[bold]Background[/bold]<br>As I noted in an earlier post, my asthmatic son's attempt at sleeping in his Wilderness Survival merit badge shelter ended quickly when he started to develop a wheeze. The shelter, as taught by his councilor, was a single ridge pole against a tree with smaller branches laid across to make a grid of support ribs. Hemlock branches and a layer of dried leaves completed the roof. I knew this material would be a potential problem so I alerted the camp medical officer (a paramedic) that we may end up knocking on his door that evening for a nebulizer treatment (all medications are stored and locked at the camp medical cabin). I intended to stay up later than normal that evening at the troop firebowl so that I could check in on him later on. But he lasted only a half hour before the wheeze developed. Fortunately he's experienced and mature enough to recognize and act upon the symptoms of an early attack. He was fine after a few puffs on his inhaler and he returned to bed.<br><br>[bold]The Problem[/bold]<br>Because of his asthma, an ad hoc shelter out of natural materials is unacceptable. Hence he needs to make sure he carries suitable material with him on trips in case he ever needs to make a shelter. I know that alternative shelters can be constructed out of rain ponchos, heavy duty plastic bags or survival/space blankets. Assuming that one would tend to use the poncho as a ground cloth because it's more durable, which of the later two would folks prefer for the roof? Also, are any particular brands better than others, both for the garbage bags and the survival/space blankets.<br><br>

I would use the space blanket as a ground sheet and plastic bags as the roof. There are a couple of reasons for this, viz. Your body has contact with the ground and hence the space blanket will help in this regard for added warmth and secondly it prevents lightening hazard.

Bill, I assume there is no sleeping bag in this scenario. My setup is a military poncho for the roof/shelter.The grommets make this the easiest to tie down. I carry a huge orange bag supplied by Barry @ Blueline. It is a thick, awkward affair, but I like the durability and can almost cocoon my 6'2" frame inside. This is my groundcloth. I now have the wind and rain excluded ( more or less). I am still running on my internal furnace, so a fire and any emergency rations are neccessary. My poncho liner and clothing are going to be my insulation ( excluding natural materials in your son's case). Space blankets are also available in sleeping bag configurations. They cost more, but trying to secure a space blanket in weather is a nightmare ( and forget refolding them). Clothing is going to be the crucial element. I always carry a watch cap and mittens. Even spare socks can go over cold hands. I've made several such impromptu shelters. By morning I was snoring so loud the bears were giving my nest a wide berth.

Well, I'm not a fan of the thin mylar ones- I spent a very, very cold night that turned into a clammy and cold one inside one of those. I'd rather use a poncho with liner on me, and then the mylar over the frame work- it's shininess might help it be found in a night search (I know, not likely, but it's worth a shot), reflects the sun somewhat during the day, and casts some of your firelight back if you are working on something after sundown. <br><br>But around the body, I've never really found themto be much more effective than a plastic sheet of the same thickness. But I also sweat a lot in my sleep, so......

You may want to check into a Polarshield emergency blanket, which can be had for 10 bux. It will be much stronger and easier to handle than a mylar space blanket. It has grommets and can be used as a ground cloth, shiny side up, blue side down. <br><br>Your roof would be a GI poncho or tarp. <br><br>Another option would be the emergency bivy bags such as the Land/shark or Thermolite bivy from Adv Med kits. The latter is only 20 bux, both are very easy to use.

For something pocket-sized and therefore realistic for a young person to actually keep handy: look into the Storm Shelter marketed by the Tacoma Mountain Rescue Unit through REI.com and other places. Doug's review of shelter options mentions it as a good option for it's size. It's also cheap at about $4. <br><br>You can just pull it on like a sleeping bag or you can set it up like a tube-tent or slice it open for a tarp.

Thanks for all of the suggestions (even though I'm only replying to this one directly.<br><br>I just placed and order for the 2 of the Tacoma Mountain Rescue Storm Shelters, as well as one of the heavier Space All-Weather blankets. We already have a regular mylar space blanket as a army surplus poncho (without a liner). <br><br>We'll try several configurations on our next outing and I'll report back on what we (he) settles upon.