Wet inside my Tarptent Contrail

Rain, near a lake, and cool to cold temperatures — I think that's just about the ideal conditions for generating condensation inside a single-wall tent (or any tent actually). I don't think you can do much under those conditions, except to avoid shaking/touching the tent walls, and wiping down the walls with a bandanna…

Excellent article on the Six Moon Designs website: http://www.sixmoondesigns.com/faq/tips-a-tecniques.html

"You can reduce the moisture present by ensuring you've got maximum available ventilation at all times. Avoid lowering your canopy all the way to the ground or closing up your vestibule. Make sure you're utilizing any natural air flow to keep air circulating around inside your tent.

"Avoid camping too close to streams. Instead look for natural benches above the streams. Avoid depressions where cold air can settle during the night. Locate your camp under a canopy of trees instead of in an open meadow. Trees can retain a significant amount of heat radiating off the ground. This can result in a warmer sleep and a condensation free tent.

"To deal with the condensation that will inevitably form, develop a plan of attack. Volume is one key to dealing with the effects of condensation. Make sure your shelter is large enough so that you can still effectively function if the interior is wet. If your shelter is too small, you may feel yourself trapped, making any movement difficult without getting you or your gear wet.

"Have a cloth available to wipe down the walls when you first wake up. Organize your gear so that it's easy to assemble when you have to pack up in the morning."

The very similar article on the Tarptent website seems to no longer be there. When I bought my Tarptents (2005 and 2007), part of the instructions were similar to the above. I hope Henry is still doing this!

There's a good BPL article, too: http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/single_wall_shelters_condensation_factors_tips.html

The good news is that with a quick wipe down you end up with a fairly dry shelter. With a double wall that condensation would probably end up transferring to the inner when you pack up so you would carry a heavier and wet shelter.
Oddly that was a remark that a guy made yesterday to me whilst playing with the Moment..
He was referring to his personal experience with a few double wall tents.
As much as ventilation does help , I have seen tarps (open tarps…) dripping on a sleeping bag, and well they don't come anymore ventilated than that.
Franco
BTw, I use a kitchen cloth to wipe down the tent. Cheap and effective.

In humid conditions, I much prefer a double walled tent for this very reason. Much easier to manage the effect of condensation.

Opposite view, here. When I had a double-wall tent, the condensation on the underside of the fly dripped through the inner tent leaving big puddles on the floor and my sleeping bag. I'd far rather have the condensation accessible so I can wipe it off easily!

Just think how bad that night would have been with a single wall. It would have been a lake.

That type of condensation is normal. I think that silnylon gets wetter than other fabrics. And in my experience, wiping it down is rarely worth it.

I'm with Jack… wiping doesn't work much. Unless you care to stay up all night wiping in a storm. A steep sided double wall tent is a better solution for me.

The last time I used a single wall pyramid in the Smokey Mountains the fabric rained on my bag quite a bit.

<- Likes double wall tents.

A well designed double well tent won't drip on you, even with extreme condensation. Usually double wall tents have fabric (as opposed to netting) on the top of the inner to absorb any drips and then outside this area the fly walls should be steep enough that the drips run down the walls instead of dripping on the inner. You can shake the fly off in the morning before you pack it up.

Does "Spinnaker Cloth" or "Cuben fiber' offer better condensation preventions than "Silnylon"?

The "no-seeum" mesh used for the upper half of the inner of my Sierra Design's tents (Lightning & Meteor Light) doesn't let the condensation drops through inside. Both big and small drops rolls down the outide of the mesh and leaves darker (wet) colored streaks, but the wet colored streaks don't seem to leak even during 12-14 hour rainstorms.

Forgot to mention. I switched to a tarp, and still get condensation inside just due to the temperature drop – but I live in a very humid area.

Using my double wall tents in the typical spring / fall conditions in my area cause huge 1/4-3/8" sized drops to form all over the underside of the outer tent even when I leave the outer door rolled back. If I have to close the top 1/2 to 2/3 of the door due to rain, in get a soaked arm and upper back trying to get out in the morning…

Using the tarp in the same conditions causes the underside to look shiny and feel damp but not wet. If it's raining and gets cold, then small drops the size of pin-heads form all over the underside. If I accidentally brush up against the tarp while packing up, I only get a tiny bit wet.

It may have more to do with the fabric itself than a ventilation issue as I found recently while testing the seams of a Contrail we purchased and the seams were fine but the walls were covered with heavy condensation in the morning and there were a few drips on the floor. It rained steadily overnight with a light breeze and this was a backyard test and nobody even slept in the tent and it was set-up for max ventilation so I think it was due entirely to the fabric porosity? since there was no moisture supplied from an occupant. This is not a knock on Tarptent type single-walled shelters as the moisture would be managable with a little care and wiping down walls and is a small compromise for the incredible size to weight ratio of this kind of shelter as long as care and good judgement is used.

I had a Contrail & sold it for a TT Moment B/C the Moment looked more stable in winds (& was). But I also discovered the Moment's design had more useable sitting space so I wouldn't hit damp walls. Plus Henry has placed two pieces of netting along the wall at each end to preclude hitting the wall with your bag's foot. And the entire door side of the Moment is netting, so no condensation there.

Now that Henry has a liner for the Moment I'll get it for cooler weather. It will handle the condensation problem and should give a little more warmth.

So that's MY solution to condensation in the Contrail. :)

Seriously, just do as Franco suggested and use a "tent towel" for the condensation. That takes care of most of most of the problem in my experience.

Ironically, I had considerably more condensation in the Moment than in the Contrail. The Contrail feels substantially bigger and you can get two in there in a pinch. I preferred the ventilation options of the Contrail.

Agreed, my moment sometimes has severe condensation. I've for two in it as well.