I couldn't open up any more. I could practically stand underneath at 5'9", no doors closed, porch mode. At least on the last two trips. Before that I was closed up but still with a door open on each end. So I've been thru the full spectrum of tarp pitches and weather with no solution yet.Originally Posted by MikekiM
You and some others obviously have more problems with this sort of thing than Shug. Though I THINK I do remember when one of his pod tests way below zero, he did have some frost somewhere inside of the layers, correct me if I'm wrong, Shug. But, you seem to be way at the bad end of the spectrum for condensation issues. At whatever temp, I'm hoping that VB up to your neck and a good frost bib hanging in front of your face will greatly improve the problem. I guess we will soon find out.
Last edited by BillyBob58; 12-11-2019 at 14:26.
So I have had a similar issue on a couple rare occasions at nearly the same temps. During the course of the night i noticed frost on my topquilt in places where my body was not necessarily heating the down. As i toss and turn through the night those frosted areas would melt and i would get small wet areas. At first i thought they were due to sweating. I believe this is caused by higher humidity above freezing,then temps dropping below freezing rapidly. Kind of like freezing fog. just a thought though.
I am New to this Hammock camping, I have never even slept in my new set up outside yet. Cold is not my thing. But can this be a vapor leak? A foot box is sewn together=no leak and your feet hold it down-Pressure . Your top quilt is tucked under your shoulders-pressure and no leaks. Hot air rises, the path of least resistance is the area between your feet and shoulders. The hot air escapes and condenses. So you get a wet torso area on your top quilt. Plus as originally posted you got up to pee on a tree at 6am. Your older now ( I hear you) and pee earlier in the morning, so you have never noticed it before because you were still sleeping.
Could this be a possible explanation??
Last edited by mbarr10; 12-12-2019 at 01:49.
Hmmm... that sounds plausible. And since the torso is typically warmer then the rest of the body is it pushing the vapor all the way out of the quilt to the surface in that localized area?
Not out of or thru the top quilt but around the edges not held down of the top quilt every time you move. Just my thoughts
Got back from 3 nights in the woods:
Night 1: Started around 28°, actually rose to 33° by morning. Damp, 4-6" snow on the ground.
Pretty darn wet TQ when I woke up around 4am to pee. Same area stomach to knees. I wiped it down with my fleece frost bib and went back to bed. Wet again by 7am when I woke up.
Night 2: After a damp 35° day it didn't drop much. Maybe 33° at bedtime and no change all night, literally.
Soaked when I woke up around 3am, so again I wiped it down. Got pretty ticked off so I just fired up my stove (MSR Reactor) and held the TQ over that...a dangerous game. The thing was steaming like crazy but bone dry within seconds. Amazing stove BTW. When I woke up around 7 it was as wet again.
Night 3: Finally started to cool down from the mid-30s to 28° by bed time. Dropped to 18° by daybreak.
100% DRY all night, what a relief!
I was using a 20° TQ and UQ. Even though it was too warm to use the vapor barrier liner, I did anyway. I wanted to eliminate the body vapor theory. Actually on the last night, I got a little cold when I decided to take it off at 5am. The next 2 hours I was a little cool, so it definitely keeps you warmer in addition to keeping insulation dry.
So I guess it's just the weather and some to do with me since others on this trip didn't seem to have a problem.
I still wonder if a bug net would help at all. My head says no but would be interesting to see.
OneClick, WOW! You are probably a contender for world champ in the wet quilt presumably from body moisture goes. But let me make sure I understand you: 1st 2 nights, in 20f quilts, at 28-35F, NO VB, and wet? Correct?
3rd night, mid 30s to 18F, USED VB, totally dry. Plus, felt warmer with the VB. Is that correct? If so, that sounds like a major success. Do you think so?
But, if so, are you sure you were not actually wet and just in denial about that? You know, some folks think that we are actually wet and calling it dry, so maybe that's you?
EDIT: I forgot to ask: how wet were you inside the VB?
Last edited by BillyBob58; 12-16-2019 at 15:02.
No I had the VB all three nights. Significantly cooler without it, but that was after taking it off around 4am when it was 18° the last night. It really holds in the heat! I'm sure I could go to 10° or lower comfortably.OneClick, WOW! You are probably a contender for world champ in the wet quilt presumably from body moisture goes. But let me make sure I understand you: 1st 2 nights, in 20f quilts, at 28-35F, NO VB, and wet? Correct?
3rd night, mid 30s to 18F, USED VB, totally dry. Plus, felt warmer with the VB. Is that correct? If so, that sounds like a major success. Do you think so?
But, if so, are you sure you were not actually wet and just in denial about that? You know, some folks think that we are actually wet and calling it dry, so maybe that's you?
EDIT: I forgot to ask: how wet were you inside the VB?
I'm sure it's all the weather. Last night everything was finally frozen up by 10pm. ~10mph breeze all night with some gusts. Nice "dry" cold feel to the air.
No moisture inside the VB at all. As usual, it boggles my mind.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks