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How to make survival sheltersThe main function of survival shelters is to protect you from environmental hazards when yo...
06/28/2023

How to make survival sheltersThe main function of survival shelters is to protect you from environmental hazards when you are out in the open and far from home. Extreme heat can cause you to have syncope or heat stroke. On the contrary, excessive cold causes hypothermia and frostbite. In swampy areas, you can be eaten by mosquitoes. And if you soak to the bone while you sleep, you can catch pneumonia, apart from the discomfort, the lack of rest, and the blow against your morale that this will entail.

Contents
Characteristics of circumstance shelters
Survival shelter location
The shelter bed
Types of survival shelters
Vehicles
Natural refuges
Makeshift shelters
Techniques for making makeshift survival shelters
Shelter with a tarp, tarp, or plastic sheet
Characteristics of circumstance shelters
Besides protecting you from the above elements, a good shelter will provide comfort, security, and psychological strength.

The type of shelter you build will depend on

Where you are: you must adapt the type of refuge to the forest, the mountain, or more extreme situations, such as the jungle, the desert, or the polar zones.
Your needs and the dangers you face: In some places, it is imperative for survival to protect yourself from the sun or the cold. In others, like the Arctic tundra in summer, you risk going crazy if you don’t have a mosquito net.
The time you will stay in that place: If you will be there for a short time, it is not worth investing much energy in constructing a shelter.
Tools that you have: Our tools, improvised or not, will limit the characteristics of our shelter. The absence of sharp tools will reduce our alternatives to natural refuges.
You should always include in your luggage at least one good pocket knife or hunting knife and a 2×2 or 3×3 meter plastic sheet ( tarp) or similar that occupies and weighs little and provides us with a waterproof roof. If weight doesn’t matter, include a small hatchet or machete.

Survival shelter location
You will look for a dry place as far as possible and sheltered from the wind, away from stagnant water or swamps to avoid being eaten by mosquitoes, although a nearby source or a small stream would be ideal.

To minimize the risks, you shouldn’t set up your camp on the banks of the rivers. I know it is idyllic to center in a place like this, and I have done it. But you can be surprised by a flood, even in sunny weather, due to the rupture of a naturally formed dam due to the accumulation of branches. That happened in 1996 at the Las Nieves campsite in Aragon, which was razed briefly. People died inside their vehicles and caravans, which were swept away by the force of the current. Now you know. The same can be said of dry riverbeds, which in a storm, can turn into torrents before you know it.

It is also inadvisable to camp under the trees due to the potential risk of a branch falling on us. I frequently break this rule because the trees protect me from dew. If you decide to do like me, ensure you don’t have dry branches that pose a risk to you. Also, avoid places with danger of rockfall or hazard of snow avalanches.

It is important to pay attention to the surroundings not to realize that we have an anthill or a hornet’s nest as neighbors once our construction is finished.

The shelter bed
The bedding is a fundamental part of the shelter. It must be soft, dry, horizontal, and hot (except in the desert, which will be cool). We will achieve this by choosing the location well (escape areas with humidity), removing the sticks and stones that may be on the ground, and isolating ourselves well from it with fallen leaves, ferns, clothing, etc.

Types of survival shelters
Any survival shelter that we use to set up our camp will correspond to one of these three types:

Vehicles
natural refuges
makeshift shelters
Vehicles
If we find ourselves in a real survival situation due to having suffered an accident and our vehicle is still habitable, it can constitute a good refuge. Otherwise, let’s pay attention to the material it carries inside, which could serve us. Normally, the vehicles are poorly insulated and can become a fridge or an oven. Still, at least they will protect us from the wind and rain. Newspapers are a good insulator. If we have them, let’s use them to cover the windows and better protect ourselves from the cold.

If we need to make a fire and do not have matches or a lighter, we can soak a piece of cloth, paper, sponge from the seats, etc., with gasoline. And make sparks on it crossing the battery terminals. Burning or adding motor oil to the fire will produce dense black smoke that is excellent for signaling. But under no circumstances should we pour any flammable liquid (alcohol, gasoline, oil…) directly onto the fire, or we will cause an explosion.

Natural refuges
Natural shelters are protections whose construction requires little or no effort on our part, and they are improvised, taking advantage of natural accidents, such as cracks and cavities in rocks, caves, land formations, and vegetation. They are very abundant in the forest and mountains.

