Love the Jungle/Drum n Bass during the montages of Ray working. Reminds me of when I spent a long weekend with Ray at Midgedeath, a free industrial speedcore rave at Cluanie Dam in Scotland. Mr. Mears and myself spent 3 entire days at the front right just in front of the Bass Bin Laden soundsystem, just skanking out to the tunes. Nice to see Ray incorporate his love of electronic music into his television show.
No fucking way. I met a guy at an after party in Glasgow claiming that he met ray mears at a rave up north. obviously I assumed he was taking the piss... WTF?!
That same shelter is still standing 7 years on, Ray returned to it on his latest series about the discovery of Canada by the west. Good job Ray, legend!!
Ray Mears' videos are well done and educational. I don't see any sensationalism in them, just good, usable knowledge. Knowledge that might save your carcass one day, IF you can remember it.
I cite from his Outdoor Survival Handbook: Once the cold weather of autumn really takes hold, you need to start thinking about using winter shelters, particularly those which incorporate a fire. The classic cold-weather shelter is the open-fronted lean-to, which relies on a fire to provide warmth. Open down one side, it is designed to allow the fire’s heat to be reflected into the shelter and down on to you from the roof. The sloping roof is easy and quick to construct but must overhang you far enough to prevent rain or snow landing on your bed! To make the best use of this shelter, you need the correct type of fire and bed.
Ray Mears is a legend. Only he can make living outside with nothing but a knife look easy. He makes McGyver look like an amatuer. The show itself is amazing. This stuff itself is interesting, but tedious. With Ray Mears electric personality, and very good editting, they manage to make it watchable, and fun.
Have been following these activities for decades; interesting this all "new" to most. RM is one of the best sources of real, valid info. Be careful with the match he does in the example, however. I did this exact action many times, and sometimes the head still breaks off, sticks to your finger (where you are "protecting" it as he says ). You then have a second degree burn on your finger; any injury in the bush can turn your life into a dire situation. Thanks to whomever posted; great stuff.
Thank you Ray!!! True inspiration! I grew up watching you on BBC and it strengthened my passion for nature and the great outdoors! But Also our natural history and interest in our ancestors! And yes, great jungle music at the start 👍👍
I was stranded once, with no food or water for quite some time. The weather was going South and so shelter was becoming imperative. Thank goodness, I had my trusty ax in my back pocket!
Good employment of available materials. And, excellent advice on doing it right, taking your time, making all necessary precaution to make the shelter strong. I keep three essential tools with me at all times. Multi tool. Scissors, razor sharp knife, pliers, tweezers, awl, sewing needle and small rasp. A very sharp hand ax with survival handle, which contains a larger knife, fire making supplies, fish hooks, line, a hank of strong cord, magnet. Small 1st aid kit w scalpel and sutures.
I am pretty certain that in a later series, about years later, where he returned to this site, and the shelter was still standing, well the main frame was, has he removed most of the uprights when he left the area previously.
I spent nearly a month in central Labrador roughing it and let me tell you this fellow know his craft. Central Labrador has some of the most unpredictable sub artic weather, averge snow fall is around 16 feet and when it isn't snowing its usually raining and blowing a gale. A true test of ones metal is in remote northern canada a beautiful yet unforgiving landscape. Churchill Falls rocks
I'm in the camp that likes both ray and bear. Woah right? But rays great at the bushcraft stuff. I bought a knife off him too that I thinks in the vid. Morakniv robust. Great stuff!
Personally, I'd lean t over a bit more. It's not as waterproof, but it provides more protection from the opposing wing. Great vid and I love the simplicity. Would you do one with just a knife, though? :)
I would guess that back is facing the direction the weather would be comming from . You can always adjust your pitch and add on a roof or tie down a tarp on top
I've done week long courses of Bushcraft and he makes it look so easy. Ok its not exactly a 5 minute survival fire hes got going, but he still manages to get it going in one go (albeit with a match). Thats not so easy when you wood is quite wet.
Seems like with such a steep roof it would not take much wind to blow rain in on you. I understand the idea of having a fire out front to help out, I like the idea of having more cover. I also understand that the steeper the roof the better they shed water.
