Temporary Shelters

Although it’s not the ideal situation, there may be a time when a tent, tipi or other temporary shelter will be a godsend to you. Some of them are cheap, some very expensive but either way it is important to have a good understanding of these types of shelters and which one is right for you in an extreme survival situation.

Camping Tent

Modern technology offers some amazing features in tents these days. Take the Alaknak from Cabelas, this tent has EVERYTHING including vents, awnings, high durability and light weight materials.

Camping tents can be found anywhere from Big 5 to Walmart. However if you are going to spend any amount of money on a shelter DO NOT get the cheapest thing you can find. You get what you pay for and you will regret buying a cheap tent when your seams and poles start to break when you need it most.

Cabelas
Eureka Tents
Coleman

Canvas Tent

Canvas tents are basically a mix between a tipi and a modern camping tent. These tents have been used for hundreds of years and have a long standing tradition here in the US. These tents offer superior protection and moderate mobility. These are good tents to own.

Elk Mountain Tents
Reliable Tent
Colorado Yurt
Davis Tent

Military Tents

Plain and simple; there is no better tent than a military tent. Straight out of a movie these tents have every feature you could imagine including complete blackout capabilities. They’re expensive and difficult to transport (due to the extremely strong frame) but as far as a temporary shelter goes these tents are the best.

RDD USA
Army Tents
Alaska Structures

Yurts

A yurt is perhaps the most permanent temporary shelter. These babies will keep you warm and safe and protected from the elements in the most extreme types of weather. The downside is the hefty price tag and low mobility. This is a better option for the survivalist with an empty piece of property waiting for a cabin or home.

Colorado Yurt
Yurts.com
Yurt Works

You can even make your own Yurt with a little bit of effort, these thing are time tested. The mongols used these types of structures during their roaming destruction and conquest.

Build a Yurt

Yurt Building

Geodesic Domes

The Geodesic dome is a very sturdy structure. It is perhaps one of the most efficient structures and is capable of offering superior protection against the weather. The only real drawback is the price tag and the lack of portability. While they are much easier to transport than a yurt this isn’t exactly a “back packing” structure.

Turtle Tuff Shelters

Tipis

Tipis are one of the oldest types of structures and perhaps the first man made shelter ever created in North America. Nevertheless these are perfect shelters for the North American continent and have hundreds or probably thousands of years of time testing behind them. Tipis are highly recommended shelters and are well suited for the weather. They are portable and can accommodate fires during winter.

Strinz Tipis
Colorado Yurt
Tipis
Reliable Tent

Emergency Shelter

These are the kind of shelters you don’t want to be in. Generally they are only as a last resort, but hey it’s better than no resort.

Wilderness Survival Shelter
Make a hay bale structure
Emergency Shelter

Trailers

And Finally there’s the trailer option….I do not recommend these very much because of their high cost and dependence on gas for mobility. But to each his own.

Campa USA