9 Tips EVERY BACKPACKER Should Know For CONDENSATION
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 ก.ค. 2024
- 00:00 Hey Y'all
00:29 Don't Camp Near Water
00:56 Avoid Setting Up On Grass
01:18 Keep Wet Gear Outside Your Shelter
01:55 Select Shelter With Adequate Ventilation - And Set It Up RIGHT
03:48 Let Your Gear Dry Whenever You Can
04:27 Carry An Absorbent Pad
04:55 Make Sure Your Tent Is Big Enough
05:26 Consider Starting Out In Dryer Climates
06:03 Embrace The Suck
Tips Every Backpacker Should Know Playlist: • Tips Every Backpacker ...
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I find that the best way to avoid the discomfort of condensation is to camp vicariously watching Dixie’s videos from the dry, comfort of my couch! 😄
I have a small fan that I can attach to a ceiling vent on my tent. It's powered by a USB cell phone charger. And it will run for days off one little small charger. It pulls everything out of the inside of the tent and pulls the dryer are in from the bottom and does a great job keeping the inside of my tent dry. It only weighs a few ounces.
I've contemplated this exact solution for a while... what fan do you use? Is it available online? Thanks!
1993, Grand Canyon, Bright Angel Campground. We had a steady drizzle all night. During the night, hiking buddy thought about the “don’t touch the inside during a rain”, as he reached up and touched the tent to see if it was true about dripping. Of course, right over his head😮. Waterboarded himself all night long😅.
Dixie upping the thumbnail game!😍
The MOST important thing is : ventilation. Whether a single wall or double wall shelter - the better ventilated it is, the less condensation you will have.
I mostly use tarps now, which offer superb ventilation, for obvious reasons. When I do use my (one remaining) tent, a single wall, I tend to leave both doors open all the time. This seems to work pretty well.
Tip: put your inner backpack liner over the end of your footbox in case you touch the wall of your tent when you sleep.
This is a great idea.
Hello, I want to say that I have gained a lot of information from watching your videos. I am now even recommending them to others. I also want to offer my best wishes to you on your getting married soon. I look forward to more of you videos but take a break and have a great honeymoon, maybe do a little hiking (operative word here being "Little") I wish you and your hubby to be a wonderful and fun, exciting life on the trail, ANY trail.
@David-qx8jm There is a small population of people who would benefit from a video such as you mentioned. It might have been acceptable to suggest without the LOL at the end. However with it included my impression is that it is inappropriate and disrespectful to Dixie.
I need tips specifically for multiple days in a row of consistent rain- I just experienced that and had to cut my hike short due to everything getting progressively damp & wet
Hi Dixie, Good tips, but I would say that ventilation is the absolutely most important. I am from Utah and we still get plenty of condensation. The ideal conditions for condensation are a closed tent with a colder night. Your breathing out moisture laden air with a closed space and once that touches the cold wall of the tent the moisture condenses and droplets form inside the tent wall.
The only solution is to have both ends of the tent open to allow a flow of air. On colder nights most folks are reluctant to leave the flaps open, but it will be wet in the morning. If you are high enough in the mountains you will be greeted with ice in the morning. We live on a planet that is 70% water - wet is going to happen, but keep those flaps open and it will be wet less of the time.
One tip from a PNW rainforest hiker is to get a cheap, light, waterproof computer fan (or two) and wire it for USB, power it with your battery pack, hang it at a vent! Pull up dry air, move out the nasty moist lung air. You can find a lot of personal fans that are USB-powered, but I haven't found anything lighter than computer fans. You can get them as tiny as an inch across, though I'm not sure how effective one *that* small would be in a tent. Maybe for a bivvy?? I get mine from Cooler Guys, I have bought from them for so many purposes and had great experiences. They sell them pre-wired for USB, or with connectors, or you can DIY. It makes a surprising amount of difference, and is also great for how hot it can get in single-walled tents. In dry climates, aim the breeze toward you!
When I was a kid, double-walled tents weren't available yet. We had nasty single-walled A-frames with heavy steel poles that were such a pain to put up, and we huddled in the middle to avoid touching the sides in the night. Not only are these new-fangled double-walled tents so great for ventilation, even single walled tents have come so far since the 70s and 80s, with better ventilation, material, and design. I'm definitely not nostalgic for those old tents, haha.
Glad you mentioned the “Hammock”!!!! I’m in the waning years of my life and if I got on the ground, I’m not sure I could get back up like I could when I was younger. So when I stumbled upon this hammock thing I embraced it and it has so many advantages over laying on the deck and condensation is one of them. Never had a problem with it!!!! Thanks Dixie!!!!
I hear that! I'm getting on in years too and find it much easier to roll out of a hammock and get moving than it is for me to get up off the ground. Like you, I've learned that I rarely have any issues with condensation when in my hammock which begs the question, how much condensation can be attributed to the ground the tent is pitched on and how much of it is caused by our bodies during the night? Perhaps a TH-camr will set up various tents on a platform 18-24" above the ground that has good airflow under it and do some tests to see if there is any difference in the amount of condensation? With the hammock, one just has to make sure they have the proper amount of insulation above and below the hammock. But if dialed in right? Dang! Do I sleep well!
Make sure that the tent you are buying has a good ventilation system. A double wall tent does not automatically mean less condensation if the ventilation is badly designed.
Hey Dixie, I'm not much of a camper or backpacker but I know some physics of HVAC. So, the 1st thing is that when air cools, it compacts and when it heats it expands. Hotter air will hold more moisture than cooler air. When it's cold outside the tent and warm inside, the warm moist air making contact with the barrier - the tent wall - cools, is compacted and the moisture is, essentially, squeeze out of it and onto the tent wall. We constantly emit moisture all over our bodies but, less so when our core temperature is low. All our exhalations, however, are saturated (%100 % humidity) at body temperature. One tip to reduce condensation that you didn't think of is to cool-off prior to entering the tent. This will reduce evaporation from the skin. Ventilation gives the moisture in the warm inside air an option to condensing on the tent wall by escaping the tent with the warm air holding it. An insulated barrier increases the temperature difference- between inside & outside air- necessary for condensation to occur. I think we have different definitions for "double wall." Your's being netting (a screen) as one wall. Mine is two air barriers in close proximity to each other. Insulation like fiber glass creates small pockets of air that can't flow about. The glass will conduct heat quite alot but there's only fibers of it so while it holds the insulating air motionless (which prevents convective heat flow), it can't conduct much itself. The small space between the walls of a double wall tent impair it's movement creating an insulative air pocket. Here's an idea you might experiment with when you're in a cold environment. If you can isolate your breath from most of the tents' interior and provide much better ventilation for it than the rest of the tent, you could minimize heat loss while reducing condensation.
Interesting. What would that experiment look like? I am imagining my mouth attached to a tube that goes outside the tent (?!) or maybe pressing my face against the netting all night?
As a person who camps year round on the Gulf Coast - Embrace the Suck is the best tip.
Condensation film creature art makes for great B-roll for Aaron to work with. Great tips. Winter camp condensation with frost or ice up. That frost is often human body exhaust. Be sure to shake it when tearing down.
Great opening shot. Doesn't look like you at.all. really love your style of humor. Be cool ro eun onto you on trail one day.
Back in the days of canvas pup tents, the advice was simple not to touch the damp inside, so condensation would flow down the fabric to the ground; touching would break the flow and start a drip.
Ventilation is key, both in reducing temp and minimizing sweating, as well as airflow to carry away saturated air.
Great tips. I did a lot of trips this year in a single walled tent in damp conditions. It's not as horrible as I thought it would be. A UCO candle lantern is handy during damp conditions. The 3FUL tyvek quilt cover helps if you don't sweat too much. Mostly I just deal with it and wipe down the walls with a microfiber cloth.
I've got the original UCO candle lantern from 71, used it on my sobo on the AT. True what you say, I've used it to address condensation before. And I too use a cover of sorts--a SOL Escape bivy over my sleeping bag as my trekking pole tent lacks full coverage just above the bathtub.
I carried a piece of an absorbent towel on the CT last year. Worked wonders for managing condensation in the mornings. I was using a single wall tent too, just FYI.
So funny, backpack in Utah, my tent was dripping wet from condensation just this last weekend while backpacking the Wellsville mountain range.
Tip #2 use a double wall tent. I always camp by water and on grass if i can find it. I have a great tent!
I just knew I had a piece of Sham-wow somewhere in the garage. Now I know what I was saving it for! Thanks. Great tip.
