Nice find. I like the folding origami kayak among other things on the site. Though, no plans or instructions how to fold it properly. Just images' descriptions.

I once ran across plans to make a row boat and a canoe out of similar material.

As cheap and sturdy as it is, it looks like it could be used for a lot of things.

interesting idea, but without insulation a guy would freeze to death!

In a shelter like that your clothing and/or sleeping bag is your insulation. Even without that, you will definitely be warmer inside that shelter compared to the outside.

A Coroplast panel gives you maybe R1-R2 tops in insulating value. Not much. But in a cold climate, it gets you out of the wind and into a dry-ish space, which is huge. And if you're somewhat functional you can quickly pile up some snow on the sides. That adds a surprising amount of R-value (which is somewhat surprising in itself; but snow holds a ton of air in tiny pockets, which is a kind of insulation, though not the snuggle-up-cozy-blanket kind).

The point of this is that the simplest of shelters can make the difference. Witness, for example, the 17-year old who survived two nights in a self-made snow shelter while rescue operations were suspended due to the weather. http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/m...676f_story.html

Edit: I see the snow shelter story is the subject of another thread. Probably best to make related comments over there.

you can survive a lot if you can get out of the weather.

it is not really practical for much of anything, but still a neat idea.