Drying clothes with body heat

[vaporjourney]

I'm beginning to wonder how quickly and efficiently the body can dry clothing wet with perspiration in the colder months. I typically don't sweat very much in the cold, but have noticed that if I put on a fresh pair of socks, my feet feel warmer. I'm assuming that the socks still hold some unnoticable perspiration. Now I'm trying to push that thought toward other clothing areas. I tend to prefer to use my hiking clothing to layer with in the night, to help cut down on the amount of clothing needed in my pack. I typically do have a spare shirt to change into, but not thermal bottoms. I had been layering a thin pair of Capiline which I wear hiking with a Midweight pair of smartwool to help keep warm in camp. I'm beginning to suspect that part of my fight to stay warm may be in slightly sweaty bottoms keeping me cool. However, if I'm wearing the pants in camp for a couple of hours, wouldn't that be long enough to allow them to dry? Maybe the body can't really dry an entire piece of clothing in cold weather?

[digger51]

Springer Mtn, March 2001, rained on the way up the hill and I only had one set of clothes to keep the weight down a little. I tried to dry them out in my sleeping bag but only ended up with a wet sleeping bag and very cold night. After Neel Gap i always carried an extra set for comfort. Capilene isnt that heavy. Carry an extra set and hang the used ones on a string or branch to dry until bedtime.

[1azarus]

There's a difference between rain soaked clothes and a little perspiration... i think a couple of hours in camp is enough to dry out perspiration in cold dry weather... and wearing your hiking clothes at night in the winter is a good strategy for keeping weight down.

[hopefulhiker]

Sometimes when I had wet capilene I would wear it inside the sleeping bag.. I would have had a dry change in camp before that.. I would intentionally put on the wet shirt and it would be dry the next morning.. I would do this on moderately cold nights, not freezing nights.

[sparky2000]

Shoving one's clothes and boots(sneakers) in the bottom of the sleeping bag gives one warm clothes in the AM.

[vaporjourney]

Is it safe to assume that putting another layer over top of the wet capilene layer will slow down drying further? It seems like the added layer on top of the moist clothing would prevent evaporation of perspiration.

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

Shoving one's clothes and boots(sneakers) in the bottom of the sleeping bag gives one warm clothes in the AM.I've been known to put my wet base layer in a gallon sized ziplock in my sleeping bag foot so they are warm the next morning in mild weather. As others have noted, bodies don't make enough heat to both keep us warm and dry clothing in cold weather and attempting to do this puts you at risk for hypothermia. Cold weather hiking requires abandoning some ultralite ideas in the interest of safety.

[The Solemates]

here is my winter routine: wear socks all day, which usually get wet due to walking in snow/crossing streams, etc. when i get to camp, take off wet pair. put on clean(er) dry pair. put the wet ones over top the dry ones (so now im wearing 2 pairs of socks) and then put them in my sleeping bag. the two pairs keep my feet warmer than one pair along. by morning, both pairs are dry. i take the outer pair off, and stick them in my pack. the next day i repeat the process. the next day i repeat the process. the next day i repeat the process, and so on until i hit town to launder. for clothes, ive always slept in the same clothes i hiked in, and never had any problems.

[Footslogger]

Never had much luck getting things to "dry" in my sleeping bag over night. They do come out warmer, which is a big plus when it comes to pulling them on at 0'dark hundred hours in cold weather. Once I'm hiking and the motor starts running even the wet/damp stuff doesn't bother me much.

'Slogger

[hammock engineer]

In terms of drying wet clothes in your bag, don't forget the mosture has to go somewhere. It passes into the sleeping bag. Some goes through into the outside air, some does not. The part that does not leads to a wet bag. Not very much fun for me.

I second the safty factor thing. Most of my hiking is solo. If I get into trouble I am pretty much on my own. A sleeping set thermals top and bottom and socks along with seperate hiking clothes gives me a little more. Most cold morning I have to put on my rain gear, insulated jacket, hat, and mittens to warm up when I get out of my bag. This is usually only until I get moving and get some coffee in me. If all I had was a wet base layer, it would make for some very uncomfortable mornings.

Besides sleeping is a comfort thing for me. No need to sleep in wet clothes unless I have to.

As everything else test this out for yourself. Just give yourself an out if needed. Nothing wrong with taking a little extra on a couple trips until you get things down.

[weary]

I always carry a dry set of clothing for use in towns after a shower or for emergencies. But usually I wear sweaty or rain dampened clothing for an hour or so around camp in the evening and they dry sufficiently to sleep in without adding much moisture to my sleeping bag.

The key is to remove layers as much as possible during the day while hiking to minimize wetness.

I've rarely had any problems, summer or winter, even when wearing cotton tee shirts, which is quite often.

Weary

[Grampie]

Ahh. Fond memories of my hike. Having to get up in the morning putting on cloths still wet from the day before.;)