View Full Version : sweat and cold
restlesss
02-10-2010, 09:34
I SWEAT profusely when backpacking mainly on my back where there is contact with my pack. I am trying to go if not ultralight as close as I can get so I am trying to limit my clothing that I carry. along with getting some long hikes in... So question is... if I have something like a Icebreaker shirt or some sort of wicking and layering system, after I take off my pack and my back is completely soaked... what can I do to get my shirt dry again when it is cold out? I heard you should put it in your sleeping bag and let your body dry it as you sleep BUT i have a down bag and don't want to soak my bag of course.
IMO i don't think using your bag to dry your clothing is a good idea either. If it is cold out, and your hiking baselayer is damp when getting to camp, you should then consider changing into camp clothing and add your insulating layer, this is what works for me. when going to sleep, I put my damp clothing in a plastic bag, in my sleeping bag, so at least it's not frozen in the morning.Put them back on, and repeat.
white_russian
02-10-2010, 10:14
You can carry a synthetic jacket to put on in camp and it will do the trick.
Big Dawg
02-10-2010, 10:16
I sweat a lot too, even in cold temps. I try to manage how much I sweat in the winter by layering so that I'm cold if standing still but warmer while hiking. In other words, I usually just wear a short sleeve polypro shirt in the winter while hiking, which helps to keep my sweat at bay, and will put on a jacket when i stop for breaks. Any sweat that does soak my shirt will not dry overnight in cold temps, & I'm definitely not taking it in the bag w/ me at night for reasons you mentioned. I usually change into a dry shirt at camp, chuck the wet hiking shirt in the tent corner, then brave the shock of putting it back on in the morning, knowing I'll warm up quick while hiking.
i can appreciate your enthusiasm for wanting to go ultralight and carry as few clothes as possible. however, consider your personal health and safety first(i.e. hypothermia). as others suggested, always have a change of dry clothes for camp/sleeping. if you have a good sleeping bag, a light baselayer for camp shouldn't add too much extra weight.
as far as drying out your wet clothing, that's a tough one. sometimes things never completely dry out for several days. in that case, you just have to put on the wet clothing in the am and get moving as quickly as possible.
one suggestion if using a layering system. i like to wear my rain jacket or wind jacket or fleece backwards so that it doesn't cover your back. of course, this only works if it is a full zipper type of jacket(like putting on a hospital gown). this way you don't sweat as much and keep your layering system much drier.
good luck!
i can appreciate your enthusiasm for wanting to go ultralight and carry as few clothes as possible. however, consider your personal health and safety first(i.e. hypothermia). as others suggested, always have a change of dry clothes for camp/sleeping. if you have a good sleeping bag, a light baselayer for camp shouldn't add too much extra weight.
as far as drying out your wet clothing, that's a tough one. sometimes things never completely dry out for several days. in that case, you just have to put on the wet clothing in the am and get moving as quickly as possible.
one suggestion if using a layering system. i like to wear my rain jacket or wind jacket or fleece backwards so that it doesn't cover your back. of course, this only works if it is a full zipper type of jacket(like putting on a hospital gown). this way you don't sweat as much and keep your layering system much drier.
good luck!
neat idea...thanks! :) maddog
I sweat like a cold glass of ice tea in a Georgia summer. I hike in an poly tee even when its really cold, then layer up at night. I keep a fleece handy in the top of my pack for long breaks. I don't like carrying extra gear either but I need to have dry clothes for protection when not hiking. I like the idea of putting my tee in a plastic bag inside my sleeping bag. I hate the morning freeze. If you find a way to dry sweaty clothes in the cold or rain let me know. I've yet to figure it out.
garlic08
02-10-2010, 10:55
I'm going to differ here and say go ahead and try drying your ONE sweaty base layer in your sleeping bag, especially if you have lots of leeway in the rating (20F bag on a dry 35F night, for instance). I do it all the time and it works for me. It's not like the body stops perspiring when you get in your bag--you sweat all night anyway. Try sleeping under a mylar space blanket on a cold night sometime and you'll be amazed. Sleeping bags are designed to breathe. Your body acts as a heat engine and will do very well at drying a damp article of clothing or two. Some mornings, a dry pair of socks or shirt is a little slice of heaven. That's my experience, anyway.
Mountain Wildman
02-10-2010, 11:56
Put hot water in one or more of your water bottles and wrap the shirt around it and the heat will help dry it, especially if it is a lightweight synthetic shirt, Maybe try putting the shirt and hot water bottle in a paper bag if you have one, it will absorb some of the moisture away from the shirt.
