BUSHCRAFT BEDS

GET OFF THE GROUND AND INTO COMFORT WITH THESE DIY WILDERNESS BEDS

- REUBEN BOLIEU

While a DIY bed in the wilderness may not ever equal a TempurPedic sleep number, it will insulate and provide more comfort than the alternative.

RAISED LOG BED

If the ground is covered in snow or very damp-get up. Quite simply and most likely the first bushcraft-style bed most of us make out of the gate is a raised log bed. I'd recommend a sturdy saw and a pair of leather work. gloves for this project.

Once your campsite has been selected, saw yourself two thick logs about thigh-thickness or more. These serve as the support bars, which will run perpendicular to your body. Saw about six long poles that are bicep to calf thick, roughly six feet long.

Place the bed poles on your two initial support logs (parallel with your body) with the two thickest poles on the outside (left/right). This will help to prevent you from rolling off the bed. These two thicker poles on the outside can be lashed to the bottom support log or pegged with long stakes in the four corners above where the support log meets the outside bed poles. This is a sturdy bed with no spring, so a pad may be needed for comfort.

The bed alone won't block wind or provide radiant heat. A fire stretched out lengthwise near where you will be sleeping will provide enough warmth to get through the night. The same long fire you sleep near at night in the wilderness also allows for a larger cookfire. Put the long fire one good step away from you. This is one of the most comfortable night's sleep you can have out of simple natural materials using minimal tools.

RAISED HOLLOW-CORE BED

Making a raised bed can be a simple affair, even with just a medium-sized saw, small hatchet, or hawk. To make this type of bed, start with locating two thigh-thick logs about shoulder length for the head and foot of the bed. Lay them down roughly six feet apart, parallel to one another.