let's talk emergency sleep/shelter setups

[Tod osier]

I've only done it once and it was more out of convenience than an real need. It was on a kill with my wife and son (10) on the side of a mountain at 40F , so that added to the fun and it was raining. Shelter with a 10x10 cuben tarp that we always carry and good rain gear. Wrapping son in a space blanket really kept him warm (and me when I stuck my hands underneath with him to get warmed up). We had a fire and just stuck it out. Having excellent headlamps to ward off the boogieman is nice. Plenty of water and calories to keep going.

 

[austinphps]

Always in my pack:
10x10 DST Tarp/6 ti stakes/cordage (I also have 50' in my kill kit)
Extra lighter, waterproof matches and some quick fire material (fire cubes, trioxane or the like)
Full days worth of food - Lunch/dinner/snacks
TITAN Survival sleeping bag
Puffy jacket/rain jacket/rain pants/beanie and gloves

I feel with all of that I can survive the night during archery season. Sleep on my pack for the ground insulation.

During rifle season I throw in the Kifaru woobie. I use it for glassing anyway. Might not keep me comfy - but I plan on surviving the night.

There are other things I'm not mentioning, but these are the big ticket items. To answer the OP - the shelter is the 10x10 tarp and the sleep is the extra clothing/survival bag, and the woobie during rifle season

 

[Mosby]

I always have a couple of ways of starting fire with me. I practice with different products after rain, snow etc., to learn to deal with wet wood. I always have a small pad for sitting, extra batteries and a Kifaru sheep tarp for some cover. I can get through a night with whats in my pack.

 

[Michiganhunter]

I've only done it once and it was more out of convenience than an real need. It was on a kill with my wife and son (10) on the side of a mountain at 40F , so that added to the fun and it was raining. Shelter with a 10x10 cuben tarp that we always carry and good rain gear. Wrapping son in a space blanket really kept him warm (and me when I stuck my hands underneath with him to get warmed up). We had a fire and just stuck it out. Having excellent headlamps to ward off the boogieman is nice. Plenty of water and calories to keep going.

I’ll either have my .44 or my Glock 19 to ward off the boogie man. Although the one time I got surrounded by coyotes my flashlight scared them off easily and I didn’t blow out my ears or blinded by the muzzle flash. A good light or 2 is a must have

 

[CBreeze]

I’ll either have my .44 or my Glock 19 to ward off the boogie man. Although the one time I got surrounded by coyotes my flashlight scared them off easily and I didn’t blow out my ears or blinded by the muzzle flash. A good light or 2 is a must have

Surrounded By coyotes!!!!

 

[Michiganhunter]

Surrounded By coyotes!!!!

Yes true story. I awoke to the sound of the leaves rustling and first thought was start blasting. They were almost 20 feet from me when I was fully awake and aware of wha was going on. I was sleeping under the stars and the mood was out so I could see pretty good. At first I was kinda freaking out because I’ve never had this happen and I was solo plus waking from a dead sleep. I watched too much tv as a kid so I had all these scenarios playing out in my sleepy mind before I just realized turning on a flashlight and shouting would scare them off. In hindsight I should have shot as manny as I could. I counted at least5-6 o them in the short time. It was at that moment I decided I would carry a Glock 19 instead of my 43 when backpacking. It holds more ammo in 1 may then I had In 2 mags of the 43. Call me paranoid about f you want but I always sleep better with a gun while out solo camping. I actually worry more about the local meth heads then wildlife. Here in Michigan there ain’t too many dangerous animals that ain’t also super skittish. I try to camouflage my camp and stay away from 2 tracks but sometimes you don’t know if there is one nearby.

 

[justinspicher]

Because of this thread, I purchased another GoLite poncho.

 

[Team4LongGun]

As far as emergency shelter-my kit ALWAYS includes it. Back in the days of USMC half shelters made of canvas and other outdated gear we always carried our poncho liners for the “ranger roll”. Now that technology has caught up, and I’m older and slower-I keep quality gear with me at all times.

Here is a link to a veteran owned company that makes top notch gear for this very situation. Best part is, they’ve been downrange and know what works and more importantly-what don’t.

Super B Convertible Glassing Blanket

The Super B glassing blanket is available in two weights, 2.5oz or 3.6oz and is the ultimate static layer. Whether you've got a bull down in the dark and can't make it back to camp, or your time on target has exceeded your available extraction window and you have to pull security on the side of...

furtherfasterdesigns.com

 

[mtwarden]

^ that’s a great price on an Apex quilt- good for them!

 

[mcseal2]

On whitetail or predator hunts around home I don't pack anything specifically for an overnight except the DSK. If it's even somewhat cold morning and evening I have puffy pants and a jacket along. Early season it's Kuiu Kenai, later it's their Superdown Pro. Wet weather I have a Kifaru LPP and will probably add their pants before going to AK again. For December whitetail hunts I pack my HPG mountain serape (insulated poncho/sleeping bag) to drape over myself while glassing. It makes a huge difference in staying warm the way I hunt, sitting for hours with no blind to block wind. I might have to look into the APEX poncho listed earlier, mine is several years old and about 40oz. I've used it as a primary sleeping bag to the upper 30's and been happy.