JustaTouron
02-10-2010, 12:03
One option is to put your sweaty shirt in a zip lock bag and in your sleeping bag.
If you leave it outside your sleeping bag to dry. It won't. It will just get frozen and extremely uncomfortable to put on the next morning.
And as you pointed out drying it out in the sleeping bag adds to sleeping bag dampness. And even if you dry it out it is just gonna get sweaty once you start hiking the next day.
This way you put on a damp but warm shirt.
NorthCountryWoods
02-10-2010, 12:03
Always been the same way as far as sweating goes, even as a child. Tried the dry in the sleeping bag routine and not sure if it's because I also sweat in my sleep, but it never worked. I typically carry 2 sets of base layers and alternate days wearing them. Dry the one I'm not wearing on my pack during the day or over the stove if necessary.
That being said, we do tend to camp early so drying time even in the rain isn't usually a problem. You may have more trouble if you're pushing the miles and getting to camp late.
BTW, the little woodgas stove I've got dries clothes faster than a petro stove and gives you that nice smokey hiker smell that keeps the bugs (and day hikers) away.
Blue Jay
02-10-2010, 12:20
I SWEAT profusely when backpacking mainly on my back where there is contact with my pack. I am trying to go if not ultralight as close as I can get so I am trying to limit my clothing that I carry. along with getting some long hikes in... So question is... if I have something like a Icebreaker shirt or some sort of wicking and layering system, after I take off my pack and my back is completely soaked... what can I do to get my shirt dry again when it is cold out? I heard you should put it in your sleeping bag and let your body dry it as you sleep BUT i have a down bag and don't want to soak my bag of course.
Easy one, use an external frame pack. Your shirt dries as you sweat. On an LD hike putting anything wet, including yourself, in your sleeping bag, is something to be avoided if possible.
"I'm going to differ here and say go ahead and try drying your ONE sweaty base layer in your sleeping bag, especially if you have lots of leeway in the rating (20F bag on a dry 35F night, for instance)."
I'm with Garlic here; it certainly is nice to have a dry layer to change into, but on a trip where it's generally damp out all the time, at some point all your layers are damp anyway and you're just carrying yet more extra weight in the form of spare wet layers.
My approach is to only go with the thinnest base layers, for example, capilene 1 rather than 2 or 3. If I'm wearing a hiking shirt and/or windshirt over my thin baselayer, that stuff comes off if it's very wet before I put on my down parka or get inside the sleeping bag. The point is that a thin baselayer can only hold so much moisture, and as Garlic said, your body keeps perspiring in the bag anyway.
And then in the morning at least you start with an already warm baselayer on ...
Kerosene
02-10-2010, 16:15
Easy one, use an external frame pack. Your shirt dries as you sweat.Not my shirt! Frankly, I don't recall sweating any less or more than with an internal frame than with my old Kelty Tioga and its predecessors. I figure that I'm going to sweat going up hills regardless of the outside temperature, so I'd better have a warm, dry alternative for when I stop.
Big Dawg
02-10-2010, 16:58
Not my shirt! Frankly, I don't recall sweating any less or more than with an internal frame than with my old Kelty Tioga and its predecessors. I figure that I'm going to sweat going up hills regardless of the outside temperature, so I'd better have a warm, dry alternative for when I stop.
my thoughts exactly.
restlesss
02-13-2010, 01:56
got some great ideas. I actually might take a polypro shirt, cut the back off (holpital gown style that way my back wont be soaked! thanks for all the help.
I also hike in the winter with a short sleeve synthetic shirt. Worst temps are probably only in the high 20's though.
Anyway, I put my shirt under my sleeping pad. It seems to be drying it out, but even if it doesn't, it should help take some of the heat shock off...although it may have dried out due to putting on a jacket as soon as I get into camp. I haven't really paid that much attention. The pad thing would probably work even better if I covered my pad and sandwiched the shirt in the middle.
If you feel cold enough to need a jacket while hiking, put it on backwards so that only your front is covered. Vent as much as you have to to avoid getting sweat into your jacket.
Whenever you stop and remove your pack you can remove any synthetic layers you have and just give them a shake, but leave any wool layers on until they air dry with your body heat. It is especially important to do this before nightfall, before the temperatures drop and the relative humidity rises. A wool skin layer is an excellent way to manage moisture, but the pack on the back can be problematic, unless you under-dress slightly. What also helps for me is to wear a somewhat looser fitting looser knit medium wool sweater directly without a skin layer or shell, rather than an icebreaker type wool skin layer and fleece layer over that. Of course when it gets colder, or you stop, you can add your skin layer under and fleece and shells over as needed.