Re: 'Asentokuusi' - simple shelter under a leaning spruce tree

[Dynggyldai]

Is there any how-to video of someone making it in real life? I can't find it anywhere. Does this work in real life with pine trees? Anyways, I have never seen anyone even mention this before but seems like a very important survival skill, as it's the simplest shelter I've ever heard of.

[Erkka]

The question was posted as a comment to old development news. We encourage everyone to reserve dev.news for Sami to post announcements and news about the game development, for there are other forum sections for other discussions. So I moved this to off-topic.

And then  the actual reply; I did a quick search in YouTube but couldn't find an exact match. Maybe I could try to make one myself once the snow is gone.

I'm not sure if it will work so well with a pine trees, if you need it to protect from rain. A spruce / fir tree thick with branches would do.

EDIT:

Here is an article in Finnish, with some pictures. Using the ancient concept with modern equipment.

And a winter version video.

Neither of those demonstrate a protection from rain, yet the idea is the same. And both of the links show the most simple way of doing it: just finding a spruce tree with low-reaching branches, so that you can shelter under them. As a person who grew up in the Finnish countryside all of this appears so commonplace and self-evident for me that I didn't even realize this could be seen as "a skill", hehe. Well, but the improved version of asentokuusi is just to fell another spruce tree so that is doesn't collapse to the ground but leans to another tree. For a countryside kid this feels about as intuitive as sheltering for rain in a random doorway probably is for contemporary urban people. Anyway, I try to remember this, so that I can test and try to shoot a video once we have summer conditions.

[Dynggyldai]

The question was posted as a comment to old development news. We encourage everyone to reserve dev.news for Sami to post announcements and news about the game development, for there are other forum sections for other discussions. So I moved this to off-topic.

And then  the actual reply; I did a quick search in YouTube but couldn't find an exact match. Maybe I could try to make one myself once the snow is gone.

I'm not sure if it will work so well with a pine trees, if you need it to protect from rain. A spruce / fir tree thick with branches would do.

EDIT:

Here is an article in Finnish, with some pictures. Using the ancient concept with modern equipment.

And a winter version video.

Neither of those demonstrate a protection from rain, yet the idea is the same. And both of the links show the most simple way of doing it: just finding a spruce tree with low-reaching branches, so that you can shelter under them. As a person who grew up in the Finnish countryside all of this appears so commonplace and self-evident for me that I didn't even realize this could be seen as "a skill", hehe. Well, but the improved version of asentokuusi is just to fell another spruce tree so that is doesn't collapse to the ground but leans to another tree. For a countryside kid this feels about as intuitive as sheltering for rain in a random doorway probably is for contemporary urban people. Anyway, I try to remember this, so that I can test and try to shoot a video once we have summer conditions.

Thanks, it's not so self-evident to me since conifers are rare here (basically no spruce in the woods, only in gardens and parks, pine can be seen sometimes in groups) and I'm not familiar with how exactly this concept is better (or how to *make* it better) than just squatting under a tree as protection from rain, wind, cold, or animals. The links show just sitting under a tree which is self-evident to me.
Just felling a tree safely (especially with just an axe) is a skill in itself, felling it so it makes a shelter even more so. In fact, I would say it's multiple skills involved: knowledge of trees, knowledge of shelters, and knowledge of felling a tree (also knowledge of the felling tool).

As a contemporary urban person, I either take a rainproof shell with me, or I think twice about which doorway to use as shelter.
Even if it's not occupied by someone else, when the door within an arm's reach to me (since I'm in the doorway) opens, I have not enough time to react to whomever or whatever (dogs WILL "protect" "their" doorway from me) comes out. Even people will most likely inquire me about what business I have in their doorway, and a polite inquiry in these parts often starts with a death threat, or at least a juicy insult, regardless of weather.
So an "urban asentokuusi" like that involves knowledge of the area, knowledge of the doorway/building (I might be able to even enter the staircase of a large tenement, no one will ask me wtf I'm doing there - but these places house a lot of people, so some of them are going to be troublesome, also these staircases tend to be really tight, so no reaction time against an attack), knowing how to talk oneself out of these "polite inquiries" and self-defense when things get hot. Usually getting a little wet is preferable to all this stuff, so knowing how to guess whether I'm going to get soaked out in the open or just a little wet is important too.

[Erkka]

Yes, I think I agree. My comment on me not realizing "asentokuusi" could appear as a skill instead of being self-evident was not meant to underrate anyone who is not familiar with the concept. It was meant more as me recognizing my own ignorance, how easy it is to take things self-evident when they are not.

So, yeah - I hope to post some real-life material later on this year. I just need to think a bit how to best do it without needing to fell trees on land I don't own.

[Dynggyldai]

And I did not take it as underrating either =)

[Bert Preast]

As a contemporary urban person, I either take a rainproof shell with me, or I think twice about which doorway to use as shelter.
Even if it's not occupied by someone else, when the door within an arm's reach to me (since I'm in the doorway) opens, I have not enough time to react to whomever or whatever (dogs WILL "protect" "their" doorway from me) comes out. Even people will most likely inquire me about what business I have in their doorway, and a polite inquiry in these parts often starts with a death threat, or at least a juicy insult, regardless of weather.
So an "urban asentokuusi" like that involves knowledge of the area, knowledge of the doorway/building (I might be able to even enter the staircase of a large tenement, no one will ask me wtf I'm doing there - but these places house a lot of people, so some of them are going to be troublesome, also these staircases tend to be really tight, so no reaction time against an attack), knowing how to talk oneself out of these "polite inquiries" and self-defense when things get hot. Usually getting a little wet is preferable to all this stuff, so knowing how to guess whether I'm going to get soaked out in the open or just a little wet is important too.

I take it you're from Cardiff?   

Can see why you prefer the peace and quiet of a Finnish forest.

[Dynggyldai]

As a contemporary urban person, I either take a rainproof shell with me, or I think twice about which doorway to use as shelter.
Even if it's not occupied by someone else, when the door within an arm's reach to me (since I'm in the doorway) opens, I have not enough time to react to whomever or whatever (dogs WILL "protect" "their" doorway from me) comes out. Even people will most likely inquire me about what business I have in their doorway, and a polite inquiry in these parts often starts with a death threat, or at least a juicy insult, regardless of weather.
So an "urban asentokuusi" like that involves knowledge of the area, knowledge of the doorway/building (I might be able to even enter the staircase of a large tenement, no one will ask me wtf I'm doing there - but these places house a lot of people, so some of them are going to be troublesome, also these staircases tend to be really tight, so no reaction time against an attack), knowing how to talk oneself out of these "polite inquiries" and self-defense when things get hot. Usually getting a little wet is preferable to all this stuff, so knowing how to guess whether I'm going to get soaked out in the open or just a little wet is important too.

I take it you're from Cardiff?   

Can see why you prefer the peace and quiet of a Finnish forest.

Budapest bruv...

[Bert Preast]

Apologies, your handle put me in mind of a Welsh person!

[Dynggyldai]

Apologies, your handle put me in mind of a Welsh person!

Dynggyldai is actually in Tuvan, it means something like "good-for-nothing". I can pronounce Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch though, so close enough. Still easier than Hungarian