I live on the north west coast and camp in fog a lot. I've had really good results with Ducth's winter sock. It can develop some condensation inside if your not careful with keeping the vent over your face but it keeps the due off very well.
I live on the north west coast and camp in fog a lot. I've had really good results with Ducth's winter sock. It can develop some condensation inside if your not careful with keeping the vent over your face but it keeps the due off very well.
By all means, let's argue about whether or not a hammock will hurt a tree. All the while ignoring the fact that there is an island of garbage the size of Texas floating in the Pacific ocean. Or how about the fact that over 75% of the world's nuclear reactors are leaking...
I live on the Pacific coast and I am often camping in cold, damp, foggy conditions in the winter. I highly recommend taking a UQP underquilt protector and a hammock sock for these conditions. Also if you don't have a winter tarp, I also suggest getting or making a pair of Griz beaks for your tarp.
"Civilization exists by geological consent, subject to change without notice." Will Durant
Sounds like perfect conditions ... for condensation.
If you are primitive camping, you will want to avoid certain locations if possible - such as along riverbanks, in valleys, etc. If you are in a frontcountry site, well, you're stuck with whatever parcel they give you. Often they have the exact wrong kind of characteristics as far as avoiding condensation goes.
The two biggest things that help alleviate condensation are ventilation and a breeze. You can only control one of those.
Do any of you find that a down TQ gets rather clammy when used in a hammock with integrated bugnet? Esp. one with noseeum mesh - those really reduce airflow, I've found. I wonder if a synthetic TQ would be better for hanging in the 30s and 40s.
I really should have done this. I climbed up one side nearby which would have made a much better camp, but still easy access to water. Next time!Originally Posted by cspan37421
I've never experienced this other than when the temps are in the mid 80's and up and I tried to use my 50° top quilt.
I have yet to try using a vapor barrier, but this seems like a good situation to try it. For this situation, I'd try a vapor barrier close to the skin, then an additional one covering the insulation (an under quilt protector and maybe even a garbage bag or disposable space blanket to cover the top quilt). Hopefully I'm providing a useful link to a discussion on vapor barriers below.
https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...=vapor+barrier
The only thing that works is to keep your quilts and hammock above the dew point which involves warmth. So question becomes how to trap warmth without causing a bigger problem. Using a sock can certainly help if you get it right but it is a very fine line. Get it wrong and your slopping wet.
I have used a fibrous blanket over the ridge line and that adds warmth to the quilts but the blanket soaks up the moisture and is not so practical beyond backyard use.
So out in the field it comes done to location location location. How to trap warmth...
I have found hanging under big mature leafy or evergreen trees that within themselves provide a ton of overhead cover is good start ..why, well to a certain degree radiant heat from you and the ground gets reflected back to your gear by all the cover, in essences warming things. Remember it may not take very much of a degree to create a massive change in environment. Hanging under open skies, as in none or minimal cover above you, you loose all the radiant heat to the sky.
Last fall I did a hang next to a small lake with temps just above freezing in my Silpoly Hot Tent. Fog rolled in over night and by the morning looking out I was expecting lots of moisture on my quilts and on the inside of the silpoly...there was none other than what I would consider normal and very minimal. Why, well I was hanging under big mature trees with no under story greenery other than moss. You could tell I was in this micro climate as the fog/dampness was not penetrating my tiny area. The radiant heat from the earth was being held here keeping things above dew point.
Hanging in my backyard I am wide open to the sky and it is a massive challenge dealing with moisture as radiant losses just auger me into moisture craziness. The more the losses say from clear skies the more moisture sets up and almost always my tarp is soaked inside and out. Add 100% humidity and well ...expect a lot of wet
Wind though is a great equalizer and a massive friend.
So to conclude, find mature trees with lots of cover in a area with minimal ground or under story growth so that earths radiant heat is reflected back to you from just above you (with depth...so tall thick/lush trees).
Otherwise have a drying plan worked out next morning or day cause IMO you will not win
That be my experience ...each to their own.
Life is too Short to not feed the addiction....Hang on and explore the World
Im so paranoid about this now lol
Good info and advice - I hope it will serve me well.
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“The nitrogen in our DNA, the calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood, the carbon in our apple pies were made in the interiors of collapsing stars. We are made of starstuff.”
SockFTW!
(Here in the PNW, where high humidity in colder temperatures is common much of the year (and it's 34F and 96% RH right now as I lay in my hammock typing this, without the benefit of one...), a properly vented sock can really work wonders whenever the threat of ambient moisture outside will cause more substantial problems than managing respiratory moisture inside. YMMV, and many people just do not like them, but I never have a problem in my sock with condensation through the range of (above zero) winter temperatures we see here. Works great for me. HTH.)
https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...-(Version-2-0)
Last edited by kitsapcowboy; 01-24-2017 at 08:10.
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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.
I know it's not the lightest gear, and it's a lot of stuff, but I use a canoe, so it's a lot like car camping, but without the other cars.
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