Once again, good stuff!
Great information Dixie! Always enjoy your videos.
A lot of times Bivys can develop condensation on the inside, even the Gore-Tex ones. One way to deal with this in the U.S. Military Sleep System [MSS] Bivy is to leave the side zipper partially unzipped so moisture can more readily escape.
You can do that with any bivvy with a side zip 🤷♂️
Incredible knowledge and experience, humbling! ❤️
This was very helpful info for me. Thank you!
Thanks for the video
Happy Labor Day! 💪🇺🇸
The picture on the front of your video, is great. Only ever saw you with your hair in a ponytail. Lovely with your hair down too
Great video & educational. ❤😊
If you use a hammock topcover try using a dutchwaregear breathalyzer to direct your breath out of the vent.
Hi Dixie, great tips for reducing condensation. Your personality makes your videos fun to watch, with helpful content. Cheers
Very good advice. Some I knew, some not.
I live in a damp climate and we don't have much except grass to camp on and always near water so condensation is a constant. I use a double wall tent. It adds a few ounces but it's worth it to keep things dry.
If there is a tree with branches that create an umbrella, this will definitely reduce condensation, but make sure it's not so big and tall to have widow makers..... that is heavy branches that may fall on you.
Thanks. Very useful video. I live in an area surrounded by water where the natural inclination is to camp near water. So to avoid water is very difficult. But that is probably the most useful bit of advice for my area. Jupiter says the same thing and I respect him highly as I do you. Thanks very much.
I’m all for tip #8. Plenty of gorgeous places in the world to hike that offer dry and windy climates. I just got back from one of my favorites in southern Europe.
Tip nr 1 use a hammock ;) great vid!
+ infinity Likes for that thumbnail!
Hate that condensation! Just gotta leave those tent flaps open and hope it doesn't rain, huh? Love your hiking tips Dixie!
No joke, I was dealing with condensation this weekend on my trip. When I get back to civilization you make this video 😂
I’m dumbfounded that you didn’t mention the most basic anti-condensation tip of them all: ONLY USE THE RAINFLY WHEN ITS RAINING!!!
My rainfly gets install less that half the times I set up my tent and I’m from the East Coast. If I think it might rain I’ll install only halfway so I can quickly secure it if it does rain but otherwise the tent over my head is completely open and ventilated.
"Embrace the suck". Well put. Lol. No wonder I love your videos.
Ate some shrooms earlier…..your photo in my feed got me FUBAR
TY😂
Great info BTW😂
I use 3x3m tarp which can be set up with the best possible ventilation configuration and there will be still a lot of condensation. You can't fool physics. The only real solution beside suffering through is to make a fire where it is applicable. Small fire is not enough it must be really a kind of bonfire which will radiate enough heat to stop the condensation. Also making some reflector from logs would help but in this case we left hiking topic to bushcraft/survival know how.
This isn't a new tip but one i use regularly. I slide the foot of my sleeping quilt into my pack liner at night.
Another great vid Miss Dixie!
I've heard several people say this. I worry that condensation (from a warm body) will form inside the pack liner and dampen the sleeping bag anyway. Does it?
@EchoCreekStudio I've never experienced that but I sleep cold especially my feet. The liner only needs to cover where you bag/quilt may touch the tent wall.
@@Alex-yx8wb Thank you! I'm going to try this.
@@JessicaTPetersonI have had this happen before so I don’t use this tip. But it’s probably dependent on the material of the liner etc. mine was just straight plastic bag
Come thur hike the Sheltowee trace trail with me, northeastern Kentucky to North Central Tennessee
What would you do with a Tarp? I struggle still with that😅
I never had any issues with condensation when using a double wall tent. It’s a real issue with a single wall tent. It’s a trade off I am willing to live with to have a super light pack. It’s really only an issue if the rain rips for hours and I can’t open the doors. There is always a trade off with your gear.
Best number one tip: use a double wall tent and don’t worry about condensation.
I recent went car camping with family and one campground was just all grass! All our gear was wet before we even got to bed! By morning we were drenched! It didnt rain, it was just stupid humid 😰
Just my experience----32 years backpacking with double walled tents and never got condensation inside the tent.
