Packing Wet Single Wall Tents

[RussC]

Forum newbie here. I am looking at tents, and am considering several tents that are single-wall (tarptent protrail and double rainbow as well as a few others). One issue has been mentioned by a couple of reviewers: if the tent gets wet on the outside due to rain or inside due condensation and you have to pack it up, the whole tent gets wet. That is okay unless you have steady, rainy weather for multiple days and can't dry things out which lead to serious moisture problems.

I can see that this could be a problem, but I have stuffed double wall tent parts into one bag when they were damp and not had a problem with everything getting wet, though I was able to shake off the rain fly. Has anyone run into serious issues with this? Is it that big a deal if the mesh is damp? A model with a removable netting would be a solution, but sometimes simpler is better.

Thanks for any input--narrowing the field in any way would be helpful in the decision process!

Thanks,

Russ

[rafe]

I haven't had a situation yet where my Tarptent got overly-wet from consistent damp conditions. Closest I get was maybe last summer on the northern part of the Long Trail. It was not an issue.

Disclaimer: I rarely leave my tent in a downpour. But otherwise...

I shake it thoroughly, while it's still standing, before I take it down and pack it. It travels outside the pack, in its own stuff sack. If weather permits, I might roll it out during lunch break and give it a chance to air out or dry out.

[nsherry61]

. . . That is okay unless you have steady, rainy weather for multiple days and can't dry things out which lead to serious moisture problems. . .

Over multiple days of continuous rain everything gets damp and soggy and you have no choice but to live and sleep damp and soggy. Luckily for most of us, continuous rain without a break is not something we have to suffer for more than a couple of days in most cases. The only real problem is getting your insulation wet enough that you can't stay warm. Pick your insulation wisely and keep your insulation as dry as possible and away from all your other wet gear, for which many people use trash compacter bags, trash bags, dry bags or whatever you can make work during the day. A wet tent won't soak your sleeping insulation, it just contributes a bit more to the moisture that will never go away, and that is fine as long as your insulation is kept dry enough even though not truly dry.

That all being said, yes, a tarp or a double walled tent can allow more drying out from body heat at night than a single walled tent that will hold more moisture inside.

With double walled tents being available that are less than 3 lbs, there is not much reason to suffer with a single walled tent if you are likely to spend significant time in continuously wet conditions.

[DuneElliot]

This is one of the main reasons I went with a cuben fiber tent despite the insane cost. Now all I need to do is to work out the best way to fold it into its storage sack while it's raining in order to keep the inside dry.

[rafe]

This is one of the main reasons I went with a cuben fiber tent despite the insane cost. Now all I need to do is to work out the best way to fold it into its storage sack while it's raining in order to keep the inside dry.

What is the weight of the fabric itself, as opposed to the poles, stakes and the water clinging to it? Alas, the most hi-tech fabric in my gear is just sil-nylon.

There's no real problem keeping the inside of the tent dry, even in very wet conditions. Easily manageable. Worst case, your sleeping pad keeps you mostly off the floor of the tent.

nsherry's point about proper insulation is well taken.

Extended bad weather = maybe not a bad time for a town stop, if just to regroup and carry on.

[Tipi Walter]

A tent will get wet from both rain and inside condensation, no matter if it's a single or double wall. Wad up the whole thing in the morning and pack it and go. That evening set up camp with the wet tent and do this:

** Put up the tent and stake it out.
** While the tent is up, shake it vigorously to dislodge any tent ceiling water droplets onto the tent floor.
** Use rag or paper towels or bandana and wipe off wet tent floor.
** NOW put your dry ground cloth INSIDE your tent and then throw in the rest of your gear. Your ground cloth is always dry on one side, at least.


Here's my inner ground cloth on my wet tent floor with the top dry surface of the ground cloth used for my sleeping pad and gear. I mark my ground cloth with a felt marker pen to denote This Side Up.

[Maui Rhino]

I carry a small piece of a Sham-Wow or chamois cloth. When I get up, I'll wipe the tent down, then leave it up to air out and dry while I make my morning coffee. I may pull it out at lunch to dry more if it's still wet. If it's raining for days, everything will be damp anyway.

