Holy Condensation!

[Jarrod Renaud]

Spent my first couple nights in my Seekoutside LBO. Dropped down to maybe low 40's at night here in Colorado, around 8500feet. Pitched it on super dry ground. There was two of us in the shelter. I unzipped both sides of the vestibule a good 10-12 inches for extra ventilation at the top.

The walls were soaking wet, like dripping by say 3am. Any suggestions? I'm thinking of guying out the bottom to lift it off the ground a bit?

How do you deal with it in general? I guessing it'd really be situational dependent.

How will a stove change the situation? Whether good or bad? I have a stove on order for my October trip.

 

[PathFinder]

Yikes man I had the same thing happen in my BT2 in Idaho this may. My current plan is to add cordage to pitch it up off the ground 3-4 inches, and maybe pitch it on a slope so that the downhill side vents but won't let rain in. I ordered a bivy sack to keep the moisture off my down quilt too.

 

[Shrek]

Partly the nature of the beast. The tighter you snug it to the ground the worse it will be and two guys in a smaller shelter will throw out a lot of water. The stove will help but it won't eliminate it. It hasn't been a big issue in my Kifaru Sawtooth but the sides are pretty steep. Even in a cold pouring rain for hours it didn't drip on me much even though there was plenty of condensation. Mostly it ran down the sides.

 

[Kevin Dill]

A couple men in a shelter are basically exhaling moisture-laden air all night. Add in the ambient humidity and when the temp drops to the dewpoint (inside) you have condensation. Warm dry air rises and cool moist air falls. Pitching with the bottom edges above-ground might help some but I'd be surprised if it eliminated it. I use a liner in my Sawtooth and 8-Man because I just don't like the occasional drip or spray-shower. A stove will totally stop condensation, but will totally interrupt your sleep to keep it burning all night. You could burn it hot for an hour in the pre-dawn and dry up much of the condensation, but it's a moot point if the moisture has already wetted things down.

 

[DaveC]

Jarrod, how much rain and wind overnight?

 

[Kevin_t]

Cold sinks are very prone to condensation as well. Elevating the sides a couple inches will help a fair amount in condensation prone areas. I have had nights of bad condensation and a lot of nights with hardly any, and outside of rain etc it is mostly about location. Areas that are higher ( not wet valleys ) are far less prone . In lower areas prone to condensation a tree canopy helps a fair amount . In general , if dew gets on everything there will be condensation . Personally , I rarely pay much attention to avoiding certain areas . Avoiding the cold sinks is generally a more comfy camp anywayb

 

[Mike7]

I agree that elevating the sides should help. Especially with backpacking I end up camping on wet grass in a valley with the family more often, and the condensation difference between a pyramid with sides that I can elevate in whatever fashion I want quickly with lineloc 3s and a tipi attached to the ground all of the way around is night and day. A tipi lets condensation run down the walls well though as long as wind is not causing it to shake off on you. The stove only alleviates the problem while it is going.

 

[Jarrod Renaud]

Thanks for the input guys. I was in a valley,50 yards from a stream but up on high ground, dirt actually. No wind, no rain. But now thinking about it I could see that being in the low point overall probably heightened it. I've never though further than... "Is the ground flat enough that I won't roll off a mountain?" Haha. Anyhow, going back up next weekend, looks like it's just gonna take time gettingthe feel for location and venting.

 

[Jarrod Renaud]

Another question, Kevin can prob answer it in a jiffy.

I've got the 2 person nest. Will that work kind of as a liner regarding condensation? Or at least keep us enclosed from our bags touching the sides? I havnt actually set the nest up yet haha

 

[Darren Best]

Ventilation, dry heat and liners help with condensation, other that, not breathing might do the trick.

 

[Kevin_t]

Yes on nest

 

[Where's Bruce?]

Nest for me too. No issues.

 

[gmajor]

Bug bivy works wonders for me.

 

[luke moffat]

I think pitching the bottom of the shelter 4-6" off the ground does more for condensation management then a bug nest IME, but I do both.

 

[Jarrod Renaud]

Got up in the mountains again. This time zero condensation. tried a couple combos. First night had the base and 3pc vestibule and rolled one side open. worked great. 2nd night just used the base which obviously didnt get any condensation, was a calm night and had the open side facing downhill so the thermals flowed around us.

Got a couple more trips planned before september and will pitch fully closed but a few inches off the ground to see how that works out

 

[Kevin Dill]

Sounds good Jarrod. Sometimes you just have to log days and nights afield to see what works and what doesn't. I don't use a nest (yet) primarily because I like the open access to my bag and bed. I do think the nest idea is very sound and would work just fine.

 

[oldgoat]

This was my first time using my new Sawtooth, pitched in two locations, first time was high on the mountain but next to a spring close to it's point of origin and experienced very little condensation, second time was on valley floor next to creek and was getting rained on by morning time! Location location location is my limited experience observation!

 

[AK Troutbum]

I think pitching the bottom of the shelter 4-6" off the ground does more for condensation management then a bug nest IME, but I do both.

^^^This. Pitching off the ground is key IMO. Earlier this month I spent 9 days in a floorless shelter with two people, temps in upper 40's to low 50's during the day, upper 30's to low 40's at night, rain 4 or 5 days/nights and zero condensation when the shelter was pitched off of the ground several inches. One night I tightened the shelter right down to the ground because the wind started blowing pretty hard and I didn't want the tent to turn into a parachute. The next morning we had significant condensation, not so much that it was dripping, but the walls were wet top to bottom. By the next morning the wind had settled down and I immediately lifted the tent back up off the ground and we went hunting. When we returned several hours later (it rained off and on all day that day), the tent was totally dry on the inside. I think that keeping it elevated is the absolute best thing you can do to avoid excessive condensation.

 

[luke moffat]

Agreed Troutbum!! But I can't say that I have zero condensation when its raining. Seems regardless of how high I pitch the the walls always have a film of moisture, but nothing to write home about, but its there for certain. Doesn't drip on me or anything though.

 

[Jarrod Renaud]

Logged in a good 13 nights this september. Two nights with me and the lady and 3 nights with 3 of us in there, the rest solo. Pitched it with opposing corners raised a good 4 inches and was able to zip open the top a good 12" even with one night of rain have had just a tiny bit of condensation when it was 3 of us in there. Solo I was able to snug it down for a couple windy nights, unzipped the top to let it breath a bit and zero condensation. Set up on a high point and under a canopy. It's been a joy using this thing! Dont' see myself ever going to a floored tent again.

Taking it up Oct 9th with a stove for a week with a buddy. Extended forcast is showing precip which will probably be some snow. It should be fun and a learning experience on how to deal with lower temps and precip.