Sheltering at home
- Pick one room to live in during an outage, ideally interior with few windows.
- Cover broken windows with plastic sheeting and duct tape.
- A tent set up indoors traps body heat in a cold house.
- Keep sleeping bags or heavy blankets for everyone.
Sheltering outdoors
- Get out of the wind and off the ground first. The cold ground pulls heat out of you faster than air.
- A tarp and paracord make a roof in minutes: tie a ridgeline between two trees and drape the tarp over.
- Pitch on high ground, never in a dry creek bed or low spot that can flood.
- Look up for dead branches before you set up.
Sleeping warm
- An insulated pad under you matters as much as the bag over you.
- Wear a dry hat and dry socks to bed.
- Eat a snack before sleeping. Your body burns it for heat.
- Choose a sleeping bag rated a little colder than the coldest night you expect.
Shelter gear
Ripstop tarp
Roof, wall, windbreak or ground cover.
My pick: Aqua Quest Safari Waterproof SilNylon Tarp, 10x10
Paracord, 100 feet
Lines, lashings and a hundred fixes.
My pick: Rothco 550 lb Nylon Paracord, 100 ft
Insulated sleeping pad
Stops the cold ground stealing your heat.
My pick: Therm-a-Rest Z Lite Sol Foam Sleeping Pad
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