Shelter

troutfisher13111

troutfisher13111

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Mar 30, 2006
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What do you good carry for a last minute survival shelter? I am looking for the smallest, lightest shelter available for a situation where I may not be able to make it out of the woods for a night. The SOL “Heatsheet” has my attention right now.
 
I carry a Big Agnes Fly creek tent (2 lb 5 oz). Alternatively, a chair like the REI flexlite air (1 lb), plus a poncho and puffy jacket.

I have not tried the heat sheet but I once tried another aluminized space tarp and it did not help me stay warm at all. I would rather carry a puffy down jacket or vest (like the Feathered Friends Helios vest) with down hood (like the Zpacks hood) and have something to sit on or lie on (like a chair or foam pad) to keep me off the ground. (Expensive, yes, but worth every penny when you’re stuck outside in the cold). A slightly cheaper alternative is a one-person down blanket.
 
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troutfisher13111 said:
What do you good carry for a last minute survival shelter? I am looking for the smallest, lightest shelter available for a situation where I may not be able to make it out of the woods for a night. The SOL “Heatsheet” has my attention right now.
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I've found sil-nylon packs the smallest so a silnylon tarp, 5x8'. Usually pretty inexpensive as well.

An inexpensive coated nylon or polyester poncho is also a good choice. It doesn't pack as small as siknylon but is cheaper and more versatile if you get one with grommets or loops. I often have both, tarp for the main stuff and lay on ths poncho or snuggle up with it to keep the sideways rain from coming in.

In winter, it's not uncommon for me to back an inexpensive down vest or jacket that can go under a winter jacket or over a lighterweight shirt. Eddie Bower's cirrus lite down jackets and vest have been a good value, IMO, during their closeoit sales, which are frequent. The jacket can pack into an accessory pouch pretty easily.
 
Environment matters, so for me in the sub-tropics I need a bigger tarp than might otherwise be needed since the rainfall might be quite extreme, and coverage would be king. I like sil-nylon and sil-poly, it's becoming more common, and polyester doesn't absorb water and go slack like nylon, but it also has almost no give, so getting a taut tarp without tearing takes some care, but in my experience, it will be more fluttery. Reflective sheets are good, but they are good conductors, so you need to create that air space and that is tough. I've not done any real testing, but it seems like a big trash bag is almost as good, simply by blocking the wind. To me, heatsheets/ space blankets are a first-aid/ survival item, where as tarps and ultralight bivy bags (even the sea-to-summit fleece bag liners are not too bad, if a bit ambitious on their ratings) are more of a "planned survival" item, and should be included with consideration for location, rather than carried "just because" since the environment can greatly impact the selection, and so you would want to be getting the most bang for your carried oz.
 
A few of us were sitting around a campfire in the mountains on a cold night not long ago when it started raining. The most comfortable person there was the guy wearing a lowly poncho over his puffy jacket and covering even his camp chair, creating a lot of insulating dead air space. Those of us with expensive rain jackets were not as warm and those of us with down jackets were not as dry as the guy with the poncho. When I got back home I got a poncho and had a shoe repair shop sew some Velcro on it so I could seal up the edges leaving just enough space for armholes. I also got a slightly larger and taller camp chair (REI camp boss chair) which although still compact would be more comfortable for extended sitting than an ultralight chair (like the Big agnes skyline stool.) Not sure how much sleep I could get while reclined in such a chair, but perhaps (?) more than while lying on cold hard bumpy ground.
 
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I carry the BCO 5'x7' MEST Urethane-nylon tarp (mine is Woodland camo). It's a better tarp than most companies make mostly because of the multiple soft attachment points. They're attached REALLY well.
It packs to the size of a TI-83 graphing calculator. I like the urethane coating more than silnylon, it seems much more durable and doesn't seem to impact packed size at all.
I have 200 Lbs fishing line tied to all the tie-out points and can rig a rain shelter in about 5 minutes under a tree. I've done it multiple times when still hunting:

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barleywino said:
A few of us were sitting around a campfire in the mountains on a cold night not long ago when it started raining. The most comfortable person there was the guy wearing a lowly poncho over his puffy jacket and covering even his camp chair, creating a lot of insulating dead air space. Those of us with expensive rain jackets were not as warm and those of us with down jackets were not as dry as the guy with the poncho. When I got back home I got a poncho and had a shoe repair shop sew some Velcro on it so I could seal up the edges leaving just enough space for armholes. I also got a slightly larger and taller camp chair (REI camp boss chair) which although still compact would be more comfortable for extended sitting than an ultralight chair (like the Big agnes skyline stool.) Not sure how much sleep I could get while reclined in such a chair, but perhaps (?) more than while lying on cold hard bumpy ground.
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Good old rubber rain poncho. Might not be breathable but for that same reason it's also insulating.
 
troutfisher13111 said:
I am looking for the smallest, lightest shelter
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I carry this. Stuff it with dry leaves/moss/pine twigs, etc. for extra insulation and in cold weather add a LARGE debris shelter with a THICK mattress of pine twigs, etc to keep your body off of the cold ground.
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A blanket won’t hold heat (or leaves) in nearly as well as a bag or bivy. They’re only slightly larger and more expensive but could make a cold night much more bearable…
 
Seriously, a $20 light tarp from Amazon and a lightweight sleeping bag are going to be your best options. Not the best in heavy rains or high winds on a 0F night but, for less extreme conditions work well.

I have done the tarp and 35F sleeping bag in light freezing conditions without a campfire and slept fine. Dropping the tarp down to about 12" of your face will also trap your breath and warm air to help deal with the cold. Exposed in wind it won't work as well.

A down bag and light Bivy or Hammock are you other option. Personally, I am a big tarp fan.
 
troutfisher13111 said:
What do you good carry for a last minute survival shelter? I am looking for the smallest, lightest shelter available for a situation where I may not be able to make it out of the woods for a night. The SOL “Heatsheet” has my attention right now.
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Palmer furnace would work. Has downsides but is worth considering IMO
 
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