I sent this on to a few young teen men that I know. I said "how cool would it be to have a shelter that you built yourselves to camp in on the weekends with friends". What an excellent project. Looking forward to seeing part 2. Thanks for teaching. :-)
OMG! It's Mitch! I'm currently watching Alone S1 and I've loved watching your video logs so much. No spoilers! I'm almost to the finale. Either way, super happy to have seen your journey and how you respect the resources and life around you. Amazing...
Smaller than the one I lived in for almost a year while homeless, but nicely done. I'm hoping to be chosen for Alone as well, my wife has mixed emotions but knows how much being primitive means to me.
Nice! Like the cross members, which help to hold up the debris. Leaves on the outside always makes me think of a scenario where 3-4 folks have a big meals of beans/chili then turn in for the night. If by chance that they all break wind freely, at the same time, they blow all the debris from the shelter (think Blazing Saddles)! I guess that is why the smoke/vent hole is so important! Will follow this series, Chris
Good job. I like it. Thanks for sharing that with us. I had forgotten I knew some about that also learned in Scouts.. And an old Indian man I used to know here in Oklahoma.. Thanks again. Make me need to get back outdoors.
So far so good! In my experience with wiki style shelters, the *upright* branches should be laid thick enough to block daylight before you add the debris to the outside. Obviously you want to keep the *smoke hole* open, but a stray spark could easily ignite the leaves from the inside. Since this is a *long term* shelter, more time should be spent on the *framework*.
Indians used a movable smoke hole.it was an extra flap that crossed at the top above the door. ( a blanket or piece of leather) and smoke was tighten or made bigger by two long poles. They also had a leather cap about 4 ft sq. On top of poles ( always cut evenly) to keep out downpour rains and tied to the poles. Look it up in plains Indians teepee structure.
Considering the longevity of the frame, and the fact that you continue to revisit that site, You might consider hauling out some canvas drop-cloths and stretching them over the frame. Once they are tight (like a true tipi) you could slather oil-based exterior house-paint onto them, or mortar-mix powder and water ... Or a combination ... Or even liquid fiberglass or catalyzed acrylic. ... I realize that a primitive purist might recoil from these materials but canvas and oil-based house paint (recycled from the habitat store) would be ok ... Especially if it was green and/or brown paint. ... Just a thought.
It's amazing...if you did the first part years ago...it's held up really well, to not be treated! Good job Mitch. Looking forward to future videos on this. Also, glad to have you back on youtube. :)
I use leaves as an insulator as well but once I have them all in place I lash leafy branches on top of that to help to keep any wind from blowing my insulation away. it's common sense at work but other than that I think you did a great job
Many many years ago, humph. I joined the Boy Scouts in 1961. Back in the real old days, the rhyme was wrap it thrice and frappe it twice. That was enough for most lashing. You save a little rope that way. Not meant to make you wrong, but just to give some ancient wisdom.
cool ya i was in @23 yrs ago, thats the lashing i used except i used 5 lashing and 2 fraps. thanks, you must of had some good times back then, ive researched the jamboree's back then, incredible stuff.
it seems like people don't appreciate the scouts as much as they should. i was in it until i left the church a few years ago. me and some friends went to the salt flats a couple of weeks ago and found a wood pallet and a camp fire that was extinguished and we wanted to start a fire. i was the only one there who knew what to do (use paper, fine wood shavings, a few feathered matches and dripped candle wax under a splinter teepee). it goes to show how uneducated most young people are about this stuff. it's sad to think i probably wouldn't know it either unless i'd been raised into it through religion.
Excellent videos, you've got my subscription! Something I'd like to add: The are a few options for giving your tipi a sort of foundation to help stabilize it if you're worried about that being an issue. 1. Dig a trench around the perimeter for the bottom end of the poles to sit in 2. Sharpen the bottom end of several poles and shove them in the ground (or don't sharpen them if it's wet enough) 3. Continue the line of large stones from the doorway to go around the whole perimeter, using them to act as stops for the poles I'm sure there are other ways to do it but these are what I have tried. It all depends on available time, materials, ground conditions, and whether you like digging, sharpening, or picking up rocks more. My suggestion to save energy and time is just shove them in the ground if you can, but everyone has there own way and I'm happy to see someone else's take on it. Thanks for sharing!
