Cheese! every time I wake up to go to the bathroom I usually eat a few slices of cheese and a few swigs of water to give the engine some fuel and hydrate..... I also try not to put a jacket on so that the layers I am sleeping in have a few minutes to dry from any moisture I have built up while sleeping....
To only step where others have stepped means not to have your own adventures. Live, Love, and Adventure so you may leave your own foot prints!
You are welcome, hope it proves useful. I'm not surprised you have never experienced condensation inside your quilt. Many times folks get condensation ( and/or absorbed/wicked sweat ) inside their bags or quilts and are totally unaware of it. But the longer the trip, the more it normally becomes more obvious. For example, my friend has on trips of a bit less than a week, at least one in a very humid environment and lows in the 40s( Olympic NP rain forest ) the other a more normally low humidity environment with lows in the 20s. Near the end of both of these trips, one of my buddies became concerned that his down quilts had noticeably lost loft, though not a drop of external moisture had landed on them. In both of these cases, the temps were high enough above the quilts rating that he was just fine, especially since he mostly noticed this at the end of the trip. But he was worried that one or 2 more nights and he would have not been warm enough. Also, had either trip been closer to the lower ratings of the quilts, he might had had some real cause for concern. On both of these trips, there was little to no sunshine for drying out.Originally Posted by Tpatter
On one of these trips, the other 3 of us had total synthetic insulation, both clothing and quilts or bags, and none of us noticed any issues. On the other, 2 were still all synthetic, but I had a Speer down Pea Pod, and I still had no issues while he did, at least nothing obvious to me ( his was obvious ). I'm not sure why I had no problems, but I did use a vapor barrier(space blanket) between the UQ portion of my Pea Pod and hammock, and on top I was using some puffy synthetic clothing laid over me for layering, which might have limited any problems. Although, that is rather the reverse of what I said in my previous post, since the synthetic(Polarguard jacket and pants) were layered INSIDE my down. So I don't really know what the dif was on that trip, all I know is that I was using down and had no problems, but he certainly did.
So bottom line to all of that:
1: Most of us, if we keep external moisture off of our down quilts, are unlikely to notice any condensed moisture on trips of 1 or 2 days. Or trips with adequate sunshine for drying or conditions a good bit warmer than our quilt's rating. But that does not mean that condensation is not starting to accumulate.
2: With synthetic quilts, based on my experience so far, I am very unlikely to notice the effects of any condensation or sweat wicking even on week long trips, with or without sunshine. In fact, on that Olympic NP trip the very first night I soaked with condensation the foot end of my open cell foam pad(HHSS) and foot box(20ºF Polar Guard bag) and never even noticed it until I went to get out of the hammock, was totally warm. And everything seemed as thick/lofty as normal. Then packed up wet, it seemed fully dry by time to make camp at the end of that day.
Last edited by BillyBob58; 12-11-2020 at 17:00.
PS: I said I have never had any condensation problems myself when using down, but that is hanging. I did return from another one of those almost week long trips, but on the ground, same mountains and time of year, years ago. I had a down minus 5F rated Marmot bag, and stayed warm the entire trip, with the coldest night the very last night at +15F, sleeping out of the tent under an overhanging rock. But when I got home and measured, I realized the 7 or 7.5" loft(top + bottom) was reduced about 1 1/2 inches, until enough time to dry out 100%. That was all condensation, no external moisture touched that bag.
Last edited by BillyBob58; 12-11-2020 at 16:58.
Fascinating insight from you guys, is really appreciated.
My locale is high humidity most of the time so I’ll definitely be considering an uqp for my down uq...and will likely keep with apex top quilts where I have definitely experienced a layer of condensation before at times.
Am I making a mistake to sleep in my down jacket instead of having it on top of me? How else would I use the hood if I was not wearing it?
The only difference is that the down underneath you will be compressed. If it is zipped in front of you (and the zipper has an insulating baffle over it), it is providing insulation all the way around you.
Wearing it normally not only allows you to wear the hood normally, but makes side sleeping easier as you will have insulation on the three sides that are not compressed.
We must, indeed, all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately. - Ben Franklin
(known as a win-win on this forum)
Thanks,I do sleep on my side a good bit so I will just keep on keeping on.I like a hood when it's really cold.
When sleeping on my back, I seemed to get more loft- even though it could ot really have more loft- by having it on backwards with my arms thru the sleeves. This was a trick that really worked great when in my Pea Pod, when I was completely surrounded by the pod. All of that compressed insulation on bottom is now on top. But, I can see how that would not work as well for side sleeping, since your back would not be covered unless maybe your arms came out of the sleeves and the jacket was rotated. Which must have worked OK since I used to do it. But, inside a Pea Pod, the pod tends to hold things in place. I don't know how well that would work with a normal TQ. I use a separate hood these days, but not back then. But I probably did not need my jacket hood because, again, the pod gave me all the head insulation I needed. So, it might not work as well with a normal TQ, for side sleeping, or if you needed the jacket hood.
Still waiting on my HG incubator but have still been getting out, stacking 4oz/6oz layers of apex underneath me has helped but made me realise apex ratings are just not accurate for me, although a 7.5oz TQ on its own worked well....can’t wait to try the 20* incubator when it arrives.
A lovely night in the garden last night, -3c solid throughout the night, rh around 95% so pretty decent frost inside and outside the tarp, bit of moisture on quilts but given the conditions it’s to be expected.
My next challenge is to keep my nose warm without covering my whole face or looking like a bank robber! I try covering mouth and nose with a buff but it gets condensation and cools/feels horrible.
Any tips for a warmer snout!?
Some pics for fun.
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First - no problem looking like a bank robber, as long as you don’t act like a bank robber. These days, when in crowds, we all look like bank robbers.
I keep my nose warm by pulling my light/silk balaclava over my nose. I figure it also captures some potential condensation. Another solution was a “hunting" hood I found. It comes up over my mouth but doesn’t press against it. So it channels outbreath up to warm my nose.
Amazing but true, Amazon doesn’t seem to identify their items with a product number.
So if you seach for balaclava and this text:
"Your Choice Camo Balaclava Ski Face Mask, Camoflauge Neck Warmer, Hunting Gear and Accessories for Men”
You’ll find it for about $12.99 (there might be a 10% off coupon)
The picture show sort of a snow camo color but the actual product has more green (and “green” is mentioned in a text description) - but it’s still camo-ish, not a solid color.
In order to see what few have seen, you must go where few have gone. And DO what few have done.
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