A cleft in a rock face that protects us from rain and wind and does not offer risks of landslides is ideal. We will only have to worry about building a dry and comfortable bed.

Makeshift shelters
They are the rustic shelters we build with the materials we find in nature or carry in our luggage.

Techniques for making makeshift survival shelters
The following survival techniques allow you to improvise shelter in most circumstances and climates.

Shelter with a tarp, tarp, or plastic sheet
If we have a large plastic sheet, we can improvise a shelter by stretching a rope between two trees and placing the sheet like a classic tent. Ultimately, we will wrap some stones that we will hold with wooden forks or tie them and secure them with ropes and improvised pegs with some resistant wooden sticks. If we dig a ditch around it, we will prevent water from flooding us in the event of a storm.

This is a simple way and one of the most practical to use a tarp, but numerous types and models of shelter can be made from a sheet of these characteristics.

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How to make the best shelters with a tarp or canvasA tarp or canvas will allow you to make different models of shelters ...
06/28/2023

How to make the best shelters with a tarp or canvas

A tarp or canvas will allow you to make different models of shelters to protect yourself from the weather simply by learning the techniques below.

Contents
What do you need to be able to make a shelter with a tarp?
Models of shelters with a tarp
A-Frame Tarp Shelters
Tarp shelters to protect a hammock
Diamond shelter
Cave shelter
Shelter in the form of a shed
What do you need to be able to make a shelter with a tarp?
To be able to make shelters with a tarp, you need to have other elements in addition to the tarp:

One or two trees anchor the main rope that will support the shelter. They can also be replaced by stakes collected on-site or trekking poles.

Several meters of paracord rope. At least 5 or 6 meters for the main anchor and maybe more depending on the type of shelter; for example, from 2 to 4 lines of 3 or 3.5 meters.

Pegs to fix the ropes or the ends of the canvas to the ground. You can make the pegs yourself with wooden stakes if necessary.

Knowledge of some basic knots will help you tie the tarp more safely and quickly. These are turnbuckle, clove hitch, quick escape knot, prusik, lark, and flat knot.

Models of shelters with a tarp
There are many configurations to set up a bivouac with a tarp. Even if you like it, you might develop your system. I have chosen these because they are simple and form the basis for getting started in the tarp world.

A-Frame Tarp Shelters
It is one of the easiest and most well-known models. It imitates the shape of a Canadian-type tent… although since they are in disuse, you may not know what I mean if you are very young. This shelter provides good protection against rain and is appropriate in hot places.

You will need to find two trees one space apart greater than the size of your tarp. For example, if it is 3×3, you will need at least 4 meters of separation between the trees to enter and exit your shelter comfortably.

There are variations of this shelter: You can replace the trees with stakes or trekking poles, although in this case, the entrance to the top will not be so comfortable.

You can also make an A-shaped shelter with soil. In this case, the height of the passenger compartment is reduced. In my opinion, a rectangular tarpaulin is more practical for this type of shelter. For example, 4×3 meters instead of 3×3.

Tarp shelters to protect a hammock
In this case, finding two appropriate trees becomes essential. It is similar to the A-shaped shelter; it is located above the hammock and does not reach the ground. Ideally, you should be able to stand under it.

There are two configurations for this shelter. You can do this by folding the tarp down the center of two opposite sides, giving you a rectangle on each side of the rope. Or you can fold the tarp from corner to corner, giving you a triangle on each rope side.

Diamond shelter
For this shelter, we will need a tree where we will anchor the end of a rope; the other end will be fixed to the ground. One of the tarp’s corners will also arrive at the environment at the same point as the rope. The opposite corner of the tarp will slide on the string toward the tree we attach to. We will tighten the other two vertices, forming a kind of “wings,” and anchoring them to the ground. Like this, we will divide the tarp in half, creating two triangles.

This type of shelter offers excellent protection against the wind if well-oriented. And it even allows you to fire at the front. Of course, with the risk of piercing the tarp if it is very thin.

Cave shelter
This type of shelter is made similarly to the previous one, but it is lower, and the remaining canvas is folded inwards and used as a floor.

Instead of using the line that joins two opposite corners of the tarp as the center of the gable roof and forming two triangles, in this case, we will divide the tarp in half from the centers of two opposite sides, creating two rectangles (as if we were folding a sheet ). In a 3×3 tarp, we will have approximately 2 meters of tarp soil towards the bottom of the shelter.

As in the photo, you can drop a rope from a tree to the ground or use a stake or trekking pole to secure a solid entrance.

Shelter in the form of a shed
This shelter is very simple and has many variations. The simplest form is a small sloping rectangular tarp, which can be improvised from an industrial garbage bag.

Suppose your challenge is experimenting with minimalist equipment or as light as possible. In that case, you can find small and lightweight tarps, such as the DD SuperLight Tarp S (see on Amazon), 1.5 x 2.8 meters, that are appropriate for this type of shelter.

A variation on this shelter is to incorporate a gabled roof into it. You can do it with the help of two stakes or by tightening a rope from each corner.

Another variation is to add a gabled roof and floor. For this model, a rectangular canvas, for example, 4×3 meters, is best suited, which will provide more space.

The roof must have a sufficient slope so that it does not become trapped in water in the event of rain.

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10 Essential Survival Tools To Take In Your KayakUsing a small boat for a single person has been around for thousands of...
06/28/2023

10 Essential Survival Tools To Take In Your Kayak
Using a small boat for a single person has been around for thousands of years. People have always needed to traverse various bodies of water and did what they could to make it happen.

Contents
Water filter
Cooking system
Survival knife
Fire Starter
Multi Tool
Tarp or military poncho
Ax
First aid kit
Paracord
Compass
Throughout the long history of fishing and exploration, our ancestors would find ways to make better and better vessels to make their lives easier. They weren’t always safe, if ever, which came with time.

Today, a modern kayak has everything one might need while on the water, whether you are an angler who needs a lot of gear to fish or a recreational kayaker enjoying a day out.

Water filter
– Without water, you can only survive three days, so having equipment to filter water is crucial. The last thing you want is to get sick in an untreated water emergency.

Water Filter

Cooking system
– Prepare a freeze-dried, dehydrated, or emergency ration once you have found water. The systems that include a canteen, spoon, and stove are good options since they are usually all-in-one and take up little space. It will also help us to sterilize the water.

Cooking system

Survival knife
– It can provide you with protection and the ability to hunt and prepare your food in emergencies and help you build shelter and craft small items vital to your survival.

Survival knife

Fire Starter
– Lighting a fire in a survival situation can save us from hypothermia and boost our morale. In the market, we will find the most common, a simple gas lighter; we are in danger of running out of gas, and those designed for survival situations, magnesium; we will scrape the magnesium, and with the flint, we will produce the spark, those made of ferrocerium bar, scratch and produces a spark and those with a piston, usually work even in cold, windy, wet climates and have a very long duration.

Multi Tool
– At some point, you need more than just a knife; having a good multi-tool can allow you to do some things you can’t do with a knife.

Tarp or military poncho
– For the preparation of shelters in your activities in nature. Bivouac, Security, privacy, and protection against the elements and animals and insects both in adventures and emergencies.

Tarp or military poncho

Ax
– An ax will be useful for building shelters, firewood, protection, and cutting or digging through snow or ice.

ax

First aid kit
Top 10 Tools for a Survival Scenario – A good first aid kit is mandatory in outdoor activities. If you go with a pre-packaged first aid kit, include the necessary environmental items (mountain, desert, hiking, trail running).

First aid kit

Paracord
Top 10 Tools for a Survival Scenario – It is simple and has hundreds of uses: shoelaces, safeguarding food, repairing backpacks or pants, and survival bracelets.

Be sure to learn some knots or bring a notebook with the main knots.

Paracord

Compass
– Have a compass and good knowledge of navigation to find the way back or reach the destination point. Some models come with a magnifying glass, but it can also be useful for starting a fire, removing splinters, and extracting insect stingers. Some have a mirror that can also be used for signage.

Compass

Description and characteristics of the betta fish, fighting fish, or siamese fighterThe betta or Siamese fighting fish (...
06/28/2023

Description and characteristics of the betta fish, fighting fish, or siamese fighter
The betta or Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens) is a popular aquarium fish of great beauty.

Contents
Description and characteristics of the betta fish, fighting fish, or siamese fighter
The male betta fish
female betta fish
wild betta fish
Biology of the fighting or fighting fish
Betta fish reproduction
What does the Siamese fighter eat?
Habitat and distribution of Betta splendens
Aquarium betta fish care
How to feed your Siamese fighter well
What is the right aquarium for betta fish?
How to get betta fish to reproduce
Taxonomic classification of Betta splendens
What is the betta fish or Siamese fighter called in other languages?
They reach 6 cm in length in the case of males and 5.5 cm in the case of females. They can live about 2 or 3 years.

