Wet stuff in bag

[nuknees]

So I've read that some folks say to put damp (not wet) articles (socks - shirt - shorts, etc) inside your sleeping bag at night to dry them up using your body heat.
This seems a little odd to me. I mean first, I'd be worried about my bag conducting the moisture from the article...sure my shirts/shorts/socks are practically dry but did the moisture really only get absorb by my bag and it's insulation now?
And I'm not so sure that is a good trade off.

[daddytwosticks]

Not me. Nothing wet or very damp goes in my sleeping bag. I'll put dampish socks or shirt onder my sleeping pad when I turn in for the night. They are not dry by morning, but they tend to be somewhat warmish. :)

[MuddyWaters]

Well, your skin creates a lot of moisture in your bag already. Even that is a problem, under the right conditions.
The answer is, under the right conditions you can, and under other conditions, you shouldnt.
Clear as mud.

[squeezebox]

What about putting your clothes in a zipplock? That way they at least be warm. but still damp.

[Walkintom]

I have had luck wearing wet clothes and drying them out sleeping in them under my synthetic quilt. The next morning, instead of having wet clothes, I always had damp EVERYTHING. Since I've only done this at times when I needed to keep wearing those wet clothes and I felt fairly grubby doing so and needed to air out my quilt a couple of times to get it back to feeling normal again.

So it falls under 'sure I could do this, but do I really want to?' heading for me. My preferred method is to just hang out the clothes to dry and wear something else, conditions permitting.

[88BlueGT]

I've tried the wet sock thing while hiking in the Aridondacks. Next morning, still had wet socks... just a bit less cold.

[Bluegrass]

I used to do this back in my synthetic bag days. I always was told to put the wet/damp clothes in a stuff sack first, then put the stuff sack in the sleeping bag. Obviously there needs to be some amount of air movement, so leaving the stuff sack loosely closed was key.

It does not work really well for truly *wet* clothes, but can make damp clothes warmer and dryer. I could usually get technical clothing (non-cotton) at least to a damp state by wringing them out well before putting them in the stuff sack.

With a down bag I now put things under my sleeping pad. That will at least get the clothes dryer than they were the night before, but still not dry.

[Bronk]

Many of the people who are against doing this have never tried it. I'd rather go to bed with warm wet clothing than try to put cold wet clothing back on in the morning...and maybe frozen.

[tiptoe]

I wouldn't put soaking wet clothing in my down bag, but I have dried damp items successfully using this method, and the sleeping bag was none the worse for it.

[Ktaadn]

Many of the people who are against doing this have never tried it. I'd rather go to bed with warm wet clothing than try to put cold wet clothing back on in the morning...and maybe frozen.

I think this is the key. It comes down to how cold it is. Putting on socks that are literally frozen solid isn't an option. So, I do use this method during the winter, but not always.

Another thing to try is putting the items on top of your sleeping pad, but not inside of your bag/quilt. I don't think it would be very enjoyable to sleep ON the wet clothes though. Generally, I just throw them down into the footbox of my bag and try to remember to kick my feet around everytime that I roll over. Kind of like the spin cycle. Like most have said, it isn't great, but it does help dry things out a little.

[garlic08]

...With a down bag I now put things under my sleeping pad. That will at least get the clothes dryer than they were the night before, but still not dry.

This sometimes works surprisingly well. I do that often to keep clothing from freezing and once in a while they even dry out.

As far as sleeping with damp clothes in the bag, I only do that in low relative humidity, if I'm starting out completely dry, and I can effectively ventilate my shelter. If it's raining, or foggy in the mornings where you camp, don't do it. And I'll only dry out a wet hat and glove liners and maybe, and only if it's clean, a pair of socks. If you do it right, it can make a big difference having some dry stuff to put on in the morning.

[Another Kevin]

Wet clothing is absolutely banned from a down bag in cold weather, in my opinion. I struggle enough with condensation as it is. I have a bad habit of rolling over in my sleep and snuggling my face into the hood of the bag, and waking up to wet down in the hood where I've been breathing into it. In cold weather, I put wet clothes between my sleeping pads or in the stuff sack that I use as a pillow. That way it's at least unfrozen in the morning. (I use two pads in cold weather - a ProLite atop a blue foam.) If I lay the stuff flat, I don't even notice that it's there when I'm sleeping. I've even had technical fabrics come out nearly dry in the morning.

I might make an exception on the last night of a trip. But even then, I'd worry that I'd have bad luck and be stuck with a damp bag in an emergency bivy.

[Meriadoc]

Putting damp clothing in a sleeping bag works well if and only if it is done properly. I work at an outdoor program in Maine and we do it all winter. One caveat is that we are only backpacking for four days at a time.

Damp articles (socks, boot liners, etc) should be spread out on shoulders or torso. This is because there is enough heat generated by the torso to drive the water off. Some will inevitably get into the sleeping bag, but as long as there aren't too many damp articles/too much water, it affects the sleeping bag minimally over a short period (3 nights).

Items such as shell pants and jacket should not go in the sleeping bag - they don't need to be dry anyhow and they will block air and water vapor flow. Between pads is a great place for these.