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Don't know that this takes the place of a good tent, but if you want a cheap way to quickly put up a shelter that would be to some degree insulated...

Take this:



but up-size it a bit--you could do uprights of short sections pipe with the arches of 1/2" PEX tubing. Pre-drill holes in the uprights to allow attaching them to dimensional lumber, or do so with pipe clamps. In more extreme cases, lashing them to fallen tree or just to stakes in the ground would be other ways to go. A sheet of visqueen, or a tarp over it, and tacked/stapled in place and you're almost done.

To finish it, winterize it: spray some expanding foam on top of that visqueen/tarp roof, along the arch supports. Hopefully, with someone else to help, lift a second tarp over and settle it gently down on the shelter, so the expanding foam strips don't get too mashed-up/spread around.

The idea is that those stripes of expanding foam will--as they expand--lift/separate the second tarp from the first, so there's a dead air space between the two, for insulation. Also, that foam is VERY sticky, so it should hold that second tarp in place.

That expanding foam could useful in a lot of other ways--to make molded shapes, for one or another purpose, to seal/weatherize, it could be a handy item to have in a B.O.B.
A downside: it's a bit bulky/heavy. Once you used it it starts to harden in the can's spray tube so you can't use the same can over more than a short period (less than a day?). Then again, IIRC nail polish remover/acetone is a solvent for it, so maybe, with some planning, you could get more from one can over a longer period.

Just an idea--been a while since I used the stuff so let me know if this sounds crazy.

And there are better ways to shelter, but this could give another back-up option you could have on hand, for cheap, and store the parts in your garage's rafters, just in case. And if anyone asks, it's a greenhouse kit.
 

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its called a bender

great tip . you can make the hoops out of long saplings or saplings tied together stick both end in the ground. tie sticks/saplings/vines from hoop to hoop and cover with tarps
its called a bender its what people lived in long ago in prehistoric britain
 

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I don't have much of an opinion of that expanding foam in cans (Great Stuff, or whatever it's called)
Too many can failures, and its not cheap. I wouldn't care to depend on it.
It also seems to have a shelf life. In the past I put away a couple cans on the shelf, when I went to use them, the foam had hardened inside the cans.

I think the general theory is OK, provided you have the plastic with you, and it would need to be fairly heavy-duty, something like 4-mil or 6-mil.

The dead air space between two layers will help, but it's also not going to be very wind-resistant, I wouldn't think.
 
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great tip . you can make the hoops out of long saplings or saplings tied together stick both end in the ground. tie sticks/saplings/vines from hoop to hoop and cover with tarps
its called a bender its what people lived in long ago in prehistoric britain
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoV_TNwnHCw
Till the camera panned in I thought you had thatched it. :D:
 

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I think humidity will not let it work as intended. Just your breath would shortly make the inside of the shelter too wet to stay inside. Better choice for protecting plants, which would enjoy the humidity.

BTW, I've also experienced foam can failures because of age. I've stopped keeping extras around.
 
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