Building Your Bug-Out-Bag (Part 3-Shelter)

Bug Out Bag-Shelter SWB (size, weight, bulk) ounces count! Watch your ounces! POU: emergency Sleeping bags 3 key factors for buying a bag Temperature rating: Choose a bag rated for the coldest temperature you expect to encounter. The rating is often part of the product name, such as the Men's REI Lumen +25 bag (rated to a minimum temperature of +25°F). Weight vs. roominess: When backpacking, you want to keep weight low without jeopardizing comfort or safety. For some, low weight overrides all other concerns (comfort, durability, convenience, price). For others, weight is less important than having a roomy bag for a good night's sleep. Most bags try to strike a balance between these extremes. Type of insulation: Your main purchasing decision is between the types of fill: down, synthetic and the new DriDown™. Goose-down fills are very light, compressible, durable and breathable. While initially more expensive, they offer great long-term value. Synthetic fills excel in damp, cold conditions and have less sticker shock up front. They are slightly heavier and less compressible than down. DriDown is goose down treated to resist moisture, the Achilles heel of regular down. What else affects warmth? Sleeping pad: This insulates the space beneath your bag as well as adding cushioning. On some bags, the pad replaces the need for insulation on the bottom side of the bag. If sleeping on snow or frozen ground, we recommend using 2 pads. Tent: Using a tent or bivy sack traps a layer of dead air around you, warming it by up to 10°F. Metabolism: You might be a "cold sleeper" who prefers extra insulation when sleeping. Or maybe you are a "warm sleeper" who kicks off the covers at home. Gender: Women generally prefer slightly warmer bags than men. Clothing: What you wear inside the bag makes a difference. Long underwear and clean socks (it’s a good idea to change clothes to sleep in) helps insulate you while also keeping body oils off of your bag. A cap and neck gaiter help retain body heat. For colder-than-expected nights, a fleece jacket and pants can help. Hood: Sleeping bags with hoods can be cinched up on cold nights to retain warmth. Hydration: Staying hydrated increases your likelihood of sleeping warm. A warm drink before bed is a popular tip. Bag Type Temperature Rating (°F) Summer Season +35° and higher 3-Season Bag +10° to +35° Cold Weather -10° to +10° Winter/Extreme -10° and lower Bag Length Men's Women's Short: For people up to 5'6" Regular: For women up to 5'6" Regular: For people 5'7" to 6'0" Long: For women 5'7" to 6'0" Long: For people 6'1" to 6'6" Note: The North Face offers a few X-Long bags for campers up to 6'8". Sleeping Bag Liners A sleeping bag liner is primarily used to help keep your mummy bag clean and thus make it last longer. (Note: Rectangular sleeping bag liners are commonly called "travel sheets.") A bag liner also adds anywhere from 5° to 15°F of extra warmth to your sleeping bag, depending on the liner material. In hot climates, you can use a bag liner or travel sheet by itself and forgo the sleeping bag. You typically have a variety of bag-liner material choices: • Silk: Very lightweight (about 5 oz.). Silk helps insulate in cold weather but is absorbent and breathable in warm weather. Price: moderate to expensive. • Cotton: Strong, durable and absorbent, but not the lightest or most compact. Price: economical. • Fleece and microfleece: Warmer (adds up to 12°F) and a bit heavier choices. Fleece is soft, moisture-wicking and quick-drying, but the mid- and heavyweight varieties tend to be bulky. Price: moderate. • Synthetics (CoolMax and MTS): Moisture-wicking and breathable, which makes these great for humid conditions. Has a bit of stretch, too. Price: moderate. • Insulated (Thermolite Reactor Extreme): This adds up to a claimed 25°F of warmth thanks to its hollow-core fiber insulation. It also dries 50% faster than cotton. Price: moderate to expensive. Tents Double wall – Tent with rain fly. These are the most common, most are 2 or 3 season Single wall – No fly Most are 3 or 4 season Minimal: Poncho, Tarp, Tube tent, Bivy Tent Types - Tent Classifications Tents come in every imaginable size, shape, and color making it hard to clearly define categories. However, there are some widely agreed upon Tent Characteristics that can be used to classify tents. Knowing these characteristics will help you in finding what you are looking for. Tent Structures In general, Tents consist of poles which form a skeleton and over