Building a Shelter | Ray Mears Extreme Survival | BBC Studios

Ray Mears shows us how to make a strong shelter in wet forest, and the right and wrong ways to strike a match.
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[@user-uj8og9cm9d]

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.

[@RoastyPotato]

pls, I must know, is this true?

[@rafayn]

Midgedeath is the fuckin bomb bro, thanks for sharing

[@hipmotion]

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?!

[@Quagmirian]

I want to believe

[@max_fjellstorm]

I still wait for clarification on this comment

[@CopyrightThis723]

Why is the soundtrack some bangin' DnB!? I love it.

[@Frillar]

ray made that music himself using instruments he made from animal hides and birch bark.

[@centre1ce]

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!!

[@CrutchExe]

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

[@andriussarapajevas3823]

i love Bear Grylls but Ray brings a more accurate constructive survival very crafty and ingenious, love your creations

[@anaesterhazy631]

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.

[@ccwweeman3385]

made one of these over 8 years ago thanks to ray mears bushcraft book, the shelter still stands to this day cheers ray ......colin.

[@gui18bif]

Mears: Here's how to make shelter on a sub-artic tundra. 60 year old chap who has never left Birmingham: oh nice

[@ezekiel316]

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.

[@gypsychefoutdoors2099]

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 👍👍

[@originalmeanderthals9331]

Love Ray , he's only a mullet away from being a total legend .

[@MrDarkTides]

This guy trains the SAS, he is the best there is.

[@Ikefis]

I am always amazed by the number of living room experts who comment on youtube.

[@YeOldeTowneCryer]

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.

[@chrisbrewin3762]

That man held the match for far longer than humanly possible ...

[@edro3838]

Direct, clear, concise, valuable information

[@StevieDminesapint]

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.

[@stevep119]

I agree Ray is the real deal and really knows his stuff not like some other famous TV survival people who shall remain nameless

[@FastEddieNelson]

Ray is the man! Stuff always look better when he does it...

[@SuperDeltaRomeo]

What a nice guy,knows his stuff.

[@19sondre96]

Mears! Mears he is the man, he can not do it no one can!

[@ThePrivateMan]

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.

[@taffman1]

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.

[@writer2b62]

This is one the best shelters that I have seen constucted! Good Job!

[@VegardMinde]

This guy is just incredible !

[@secretsquirrell13]

so true and also lets not forget that hes was in the army and thats where he learned alot of his survival skills.

[@suicide5389]

that is the coolest neatest shelter ive ever seen!!!!

[@StevieDminesapint]

How good is ray mears,c'mon hands up who thinks ray is a bloody nice knowledgeable bloke.Ive got BOTH my hands up!.

[@AdamSays]

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

[@sak1320]

13 years ago i was watching this.. time flies

[@simon44]

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.

[@Polypropellor]

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.

[@bushwalker75]

Ray Mears is my hero

[@cjohnson596]

Very cool video, I had never before seen the technique the way he shaved the wood for fire at the end

[@xV13TCONGx]

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

[@viralwitness6532]

Only Ray mears can make lighting a match interesting

[@1stab]

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!

[@trapperman9]

dude that shelter is the shit that rocks!!!!!

[@ThanksgivingWalk]

What a helpful survival video. Very well done. Thanks for posting it.

[@jraybu09]

thanks dude! great video...its almost stupid not to think of it...but making those feathers is great for fire!

[@nipzilla]

wow. voted best nature conservation video by the Sierra Club. nice job hacking the young trees pal.

[@selfreliance1017]

I love all the 'experts' in the comments section. Pretty sure ray mears knows what he's talking about. He has only had a really successful career teaching thousands and inspiring millions. Hilarious

yh but me and the boys have watched hours of youtube vids.... ray's good... but he's got a way to go before he reaches our level... same goes for grylls

[@ACRE2016]

Urban Nature Man has a great vid to show how to make quick shelter out of a plastic emergency blanket.

[@BeyondChange]

It's easy for him to say take your time while building your shelter.

[@alnbaba]

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

[@ericvanweverwyk7553]

i love these video's-they are just plain awesome

[@thePirateQueenKt]

camping with him would be so fun!

[@computers734]

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.

[@TerryDBlack]

Situation being: 'I've been out hunting/skiing/walking got lost, but have matches on me'. It would be pretty boring if every single time we were shown how to make a fire through friction/sparking or whatever, don't you agree? What would be the point in making more than one episode?

[@Burostoelpootwieltje]

Ray mears has a dream job wish i could do all that!!

[@muddi1999]

Thanks :) The best shelter i ever seen.

[@bukon90]

yes i loved it but it was only three ep. it was awesome

[@SurvivalGrounds]

ray mears is a cool guy, like to meet him one day

[@malikcool]

wow interesting, I always want to learn surviving stuff like this for precaution. Thank you for sharing it.

[@doug12341988]

i think its amazing that shelter is still there! shown on his itv series

[@johnlamb95]

Wow I didn’t realise the spruce roots will be that strong and flexible!

[@Elk17]

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 :-\

[@EVZebra]

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.

[@FISHBREATHH]

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.

[@sinnsmd]

wow something as simple as feathering the wood, thats just awesome, lol.

[@DjUndying1]

Les stroud is the king of proper survival, ray is the king of survival knowledge, and bear is an expert of evasion

[@CanadianBushcraftChannel]

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.

[@ambergassassin]

Great shelter tips! Maybe I'll use them on the next episode of Strangers in the Wild!!!

[@Jimmy_in_Mexico]

Excelent video for an extreme survival situation.

[@rbvmtr]

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

[@rbvmtr]

knife, axe, fire , & water are the most important things to have even if your just day hiking . Its just as easy for a noob as it is for a woodsmen to loose sence of direction .

[@ctfcNIG]

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!

[@blakeyboy2]

240p! Would love to see these in HD!

[@flintstone9812]

The shaved stick is an old native American tactic. If it is really wet, you may have to tuck it inside your clothing to dry it a bit. I wish he would have shown the bowstick method of fire starting. It is fast and will always work. You can do it with just two sticks and a shoe lace.

[@B17MIKE]

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? :)

[@pitatapiu]

very nice shelter!

[@ccwweeman3385]

will do next time im down the woods ,Im sure I have photos somewhere from years ago really a nice hardy shelter cheers....col.

[@madmadmadmad0000004]

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.

[@krisoudman843]

I love it goes some people are commenting on what he should and houldnt do but their the ones watching the video

[@MansgotPiff]

Everyone needs to stop hating on bear, and thinking rays better. Rays good to listen to if your stranded somewhere off track with a whole kit to survive with, so in that case i would listen to him. But if id just had a plane crash landed somewhere with nothing but a knife. I would listen to bear everytime because he teaches you how to get out of the worst situation with Nothing.

[@Bajertainment]

I love outdoor survival

[@Norge112]

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.

[@flintstone9812]

The procedure depicted here can save your life if ever you are in the wild. DON'T RIDICULE IT! I was taught the same things in Boy Scouting back in 1960's. A small camp axe with a saw blade that fits in the handle can do everything he did. Even a survival knife with serrated blade is all you need (a bit more work) and is easy to carry in a belt scabbard. Never go into wilderness without at least the survival knife. Remember using the tree roots as rope.

[@milotist]

nice shelter i like it

[@max465t]

0:48, the song in the backround is actually the bass solo from AC/DC song sin city.

[@alin1975]

If you want to test Bear's model of survival do this: 1. Move from one place to another by running frantically. Its survival not camping, so dont bring food or a change of clothes (so that you can die that night, frozen in your own sweat). 2. When you reach a river you are unfamiliar with, jump in it and float downstream in the hope of finding civilisation. 3. Scale dangerous cliffs without equipment (ok, Bear cheats here, he actually uses gear... but he pretends not to).

[@kwstikas82]

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

[@jamiefoyers2800]

Much prefer Ray Mears to the "Bear", Less ego, Bear Grylls is too much but Ray Mears is very logical and thorough and I like the way he just makes it all look so simple!. Love his new series "Wild China" but I always watched him when his shows were on the Beeb.

[@NeillWylie]

For hotter environments, look to a programme called "Bush Tucker man". The gent presenting it is an Australian ex Nam survival expert. I'm sure if you youtube "Bush Tucker man" you'll find him. He's awesome. A real hero.

[@AhYaOk]

i agree w/ guitarown. extreme survival to me means emergencies only, in which case you wont have tools w/ you. but still good info.

[@flintstone9812]

@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.

[@chicofoxo]

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.

[@cabelas1987]

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!

[@willspin9572]

You can wild camp in most of Scotland and some national parks in england

[@Misslotusification]

I certainly will remember how to trap water using eucalyptus leaves wrapped into a plastic bag if needed... clever trick this is 8-)

[@Eviction76]

We used to make A framed bashas as kids in the local woods.

[@TheoutdooradventureNet]

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.

[@Verradonairun]

@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.

[@eddiemate741]

Legend what a amazing person

[@BillHinson]

@adying But if your lighter is wet it may not work That is why a fero rod is also good to have on hand

[@warriorofsteel01]

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

[@DisemboweII]

Ray Mears; "This type of shelter requires three key factors; One is a good cutting axe. Two, an abundance of fire wood. And three, some lite drum n' bass for a proper banging night on the shrooms - FOREST MASSIF!"

[@solobackpacking]

If I had a camera crew I would also consider this a quick option for shelter.

[@shottstravelchannel]

carnt wait to build one .thanks ray

[@Subway1427]

All the info you can get, whether you think its good OR bad, will actually help. The act of self preservation takes alot of effort, and energy, the more you know before being stuck in a survival situation can save valuble time, energy, effort and ultimately your life.

[@mrbuildabomb]

my favorite video!!!!

[@Delboy001647363]

You would have identified which direction the prevailing winds come from (by position of moss on trees etc) and built the shelter accordingly.