How do you manage moisture inside your tent, sleeping bag, & jacket in constant rain?

[Hiker9999]

So far I have been fortunate to encounter rain that only lasts a night or sometimes on the last day of a trip. The downside is I have no practical experience in this area. How do you deal with moisture in your tent & sleeping bag if it is constantly raining for several days? Do you just pack your tent away wet & stuff it outside your bag liner/trash compactor bag? How about a down sleeping bag and down jacket that is slowing collecting moisture? Thanks.

[Slo-go'en]

After a few days of more or less steady rain everything gets pretty damp around the edges. Anything down goes into water proof stuff sacks along with your "dry" clothes. Since all the important things which I want to stay dry are in waterproof sacks, I don't worry about carrying my wet tent where it always goes inside my pack. Try very hard to keep wet things away from dry(ish) things when everything is unpacked.

Even when in a persistent rain pattern, you do get an occasional sunny day or afternoon and when you do, string up a line and dry everything out as best you can, while you can. And if we're talking rain on the AT here, you'll be in a town often enough to dry stuff out in a drier every 3 to 5 days.

[Connie]

Pitch your tarp or tent on well-drained soil, not in a "low spot". The bathtub tarp/tent floor, for example, sold by ZPacks helps. Having a vestibule or "porch" for removing outer rain jacket/pants or rain kilt etc. helps. If you can arrange an "extra" tarp for removing outer clothing and hanging it out separate from bringing it inside a tent. Not bringing any wet items inside helps. If you are soaked, get in a so-called "vapor barrier" and then get in your down sleeping system, keep "condensation" off your down sleeping system by wiping the inside surface overhead with a "shamwow". Limit condendation from your own breath, by a neck gaitor over your mouth. Do not have anything touch the inside surface of the tarp or tent, because that lets water in, if the tarp or tent fabric has "wetted-out". Have a tent with a "rain fly". Have a "bivy bag" under the tarp or inside the tent. Put a tarp up over but not touching the tent. Never "wring out" down. Air-dry suspended under a high overhead tarp. Hike out, to get your gear dried out: do not be wet and cold.

That said, I was in a steady downpour one week. One corner of my down sleeping bag got wet, on the outside, because it was sitting in a puddle. Don't let that happen. We got in a shelter to suspend it up high to "air dry". The "humidity" was high. We got to it right away, so the down inside had not got wet.

[Wooobie]

for me there comes a point of no return. once everything is wet, everything is wet. that being said i will usually have something for a clothes line in side of my shelter (not that it helps at all) i always keep my night clothes inside of a wet bag. if i can make a fire and catch a window of no rain i will be as proactive as possible in drying as much as possible. This has also cause me to sacrifice some socks to the fire gods.

[MuddyWaters]

Several days straight of high humidity cool heavy rain, and everything is damp. Reason to have overkill on bags/quilts in cold weather, so you still stay warm with loss of loft. The right conditions, heavy cold humid rain, can wet everything in a single night, you cant escape the misting inside most light wt shelters under worst conditions.

Know when to hold up to stay driest. Know when to hike out to town. Keep ear on weather forecast to avoid dangerous situations.

[Starchild]

Town Day.

Really there are no sections of the AT, perhaps except for the 100MW, where one is so remote that if things start to get beyond 'just damp' from gradual accumulation one can not get to town to get dried out.

[garlic08]

All the above. I've been on a few hikes in the Pacific Northwest and gotten hammered with four+ days of constant rain and fog and found out that four days is the limit of my down insulation, even when I do everything just right. Then I need to add heat. I've been able to make it to town and a warm room or a dryer, but plan B would have been a big fire. It's amazing what a few minutes of sunshine and wind at mid-day will do, so take advantage of that whenever possible.

[Slo-go'en]

I'm not a fan of trying to dry clothes or gear by a fire. It's too risky. I don't want sparks putting little holes in my tent or sleeping bag, melting my shoes or setting fire to my socks. Drying clothes your wearing by standing near the fire is a bit safer, but my rain jacket and fleece have little holes melted in them from camp fire sparks. (by the same token, don't set up your tent too close to a camp fire)

One thing I've noticed about rain on the AT, mostly in the southern sections in the spring, is if it is raining in the early morning like at or near dawn, it will usually tapper off once the sun has a chance to warm up and lift the clouds. That occurs by 8 or 9 in in the morning. So, if you sleep in a bit on those rainy mornings you can avoid most, if not all the rain. If it's raining in the late afternoon, you almost always have a break in the rain in the early evening as sunset approaches. Wait until then to set up camp.

