Bender Tent Survival Shelter

These sort of tents have been around for hundreds of years, but using Mors Kochanski's ideas of mylar blankets, we decided to do a 21st century version

find some willow or hazel poles long enough to make your shelter , usually about 7 or 8 feet will do depending on the size of shelter you have in mind.

get the two largest poles and bend them over to make a semi circle

start fixing the other poles to the main frame, to make it quickly and use 21st century items we used cable ties and duck tape, but it's up to you how primitive you want to make these. 

fix the rest of the poles to make it similar to a dome tent, you can weave lots of willow in between the staves but it's not necessary as this shape is incredibly stable

a couple of mylar blankets are fixed over the frame

it's an incredibly easy and fast shelter to build and that's exactly what a survival shelter should be! if you have to spend 6 hours building a stacked debris hut you're definitely doing something wrong and in a true survival situation you could be risking your life!

build your fire in front, the heat radiates all around the inside of the shelter making it incredibly warm!

When it comes to shelters we use the 3 W's .. each shelter must be , Windproof, Waterproof and Warm, and this little outfit, that took only 30 mins to build, does each of these perfectly!

Practice what you Preach

I've often told people to be careful when drawing a knife from a sheath..It's always when you get complacent that you do something silly

and of course I did just such a thing in the woods the other day, and to make matters worse I'd forgotten my First aid kit!! Luckily Davy had his. 

The wound was deep and I saw the tendons in my finger though luckily I didn't cut them or Id have needed surgery..A quick response with the FAK enabled a clean and quick healing cut..

But I should have taken my own advice... never wrap your hand around the sheath when drawing your knife, always pinch it, away from the welt and draw slowly!!

Forest Friends

We found these tracks in some mud between showers last night and this morning, a rain shower a little later washed them all away. Which just goes to prove how transient these prints, and indeed all prints, can be..

fox, badger and dog

do you think they all went for a walk together??

Cool Handle, Look

I've seen many little gizmos and gadgets made to keep the handle of a zebra billy out of the way so that it doesn't get hot when you're cooking something.. the easiest way by far is to put your knife under it and put the tip under the handle of the lid..very simple

if you're using your trangia or hexi stove you can even just use your mora

if you want the handle to sit even higher just use your fork and put the tines under the handle on the lid.

Bough Bed

If you need to get off the ground in a cold environment and you're not too worried about rain, this is a good bed to make. It doesn't take long and is incredibly comfortable

Start with 4 poles, wide enough and long enough to facilitate your body

You can either use stakes to hold the poles in place or as we've used here a piece of cordage..the recommended knot is what Mors Kochanski calls the jam knot or what I called the turtle knot when I used it for fishing

build it up until it's about 18 inches high

then fill with leaf litter or as we prefer, spruce or fir boughs. This takes a lot less time than leaf litter and we find doesn't compress as tightly and therefore gives a better  nights sleep. Once it's about half filled, lie down in it to compress the boughs..

then get out and fill to the top.

then get in for a very comfortable nights sleep..This bed is easy to adapt if you need to make a roof like a lean to or wiki-up, or even better if you have a tarp and just fit it over.
You would be surprised at just how comfortable and warm this bed becomes..especially if you make one that can fit two people!

Earth Star

I found this little fellow when out in the woods recently

 

 

A pretty little thing, relatively rare in this part of the world so it's nice to find.

there is debate over whether these are edible or not and there are some varieties that definitely are but I'm not confident enough in mycology to differentiate between them.

 

There is a legend amongst the Blackfoot tribe, who call them fallen stars, that says these are their ancestors come to earth in a time of need.

This very special little thing reminds me of someone very special!

 

Straw Capsules

These can be made to hold anything from tea, sugar or coffee to spices, medicines, little fishing kits and anything small enough to fit inside.. Mostly they are used to contain fire making materials like cotton wool and Vaseline..

 

 

all you need are straws, a pair of pliers and a lighter plus whatever you're going to be putting inside, in this case, cotton wool and Vaseline

 

 

pinch the end of the straw flat and melt it with the lighter, it forms a waterproof seal very well

 

 

mix your Vaseline and cotton wool and stuff into the straw with a bamboo skewer or thin stick

 

 

once done, pinch flat the open end and seal with the lighter

 

job done, and you can use any thin tubular items to do the same job. They are waterproof, they float and once opened the straw also becomes a source of fuel when burnt along with the cotton wool giving you valuable extra time for the fire to catch.

 

( These straws came from subway, they're a good size diameter, though you can get really good ones from KFC when you get a crushem.. they're nearly1/2" in diameter!!)