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  1. #1
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    What to do with wet/sweaty clothes?

    Hammock Newbie question here. I'm not new to backpacking, but also not super experienced. I'm going on an overnight on the Foothills Trail in a couple of weeks, going to be my first night on trail in a hammock. I've hung a lot in my backyard, so I feel pretty good about getting my hang right, comfort, warmth, etc.

    What I'm trying to figure out is what to do with my wet or sweaty clothes while I sleep. I'm not planning on having a fire, so if it rains (which seems to always happen when I backpack) do you hang wet clothes on your suspension? If it's still raining, it would keep getting wet from water running down the straps. And if it's cold, it will just be wet and very cold in the morning. I've got an XLC, so I could put them in the shelf and hope that my body heat dries them out a little. Maybe pop them in the footbox of my quilt in the morning to get them as warm as I can before getting dressed?

    Any ideas? I'm sure there's something obvious I'm missing here. Thanks all.

  2. #2
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    First thoughts ... hanging on suspension can work for some things as long as your clothes fit between the hammock and your drip lines (depending on the coverage of your rain fly).

    Other option that comes to mind is laying your clothes over your ridgeline/bug net. I'm not as experienced in this situation as plenty of others here, but I'm thinking that would give the best compromise between body heat rising and exposure to air. Of course, you'd want to get your clothes as dry as possible before laying them above your hammock otherwise, you're just going to be miserable.

    Remember a bad day on the trail is better than a good day at the office.

  3. #3
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    Yeah, I thought about draping it over the top. I wonder how swampy it would get inside the hammock. I might do some testing and report back.

  4. #4
    Senior Member 4estTrekker's Avatar
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    First, I hope you have a GREAT trip! Do you know what material(s) your clothing is made of? Synthetic, wool, etc.? That can affect how you deal with things to some degree. I always reserve a dedicated set of sleeping clothes (or two) and store these in a dry bag of some sort with my sleeping gear. These clothes go on right before bed and come off before I busy myself about camp in the morning. I don't ever try to dry my gear out by wearing it or putting it inside my quilt/sleeping bag, as I want the insulation in those to stay as dry as possible. (We put off moisture when we sleep, so there's already moisture mitigation to consider even with bone dry sleeping clothes/gear.)

    I generally plan on my day/hiking clothes getting damp/wet to some degree, either from perspiration (especially in winter) or precipitation. I wear synthetics and merino wool in spring/summer/fall and generally can either dry them as I wear them (through body heat) or heat my clothes and the moisture in them up such that I don't notice them being damp. (Chaffing from damp clothing is another issue altogether.) In winter, I wear wool. It insulates well when damp and seems to dry very easily through body heat, even in very cold temps. In all seasons, I like to air any damp clothing/sleeping gear out in the sun or breeze, even if just for 20 minutes or so.

    Hope this helps. I'm not an expert, and this is just one way to do it based on the clothing I have and use. Again, have a GREAT trip!

  5. #5
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    Thanks, I'm really excited. Most of my stuff is synthetic. Shirt, zion pants, patagonia R1, nanopuff jacket. It should all dry easily. Capilene long johns.

  6. #6
    Senior Member 4estTrekker's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by 23steps View Post
    Thanks, I'm really excited. Most of my stuff is synthetic. Shirt, zion pants, patagonia R1, nanopuff jacket. It should all dry easily. Capilene long johns.
    Sounds like you're go for launch! Have fun and be safe.

  7. #7
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    My normal above-freezing routine is to change into dry cotton undies in camp and take my hiking wear down to the creek to wash. I then ring them dry and sling over the hammock ridgeline (not the suspension line where it can get wet). They wont dry completely unless its very warm and dry out, but they will be clean-ish. Yes, there are is a brief moment of unpleasantness putting damp cold hiking clothes on the next morning, but it only lasts 60 seconds.

    For stuff that is only lightly damp, its best to actually just wear them to sleep. They will be dry by morning.