[evyck da fleet]

If everything gets wet then I've got a town day. If things are damp I might begrudgingly sleep in a shelter. If its just my tent and fly, I'll set it up inside a shelter during my lunch break and dry it off with a pack towel or hang it from branches in an opening if the sun pops out and its windy so I can tent again that night. Once, I set up my tent in a shelter during a downpour and carried it outside to keep it from getting wet so someone else could have the last spot in the shelter.

The down sleeping bag is the only thing I really care about keeping dry. I've set up in low spots where water has pooled under my tent. Having a foam sleeping pad to keep the bag on and dry was key. An event sack will keep it dry if moisture gets inside my backpack.

[dudeijuststarted]

Camp on flat, elevated soil with a properly fitting footprint and adequately sealed tent. On the AT, a well guyed-out rainfly can keep your tent pretty dry. Gauge the wind direction so that the rain isn't lashing into the tent's ventilation mesh. I used a Big Agnes Fly Creek UL2 with the factory footprint (it was worth carrying) in '14 and didn't have a single flooding episode, quite the impressive shelter. Most tents allow you to tear down the netting / main tent while leaving the fly & footprint stood up. This way you can get your dry-ish tent into your pack without getting it soaked. Loosely strap the fly & footprint to the outside of your pack so that any chance of sunshine will dry them out. As far as down goes, try to sleep in clothing that will absorb your perspiration so you're not sweating into your down bag. Synthetic holds up to dampness much better. Use Sea and Summit bags for your camp clothes and electronics, they are a psychological god-send.

Care and precaution can really help manage moisture. Of course, you will eventually want to stop and clean / dry everything, mildew can wreck your health out there.

[BirdBrain]

You did not mention what kind of tent you have (at least I cant find a mention of it). Single wall tents are more prone to water issues than double wall. Of course, double wall tents weigh more. It is just a matter of which inconvenience to are willing to tolerate. In case I am using the wrong terminology, I am referring to having a separate rain fly. The rain fly creates a secondary barrier where the moisture collects. The underside of the fly will have the majority of the condensation that would otherwise be in your tent. If the tent is set up tight, the bathtub will be high and an air gap will be between the tent and the fly. In the morning, I use my WallyWorld absorber towel to get the majority of this moisture. If things are done right, the fly and the outside of the bathtub are the objects that are repeatedly soaked and dried. Of course, this is not fool proof. Relentless rain eventually wins... unless you are more talented than me.

[dlvoltolina]

I always leave the window open a litte

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[nsherry61]

Another reason to use a tarp instead of a tent? If you get a good fire going, you can pitch your tarp in a lean-to configuration facing the fire and still get some drying done even in misty wet conditions. Make camp early enough to get some good drying done before bed-time and if you can collect enough wood, keep the fire going into the night for even more drying. Of course, build the fire a safe distance out from under the lean-to.

[Maui Rhino]

In the morning, before taking down my tent, I'll wipe down the inside with a Sham Wow I carry. The tent will dry quickly, and I find myself saying " Sham Wow, Baby.... Sham WOW!"

[gunther11]

Is it possible to dry a down sleeping back in dryer? Or will it be damaged?

[dangerdave]

I walked through the rainiest June in Vermont in 130 years. Town stops were the only way to dry everything out. Good advice from people above. Prevention goes a long way, but I'd never put a sleeping bag in a dryer.


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[handlebar]

Is it possible to dry a down sleeping back in dryer? Or will it be damaged? This page from Western Mountaineering on cleaning a sleeping bag recommends using a commercial dryer: http://www.westernmountaineering.com/product-details/product-tips-care/ Here is a video from McNett: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJrnISxQCus

Both recommend use of a commercial dryer.

[Slo-go'en]

I walked through the rainiest June in Vermont in 130 years. Town stops were the only way to dry everything out. Good advice from people above. Prevention goes a long way, but I'd never put a sleeping bag in a dryer.

Not a problem, fluffs up a down bag nicely. Just make sure you use the low temp setting and don't leave it in there too long.

[dangerdave]

You guys are right. Low temp dryer. I was thinking no HOT dryer.


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