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9 Hours in a Survival Shelter.. this was grim! But a real eye-opener It was a sopping wet, rainy day in February and thought I’d see what it would be like to find myself lost in the wild and having to spend an unexpected night out, using only what was in my day-hiking rucksack. For this scenario, I had my usual day hiking bits & bobs.. food, stove, head torch, something to sit on, my down puffy, waterproof pack liner, med kit, hand warmers and an emergency shelter This time my shelter was a ‘Life Tent’ – a tiny lil thing, not much bigger than a drinks can and weighing around 300g. Something that I would chuck into a day pack, probably never think about again and *hopefully* never have to actually use. But for this scenario I did have to use it, so I found a spot between 2 trees where I would be able to string it up and got to work Click on 'read more' at the bottom of this blog post for the rest of the write-up.. Gear List
This gear list contains amazon affiliate links. This means that WildBeare makes a small commission from any sales made via these links, at no extra cost to yourself - a great way to support the channel. Thank you You can also see lots of my gear in my Amazon Gear Shop :) *I choose not to be sponsored, affiliated with any particular brands, and have not accepted any free gear to try since summer of 2021. Every piece of gear that I’m using is something that I have chosen to buy for myself – my opinions on it and experiences with it are completely impartial. EMERGENCY SHELTER - Life Tent (no affiliation) https://amzn.to/3HUZ3Ex TREKKING POLE - Fizan Compact https://amzn.to/3ggE1Gj 20L RUCKSACK - Decathlon Trekrite Pack Liner https://amzn.to/3Ota5nb Half of a Light AF Mat https://outdoorgearessentials.co.uk DCF Zip Pouches & Dry Bags https://WildSkyGear.co.uk Hiking Stove https://amzn.to/3cM173q Jetboil Gas 230g https://amzn.to/3z5qV5L Gas Canister Stand https://amzn.to/3GLhHh4 Toaks 900ml Titanium Pot https://amzn.to/3j5Mwot Matches https://amzn.to/3t0eRzN Tin https://amzn.to/41RpTGY + Match Striker https://amzn.to/3UblInq Lighter XBand https://amzn.to/43SVFE8 Microfibre cloth https://amzn.to/47ltZIq Opinel Pocket Knife No.5 https://amzn.to/45P33RH Tito Titanium Spoon https://amzn.to/3xgwcqi Bag for rubbish LifeStraw 650m Filter Squeeze Bottle https://amzn.to/3TSeDVe Tissue Baby wipes Hair Bands Hand sanitiser Hot Hands https://amzn.to/3q1iiTp Anker Power Bank https://amzn.to/3jqTQr2 Headtorch Decathlon Thermometer https://amzn.to/3TMdw9n MED KIT Pain relief Antihistamine Plasters Blister plasters https://amzn.to/3qvrzHA Torniquet (only use with knowledge of how to use safely) Wound Dressing Small Bandage https://amzn.to/401pHUI Alcohol Wipes Med kit pouch https://www.wildskygear.co.uk/ PLB Garmin Inreach Mini https://amzn.to/3sVBi9f Tether https://amzn.to/3sTRibM Phone https://amzn.to/3An5PQ7 Whistle https://amzn.to/3uRvwbM CLOTHING & FOOTWEAR High Ankle Boots Haix Nature One GTX https://amzn.to/47fnxmV Sealskinz Waterproof Knee Length Winter Socks https://amzn.to/3ZCxUgU Fine Merino Socks https://amzn.to/3F66vvp Montane Levity Women’s Gortex Rain Jacket https://amzn.to/3NaZn5l Rab Downpour Eco Pants https://amzn.to/47laBvg High Waist Leggings https://amzn.to/3tEH5Tj Merino Thermal Under-Trousers Decathlon Rab Women’s Capacitor Hoody https://amzn.to/3oRpJ2Y Step One Lady Boxers https://amzn.to/3Zfg9Fe Merino Wool Vest https://amzn.to/44R0ZrH Waterproof Gloves Sealskinz https://amzn.to/3s48ucX Down Puffy Decathlon Fleece hat, gloves & neck warmer Decathlon FILMING Camera Sony ZV1 https://amzn.to/3t4VamJ Ulanzi Wide Angle & Macro Lens https://amzn.to/3CC6Jaq ZV1 Screen Protectors https://amzn.to/3tYOnPA Rode Lav Mic https://amzn.to/44Qte8M Lav Mic Wind Muffs & Clips https://amzn.to/3TkNQUJ 128GB SD Card https://amzn.to/3tckuY8 Light Clip https://amzn.to/2MZjCGK Tripod https://amzn.to/3nxGg7p Ball Head https://amzn.to/3G3obrL Rain Cover https://amzn.to/3VctprU x2 GoPro 10’s https://amzn.to/3T9CDUB Wind Shields https://amzn.to/3TesuWA Screen Protectors https://amzn.to/3ww70Lf Selfie Stick https://amzn.to/3zRjDTh Rucksack Mount https://amzn.to/32Ojy4M 128GB Micro SD Card https://amzn.to/3p8XQ0v Gorrillapod Tripod https://amzn.to/3u9Tb3j Suptig Sml LED Waterproof Light https://amzn.to/3GUwzLL Suptig Lge LED Waterproof Light https://amzn.to/3EPqTQC TRAIL CAM GardePro A3 Wildlife Camera https://amzn.to/3LOa8Y0 AA Batteries https://amzn.to/3jkj5w7 128GB SD Card https://amzn.to/37xKebX COMPUTER & EDITING Editing Program – Davinci (Free) Headphones Audio-Technica https://amzn.to/3Hbtk1J Headphone Stand https://amzn.to/3TSgKfn Mouse https://amzn.to/3yjY24t Personalised Mouse Mat https://amzn.to/414UsZ5 Dell PC https://amzn.to/3CAp3mX Monitor LG Ultrafine 32” https://amzn.to/3H6lXsg Seagate 12TB External Hard Drive https://amzn.to/42cSW7U XP Pen Graphic Drawing Tablet https://amzn.to/479ghZE Music in this Video
Thank you to these amazing artists for producing such great music! Adrián Berenguer – Premiere IamDayLight - Seine River Life in Colour - Waking Up Loya - Another Green World Rotem Cinamon - Saving a Rainforest Sémø - Eternal Play All from Artlist with license I buy my Own Gear
