Light weight shelter for my son

Chat about surviving, preventing, and being prepared for emergencies in the Outdoors
  • Advertisement

HB Store


rancid crabtree
Status: Offline

Light weight shelter for my son

Unread postby rancid crabtree » Fri Jan 03, 2014 1:03 am

Every year my son has his 2 week Nat'l Guard summer drill. He informed me that the guys and he will use their military issue rain poncho as a shelter but its not all that great. I can see why. It only measures 6 feet by 5 feet and has a hole in the center for your head to poke through. They set them up in a classic lean-to just to keep the rain off them but it sounds like its isnt working well.

He wondered if I could make him a small and light weight shelter/fly. He wants it to be compact so as not to take up much space yet be large enough to keep him dry. Im shooting for the size of a nalgene bottle when packed. Its gotta be light weight since he has to carry everything so Im shooting for less than 2 pounds including stakes, ropes, bag and tarp/fly.

Its gotta set up fast and be waterproof.

Time to go shopping for material and oil up the sewing machine.

I love these hurry up projects.

Just so its clear, Uncle Sam issues these guys each a pretty nice one man tent and we have set it up and it appears the guys in his group don’t take the time to go through that effort since they never stay in one place long enough to justify the time it takes to set up and tear down and pack. If its not going to rain, he and the other soldiers sleep under the stars with some bug netting over them so they can get up and go the next morning without too much time spent tearing down.

This rain fly will only be used in the event of rain. Is it a must? Nope. Would he survive without it and simply use his rain poncho? Sure. But my young soldier made a request of his dad. If he request his mom send him some baked treats to augment the MRE’s Uncle Sam provides, she would rise to the occasion. This is no different. He asked and I love a challenge in both innovation and time constraint.

OK so I got the needed materials.

5.5 yards of black rip stop nylon

1 yard of 500 denier Cordura (dark green)

1 yard of ¾ inch wide black nylon webbing

1 Spool of UV protected outdoor thread (black)

50 feet of military para-cord.

1 sliding cord stopper

1 Can Atsko silicon waterproofer spray

1 tube of seam sealer

The tent stakes and little bag for them I have from an older pop-up hunting blind and they will work nicely.

Since the rip stop nylon only comes in 60 inch widths I had to sew two pieces together.

Image

Once hemmed it comes out 8 x 8.

Image

I added 16 nylon webbing pullouts (every 2 ft) to maximize the options in terms of how this shelter can be set up/configured. I added two more layers of ripstop nylon to strengthen the stress areas.

Image

Near one corner I sewed in a small patch of Velcro for reasons that will be explained later.

Image

I need to seal the seam and spray it with silicone waterproofer. The 8 x 8 square weighs about 8 Oz.

FYI, If you do not have a soldier expressing an interest in a rain fly but perhaps you travel out west on an elk hunt or up north in the national forest and are looking for an simple and light weight shelter, consider this a bowhunting bivy shelter and not a military shelter. View it in any way that brings you solace and if it sparks an interest, do with it whatever you like.

Now that I am done with the makeshift table he has taken it over to organize his gear. This is only "Some" of the gear.

Image

Image

As I mentioned I have 8 wire tent stakes from an old pop up blind and it comes with a little bag for them. The only modification we made was to add red tape to the ends of the stakes and to sew a small patch of Velcro to the bottom of the bag for reasons that will be made clear soon.

Image

With the seam sealer and waterproofing dry I thought it would be good to set it up so he could see a few of the many ways this shelter can be erected based on the conditions. One of the simplest ways requiring the least rope is a diamond fly. I taught the wilderness survival merit badge for several years for Boy Scouts and this was my favorite shelter because of how fat it can be set up.

You find a stick that is a little less than chest high and place the tent stake bag over the end with the velcro patch facing up.

Image

Than you align that velcro patch with the patch sewn into the tarp and stake it out tight with the ground point facing into the wind. You run one rope to either a nearby tree or a stake in the ground. THr beak acts a rain fly.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Here are a few more simple configurations.

“A” frame. Its 8 feet long and 5 feet wide at the base.

Image

Image

“A” frame with an awning.

Image

“Lean to”

Image

Image

Lean to with side flaps for wind driven rain.

Image

Image

I was losing light fast and a rain storm was approaching and the skeeters were sucking me dry so I stopped at that number of configurations. There are lots more ways to set this square tarp up. Here are some pics I stole from the web. Your only limited by your imagination.

Image

Image

Image

I wrapped up the tarp and the stakes and 2, 12 foot lengths of Para-cord and the tent stake bag and came up with a size for the storage bag. I sewed it from 500 Denier Cordura with a poly coating on the inside. I added a cinch rope and stopper. Then I waterproofed the bag.

Image

I added a webbing loop to the bag so it can be hung from his pack or stowed in the pack.

Image

I made the bag a little big in case he wants to add more rope or stakes or a ground cloth and anything else. The whole thing is about the size of a Nalgene bottle and weigh about a pound and a half.

Image

I mentioned that the Army does not issue such a shelter so the guys use their rain poncho. I learned that this type of shelter is issued to Marines and is called the USMC field tarp. It measures 80 by 90 inches where the one I just made measures 96 x 96.

http://www.adventuresurvivalequipment.c ... aulin.html

It was a fun project and I hope he finds it useful when needed.


