View Full Version : Rookie question: Condensation in tent
saimyoji
12-11-2004, 22:45
On the cold nights I've spent camping/hiking, I've never found a good way to eliminate condensation on the inside of my tent. Aside from abandoning the tent, is there a good way to avoid this condensation? Do tent fans that blow air out really work? The tents I've been using are: Coleman Sundome (camping with family), Eureka A-Frame (hiking). Please advise. Thanks.
Although I don't think condensation can be avoided completely, I'm sure that the situation would improve greatly with a higher quality tent (or a tarp for that matter). The design on a Sierra Designs, Marmot, or similar tent is probably more well thought out than a Coleman or Eureka. Also look for tents that have ample ventilation, i.e. lots of mesh, or no sides at all like a tarp. Good luck!
Footslogger
12-11-2004, 23:59
Condensation is hard to avoid on cold damp nights. Maximum ventilation is the key to holding condendation down. Set up you tent so that some wind/breeze can circulate freely and you should notice some decrease in moisture on the inside walls of the tent.
Keep a bandana or small piece of pack towel (synthetic chamois) with you just in case and wipe some of the excess off in the morning before folding up your tent. Sometimes you do have to break camp and pack a wet tent. In those cases try to take the tent out when you break for lunch and spread it out to dry. Last thing you want to do is set up a wet tent and crawl in at night. You're just asking for more condensation as your body temperature and that of your exhaled air start to warm up the inside of the tent as you sleep.
'Slogger
AT 2003
A couple of things to try. One is double wall tents will "control" the condensation the best. What happens is the water will be in between the two layers of fabric. This way most of the water can be shaken off before packing. Second, alot more moisture comes up from the ground than most people realize. Try using a plastic ground cloth. Not using one or using tyvex will alow ground moisture to rise from the ground.
And like the previous post good venting is an absolute.
Brushy Sage
12-12-2004, 10:38
Just an observation that condensation will form even in a tarp. I well remember my first night on the AT, when the temp dropped to 15 degrees. As I awoke, I was surprised to see all the ice crystals hanging above my head.
orangebug
12-12-2004, 10:51
The nice thing about ice crystals of condensation, they are easy to knock off and shake out of a tent or tarp.
You are going to get condensation to some degree with any shelter that helps hold in your warmth and protect you from wind or rain. This is a trade off that can't be avoided. If you have a silnylon tent with an intact floor, I am uncertain how ground moisture will contribute substantially to the vapor burder inside the tent. The biggest contribution will be your own breathing. One thing that will minimize this contribution is to wear a balacava at night, putting the vapor into it more. Another way is to sleep on your side, facing mesh if available.
Brushy Sage is right. Under certain conditions, moisture will condense even on the underside of a tarp, which is by definition, pretty well perfectly ventilated. The key thing is dew point. While obviously ventilation helps to reduce condensation in most situations, sometimes there is nothing you can do. I once had heavy condensation on the underside of an 8 X 10 silnylon tarp I had pitched as a cooking shelter. I wasn't even sleeping under it. We had had a series of very hot, muggy and humid days - then things cleared and the temperature dropped to a few degrees above freezing over night.
Sometimes there is nothing you can do.
Cheers,
PKH