The male betta fish
Males have highly developed and spectacular dorsal, caudal and a**l fins.

There are numerous varieties of beautiful colors, including red, white, blue, yellow, chocolate, orange, black, etc., obtained by breeders.

female betta fish
The females are more discreet in this sense, and their fins do not reach the spectacularity of the males.

wild betta fish
Wild specimens have much duller colors and less developed fins. Males are reddish-brown with some green lines, and females are yellowish-brown.

Biology of the fighting or fighting fish
The Siamese wrestler has an organ called a labyrinth that allows it to breathe oxygen from the air, thanks to which it can survive in oxygen-poor waters. It is an aggressive species with its congeners. The males do not tolerate each other and engage in violent combat when they meet until the defeated one flees. The females, on the other hand, have a tolerant character.

Betta fish reproduction
During reproduction, the male tries to win over the female by displaying his fins while swimming around her. Receptive females darken their body color, now showing darker vertical lines.

The males build bubble nests attached to rocks, roots, leaves, and stems, which cross the water’s surface. The female lays eggs, turning her belly up, while the male fertilizes them by embracing her with her body. Fertilization is external.

After completing the laying, the male expels the female, who could devour the eggs and takes care of the offspring. If an egg sinks, the male picks it up with his mouth and deposits it in the nest.

Incubation lasts two to three days, and the fry sremains another two to three days in the nest while the male consumes and protects the yolk sac. They then leave the nest and parental care.

What does the Siamese fighter eat?
They feed mainly on small invertebrates, insect larvae, zooplankton, etc.

Habitat and distribution of Betta splendens
It lives in slow-flowing or stagnant waters, rice fields, flood zones, etc.

It is an endemic species of Thailand, specifically in the basins of the Mae Khlong and Chao Phraya rivers, where it is increasingly scarce.

Aquarium betta fish care
Siamese fighters, especially males, are among the most attractive freshwater aquarium fish. But you should not have more than one male per aquarium since they are very aggressive with each other. Not having space to flee, one of the two would end up dying.

Nor is it entirely advisable to have a partner since the male can chase a non-receptive female until she is exhausted. The females, however, can share an aquarium without problems if they have enough space. Otherwise, they can also become aggressive. They can also share it with other species, although they could become aggressive with small species with bright colors and developed fins, such as guppies.

How to feed your Siamese fighter well
Betta fish are not fond of commercial flake food, so it’s a good idea to offer live food such as mosquito larvae or daphnia frequently.

What is the right aquarium for betta fish?
It is not very demanding regarding the size of the aquariums. However, although it could perfectly live in a 20-liter aquarium, a 45-liter tank is better if it is shared with other species if it develops territorial behaviors. Prefers depths of less than 40 cm. The water temperature must be between 24º and 29ºC; the pH is around 7, and semi-hard or hard water.

The aquarium will be well planted because this fish likes to hide among the algae. It should also be covered, as it wants to jump, and we will, maintain the temperature and humidity of the air over the water, which will prevent the labyrinth from inflaming when it breathes air.

How to get betta fish to reproduce
The bettas will be placed in an aquarium of about 20 liters with a temperature of 20 -30ºC separated by a glass, or the female will be divided in a separate container inside the aquarium. This will stimulate the building of the bubble nest by the male. You can offer him something floating to attach the nest to that element instead of the female’s container.

Once the nest is made, the female is released. She must retire after laying since the male takes care of the eggs and the fry. For its part, the male will retire three or four days after hatching. The fry will be fed brine shrimp and infusoria.

Taxonomic classification of Betta splendens
Kingdom: Animal; Phylum: Chordates (Chordata) – Subphylum: Vertebrata; class: Actinopterygii (bony fishes); order: Perciformes; family: Osphronemidae; genus: Betta; species: splendens.

Scientific name : Betta splendens

Common Names: Fighter, brawler, fighting fish, siamese fighter, betta fish

What is the betta fish or Siamese fighter called in other languages?
English: siamese fighting fish, betta; German: siamesische kampffisch; French: combattant; Italian: pesce combattente, pesce siamese combattente; Portuguese: peixe betta, peixe de briga Siamese, wrestler, combatant.

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