Great lean-to. It's easy to construct a lean-to when the materials are readily available and you're willing to down living trees. If you're in an actual survival scenario, of course felling trees should not be a question. But to the average woodsman who's in the forest for practice purposes and shouldn't be killing trees, it's much more difficult finding the boughs to thatch the shelter with. Finding a recently-downed evergreen with usable boughs can be quite time consuming you'll find :-\
If you leave the branches on out side of the roof sticks then you will have a better place to pack in the roof covering. Problems with this design are rain coming in on the open side if its windy and depending on were you are it wont keep wild animals off you while you are asleep. I did a simple shelter on a visit to Canada in bear country. I found 3 trees 2 were so close only I could fit through the gap not a bear, and then I put in horizontal bars between 3 trees to keep the animals out, covered it with a cammo tarp and then covered the cammo tarp with all the offcuts from the trees I used to build the bars of my triangular cage. It worked so well that even I woke up when a mouse passed by from the rustling of the offcuts and I slept with a half sized axe in my right hand so if any thing came to the opening it would soon find out it was not a good idea to put the paws in there. If you from the city sleeping in the bush is quite hair raising if you not used to it.
that would be the my guess as well I have an ozark folding camp saw it's light and works well . but still I find I am sometimes in need of the use of an axe . or I just need a bigger knife to batton some wood
great video. In the canadian wilderness can you get most spruce roots from the ground? and can you get the types of logs you used for the bed from the canadian wilderness?
Would love to know exactly where he did this in the Rockies. Most park areas wouldn't let anyone do this. Mind you we have plenty of Crown land. Will definitely give this a try.
how many would like ? the key is the enviroment you are in and knowing how to use it I have ground Ivy I use to latch with . you can also use some plants like stinging nettle or young grap vine for cordage you could probley use greenbriar vines too . also green tree limbs and bark of some trees like birch, Elm ect .
@lucaschallenger ..When I am out in the desert, gone shooting, or just horsing around in the remote, I've learned the hard way. Also, out here, critical element is water...Nevada desert is pretty harsh.
@niceguy198421 agree, the steeper the roof, the more heat escapes but i really like elevated bed platform, but it takes a lot of wood and you need them to be straight
If i was going to be at the same spot for a week, this is the perfect shelters. I would have made a much more easyier shelter to save muscles and energi for to so countinue walking next day.
You need to choose the right direction. In the northern hemisphere, most harsh weather comes in from the northwest. So face your shelter towards the South-east. Lean-tos are fairly decent shelters, when adequate amounts of firewood is present.
He is obviously going to build a fire in front of his shelter so I would recommend putting a reflector behend the fire to block winds and to reflect heat towards you.
@cekinxxx Well, it doesn't have to include a lot of effort. 'spreading the embers in two directions' = kicking the fire out to one side. And then just throw anything that can catch fire on anything that glows/burns. The 'bob's your uncle'-expression is commonly used in the english language. It means something like 'that's it' or 'there you go' or in this case: 'you're done'.
bear grylls is a show man. He kids on hes staying out in the wild but in actual fact he goes to a hotel. If i had a choice to take Ray or Bear on a survival trip i would choose Ray every time.
I am not sure where he was building this shelter but that wouldn't help him much in the mountains of Idaho, for the most of the year. Far too cold to have the shelter that open. Great idea with the feather sticks, but I don't think it would work without a very sharp knife and ax. In a real survival situation you may have only your mind and whatever your body can do. Great video though, very organized.
I agree with matthew a axe is much easier to use ...once a saw gets dull forget it.....with an axe you can smash through stuff and sharpen it on smooth rocks
i believe the roof should be tilted more, so its upper end is closer to the ground. this one is too vertical, so if it rains he will be wet. it should be a little more tilted, so he could go deeper in, but not so tilted so the water cannot flow properly. that's my opinion
@cekinxxx Make a fire, then wait till it starts producing glowing embers, spread out the embers in two directions to make the "long fire", add small twigs (for starters) on to the embers and keep on adding wood of increasing thickness, then add logs (optional, but recommended) and Bob's your uncle! If you still have questions (either on this topic, or any other topic), feel free to ask.
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
Love the Jungle/Drum n Bass during the montages of Ray working. Reminds me of when I spent a long weekend with Ray at Midgedeath, a free industrial speedcore rave at Cluanie Dam in Scotland. Mr. Mears and myself spent 3 entire days at the front right just in front of the Bass Bin Laden soundsystem, just skanking out to the tunes. Nice to see Ray incorporate his love of electronic music into his television show.
pls, I must know, is this true?