Western hunts I have the puffy set plus a tarp of some sort. At minimum it's a MyTrailCo poncho/tarp as my rain gear and shelter. If weather issues are more likely I'll take real rain gear plus a larger tarp. The Seek DSK is my favorite multi-purpose tarp for shelter or glassing under. If it's just to be an emergency shelter the Kifaru Para or Megatarps are my favorites depending on where and how many people are going.

Food, water, and supplements get matched to the conditions and location. I often use a Pathfinder stainless bottle the size of a Nalgene if it's cold. I like a bottle that can handle fire if it's cold.

I always have a zipper pouch with emergency/medical/convenience items. I call it my DSK (daypack survival kit), but it has other stuff in it too. I'll list the contents at the end of this for anyone interested. It isn't necessarily a sleep system, but some of it complements the sleep system. A space blanket can be a fire reflector or ground sheet for example when I have a better option for sleeping.

The friend I do all my destination hunts with and I purchased an In-Reach mini this year also. That's probably as important as anything we pack.

All my hunts except muzzle loader whitetail around home are rifle hunts and later in the year. This definitely affects my system.

Alaska DSK 7-22-18 20oz total

Contained in Granite Gear zipper pouch, qt ziplock in pouch for small items:

Medical
-2 gauze pads 3”x3”
-2 Band-aids 1lg, 1 small
-packaged suture 1 small

Multi-purpose
-Adventure Medical space blanket 96“x60“
-Gorilla superglue single use tube
-partial roll Tenacious Tape
-trotline cord 10yds 142lb green
-50ft 1.9mm paracord
-1 roll hot pink vet wrap (marking trail or injuries)

Repair
-3 6” zip ties
-2 repair needles (one curved, one straight)
-6 safety pins (2XL, 2med, 2 small)

Emergency/Survival (1.2oz in small ziplock)
-12 fish hooks med to small (in tape with braided line wrapped around them)
-20ft 80lb braided Power Pro line
-3 nylon coated cable fishing leaders 12”
-9 36” 45lb cable fishing leaders converted into snares (have taken game to rabbit size with them)
-Lifestraw
-10 aquapure tabs (1/qt of water, 30 minutes)

Fire
-4 wetfire cubes
-1 Mentos bottle Vaseline soaked cotton balls
-mini Bic lighter
-Light my Fire firesteel and striker

Misc
-lens cloth
-Danner boot lace
-Silva compass
-Benchmade tactical carbide sharpener (.5oz)
-ceramic rod from an old Cabelas steel
-mosquito face net
-foam ear plugs
-lens cloth
-3 Lithium AAA batteries (fit headlamp or mini flashlight in bino harness)

Bino harness also always holds a mini BIC lighter, Fenix 1AAA flashlight, wetfire cube

That kit sounds like a ton of stuff listed out, but it all fits in a zipper pouch about 6" x 12" and weighs 20oz. It gives me enough redundancy on important items to keep my mind at ease. The items that are unnecessary or just a convenience are light enough they just stay in there. Trying to re-lace a boot with numb hands using paracord after trying to burn the end of it in the wind led me to just carry a pre-made boot lace for example. I also always have a couple knives. One light one and a fixed blade around 4.5" long. I like a bigger knife like that on game. I always have a Black Diamond ReVolt headlamp also. My "bathroom kit" has blue shop towels and a little container of Coglans camp soap sheets for washing hands. The shop towels are very multi-purpose.

 

[Shraggs]

Yes true story. I awoke to the sound of the leaves rustling and first thought was start blasting. They were almost 20 feet from me when I was fully awake and aware of wha was going on. I was sleeping under the stars and the mood was out so I could see pretty good. At first I was kinda freaking out because I’ve never had this happen and I was solo plus waking from a dead sleep. I watched too much tv as a kid so I had all these scenarios playing out in my sleepy mind before I just realized turning on a flashlight and shouting would scare them off. In hindsight I should have shot as manny as I could. I counted at least5-6 o them in the short time. It was at that moment I decided I would carry a Glock 19 instead of my 43 when backpacking. It holds more ammo in 1 may then I had In 2 mags of the 43. Call me paranoid about f you want but I always sleep better with a gun while out solo camping. I actually worry more about the local meth heads then wildlife. Here in Michigan there ain’t too many dangerous animals that ain’t also super skittish. I try to camouflage my camp and stay away from 2 tracks but sometimes you don’t know if there is one nearby.

Must be Michigan thing! From Michigan too and while gutting a deer after dark, had a whole pack circulating me over the kill. Erie for sure but without incident. Second time was on my way to grab a dandy buck with a cart and three started growling and standing between me and the kill. Left pistol and pack in truck a long ways away. I knew they would tear into him before I got back. So I just started yelling nasty words. And they all looked at me and tilted their heads in puzzlement and took off!

Sorry OP.

I carry a 10x10 cuben (8.5 oz) tarp also with 4-6 stakes and cords. Three ways to make fire and my puffy and usually a vest or fleece extra layer. Always always extra food as a diabetic. No pad or bag since I figure with an inReach I just need to get thru one night so I start a fire put layers on and stay awake tending fire.

Oh out west it’s a Glock 20, around here 38 spl.

 

[goathunter]

As far as emergency shelter-my kit ALWAYS includes it. Back in the days of USMC half shelters made of canvas and other outdated gear we always carried our poncho liners for the “ranger roll”. Now that technology has caught up, and I’m older and slower-I keep quality gear with me at all times.

Here is a link to a veteran owned company that makes top notch gear for this very situation. Best part is, they’ve been downrange and know what works and more importantly-what don’t.

Super B Convertible Glassing Blanket

The Super B glassing blanket is available in two weights, 2.5oz or 3.6oz and is the ultimate static layer. Whether you've got a bull down in the dark and can't make it back to camp, or your time on target has exceeded your available extraction window and you have to pull security on the side of...

furtherfasterdesigns.com

This is awesome, how small does it pack down?

 

[Team4LongGun]

This is awesome, how small does it pack down?

I'd say about 6"x10"....def smaller than a soccer ball. Put it this way, its right about the size of 2 black ovis kill kits

 

[Where's Bruce?]

I used to pack a Woobie or Doobie and they are great but now I just take my Sitka Kelvins, keeps me warmer and I find myself sitting for hours glassing comfortably. I also pack a Sea to Summit tarp-poncho. If I'm on the move, I'm vertical and dry. If I'm staying put I'm horizontal and dry. Some snacks, two lights, a cigar and lighter comprise my emergency overnight kit. But careful planning and knowing my limits has kept me outta trouble. I carry this in case I'm sick or injured. I can make a pine bough bed pretty easily. If there's no ground cover (desert) burn whatever is available with a big ring of rocks around it and can bury embers and hot rocks under my shelter to help stay warm. A warm rock in your armpits can do wonders. You can get surprisingly cold just sitting by a fire out in the open. Site selection has a lot to do with your comfort level.

 

[Ratamahatta]

Kifaru lost parka, goretex bivy and poncho with insulated poncho liner are my main 3. Always have fire making ability and headlamp with spare batteries. I also keep a hand warmer muff and the individual hot hand packs as they don't weigh much.

 

[bradb]

 

[bradb]

Does shoot the dall sherp in the trees count as a plan?
This is how we spent the night this year after killing my sheep. 9 miles by the crows flight from our tents and horses. Thankfully we had no rain and not real cold

Not sure how that got in 2 posts

 

[tttoadman]

I have the insulated gloves, the tarp, the puffy pants. I never thought about ground insulation. I may add the ground sheet of some sort and maybe carry my stove and pot too. Someday it will happen to me too.

 

[tdhanses]

I always have a Borah gear tarp in my pack, year round. I like the idea of adding a cigar to the kit and I never smoke the things but that sounds like a great item to have for some reason.

 

[Rifleman86]

We got caught way off guard this year... 2 miles from camp and five from the truck, I thought I was good with my warming layers (Puffy top and bottom, mitts, goretex top and bottom, obviously polypro base layers and fleece mid layer.)

We sweated our ass off putting on a stalk. Mistake on our part there, but easy to do when you are focused and the elk seem so close yet so far away. Then the temp just so happened to plummet about 30 degrees in less than an hour and the wind picked up to 15-20 mph. I believe it got down to 0 F and stayed there for the next several days.

I will never forget how quickly I went from mild discomfort to the point I could tell I was physically and mentally handicapped. All I wanted to do was curl up in a ball and go to sleep, and consciously knew that was really bad. That feeling is burned into my memory from this point forward.

We were searching for sign of a hit from a cow we shot (or maybe just shot at, that’s a mystery lost to time at this point) and were desperately tracking and searching for signs of a hit in the fading light. That desperation clouded my judgement and we stayed on that mountain side way too long. Had we had some sort of sleep system with us we would’ve just made an impromptu camp when the temp dropped and searched more thoroughly at daybreak and it would’ve been no big deal. Instead we got ourselves into a shit sandwich of a situation and possibly lost an elk in the process.

If the temps are forecasted to go much below about 25F or so and or I’m more than about a mile from camp, I’m just dragging the bag, pad and DST tarp along with me. It’s really easy to get steep and deep chasing elk around, and when the weather turns suddenly that can get deadly fast. All that stuff weighs about 5-6lbs, which isn’t light, but it’s better than dying. Also nice to have the option of “putting them to bed” rather than face a tracking and quartering job via headlamp.

ETA forgot to mention we did start a fire in an attempt to get warm, but as someone else mentioned when you are already cold, the wind is whipping, an open fire just doesn’t give off a ton of warmth. Not downplaying the importance of fire in a survival situation, but the ability to make fire isn’t a cure all. It helped a bit, but we decided hiking back to camp in the dark where we had a stove, tent sleeping bags, etc was the better option.