Zombie Research Society
The Devil’s in the details. We’ve all heard this saying at one point in our lives. But not many people will ever learn what it actually means… or even care to find out. However when it comes to surviving the Zombie Apocalypse, you had better pay attention to the little things like finding water, food and shelter.
According to the rule of three, humans can survive without certain necessities for defined periods of time. For example; our bodies can generally survive three minutes without air, three days without water, three weeks without food and three hours without shelter in a harsh environment. I want to examine how to avoid these pitfalls, and demonstrate what to do if you ever find yourself in one of these situations.
Of course, an individual can survive without shelter for longer in good weather. But when the weather turns inclement, the need for proper shelter becomes immediate. And if you have to deal with rain, a simple lean-to can be constructed.
The Lean-To: A very simple structure that uses three wooden poles and a layer of leaves and branches to make the roof. This shelter is very easy to assemble and provides great camouflage if you need to remain hidden. It’s also possible to build much lower to the ground, providing excellent cover from passer-bys or the occasional zombie. However, this shelter does not provide much respite from the wind and snow that you may encounter. So if you are in need of shelter from a particularly snowy environment, your best bet would be to find a way to block the wind; such as a wall of sticks, spruce or pine branches… even a snowy wall itself. For a more long-term solution a snow cave can be built.
The Snow Cave: While this type of shelter can take hours to build, it is certainly one of the best for long stays in frozen areas. The graphic above shows a detailed image depicting what a snow cave should look like. Building this sort of shelter takes practice, but you could do it if you absolutely had to. Remember to never give up and improvise! Another simple snow shelter involves finding a tree and digging down and around it. Of course this takes much less skill and time, but it also offers much less in the way of functionality and protection. However, you must do what you have to in order to survive!
Other Shelters: These are just some of the shelters that you can utilize if you are in a situation that calls for either immediate shelter, or if you have some time, much more complex shelter. Of course there are many more makeshift shelters that you can build, so these are just a few suggestions. But if you plan on surviving in the wilderness, I highly recommend that you do a little research to find a shelter that you can easily build at home for practice before eventually branching out into more advanced shelters.
I understand that there are MANY types of shelter available if you ever find the need for one. However, three hours can seem like an eternity without an adequate shelter! And in my opinion, the shelters listed above are some of the best to offer adequate protection while stranded for a long period of time in harsh weather.
I hope that this article helps you to choose a shelter when you need it most. And if you have any other questions or suggestions that you would like me to review, please leave a comment below and I will get right on it! There will be many videos coming on these survival topics and more, so stay tuned. And as always; what you don’t know can eat you!
Cameron Carlson is a ZRS Board Member. Feel free to leave any questions or suggestions in the comments below!
Wouldn’t snow affect exposed flesh or just simply skin itself?
The last shelter of the three shown (with the tree) would be best in the snow. There’s already packed snow surrounding it. Therefore, more snow wouldn’t do as much harm to that shelter as it would to the others with less protection. Zombies could potentially find their way underground and into the shelter by moving the trees/boughs. If they do, somehow, then just accept your fate at that point.
What would you recommend if it were somewhere with different extreme conditions such as the dessert?
I wonder how long zombies will survive out in the extreme weather? Since they are technically dead would they be affected by drinking to water, getting no food, and not affected by the weather. Do they just roam around until they see humans?
For the third shelter, how deep would you say the hole would need to be?
How would one go about insulating their shelter in such a harsh environment? Would insulation even be a priority?
I wonder if zombies can comprehend what to do in case of a blockage when trying to eat a human?
A question that I would like to ask is if zombies were chasing me and I got away from them for just enough time to build a snow cave, could they fall through the snow and into the cave?
I honestly believe that zombies can survive the cold but the question is can they survive extreme heat? Like how would they survive in a desert environment? or would they just fry?
Are the shelters ever sustainable? What if you have to be there for a long period of time. What are the possibilities of your own shelter caving in on you. They are fast paced and easy to build but how safe are they?
I’m wondering if the shelters you named could be improvised by using animal fur.
Are the shelters fragile? Like, not only zombies, but let’s say a bear found your shelter, would it be able to sustain the animal? Could you improve the shelter in order to make it more untouchable?
Do different shelter require different resources or materials? What if we can’t find them? Lastly, do different types of zombies require different shelters?
I like the addition of the snow cave, this would work great in a snowy environment of course, such as Alaska although I don’t think there will be many zombies up there. However if zombies were to show up I think this shelter would be best because of the environment around the shelter, it will be cold so the zombies would probably freeze up too.
Would it be possible to connect the snow cave and the last shelter for a more permanent winter shelter? I’m mainly asking because of the lack of exit routes in the shelters.
What if the leaves fly away or the wooden poles break in half for the Lean-To shelter.
I wonder if there could be any way to upgrade the spacing or security of the snow cave? Because I do believe that this is the best but there is still that fear of being overrun because of a security lack.
I found the snow cave to be very useful. You could make a fire and an area to sleep and it’s a pretty well structured shelter. It may take time but I believe it is worth it.
Out of the three shelters shown what would you think is the best to make.
The tree version of the snow cave would be a great alternative for when it is no longer winter and you could use that while you prepare to build a snow cave since it takes much longer and more skill.
Good evening Cameron,
From your options provided, I believe the tree variation of the snow cave is the best for beginners that are trying to cover themselves quickly in comparison to the other two. Even though there is less stealth compared to the bigger snow cave and less comfortability in it. The best shelter for these kinds of conditions are still manmade houses though.
If they aren’t overrun by zombies already, of course.
Thank you for the article!
Gabriel R.
I’m wondering if zombies would even be able to sustain in the extreme cold and snow?
Max Brooks in World War Z believes that they would bog down and stop. We believe he is correct. He is also correct that they would just start up again in the spring (because they would not die over the cold spell).
Thanks for reply. I came to same conclusion. 🙂
I have a theory that they might hibernate like bears and squirrels making piles of leaves and going into a stasis even a virus can be affected by by repeated freezing and thawing so it would want to preserve itself, then if it heard anyone on the snow it could come out of its hibernation and attack them from under the snow covered piles of leaves.
Ty… These are really helpful.
Crystal,
I am glad you like these. I truly hope that they help and anything shelter wise you would like to know, please let me know! Thank you for reading my articles!
Cheers!
Cameron