Midgedeath is the fuckin bomb bro, thanks for sharing
No fucking way. I met a guy at an after party in Glasgow claiming that he met ray mears at a rave up north. obviously I assumed he was taking the piss... WTF?!
I want to believe
I still wait for clarification on this comment
That same shelter is still standing 7 years on, Ray returned to it on his latest series about the discovery of Canada by the west. Good job Ray, legend!!
Why is the soundtrack some bangin' DnB!? I love it.
ray made that music himself using instruments he made from animal hides and birch bark.
Still love this guy, I was obsessed with Ray when I was a kid, and I realise that after 15 years I am still watching his stuff
i love Bear Grylls but Ray brings a more accurate constructive survival very crafty and ingenious, love your creations
made one of these over 8 years ago thanks to ray mears bushcraft book, the shelter still stands to this day cheers ray ......colin.
Ray Mears' videos are well done and educational. I don't see any sensationalism in them, just good, usable knowledge. Knowledge that might save your carcass one day, IF you can remember it.
Direct, clear, concise, valuable information
I cite from his Outdoor Survival Handbook:
Once the cold weather of autumn really takes
hold, you need to start thinking about using
winter shelters, particularly those which
incorporate a fire. The classic cold-weather
shelter is the open-fronted lean-to, which
relies on a fire to provide warmth. Open down
one side, it is designed to allow the fire’s heat
to be reflected into the shelter and down on to
you from the roof. The sloping roof is easy
and quick to construct but must overhang you
far enough to prevent rain or snow landing on
your bed! To make the best use of this shelter,
you need the correct type of fire and bed.
Ray Mears is a legend. Only he can make living outside with nothing but a knife look easy. He makes McGyver look like an amatuer.
The show itself is amazing. This stuff itself is interesting, but tedious. With Ray Mears electric personality, and very good editting, they manage to make it watchable, and fun.
Have been following these activities for decades; interesting this all "new" to most. RM is one of the best sources of real, valid info. Be careful with the match he does in the example, however. I did this exact action many times, and sometimes the head still breaks off, sticks to your finger (where you are "protecting" it as he says ). You then have a second degree burn on your finger; any injury in the bush can turn your life into a dire situation. Thanks to whomever posted; great stuff.
Ray is all powerfull and he controls the weather with his mind much like a jedi would so the weather's never a problem for him.
This is one the best shelters that I have seen constucted! Good Job!
Very cool video, I had never before seen the technique the way he shaved the wood for fire at the end
Thank you Ray!!! True inspiration! I grew up watching you on BBC and it strengthened my passion for nature and the great outdoors! But Also our natural history and interest in our ancestors! And yes, great jungle music at the start 👍👍
Love Ray , he's only a mullet away from being a total legend .
I agree Ray is the real deal and really knows his stuff not like some other famous TV survival people who shall remain nameless
I was stranded once, with no food or water for quite some time. The weather was going South and so shelter was becoming imperative. Thank goodness, I had my trusty ax in my back pocket!
Ray is the man! Stuff always look better when he does it...
Good employment of available materials. And, excellent advice on doing it right, taking your time, making all necessary precaution to make the shelter strong.
I keep three essential tools with me at all times. Multi tool. Scissors, razor sharp knife, pliers, tweezers, awl, sewing needle and small rasp. A very sharp hand ax with survival handle, which contains a larger knife, fire making supplies, fish hooks, line, a hank of strong cord, magnet. Small 1st aid kit w scalpel and sutures.
that is the coolest neatest shelter ive ever seen!!!!
This guy is just incredible !
What a nice guy,knows his stuff.
I am pretty certain that in a later series, about years later, where he returned to this site, and the shelter was still standing, well the main frame was, has he removed most of the uprights when he left the area previously.
thanks dude! great video...its almost stupid not to think of it...but making those feathers is great for fire!
I love the technique of how the top of the fuel wood is also used as kindling.. that's a great idea that I never knew
Mears! Mears he is the man, he can not do it no one can!
I am always amazed by the number of living room experts who comment on youtube.