  8. #8
    cougarmeat's Avatar
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    During a winter meditation retreat in Korea, we’d hang our washed clothes on a line. In the morning, they would be frozen stiff - like large cardboard cutouts - and we’d lay them on the heated (slightly) floor until they un-stiffened. Then our body heat would dry them. It’s not unlike pulling on a wet wetsuit at 4 am in order to catch a favorable ebb current or outgoing tide. I think they called that “character building.”

    23steps - welcome to the forum. Some lay their clothes flat under them in a hammock - better if it’s a double layer (DL) and they can sandwich them inside the layers. You could run your tarp ridge line under the tarp and use that as a clothesline - but you need to be REAL SURE your water blocks work so rain water doesn’t run down that tarp line. The alternate poor_jalopy suggested, not using the tarp ridge line and instead laying them on the hammock ridgeline (outside the bug net) would work.

    One thought is, if they are sweaty, they are already wet. If they are already wet, why not just wash them (given available water), wring them out, and hang them to dry. If you are using synthetic fibers, they don’t hold much water anyway. When I wash my synthetics, they are almost dry when the washing machine spin cycle is done.

    Any experience you can get setting up before the trip will be beneficial. If you have a park nearby, you can set up your hammock and tarp - like five times in a row. It’s sort of like getting the choreography down. I can’t count the number of times I’d set the tent stakes bag down, then have to walk back to retrieve it for the next guy line.

    It’s much easier to leave things behind or have them blow away when out “in the woods”. So all stuff sacks go back in my pack or are wrangled next to their occupants via a mini-carabiner through the drawstring - for example, the bag that holds my tree straps may be on the carabiner that connects the hammock to the strap.

    A sub-goal, after your weather secure comfort (for some of us, it’s before), is to be setup before your tent companions. The most difficult part is when you walk over and ask if they need any assistance. You have to be careful not to smile too much. It has to be sincere-ish.

    One tool I get grief for - initially - is a LIGHT weight plastic hammer (REI). But then, everyone seems to want to borrow that “useless” item. I know, rocks, heavy stick, pushing with hand or foot all work - in some soils. My hands have had the bruises to prove it. On an UL trip of course I’d leave the hammer home. But for one or two days - a three day weekend, I could probably carry the weight and not notice it.
    In order to see what few have seen, you must go where few have gone. And DO what few have done.

  9. #9
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    Great advise, thanks all.

  10. #10
    Senior Member cmoulder's Avatar
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    First of all, wear several lighter layers instead of 2 thick layers so that you can better regulate your temperature during the day and reduce sweating in the first place... if it's 20°F outside, you should be able to reduce perspiration quite a bit simply by managing layers and ventilating... opening zippers, pulling up sleeves etc. Shells with pit zips (top) and leg side zips are a must.

    Usually when I arrive in camp the only part that is truly 'wet-wet' is the lower part of my back where the backpack is in contact. I've found that if I continue to wear the damp layers while doing camp chores that the longjohns are almost dry in an hour or two, depending upon ambient conditions.

    Sometimes it's just a sloppy mess, cold and wet. Better have that dry set of longjohns and socks, and don't put them on until bed time, unless keeping the wet ones on is going to cause hypothermia. In such horrid conditions there's nothing you can do to make the wet clothes any drier short of building a big fire that puts out lots of infrared heat, which might not be an option if it's truly crappy outside. I've experienced horrid conditions such as this, and the only option is to put the wet clothes in a pile and go to sleep. Next morning it is not fun putting the wet clothes back on, but once you've done it and move on to other things it really isn't so bad. But you simply must maintain that dry set of base layers.

    Photo from a few years ago, Black Forest Trail, multiple (like 30) creek crossings, below freezing, spitting sleet. Dry set of longjohns was a life saver!

    Five Basic Principles of Going Lighter (not me... the great Cam Honan of OZ)
    “If everybody is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking.” ~ Gen. George S Patton

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