5 Primitive Shelters That’ll Keep You Safe From the Elements When the Collapse Takes Place

primitive shelters

It can be difficult to know the best course of action to take when you’re in need of a shelter. So much depends on the current conditions and the building materials and tools that you have at your disposal.

Obviously, you need to consider if it’s safe to go out in search of materials before you start building. But you also need to consider the climate and weather – will a mud hut protect you against rain? Probably not. Will you waste time looking for grass to thatch your roof if you’re stuck in the snow?

And what do you have to build with? These are all essential questions to consider when making a shelter. Most of the time it's all about improvising, and having in the back of your mind what shelters are the easiest to make, depending on the situation you're dealing with.

One of the best tools you can carry is knowledge of options. Know your options based on your surroundings. Take a look at the next page for some examples of primitive shelters!

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87 Comments

  1. Brett Monroe said:

    The dugg out center w leen to cylinder shape to it is one of my fav shelters but takes a lil bit to build, more of a long term shelter. But one of my favs

  2. Tyler Brown said:

    I love how the titles use to say “will keep you safe IF the collapse happens” and now it has most definitely turned into ” will keep you safe WHEN the collapse happens” nice touch.

  3. Susan Wright said:

    When Eli was in scouts we learned to dig in and build a snow shelter. My Dad taught me the” dry” shelter. Even now it seems a great thing to know!

  4. Bruce Belvin said:

    Very cool. I just hope these shelters don’t block my cellphone signal so I can still watch Netflix.

  5. Herbert Lockuk Jr. said:

    If you happen to be making a cave in the snow we were told to have a branch at all times to make hole for air circulation. They say that the snow is umcik

  6. Ernest Levesque said:

    Used the snow shelter in Boy Scouts I had a scoutmaster that was Army Ranger and he liked teaching survival bush craft. It is still a little cold but when compaired to the outside temp. at night fall it’s yes.

  7. Martin Benton said:

    If you get the chance, check out the one st the museum in Kearney, NE.

  8. Mark Crummett said:

    re: this collapse I keep hearing about- will civilization eventually return from collapse? How long do we have to live in holes in the ground?

  9. Bruce Forsman said:

    all peeping is bs there are 500 ish nuclear plants the planet will become irradiated if civilization collapses , true dat

  10. Andy O Brien said:

    When I lived in Alaska, we built snow shelters with the 12th grade students in Wasilla. It’s part of their curriculum and also the Boy Scouts. I went through an Arctic survival school when I was in the military and with a private survival school. Then we practiced with our survival group. It’s a blast the things you pick up every time you do it. Everyone has something to offer.

  11. Ernest Levesque said:

    These are good bush craft skills to know as the collapse of civilization is uncertain BUT getting lost in the woods and maybe having to spend a night or two is more certain to happen. I hiked the Aplication

  12. Guy Connell said:

    My question is, if it really came.down to this, what would be the point?

  13. Ernest Levesque said:

    Why would that be so funny back when I did it there were no cell phones that turned you into a drone and I had a scout master with army ranger experience learned lots of ranger skills without being in the army and won a survival award on a survival challenge weekend was not to hard as 38 of 40 tapped out.

  14. Mark Scott said:

    Winter over survival school on Antarctica, we had extra time and build a couple 5 man igloos and 1 big$#%&!@*hole in the ground.
    -15 and windy but maybe 45ish inside. Igloos work.

  15. Terry Henck said:

    Zombies would skip my house, they would be like? I don’t think I want to eat anything that lives there!

  16. David Collins said:

    You hiked the Aplication …First off, there is no Aplication, it’s call the Appalachian Trail. Secondly, that has to be the longest run on sentence I think I’ve ever read, and thirdly, there are no cell phones that turn you into a drone. At least none that I am aware of

  17. David Collins said:

    You hiked the Aplication …First off, there is no Aplication, it’s called the Appalachian Trail. Secondly, that has to be the longest run on sentence I think I’ve ever read, and thirdly, there are no cell phones that turn you into a drone. At least none that I am aware of

  18. Ernest Levesque said:

    OK slam me for grammer and spelling a small stroke does$#%&!@*to ya and sorry ive seen way to many drones who can’t look up 3 inches from a smart phone before walking into traffic. POKEMON GO top of list .

  19. Byron Lee Kirkpatrick said:

    So the “collapse” takes place, people are fighting over what is left, and I guess the houses of the dead people disappear. If we all only look out for ourselves, we are doomed. If that starving 7 year old shows up, do you kill them and eat them, help them, or just kick the crap out of them. If the collapse happens, survival depends on you being a mean bastard to everyone else. Preppers need to watch the show Taxi, when Louie makes the shelter in the basement for survival. Louie couldn’t even throw Jim, a cabbie he hated, out into the make believe chaos.

  20. Barry Hope said:

    I think I would build the shelter made from a hole. Of course, the best thing is to carry a small tarp and some 550 cord.

  21. Bill Hensler said:

    It does not take much to harden the heart. Imagine if some radical groups – like a comibination of Islamic & BLM – caused massive deaths. By the way, those clowns are trying to shut down the highway system. And “dark ages” are pretty much a norm for the human condition.

  22. Andy O Brien said:

    I believe in being safe for the first 3 months of chaos. Prep yourself. It’s only 90 days. The only people that myter at this time are those with you and your family. Giving aid to others only emboldens them to come back and get more. Don’t start a bad habit.. I don’t EBT go kill people more than I have to. If it’s a security issue
    then you become a non issue.
    It’s that simple. You have to think in those terms. Yes we are all human, but in these days you need to be tough not just in body but in mind and heart. Depending on situation
    and how bad the chaos is you might have to keep your head down for another 3 months. By then there should be a large death toll. The weak, young, unprepared, sick, old will be the mass casualty. But there will be other threats, gangs, etc. that is where your skills come in. And don’t be afraid to spend a little extra and gear up.

  23. Andy O Brien said:

    Go on Ernest, it’s interesting to hear other people’s experiences. We are all teachers and students. But some people are just cannon fodder.

  24. Andy O Brien said:

    If your in my group and fucking with your cell phone I would put a bullet in your head.

  25. Andy O Brien said:

    Most people’s homes aren’t bullet proof.. Lights, motion,
    and noise attract others… Security is 24/7. Spend the extra money and get a place set up. Sacrifice a vacation if needed. Be prepared to live off the grid. Food for 2 years.
    Water purification system is a must.. I have a Katadyn that can desalinize salt water if needed. There are a lot if things out there you can use,
    Many people have water wells outside the cities, get a hand pump that you can attach a hose or pipe to and pull water.

  26. Andy O Brien said:

    Look at an Amish catalog for lots of fear. It’s all hand powered. Practice your skills.
    Teach your family.

  27. Ernest Levesque said:

    Andy finally someone else who shared the same scout master. remember how we went camping on a military style ya hump it in ya hump it out winter camp. For any not up to snuff hump it in means if you did not carry it in you don’t have it. we learned the value of a snow shelter then. (no tents were taken)

  28. Ernest Levesque said:

    90 days if it is a full fall it will be more mad max without the cars or the roads a wtf.

  29. Ernest Levesque said:

    Well I would hope you would make them chuck those phones because they can be tracked plus there only as good as the cell towers that support them and lets not forget battery life. I would love to see you try to plug it into a tree.

  30. Stanley Hollingsworth said:

    Heck just grab your big out bag!!!! It will save mankind. By the way where you bugging out to? Cell phones won’t work, no gas available, . . No electricity. How far can you walk??

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