That man held the match for far longer than humanly possible ...
wow. voted best nature conservation video by the Sierra Club. nice job hacking the young trees pal.
will do next time im down the woods ,Im sure I have photos somewhere from years ago really a nice hardy shelter cheers....col.
I spent nearly a month in central Labrador roughing it and let me tell you this fellow know his craft. Central Labrador has some of the most unpredictable sub artic weather, averge snow fall is around 16 feet and when it isn't snowing its usually raining and blowing a gale. A true test of ones metal is in remote northern canada a beautiful yet unforgiving landscape. Churchill Falls rocks
i love these video's-they are just plain awesome
I'm in the camp that likes both ray and bear. Woah right? But rays great at the bushcraft stuff. I bought a knife off him too that I thinks in the vid. Morakniv robust. Great stuff!
Ray Mears is my hero
Personally, I'd lean t over a bit more. It's not as waterproof, but it provides more protection from the opposing wing. Great vid and I love the simplicity. Would you do one with just a knife, though? :)
What a helpful survival video. Very well done.
Thanks for posting it.
yes i loved it but it was only three ep. it was awesome
This guy trains the SAS, he is the best there is.
so true and also lets not forget that hes was in the army and thats where he learned alot of his survival skills.
Ray mears has a dream job wish i could do all that!!
wow interesting, I always want to learn surviving stuff like this for precaution.
Thank you for sharing it.
How good is ray mears,c'mon hands up who thinks ray is a bloody nice knowledgeable bloke.Ive got BOTH my hands up!.
13 years ago i was watching this.. time flies
Mears: Here's how to make shelter on a sub-artic tundra.
60 year old chap who has never left Birmingham: oh nice
Spruce roots! Great!! What if there are no spruce around? Suggestions?
I would guess that back is facing the direction the weather would be comming from . You can always adjust your pitch and add on a roof or tie down a tarp on top
I've done week long courses of Bushcraft and he makes it look so easy. Ok its not exactly a 5 minute survival fire hes got going, but he still manages to get it going in one go (albeit with a match). Thats not so easy when you wood is quite wet.
i think its amazing that shelter is still there! shown on his itv series
Thanks :)
The best shelter i ever seen.
Seems like with such a steep roof it would not take much wind to blow rain in on you. I understand the idea of having a fire out front to help out, I like the idea of having more cover.
I also understand that the steeper the roof the better they shed water.
@dizzaeble if so one could build a bit of an overhang going out toward the fire. Leave a hole for smoke to escape. That should do it.
carnt wait to build one .thanks ray
Excelent video for an extreme survival situation.
your videos are the best nice work
Wow I didn’t realise the spruce roots will be that strong and flexible!
Urban Nature Man has a great vid to show how to make quick shelter out of a plastic emergency blanket.
Great lean-to. It's easy to construct a lean-to when the materials are readily available and you're willing to down living trees. If you're in an actual survival scenario, of course felling trees should not be a question. But to the average woodsman who's in the forest for practice purposes and shouldn't be killing trees, it's much more difficult finding the boughs to thatch the shelter with. Finding a recently-downed evergreen with usable boughs can be quite time consuming you'll find :-\
Great shelter tips! Maybe I'll use them on the next episode of Strangers in the Wild!!!
If you leave the branches on out side of the roof sticks then you will have a better place to pack in the roof covering. Problems with this design are rain coming in on the open side if its windy and depending on were you are it wont keep wild animals off you while you are asleep. I did a simple shelter on a visit to Canada in bear country. I found 3 trees 2 were so close only I could fit through the gap not a bear, and then I put in horizontal bars between 3 trees to keep the animals out, covered it with a cammo tarp and then covered the cammo tarp with all the offcuts from the trees I used to build the bars of my triangular cage. It worked so well that even I woke up when a mouse passed by from the rustling of the offcuts and I slept with a half sized axe in my right hand so if any thing came to the opening it would soon find out it was not a good idea to put the paws in there. If you from the city sleeping in the bush is quite hair raising if you not used to it.
Thats what I like about Ray Mears... he doesn't just eat shit that he finds like Bear Grylls, but he teaches us how to catch/cook food and build stuff
0:48, the song in the backround is actually the bass solo from AC/DC song sin city.
that would be the my guess as well
I have an ozark folding camp saw it's light and works well . but still I find I am sometimes in need of the use of an axe .
or I just need a bigger knife to batton some wood
Awesome video! Thanks
camping with him would be so fun!
nice shelter
i like it
Great advice!! But where in the UK am I permitted to build shelters and fires without needing permission or infringing on the laws of the land.