I choose not to be sponsored, affiliated with any particular brands, and don't accept free gear to try or gifts. Every piece of gear that I’m using is something that I've chosen to buy for myself – my opinions on it & experiences with it are completely impartial
The shelter was simple enough to put up, it’s basically a bag on a string.. a thin, tubular sheet of mylar plastic, with a 20ft length of paracord included. I crawled inside the shelter before the light started to fade. It was 4:18pm and the ordeal had begun! Firstly, I decided to close the back end with a hair band, to stop the breeze coming through. This would make it a condensation hell of course, but that didn’t really matter, because I was already wet and the inside of the shelter was already wet. Everything was wet. So I decided that heat retention was now the priority I decided to make a hot meal, but my pot slid off my stove, sending half of my noodles and all of the flavour into the mud. No bother, I made some sandwiches instead. But it wasn’t long before I started to feel chilly. The shelter was protecting me from the rain and the wind, but I was already damp, so staying warm was going to be difficult. I realised I had to keep moving, and started periodically having little workouts inside the shelter – pumping my arms and legs back and forth to keep my temperature up - but not to the point where I would start to sweat and make myself wetter I realised I would be warmer further back in the shelter, so removed my boots and retreated. I was surprised to find that there was more than 2°C temperature difference between outside the shelter and inside! (9°C outside and over 11°C inside). This shelter claims to reflect back 90% of your own body heat.. I can’t say if that’s true or not, but this heat difference was impressive, and could make all the difference in a real emergency situation As the hours wore on, I grew tired from having to stay active in the tiny shelter. At one point the back of the shelter where I was sitting suddenly let a load of water in, which soaked me from the waist down. Having to keep moving was draining, and although I was able to keep my body temperature normal, I felt cold in my wet clothes I fashioned my own heated blanket by placing my hand warmers inside my waterproof pack liner. The handwarmers warmed the air in the pack liner, and I draped this over myself and enjoyed some slight warmth. I tried resting for a short time under my makeshift blanket, but it was not to be.. my body wanted me up and alert and moving and handling the situation. There would be no rest here. I made it over 9 hours this way, deciding some time around 2am that I’d well and truly had enough. My car, along with my car bed, warm dry clothes and other comfortable things, was parked close in a layby within sight of where I was trying this scenario. The pull of comfort and sleep was too strong, and whatever mental toughness that had got me through the first 9 hours suddenly left me. I was mentally and physically drained, but, I was alive and well, and successfully kept hypothermia at bay, despite being wet So, this exercise taught me a few things. Firstly – it’s definitely worth taking along some form of emergency shelter on day hikes, just in case the worst happens. The extra 2 degrees of warmth provided by the shelter made a huge difference – this is more heat retention than many of my tents can provide. While it felt miserable at the time being inside the shelter, as soon as I emerged to pack it away, I started shivering. Only then could I really feel and appreciate the difference it had made. Secondly, that an emergency shelter isn’t enough. Survival is hard, especially if you’re wet with no way of drying yourself, you’re gonna have to work – you cannot stop moving for long. It requires mental stamina, and it's physically tiring. This was a mild winter night too.. if it had been colder, this would have been a relentless fight against the cold and there’s no chance I would have chosen to endure 9 hours of it Thirdly – clothing matters, specifically, the fabrics you choose to wear. In winter I’m wearing merino layers. As well as being comparatively quick drying compared to cotton for example, merino also has a very useful quality of being able to help you retain heat even when it’s damp. On the other hand, wearing damp cotton in this situation could be catastrophic, as it would just suck the heat from your body. I was also really grateful for my down puffy. I don’t wear this hiking as it needs to stay dry, but carrying it in my rucksack in a dry bag proved to be valuable. It did get slightly damp but has since been floofed back up by a tumble in the dryer And lastly, it taught me another valuable lesson in gratitude. For those simple things that are so easy to take for granted.. a warm, dry bed. A roof over my head. Overall, I guess the main take away is that survival is never going to be easy, but some form of emergency shelter will give you more of a fighting chance. I had such a lovely sleep in my car bed that night! Comments are closed.
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