Improvised Bush Shelter
BY Herschel Smith
5 years, 2 months ago
If you have the time, this is a unique solution to the problem of improvising a shelter in the bush. I do have one comment from an engineering perspective.
For the ropes he used on top for “widow makers,” since he didn’t cut the rope and attach each piece to the trees (he just wrapped it around repeatedly), one falling tree with enough force to break a single strand of the rope would cause the rest to fail since the parts are all connected. For more protection, cut the rope and attach pieces to trees. He may as well have just attached a single strand except for the force of friction on the trees for the wraps.
On October 18, 2019 at 8:02 am, Jack said:
What’s the tradeoff between cutting the rope for engineering reliability vs. preserving a longer length of rope for future use?
On October 18, 2019 at 9:17 am, Thomas Madere said:
Seems a jungle hammock would be easier.
On October 18, 2019 at 9:40 am, Fred said:
That’s exactly what I thought, length of rope may matter later in which case perhaps trade down the quality of the shelter for less safety to preserve the rope, but survival is all about immediacy. I think that if he wanted to preserve the length of rope he should have at least wrapped each end twice individually instead of just looping it. Those loops aren’t going to hold anything even somewhat substantial should it fall, not that the rope will break, it would just slip down if struck.
I like that he keeps his pack off the ground overnight and the shelter itself is a great design especially up off the ground with a double bottom that has an air pocket. Good for wetter climates.
And the guy in the video is clearly a dumb provincial hick who needs crushing for his own good. Who gave him permission to even walk around in the king’s forests?
On October 18, 2019 at 12:03 pm, Sanders said:
Folks just don’t learn knots, anymore. If you know your knots, you can tie something up securely using your length of rope without cutting it up.
Any old Boy Scout manual can get you started.
On October 18, 2019 at 12:32 pm, Herschel Smith said:
@Sanders,
Right, with caveats. It depends on the knot. Any knot that allows the rope to slip through a hole (making essentially the same single-strand rope) won’t be any better.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3X8drKsdf5E
E.g., the bowline tied in the middle of a run with the remainder of the rope going through the loop formed by the knot wouldn’t accomplish what you want.
I’m suggesting that the rope strands need to be separate, not connected, in order to provide any meaningful addition to safety.
Statics and dynamics.