Portable Shelter Types

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Portable shelters are used for protection against wind, rain, snow, heat, cold and insects. A good shelter can protect you from the elements and allow you the good quality rest you need to stay healthy and active.

This survival article covers your choices in portable shelters. By portable I mean shelters that a single person can easily carry with them on foot, mountain bike, canoe or kayak in the wilderness. Important criteria for portable shelters is that they must be light and they cannot be bulky.

Considerations in Choosing a Shelter Type

Cost

You should not skimp on the shelter you rely upon for survival. In general, in order of cost: tarp, bivy, bivy tent, hammock, tent.

Weight

Weight is an important consideration when choosing which shelter to bring with you, especially if the primary motive power is you. In general the lightest type of shelter is the tarp followed in order by bivy, bivy tent, hammock, tent.

Bulk

bivy bag bivouac sac sack
Bivy Bag

The amount of space each type of shelter takes up is important. Your pack or kayak only has so much volumn. In order of bulk is tarp, bivy, bivy tent, hammock, tent.

Ease of Setup

In the outdoors, and especially in a survival situation, ease of setup can be very important. A downpour may have started, you may be very tired and hungry, perhaps even injured. In order of ease of setup is tarp, bivy, bivy tent, hammock, tent.

Protection from Wind

Wind saps your energy and takes away warmth. Wind can blow rain and debris into your shelter and can even carry it away.

Often it is difficult to predict from which direction the wind will come. Often during a storm the wind will change it's course. If this is the case, only a four sided shelter with a roof and floor will do.

Hennessy Hammock
Hammock

In order of windproofness is tent, bivy tent, hammock, bivy, tarp.

Rain and Snow Protection

Driving rain and snow are unpredictable. Dry show may be the most easy to deal with can actually add insulation value to the outside of your shelter. Water and sleet will flow into every crevice and seam of shelter, making you, your clothing and sleeping system wet.

From best water and snow protection to least are tent, bivy tent, hammock, bivy, tarp.

Insect Pests

Insects in the outdoors can be of extreme nusciance. If biting insects like no-see-ums, ticks, chiggers, black flies, deer flies, mosquitoes and the like are around, a four sided shelter with roof, floor, and fine mesh windows and ventilation may be the only way to go.

The best shelters against insects are tent, bivy tent, hammock, bivy, and tarp.

Types of Portable Shelters

Tarp

The most commonly carried shelters are Tarps, Bivy Sacks (also known as Bivy Bags), Bivy Tents, Tents, Hammocks. Each type of shelter has its advantages as well as its disadvantages. Selecting the one that is right for you depends upon the conditions you expect to encounter and your personal experience and preference.

Tarps

Tarps are usually a single piece of square or rectangular material. You can drape a tarp over a line or pole and create a one, two, or three sided shelter that is reasonably protected from the elements.

Bivy Bag

Bivy is a shortened version of Bivouac, meaning to camp outdoors. A bivy sack is designed to enclose your sleeping bag in a waterproof shell, often with a small tent like section around your head to keep it off your face and allow reading and the like.

Bivy Tent
Bivy Tent

The advantages of a bivy are that it is light in weight and small in bulk. Drawback are that it may be confining.

Bivy Tent

A cross between a bivy sack and a tent is a bivy tent. A bivy tent is basically a small tent, often just about half the size of an ordinary two man tent.

This kind of shelter could be a good choice if you are going it alone but would like full shelter for ease of movement or to store a fair amount of gear with you and out of the elements.

Tent

A full size tent used for trips into the wilderness is usually of the two man variety. If you are alone on an extended trip and plan to stay in one location a full size tent may be the way to go as it allows room for plenty of movement and gear.

Hammock

tent
Tent

Hammocks have been around for thousands of years. For some reason they were late to catch on in the Western part of the world, where they were first used on board ships by the English in order to conserve space.

Many report that sleeping in a hammock provides some of the best rest they have ever had. A good hammock conforms to your body and often provides a soothing swaying motion.

As long as you can find a place to tie it, a hammock is an excellent choice over wet ground or where crawling insects are a problem. Modern hammocks can be very waterproof.

Proper Shelter is Important

When your survival skills are put to the test, your refuge from the elements is one of the most important survival tools in your repertoire. Being properly sheltered under cover in all conditions will allow you to get the rest you need. And being properly rested will allow you the health and energy you need face any situation that arises.

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