[soumodeler]

Pack towel. Just set it up and if it is not currently raining, let it sit as long as you can before getting in and drying everything off with your pack towel. If it is raining, sit in the vestibule and get it dry as you can before crawling in. Cuben fiber does make this a little easier but even a silnylon tent you should be able to get it dry enough to not soak your gear.

Good idea Tipi on the ground cloth on the inside of the tent.

[burger]

A pack towel will not work on silnylon that has soaked up water (contrary to popular belief, silnylon is not waterproof).

I don't like the groundcloth in the tent idea because then you likely end up with a wet, muddy tent floor. And it's hard to keep that mud from getting all over the rest of the tent and your gear when you roll it up.

Cuben fiber is a decent idea, but very expensive.

Fortunately, tthere is a much simpler and cheaper solution that will prevent you from ever having wet-tent issues and save you weight: get a tarp with an inner net. The tarp can be as wet as can be, but if you pitch it right and don't brush up against it from inside, you and your bag will not get wet. Also, tarps dry a lot faster than complete tents because there is only one piece of fabric to dry, so the entire thing can be exposed to the sun at once. Tarps generally have less problems with condensation inside than tarptents because you can adjust the height of the tarp to ventilate it. And a tarp will also save you weight because you can leave the inner net at home outside of bug season.

Six moon designs, MLD, gossamer gear, and others make a variety tarps that optionally come with inner nets.

[nsherry61]

. . .Cuben fiber is a decent idea, but very expensive. . .

I'm not sure how Cuben fiber is a particularly effective solution. Sure, you can physically dry it more thoroughly than silnylon, but, the amount of water left absorbed by the silnylon, although heavy, isn't going to contribute significantly to wetting out the rest of your gear.

. . . Fortunately, there is a much simpler and cheaper solution . . . a tarp with an inner net. . .

Ah, Burger, you are a man after my own heart, oh, almost. Lots of good points. However, unless bugs are a huge problem, why mess with the inner tent, keep it simpler and cheaper yet by using just a tarp and a groundcloth. An 8x10 tarp or a 9x9, or something along those lines can provide a lot of "dry" area to live in, compared to a tent, much more space to move around in, manage your gear in, cook in, etc. and depending on the wind, the humidity, and the pitch, much better air flow for drying gear out.

[burger]

I'm not sure how Cuben fiber is a particularly effective solution. Sure, you can physically dry it more thoroughly than silnylon, but, the amount of water left absorbed by the silnylon, although heavy, isn't going to contribute significantly to wetting out the rest of your gear.

In my experience, cuben does not absorb any water. So if you have a packtowel, you can dry it almost completely. Even just a good shaking gets the vast majority of water off a cuben tarp. And I've actually had a wet silnylon tent get my gear wet in my pack--when the wet tent comes under pressure in your pack, the water comes out. Plus, if you're using a single-wall tent, you still have a wet tent the next night.

Ah, Burger, you are a man after my own heart, oh, almost. Lots of good points. However, unless bugs are a huge problem, why mess with the inner tent, keep it simpler and cheaper yet by using just a tarp and a groundcloth. An 8x10 tarp or a 9x9, or something along those lines can provide a lot of "dry" area to live in, compared to a tent, much more space to move around in, manage your gear in, cook in, etc. and depending on the wind, the humidity, and the pitch, much better air flow for drying gear out.

Forgot to mention that if bugs are a problem and you want to go really minimalist, a bivy sack plus a tarp is a great option and even lighter than any inner net.

[nsherry61]

. . . I've actually had a wet silnylon tent get my gear wet in my pack . . .

When I'm in sustained wet weather, I find that the key to managing my gear moisture is to put my dry gear inside my trash compactor bag and not worry about the rest. So, a wet tent getting my gear wet is a non-issue so long as the dry stuff stays dry inside my dry bag/trash compactor bag.