One of the reasons why I prefer to hammock camping if at all possible. And when it isn't I usually opt for a tarp shelter. The versatility of a good tarp cannot be overstated inmho. So many shelter configurations for various situations. Probably not the best solution for buggy areas though unless one has a way of keeping the unwanted visitors out..🙂
Sea To Summit makes a couple of bug tent options. Probably could get the Nano and tie the pyramid peak line to your tarp ridge line.
@@KimberlyGreen No doubt both would be good options.
Doesn't really matter if its single or double layered tent . Its all to do with weather temperature and air . Plus our body's give off heat and our sleeping system too.
😊
These days im hammock and tarp only Dixie i gave all that laying on the ground up so i never go anywhere without trees and in heavy downpours in the night i dont wake to find a river running through my sleeping bag i have a hamock with a bug net...
Just got back from a trip on the Appalachian trail and last night on trail got rain on and evey thine was wet
Have you hiked the Israel National Trail ?
The thumbnail for this video 😂
❤
Tip # 10 ... carry around a big ol bag of desiccant packs 😋
(Half-joking. There are actually 100 gram packs designed for totes. I bet sticking one of those in your pack or in your tent at night would help.)
A comment for the algorithm
Hammock compresses the insulation of your sleeping bag under your back...result cold back. Add sleeping pad...result bathtub. You never covered condensation from your breath
in cold temperatures. Inside of your tent is covered with snow from your breathing, then it starts snowing on you.
A hiking video soon?
One thing I've never seen talked about is condensation when sleeping in just the mesh body of a double wall tent. The one time I tried it, I had condensation style directly on the mesh, and soak my quilt. Was that just a fluke or did I do something wrong?
If the mesh gets saturated it will drip.. the closer together the mesh design it the more it’ll hold moisture
Best thumbnail yet 😂
Is the thumbnail a reference to Barbarella (Jane Fonda)?
Do not use single wall tent. Tent has to breath. Use hilleberg anaris.
Damp Rid
I've been following you, Dixie, since Springer Mt. I've watched your skills grow as a videographer and photographer and just an all round great personality for the hiking community. I have a hard time hearing videos so I always have the captions on. The auto generated captions have a little trouble with your beautiful accent. lol Turn them on sometime and you'll laugh your tail off. You have never hiked in your life. All you do is hack! lol
I often use captions, and yes, it sure does add to the entertainment! I agree that Dixie has a beautiful accent, very pleasant to listen to.
:)
Last tip should always be "embrace the suck."
Don’t cook in the tent or vestibule
The steam from cooking will immediately create condensation
Tip number one: sleep in a hammock!
Dixie the hottie of backpacking. #1 dime
Thanks kiddo for your video. Congrats on your future marriage. I'll say a prayer the success of your marriage.
bivvies are nuts for condensation, speaking from ex service man point of view...
Yes they are
Avoid setting up on grass...sure also avoid setting up in the forest that will help.
The thumbnail looks like you got left in the dryer too long. lol
Footprint
*Tip No1: Don't use a single skin tent.
I’ve received it on a tent with a fly, it’s very weather dependent, and climate.
Definitely go for double skinned tents. Finding someone the size I need for that outer skin has become so much easier now a days! 😂 Edit: couldn’t resist, they are usually referred to as tent walls, never heard it called a skin before 😂
In NZ it didn't matter single or double wall... everyone had condensation... then the single wall wasn't as heavy and was easier to dry out. So there are pros and cons depending on the destination.
@shaggyterrell8460 Rubbing lotion on the skin helps as well... so I hear...
Great video with excellent topics. My problem was I loved my tent, but as you said in past videos. I felt as if thousands of bears were after me, lol. I couldn't sleep for anything. And all I needed was a partner to hike with. Changing my pillow helped, too. I'm between hammock and tent. I love my tents, but my hammock is cool too. Single wall tent with condensation problems or hammock with weight problems if it gets wet. 😅
Useful run-down of the main points of shelter condensation-ology, thanks Dixie. (Nice clip with Fancy Mae, I believe you hadn't shared that one before, right?...) 🏕 🚿
The condensation you see on the walls is only half the problem. The humidity in a tent goes up to about 100% if the ventilation isn't adequate. This means growth of bacteria and moulds in your quoted items. These produce spores, then allergies and inflammation ... hint, hint ...
* quoted = quilted
As someone who is sensitive to mold and all things damp this is gold 🪙. It's my biggest fear.