Nice mods with the cross members. If you had a tarp to wrap just the top end with (tip of a cone has less area) you might solve a time and headache problem of having to collect and stack debris up any higher. I might actually copy your idea and do this myself, if you don't mind.
I really want to see a survival videos in the Arabian Desert especially the Rub' Al-Khali desert where there is nothing but sand..literally nothing but sand. I think it will be a real challenge
better late than never; but I just happened to stumble upon your video ! I found it quite interesting, I'm always open to new ideas, or in this case re-discovered !
Awesome Aaron thanks, i was a scout as well @23 yrs ago, keep at it young man; dont forget to read some of the founding authors books like D,C.Beard and Ernest Seton to suppliment your manual.
I like your videos, and this is a great idea!! ..... but... I'm a girl, and don't like the debris, leaf litter or the bugs dropping on my face... I'd put a tarp or plastic on the poles before the leaves.... yes, I thought about how the leaves could slide easier, but with slender, forest litter, branches laid in there will help hold it.. ....in real bad weather, with wind, do you lay pine boughs over it all?? To hold the leaves on?
Mitch, would you do a video explaining drafts & hoow smoke drifts & such? That escapes me a bit & I can't practice in the lawn without raising hell over here.
Wouldn't a shelter that is raised off the ground be better long term? But this shelter is good cuz u can have a fire in it. I am not that experienced in the bush but i think i would make a shelter that is off the ground and put a plastic drop cloth in the front and have a fire outside of it, then i don't have to worry about the smoke or the cold ground in the winter.
Question, I see that the smoke hole obviously adds ventilation to the shelter but does that not also allow rain to get inside of the shelter? And would that not effect your fire?
About a year late in seeing this video, good improvising.. but too close to a fire and those leaves are going to be one serious tender bundle for a fire. Given the time of season (shorts and t-shirt) why not use the green foliage in the background? At least for the sub layer. We all know that wind changes when using a fire.. Just curious....
How do you keep the leaves intact on a windy day. There is nothing keeping the wind from blowing them away from the hut.how do you keep the fire from catching the leaves on fire inside the hut
Hey dude, what's up? You might have been asked this before, but are we ever going to get a second part to this video? It's just so beautiful. Welcome back, by the way!
The only problem with this, and with my debris tipi, is that it is quite flammable. Luckily there was enough snow on the ground that I was only just able to put it out before it went up completely.
Boglenight A small fire inside one of these will keep you warm on cold nights. Native Americans used these for hundreds of years when migrating to follow game or find new game. Not all tipi's or wiki's are made from buffalo hide. Depending on the style and size, you can make a fairly good sized fire, without having to worry about burning down your house.
Greg Neighbors in regions were birch is common, birch-bark was often used by natives and trappers as "shingles"....the nice thing is you can harvest the bark well after the tree has fallen and the wood inside has rotted away...pull out a 1 wide "ring", then split one side and open it flat. Birchbark is naturally water resistant: poke a few small holes in the "upper" edge, lace it to your frame with grasses or bark strips, and overlap like shingled roofing/siding. makes for a VERY durable, and about the driest roof/wall you can make with "found" materials....
ideally you'd be using something like pine boughs, this is just a debris shelter, definitely not longer term, those leaves would not only, yes, blow away with a decent gust, but rain would just make them decay. The thing about debris is you have to constantly put more and more on every few months as that happens. But yeah would have made more sense to just put up pine boughs but I'm assuming he couldn't be bothered. I mean, if he wanted to go all out, he could have wattle and daub the entire thing. and plastered it all down with clay-mud and leaves, that would have been cool to see.
man are perfectly sized probably dead logs just laying around everywhere like that? I'd assume it is, but I'm not exactly sure what exact kind of environment he's in, and if it's really that common. Can someone please answer my questions?
cool i been reading them free books on ur .com there 1 with a roaster on it a wire and a wood fan i tried it with a whole chicken took some time but it did work very good also tryed it with lamb that took less time and tasted lovely what im say is ty for shearing the books lol