User avatar
Black Squirrel
500 Club
Posts: 4978
Joined: Sat Mar 13, 2010 2:50 am
Location: NE WI
Status: Offline

Re: Light weight shelter for my son

Unread postby Black Squirrel » Sun Jan 05, 2014 4:01 am

Cool! :clap:
User avatar
Crazinamatese
Posts: 5602
Joined: Mon Jul 30, 2012 3:25 am
Location: Wisconsin
Status: Offline

Re: Light weight shelter for my son

Unread postby Crazinamatese » Sun Jan 05, 2014 5:46 am

Looks nice. When I was in the National Guard, you were issued one poncho, I bought another, so I had two rain ponchos and snapped them together to make a decent hootch with some bungee straps. The standard issue ponchos are decent if you know how to get creative in making a decent lean-to shelter with them. The single person tents came in my last year. Fort Mccoy I guess doesn't allow troops to dig fox holes anymore. But, the single person tent is pretty awesome. Sounds like your son's unit was alot like mine. Barely enough time to set up and get comfortable before you had to move out to a different AO. I slept many nights beneath the stars with just a bug net and poncho liner or sleeping bag, that I preferred just that, unless it rained. Is he Infantry?
The cave you fear hides the treasure you seek!!!
User avatar
Stanley
Honorary Moderator
Posts: 18734
Joined: Tue Aug 09, 2011 4:18 am
Facebook: None
Location: Iowa
Status: Offline

Re: Light weight shelter for my son

Unread postby Stanley » Sun Jan 05, 2014 6:29 am

Very nice.
You can fool some of the bucks, all of the time, and fool all of the bucks, some of the time, however you certainly can't fool all of the bucks, all of the time.
Bowhunting Brian
500 Club
Posts: 4138
Joined: Mon Oct 24, 2011 3:13 am
Status: Offline

Re: Light weight shelter for my son

Unread postby Bowhunting Brian » Sun Jan 05, 2014 6:33 am

you sure are crafty. I still like the knife handles you made with denim. where do you find time to do all of this stuff?
User avatar
Jackson Marsh
Moderator
Posts: 19544
Joined: Tue Aug 17, 2010 3:11 am
Location: SE WI
Status: Offline

Re: Light weight shelter for my son

Unread postby Jackson Marsh » Sun Jan 05, 2014 2:32 pm

Not a bad idea for elk hunting :think:

[ Post made via Android ] Image
JAB
500 Club
Posts: 809
Joined: Tue Nov 13, 2012 2:24 pm
Status: Offline

Re: Light weight shelter for my son

Unread postby JAB » Mon Jan 06, 2014 2:26 am

Not a bad idea for elk hunting :think:

Was thinking the same thing.

You sure are talented RC.

[ Post made via Android ] Image
rancid crabtree
Status: Offline

Re: Light weight shelter for my son

Unread postby rancid crabtree » Mon Jan 06, 2014 5:48 pm

Bowhunting Brian wrote:you sure are crafty. I still like the knife handles you made with denim. where do you find time to do all of this stuff?


I stopped watching TV 9 years ago. That freed up a ot of time.
rancid crabtree
Status: Offline

Re: Light weight shelter for my son

Unread postby rancid crabtree » Mon Jan 06, 2014 5:48 pm

Crazinamatese wrote:Looks nice. When I was in the National Guard, you were issued one poncho, I bought another, so I had two rain ponchos and snapped them together to make a decent hootch with some bungee straps. The standard issue ponchos are decent if you know how to get creative in making a decent lean-to shelter with them. The single person tents came in my last year. Fort Mccoy I guess doesn't allow troops to dig fox holes anymore. But, the single person tent is pretty awesome. Sounds like your son's unit was alot like mine. Barely enough time to set up and get comfortable before you had to move out to a different AO. I slept many nights beneath the stars with just a bug net and poncho liner or sleeping bag, that I preferred just that, unless it rained. Is he Infantry?



Yes, Infantry.
User avatar
vermonthunter16
500 Club
Posts: 770
Joined: Mon Mar 15, 2010 5:38 am
Location: PA
Status: Offline

Re: Light weight shelter for my son

Unread postby vermonthunter16 » Tue Sep 02, 2014 6:17 am

Boy oh boy, that would have been useful on my Annual Trainings!
-Rick
bowhunter
Posts: 51
Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2015 2:13 pm
Status: Offline

Re: Light weight shelter for my son

Unread postby bowhunter » Tue Feb 17, 2015 4:15 pm

first off please tell your son thank you for his service for me!! On another note I am an eagle scout and have never seen that first configuration it looks like it would work perfectly especially if your are limited with good trees to tie on to. I usually just carry some cheap tarp and some 550 cord to rig some type of shelter i hope i never need but would much rather prefer something like this its a great idea.
rancid crabtree
Status: Offline

Re: Light weight shelter for my son

Unread postby rancid crabtree » Tue Feb 17, 2015 11:34 pm

I will pass along your words to my son. Both of my sons are Eagle scout. I am a former scoutmaster as well.
User avatar
xpauliber
500 Club
Posts: 1727
Joined: Fri May 20, 2011 4:41 am
Location: Central PA
Status: Offline

Re: Light weight shelter for my son

Unread postby xpauliber » Wed Mar 18, 2015 1:01 pm

That is awesome!
Swampbuck
Posts: 2434
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2013 6:29 am
Location: S LA Swamps
Status: Offline

Re: Light weight shelter for my son

Unread postby Swampbuck » Wed Mar 18, 2015 1:11 pm

that's sweet!!
Make It Happen
User avatar
ajsawyer
Posts: 43
Joined: Thu Apr 23, 2015 7:18 am
Status: Offline

Re: Light weight shelter for my son

Unread postby ajsawyer » Thu Aug 13, 2015 5:18 am

Nice work! Hopefully it rains during drill so he can test it out. It would also be a great for collecting rain water in a pinch.

I've done a good bit of wilderness backpacking / survival type camping. My favorite lightweight shelter by far is the hennessy hammock, so long as it's not too cold outside.
"Men stumble over the truth from time to time, but most pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing happened."
- Churchill


  • Advertisement

Return to “Outdoor Survival”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 19 guests