Hi, I just wondered if it's a good idea to waterproof a sleeping bag? Can a sleeping bag absorb dampness from rain without being directly exposed to it? ie if it's raining at night while you are sleeping under your tarp
And if so, are there any products that you can just spray onto the material when it's dry that will work?
Thanks in advance for your help
No vendor, to my knowledge, sells waterproof quilts or sleeping bags. Quilts and sleeping bags need to be breathable, and waterproofing them will decrease or eliminate breathability. So, not a good idea.
"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." Ralph Waldo Emerson
I agree. I would keep it in a waterproof bag. And only bring it out under shelter. You do not want it to hold in water vapor.
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If you need additional protection. Have you considered a bivy bag?
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UQP.
Never leave home w/o it.
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Remember that the source of wetness not only comes from the sky - your body makes a lot of water vapor too. Just lie down, with bare skin, on a closed cell form pad (CCF) - the old blue camping type - and you’ll soon see moisture beads. For that reason, you may not want a waterproof sleeping bag. You can put the bag in a waterproof enclosure (i.e. under a tarp) as long as there’s enough ventilation to let that wate vapor escape instead of build up in the bag. "Can the bag absorb moisture?” Yes it can. Sometimes the environment has so a high humidity that everything is just has a wet clammy feeling. The good news is, with today’s weather reporting - even then they get it wrong, it’s not far off - there are few suprises when you go out. So you know what you are in store for. That said, one July I hike into the Strawberry Mountains and we were met with one inch of snow during the night.
Opinions vary, but I’d suggest keeping your sleeping bag breathable and focus on making your shelter waterproof. The UQP (underquilt protector) keeps your UQ dry from splashes and blowing rain that might make it under your tarp. It also adds a little to the warmth rating. But if you have a tarp with doors, it does a good job too.
If you live in a mostly wet environment, you can consider getting gear with synthetic fill rather than down. Remember - you make the water vapor so you want your sleeping bag or quilt breathable. If you read posts in mountaineering forums, you’ll come across threads that take about how heavy the down bags can’t (from the human generated vapor) if there is no opportunity to air them out.
Last edited by cougarmeat; 10-31-2021 at 13:12.
In order to see what few have seen, you must go where few have gone. And DO what few have done.
A well-hung tarp and a breathable under quilt protector has always worked for me. 8071319619_d091089db0.jpg
While others are correct that you don’t want to make your quilt a vapour barrier, there are brands of sleeping bag out there that do offer some water resistance. Synthetics, treated down, and DWR coatings on the bag etc. It’s more of a minor benefit than a feature to rely on though.
An even more important factor than rain is relative humidity. High relative humidity for a sustained period of time will inevitably lead to dampness in nearly all clothing and gear.Originally Posted by ColinR
Sometimes the best you can hope for is a break in the conditions and an opportunity to dry out all gear.
The worst possible condition for keeping things reasonably dry is fog, which is near—and even above—100% RH. Water droplets condense on everything, whether or not you're under a tarp, and it will soak any exposed surface. Dew can also form overnight in wet zones even with comparatively low relative humidity, but usually this dries out fairly quickly in the morning.
But in conditions such as those in the photo below, stuff is going to get wet...
Last edited by cmoulder; 11-01-2021 at 06:49.
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
Anyone familiar with my wet quilt fiasco...man, just imagine me using a waterproof version. I'd need a snorkel and PFD just to sleep without dying.
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