this skeleton, the tent fabric or skin is laid out to create an inner pocket. These are the basic Tent Structures: Avian Tents One or two straight poles with the Tent cover spread out create a covered ground area. They are mostly used for quick shelter and generally light weather conditions. Pyramid Tents One central pole and the Tent cover pulled tight and spread out around the center pole form a pyramid shaped pocket. Pyramid Tents are rare in Hiking as the center pole effectively divides the Tent in multiple smaller compartments. Traditional A-Frame Tents Two-legged frames at the outer ends of the Tent with the Tent cover form a triangular pocket. Old backpacking tents were often A-frame Tents. The increased roominess of hoop tents and domes has replaced most A-frame tents. Modified A-Frame Tents Add a ridgepole and a center hoop to the traditional A-Frame to create a larger volume version of the traditional A-frame pocket. Modified A-Frame tents are also becoming rare in Hiking. Hoop Tents Use one to three hoops with the Tent cover to form a tubular pocket. The curved walls give a bigger volume with the same ground surface. Hoop Tents are surprisingly strong as they divide pressure over the full length of the hoops. Wedge Tents Two intersecting hoops with the Tent cover form a square to round pocket. These tents are very popular in Hiking as they combine great strength in combination with the least use of material and weight. Dome Tents Three or more intersecting hoops with the Tent cover form a multi-faceted ground floor with a dome. The added hoops give this tent increased strength in comparison to Wedge Tents. However, they are mostly pretty difficult to erect. Most 4-Season tents are domes with four intersecting hoops. Besides these Basic Tent Structures, there are a lot of Hybrid Tents which combine any of the above structural features to come up with other tent structures. The combinations often try to mix the strengths of each of the structures used and thus come up with a stronger construction. The structures that the poles build derive their strength from the way the pressure is placed on the poles. In the case of the A-Frame structure, most of the pressure is directed to the length of the poles where it is strongest. In dome structures where the poles are curved, the pressure is equally directed to all sides of the curve. Freestanding vs. Fixed Tents The strength of a tent is based on the combination of the compression members (the tent poles) and the tension members (the tent fabric and the possible guy lines). Guy lines are lines used to stretch the tent fabric by staking them to the surface. Tents that do not need guy lines are freestanding. Freestanding Tents offer a couple of advantages: • You can move them to another location without having to take down and rebuild the tent. • You can easily drain and dry a freestanding tent by picking it up and hanging it upside down. However, all tents including the freestanding type derive a lot of their strength from being anchored down by stakes and guy lines. Protection Level: Number of Supported Seasons There are a couple of ways of categorizing tents by their functions. One of the most defining ones is the number of seasons that the tent supports: • 4-Season Tents are meant for year round use and they are capable of withstanding the heaviest snowstorms. • 3-Season Tents will protect you from the worst summer, spring, and autumn can throw at you. However, they will not be able to protect you in heavy winter conditions. Some 3-Season Tents are convertible into 4-Season Tents by adding extra sections or tent parts to the tent. • 2-Season Tents will serve you perfectly well from late spring to early fall but they are not designed for rougher conditions. Capacity: Number of Persons Nowadays, many Tent manufacturers give an estimated or exact number of people that the tent can accommodate (for instance: 1-person, 2-person, 4-person, etc.). Other often used expressions are solo, duo, trio, etc. Make sure not to just take the manufacturer's word for it. Often their definition of capacity means x smaller persons packed close together. In reality, you will often find a 2-person tent having room for just one person. In bad weather, you may want to take your backpack inside your tent or do your cooking inside. Some manufacturers have taken this into account and call their tents 2-person plus or 3-person plus, signifying that there is some extra space. In general, when finding a tent, simply go for a tent meant for more people than the group size you are actually going to accommodate. At least go by this rule: Whatever size the manufacturer size minus 1. If they say it is a 1 person tent be careful! Hiking Tents are an essential component of Camping. Make sure that you have a Tent which is appropriate to what you need. Knowing the various Tent Types or Tent Classifications can greatly help you in narrowing down your selection. Determine your requirements and get familiar with the essentials of Hiking Tents before purchasing one. Buying tents out of season, fall and winter, are often the best deals Color: Choose low impact colors for security. Blending with the outdoors is usually what you would want in a Bug-out situation. The clips-versus-sleeves debate is an interesting one. Clip-only tents have better ventilation between the tent fly and body, and will generally set up more tautly because the clips establish tension lines between each attachment point. They also set up very quickly, although some clip-based tents do present you with a confusing muddle of clips and no clear idea of where to start (note: two minutes spent setting up a tent in a warm, dry garage as practice will eliminate any difficulties when setting it up in the dark, rainy woods). Pole sleeves seem to make for a sturdier tent as they put a continuous line of stitching across a pole line, reducing the stress at any single point. But, sleeves add some weight, and can be a little trickier to set up (although the sleeves also suggest where the pole goes). These days, a lot of tents use both. Most brand name tents have seams that will not leak. Some do not. That is something you should check before investing in a tent. There are usually two types of sealed seams: Sealed, or glued, and taped. The glue will eventually start to peal and so will the tape. Neither react well to heat and age. That sounds like neither is any good. Well neither will last, but if maintained, can last for decades. Resealing and/or re-taping will be needed at some point. I have only seen a sewn and taped tent seam that was made from canvas that may hold up better than most. It was a military tent and even areas where the tape came off did the tent not leak. These are walled tents. They are very expensive and heavy, not for bugging out. I would recommend a rest with a fly that covers the whole tent and has tie-outs that will keep rain out, but air vents or windows open to circulate air in and out of the tent. Poles (aluminum or fiberglass) I like the strength of aluminum and the weight of fiberglass. Stakes. I’ve never had a stake that came with a tent that I cared for. Except an expensive, heavy, walled tent. The smaller tent makers seem to think heavy gage wire, not much more than a wire clothes hanger, bent over are good tent stakes. I usually replace them with longer, heavier duty, plastic stakes. Field shelters I have camped for several decades. As a Dad and a Boy Scout leader I camped with each of my Eagle Scout sons. I also have done my fair share of hunting. Most of my camping experiences were in forests or mountains. But I’ve camped in snow and grew up in the Arizona desert. So I’ve learned to improvise shelters in most environments. I did not get to go to Jungle School in the military but have some experience in jungles. I think I could improvise shelter in any type of terrain and weather. Getting some experience in field shelters, especially in the area you live, is a good idea. From snow caves, to tarp based shelter, to lean-to’s there are a large variety of field shelters. A Debris Hut is only one of many that you should learn and practice. Even if it’s just an evening in your back yard with your kids, this experience is priceless. I only choose a Debris Hut as an example. The Debris Hut The Debris Hut shelter is a very basic shelter to make if you have access to a lot of branches and leaves. The frame is basically just a pole leaned against a tree (or stump, rock, etc). Branches or deadwood are leaned against the pole to form a sloped roof. The shelter is then thatched with leaves, grass, sod, pine boughs, or anything else you can come up with. Whatever you are using, remember to pile it on thicker than you think you need to waterproof it. Remember... if you are using either dead branches, leaves, or any other flammable material to build the shelter, you will have to be VERY careful where and how you build your fire. Fire is connected to shelter under certain (cold) conditions. That will be covered in a future post. Semp Paratus Check 6 Burn