It's a tough one because our country sucks! I planning to move to New Zealand where the public land really is for the public!
You can wild camp in most of Scotland and some national parks in england
dude that shelter is the shit that rocks!!!!!
240p! Would love to see these in HD!
very nice shelter!
Only Ray mears can make lighting a match interesting
@adying
But if your lighter is wet it may not work
That is why a fero rod is also good to have on hand
great video. In the canadian wilderness can you get most spruce roots from the ground? and can you get the types of logs you used for the bed from the canadian wilderness?
Found out today the music at 3:31 is 'Heroes' by 'Kruder & Dorfmeister' good tune.
Would love to know exactly where he did this in the Rockies. Most park areas wouldn't let anyone do this. Mind you we have plenty of Crown land. Will definitely give this a try.
how many would like ?
the key is the enviroment you are in and knowing how to use it
I have ground Ivy I use to latch with .
you can also use some plants like stinging nettle or young grap vine for cordage you could probley use greenbriar vines too . also green tree limbs and bark of some trees like birch, Elm ect .
@iG0roT good points, but i go by who looks the most well fed, and ray clearly wins, but the other 2 are great as well.
i agree w/ guitarown. extreme
survival to me means emergencies only, in which case you wont have tools w/ you.
but still good info.
@lucaschallenger ..When I am out in the desert, gone shooting, or just horsing around in the remote, I've learned the hard way. Also, out here, critical element is water...Nevada desert is pretty harsh.
@niceguy198421 agree,
the steeper the roof, the more heat escapes
but i really like elevated bed platform, but it takes a lot of wood and you need them to be straight
ray mears is a cool guy, like to meet him one day
Cool Awesome Informational Video...
I love outdoor survival
If i was going to be at the same spot for a week, this is the perfect shelters. I would have made a much more easyier shelter to save muscles and energi for to so countinue walking next day.
wow something as simple as feathering the wood, thats just awesome, lol.
You would have identified which direction the prevailing winds come from (by position of moss on trees etc) and built the shelter accordingly.
Legend what a amazing person
I love ray mears. But what do you do if the rain comes from the other side?
You need to choose the right direction. In the northern hemisphere, most harsh weather comes in from the northwest. So face your shelter towards the South-east. Lean-tos are fairly decent shelters, when adequate amounts of firewood is present.
my favorite video!!!!
He is obviously going to build a fire in front of his shelter so I would recommend putting a reflector behend the fire to block winds and to reflect heat towards you.
@cekinxxx Well, it doesn't have to include a lot of effort. 'spreading the embers in two directions' = kicking the fire out to one side. And then just throw anything that can catch fire on anything that glows/burns.
The 'bob's your uncle'-expression is commonly used in the english language. It means something like 'that's it' or 'there you go' or in this case: 'you're done'.
bear grylls is a show man. He kids on hes staying out in the wild but in actual fact he goes to a hotel. If i had a choice to take Ray or Bear on a survival trip i would choose Ray every time.
I am not sure where he was building this shelter but that wouldn't help him much in the mountains of Idaho, for the most of the year. Far too cold to have the shelter that open. Great idea with the feather sticks, but I don't think it would work without a very sharp knife and ax. In a real survival situation you may have only your mind and whatever your body can do. Great video though, very organized.
I agree with matthew a axe is much easier to use ...once a saw gets dull forget it.....with an axe you can smash through stuff and sharpen it on smooth rocks
i believe the roof should be tilted more, so its upper end is closer to the ground. this one is too vertical, so if it rains he will be wet. it should be a little more tilted, so he could go deeper in, but not so tilted so the water cannot flow properly. that's my opinion
AWESOME VIDEO....very helpful
@cekinxxx
Make a fire, then wait till it starts producing glowing embers, spread out the embers in two directions to make the "long fire", add small twigs (for starters) on to the embers and keep on adding wood of increasing thickness, then add logs (optional, but recommended) and Bob's your uncle!
If you still have questions (either on this topic, or any other topic), feel free to ask.
Les stroud is the king of proper survival, ray is the king of survival knowledge, and bear is an expert of evasion
half hitch simple knot but very effective.