Okay, that is a bit of an oversimplification. I often have truly dry gear (i.e. sleeping bag) kept in my trash compacter bag and away from anything at all wet. Then I have semi-dry gear like my fleece or puffy jacket that may be moist enough I don't want it inside my dry bag, but I don't wont it wetter from being packed with rain-gear or a wet tent/tarp. The semi-dry gear is almost always my daytime insulation and I pack it on the very top of my pack with a food bag or other non-wetted gear keeping it away from and truly soaked gear underneath.

[daddytwosticks]

This issue was just one of the many issues that drove me away from saggy silnylon single-walled tents and back to a conventional double-walled tent. I now use a MSR Hubba NX-1 and couldn't be happier. Being freestanding and using a footprint, I have few problems setting up/taking down in the rain.

[Pedaling Fool]

Regardless of which tent design you go with, packing up a wet tent is just part of hiking, doesn't matter if it's a single wall or comes with a fly. I just keep it close to the top of my pack (if not outside) and lay out for drying during lunch; they all dry super fast.

I would recommend not going with a single wall, simply because it's nice to be able to have only screen between you and the bugs during the summer. Single wall tents are too enclosed; I would only go with a single wall when hiking exclusively in cold temps, i.e. winter hiking.

Packing up a wet tent, regardless of design just isn't a factor in determining which tent to go with, at least in my opinion.

[Tipi Walter]

I don't like the groundcloth in the tent idea because then you likely end up with a wet, muddy tent floor. And it's hard to keep that mud from getting all over the rest of the tent and your gear when you roll it up.

My solution for a muddy tent floor (or ground cloth if it rests in the mud) is this---


Gather a bunch of dead leaves and place them atop the mud for your tent. Voila, no floor mess when packing up.

[Vegan Packer]

I use combinations of things said above. My new ZPacks Duplex is cuben fiber, so it should dry, if there is a chance to dry it. I carry a small Light Load Towel. I carry my tent in its stuff sack, and I place that in the front pocket of my pack, which is mesh, to keep from wetting the gear inside of the main storage of my pack.

Nothing is perfect.

[garlic08]

In my long experience with single wall silnylon shelters, when they do get completely wet, the amount of actual moisture they hold is negligible. I set up my wet tent, get inside, and sometimes I'll wipe it down with my bandanna. If it's well ventilated, if the RH drops a bit and it stops raining for an hour or so, it'll dry out. I also take advantage of any "sun breaks" during the hiking day to take a break and dry stuff out. A few minutes of sun and wind, and a single wall tent is completely dry. That to me is one of the advantages of a single wall shelter.

[rafe]

In my long experience with single wall silnylon shelters, when they do get completely wet, the amount of actual moisture they hold is negligible. I set up my wet tent, get inside, and sometimes I'll wipe it down with my bandanna. If it's well ventilated, if the RH drops a bit and it stops raining for an hour or so, it'll dry out. I also take advantage of any "sun breaks" during the hiking day to take a break and dry stuff out. A few minutes of sun and wind, and a single wall tent is completely dry. That to me is one of the advantages of a single wall shelter.

Agree entirely. In extended rain, where RH stays at or near 100, nothing's going to dry. That's just physics. Shake off the tent vigorously before rolling or stuffing it. When you arrive in camp, set it up early and let the wind blow it dry a bit. During a break, roll it out on a warm patch of rock. But all these tricks involve catching a break from steady rain and a dip in the RH.

[RussC]

That is a reassuring and makes sense base on my experience. At the end of the day (so to speak) keeping my essential dry should be manageable if the interior of the tent is damp.

Thanks for all the replies, this looks like a great online community.

[left52side]

Hi there after reading through a few responses ill leave my two cents lol.
I use A deshutes plus shaped tarp as shelter and also have used a skyskape trekker and scout.
Which is a hybrid I believe is what they call it.
But with any shelter I use if it is wet when I am packing up I put it in my outside mesh pocket and try to at least let it air dry a bit.
If weather in inclement all day then it is just A bummer for a cold night I suppose.
That is why I like the deshutes plus shelter with A polycryo ground sheet .