Wet gear - sleeping in fog, damp, etc.

[Tony c]

Owning a SpinDrift in Louisiana, for a WBRR, seems illogical until fog and sideways blowing mist comes visiting. I did not buy mine for a winter boost in thermal retention, as most do, but as a moisture shield.
I had Brandon install 30" zippers at each of the ends, initially for ease of inserting and removing the bars, but I also find the end zippers great for managing the ventilation needs. Opening the head end zipper partially, and both door zippers cracked just a little at the top of the door arch, gives a great stovepipe type vent effect to take out condensate from my breath. And I find that the thin material of the spindrift dries far quicker than damp quilts and my double layer RR.

I write this to confirm what kitsapcowboy stated above. Outer shield gets the soaking, minimizing the dampness of the quilts and hammock body.

wow that's a great idea.

[Suede]

Agree. I used an UQP once camping in the snow and when it started warming up, you could see the evaporation rising up off the snow. The UQP was soaked, dripping from the evap. My UQ stayed dry. On the top, I have a top cover that helps keep the TQ dry. You could put almost anything over it if you don't have/use one.

Looks like you'd be interested in an underquilt protector. I live in the Gulf south where it's usually very humid. I feel your pain with the humidity and condensation.

http://www.2qzqhammockhanger.com/ham...cessories.html

[Chesapeake]

I just tested my synthetic gear in similar conditions the other night. I was expecting wet out, just wanted to see the extent and time it took to reach a level where I wouldn't be comfortable anymore. After a whole night of 100% humidity and direct contact with blowing rain it was still dry on the inside. After another 8 hours most of it was soaked through but I still had dry/ damp spots. I could have slept in it last night and been OK I think once I got some body heat in there and drying out the insulation closer to me some. All of it is dwr treated and it seemed to help prolong the wetout quite a bit. Gotta love synthetics!

[Ratdog]

Just going to echo a few comments. I ran my setup outdoors in the woods for 14+months, including a very humid, Nor'easter filled summer.

I use synthetic during the summer and early part of the shoulder seasons. I use an UQP and at times an over cover, either zip on or something draped across the ridgeline. Down was used in the late Fall, Winter and early Spring.

What I can say is that things get damp but my gear was never damaged from overexposure. Less damp when you have a protective layer taking the first 'hit'. I was worried about mold/mildew forming on gear that was left outside 24/7 for months on end. Never happened. The key would be air circulation. When not using the gear, leaving it with enough gaps to let the air flow is what makes the difference imho.

No way did I figure I could leave my precious DIY gear let alone my expensive cottage vendor gear outdoors, all the time for more than a year and not take a hit somewhere. 95-100º days w/ 90% humidity, rain for days on end, etc., nothing. Just blew my mind that the dampness never took a toll. Yes things got damp, top quilt, under quilt, hammock but they all dried sufficiently no matter the weather.

You know the only exception? Hot and humid weekend, the kind that has your head sweating on that synthetic pillow. Left a damp hammock in the car overnight (meaning about 24 hours), no air circulation, BOOM, mildew. Arrggghh. Now it's a bunch of stuff sacks w/ the offending material removed.

Wool retains about 80% of it's insulative properties when wet, not sure what the stat is for synthetic. Down, not so much.

That's why I use synthetic during the summer and hang it over the ridgeline during the day.

[DuctTapeMessiah]

Living in Northern Florida I deal with a lot of humidity. I've woke up many mornings with what appears to be saturated quilts. They are still in top shape. I bought a UQP just to be safe and using a tarp helps with preventing moisture on top quilts. Over all, it's never been long term issue for me. The DWR finish on material is supposedly made for something like this. If you have to pack it up damp, shake off what you can and just hang it out to air dry within 24 hours and I don't believe you will have any issues.


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