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Yahtzee
01-15-2008, 23:39
Looking to move to a Tarptent Contrail. Have read a bit about the possibility of condensation, especially when camped in humid areas. Also, looking to move to a down bag. My worry is what damage, if any, will occur if the down gets condensation all over the shell? Basically, how wet does a down bag have to get before it gets damaged?

rafe
01-15-2008, 23:42
Not a big deal. And in any case, the bag isn't "damaged." Condensation from tent walls won't have a serious impact on the bag's ability to insulate you.

88BlueGT
01-16-2008, 01:03
It depends on the material of the bag also.

Baum Trigger
01-16-2008, 01:17
most bags nowadays have a dwr on the shell. condensation should be a non-issue.

Tobit
01-16-2008, 06:14
I haven't seen a shelter yet of any kind that is totally immune to condensation of some kind. Your bag will be fine.

Two Speed
01-16-2008, 06:26
Started using a Lunar a few years ago, and I do find it's a little more demanding in terms of knowing how and where to set up to avoid condensation. First, I think ventilation is crucial to being dry in a single wall tent. I've been in driving rain with decent ventilation and didn't have any problems. Then again I made the mistake of setting up in a meadow, getting a heavy dewfall with no wind and woke up with the interior of the shelter loaded with condensation. I'm convinced the difference was ventilation and site selection.

I think the suggestion about a DWR finish bag is a good one. My bag has a DWR finish and even when I managed to screw up I was still warm. Had to peel the bag out later and set it in the sun to get the residual moisture out, but no major problems beyond that.

Last, terrapin's comment brings up another point. It takes a LOT of moisture to render a down bag useless. One night of fouling up ain't gonna do it. Insist on being stupid night after night? Well, that'll get out of hand, but it takes a remarkably dense hiker to do that.

Buy a quality bag with a DWR finish, pay attention to what works and what doesn't and you'll be fine.

stranger
01-16-2008, 21:43
If you choose your site carefully and avoid meadows you won't have tons of condensation in a tarptent, but no matter what you will have some in any tent, single or double walled, or tarp most likely.

The condensation, almost without exception, will stay on the interior of the fly and if anything it will run down the walls and drip outside your floor area in a tarptent (if it's like mine atleast), there is a small gap between the floor and the fly in most models.

Usually what happens is that you thrash around in your sleep and you end up getting your footbox damp, and that is an issue. But how much is another question. You can slide a breathable jacket over the bottom of the bag if you are worried about this, and that will solve the problem, or take a piece of Tyvek that's 4 feet long, 2 ft wide, fold it in half and stitch is on the sides and use it to form a pocket for your footbox to slip into.

Even with good ventilation and a good breeze, condensation will happen because condensation occurs from a difference in temperature on either sides of the fabric, and this cannot be avoided, only minimized.

Yahtzee
01-16-2008, 22:01
If you choose your site carefully and avoid meadows you won't have tons of condensation in a tarptent, but no matter what you will have some in any tent, single or double walled, or tarp most likely.

The condensation, almost without exception, will stay on the interior of the fly and if anything it will run down the walls and drip outside your floor area in a tarptent (if it's like mine atleast), there is a small gap between the floor and the fly in most models.

Usually what happens is that you thrash around in your sleep and you end up getting your footbox damp, and that is an issue. But how much is another question. You can slide a breathable jacket over the bottom of the bag if you are worried about this, and that will solve the problem, or take a piece of Tyvek that's 4 feet long, 2 ft wide, fold it in half and stitch is on the sides and use it to form a pocket for your footbox to slip into.

Even with good ventilation and a good breeze, condensation will happen because condensation occurs from a difference in temperature on either sides of the fabric, and this cannot be avoided, only minimized.

That was my main concern: Condensation somehow harming the footbox. I am a thrasher and a roller and I when I owned a cheap tent with no ventilation, I got my bag wet quite often. Thankfully, it was synthetic so no worries. If I am gonna throw down the cash on a down bag and a tarp tent I don't want to have fundamental problems with the gear. Every so often I can handle. Nightly or near nightly is a whole nother ball of wax.

Thanks for the replies.

Footslogger
01-16-2008, 22:44
I did my entire thru in 2003 with a single walled silnylon tent and a down bag. What I did was spray the bag with Tectron DWR. I had plenty of condensation but the DWR spray kept the moisture beading up on the surface of the bag and it never penetrated into the down.

'Slogger

Yahtzee
01-16-2008, 23:17
I did my entire thru in 2003 with a single walled silnylon tent and a down bag. What I did was spray the bag with Tectron DWR. I had plenty of condensation but the DWR spray kept the moisture beading up on the surface of the bag and it never penetrated into the down.

'Slogger

Thanks, that sounds like the trick.

fiddlehead
01-16-2008, 23:41
Just to look at things from a different perspective (not trying to confuse you Yahtzee, by the way, how the hell are you? Good seeing your posts on here and remembering our good times together)

Anyway, I never was a fan of the DWR fabric on the outside of a bag. Reason is that once your bag does get a little damp (from the inside from your sweating) it takes longer to dry out with the dwr.

My method is to keep the bag dry by setting up my sil shelter (integral designs) with a good bit of ventilation underneath (if i'm camping in a wet area) or tight to the ground (if i'm not and i'm expecting snow or hard rain) in other words, take care of the weather from the outside before it happens.

we all sweat and the bag gets damp from the inside. I always buy a sleeping bag from feathered friends which means you can order them custom and i always have them made from the lightest possible material on the inside and outside (forget the name but mine are the same)

this way, the bag dries out quicker from your body moisture and your camping skills keep the bag as dry as possible from the outside elements.

anyway, it works for me. I have never gotten wet in a storm in my sil shelter although once when we had to camp on a hard packed dirt road in the pyrenees, we had a long night building walls from dirt and plastic trying to keep the run off out of the mega-mid.


good luck in whatever you choose. I do believe there is no choice besides down.

Footslogger
01-16-2008, 23:48
[quote=fiddlehead;503808]
Anyway, I never was a fan of the DWR fabric on the outside of a bag. Reason is that once your bag does get a little damp (from the inside from your sweating) it takes longer to dry out with the dwr.

==========================================

I agree. Just to clarify ...what I am talking about is NOT a DWR fabric. I took the Tectron spray and applied it to the standard fabric of an REI Sub Kilo. It didn't affect the breathability of the bag ...just kept moisture beading up on the surface where it could evaporate and prevented it from penetrating beneath the fabric into the down.

'Slogger