing out the debris and all that all the Duff and pieces of pine needles and sticks and everything from under the shelter after it was built.

In my opinion, I probably should have done that and cleared the area before I built this a-frame, I’m not too sure. I’M sure you guys do it differently. It’S just the way. I’Ve done it, but that again is probably a disadvantage because I had to then you know get in there and it was quite awkward to get things out.

Another disadvantage, it’s probably slightly big. You could definitely sleep two people in this shelter, it’s not so much a cement, there’s only to be a one person shelter, but where I’ve made it so big.

You know I’ve used up that time in that effort where it could have been smaller. I would have finished the shelter in probably half the time this shelter took me to see. You know guys an hour and a half.

That’S with that’s quite long. I realized for a you know in a survival situation. You need to build it probably quicker than that, but that’s with me filming and moving the camera all the time in that, if you guys out there who film you know that takes a long time.

So it’s about an hour and a half, maybe hour and 45 minutes. For me, the most time-consuming part was breaking the sticks. That was quite time-consuming, especially when it got to bigger sticks. Cuz I had to go and get there.

The sticks dragged him over to a pinch, point, snapped them and actually for me, that was the most time-consuming part stacking them up against the log didn’t take too long. The moss was was fairly time-consuming as well.

Let me just show you the inside. There are a few gaps still that I need to fill, but, as you can see, it’s pretty well covered, I would be dry if I was in this shelter, I’m quite pleased with it. It took me a while to clear out all the Duff and everything and the debris on the forest floor that took a while should have done that earlier.

I wouldn’t sleep directly on the ground. There that’s gonna, get me cold and with it that’s gonna SAP, the heat up, my body I’d either have built a raised bed or I would put layers and layers of moss down, but I’d have to make sure that that Moss is dry or even Better would be get to get some spruce, boughs or something like that or pine boughs.

There’S plenty of point here, but spruce boughs would be ideal and that could act as a nice soft bed. Another option for the bed: I’m not going to build the bed in this episode. This is just more for the actual shelter itself, but another option to get the bed a bit more comfy.

Is this dead grass here there’s plenty of it surrounding this woodland? It’S not too far from my shelter, so it’s easy to harvest and I can just pick it up in fairly big clumps like this. It is dry. Obviously, if it was wet, probably wouldn’t go for this option, I would go for a raised bed.

If everything was rot wet. I would build a raised bed a little bit more difficult with no tools, but it is doable and that can act as a nice. Soft. Almost like straw, where animals sleep on – and it also would help to retain my heat a little bit and keep me up off the floor.

The other advantage of this shelter over perhaps a lean-to shelter, is that you can see it’s a bit more stealth is a bit more low-profile it almost just blends into the forest, quite naturally. So if you were in that survival situation, where you’re escaping evading you’re, hiding out you’re bugging out you’re getting away from somewhere or someone, this type of shelter is fairly good for that.

Well, thanks! So much if you watch this video all the way through. I really appreciate it if you enjoyed this sort of video, give the subscribe button hit and make sure to tick that bell notification, so you can get emails whenever I upload a video.

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