How do you keep your foam sleeping pad dry?

If its closed cell I would just wipe it down after setting up camp with bandana or cook kit rag.

+1 on that. Nightlites are generally waterproof, but I am not too sure about the new ones. Zlites are also waterproof. As James says, just wipe them dry.

CCF doesnt absorb, so just shake it off right?

My pad was a very light white pad I got out of a box that was used to pack/protect new chairs I had shipped, no clue what type of 3/8th foam it is. by 61 in by 26.25in came in around 6oz.

My other buddy had a standard grey foam pad.

Both were wet. :(

Get a CCF pad…

Sounds like you used open cell foam which will absorb quite a bit of moisture/water. Closed cell foam won't, which is what most backpacking pads are made of.

Quite possible, as mine was incredibly light for the area of the pad. Don't really want to give up that lightness in my SUL hammock setup, we'll c what I can do.

I'll wait for my BPL friend to chime in as I thought he had a standard CCF grey foam pad.

…

Bryce's pad was PEF as far as I can tell. I had a CCF pad, which I had strapped to the back of my pack vertically after being rolled.

The CCF pad, from all indications, looked to have absorbed some water (from a test of squeezing it and seeing if any water extracted).

Now back in civilization and being able to do some more research(via a google search), the coated *surface* of CCF is moisture absorption resistant, but the material itself (ie the edges) is not.

This leads me to believe the following:
-If you were to dunk it in your sink it would absorb water.
-If you were to have it mounted vertically on your pack, the rain that hits the edge will absorb through the material
-If you were to have it mounted horizontally on your pack, the rain that hits the top and bottom surface won't absorb much, if at all, and can be wiped off, with minial absorption around the edges.

Thanks for the info Steve. I think with the nasty winds, the rain would of gotten your pad either way it was stacked on your pack (or mine for that matter), but perhaps if I go to a trash compactor bag for a pack liner (bigger than my Nylofume bags) and force myself to put the pad (CCF or PEF) inside it, that might work even though I won't like it.

…

yes, but mounted horizontally I believe the edge absorption would be minimal, especially with movement where the drops would shake off where mounted vertically they would have more time to penetrate the edge.

my gut feeling is if I had taken the pad off, wiped it down and *then* done a "squeeze" test the amount of absorbed water would have been minimal, and only along the edges. As it was I tested along the outward facing edge that saw both the direct impact of the rain itself, but also the water running down the edge over time.

Perhaps just cut a nylafume(sp?) to the size of your pad so you can still strap it on the outside of your pack?

or just buy a larger, cuben, pack and avoid nyla-blah(?…) alltogether…

What Rodger suggests. Me likes.

I wonder if the larger corn bags would fit over an entire pad? they are a heavier plastic though…

The size nylofume bag that works well with my GG Murmur is 24g or .85oz, a trash compactor bag is 64g or 2.25 oz.

So carrying an additional Nylofume bag (as a really long "hat" as someone else said, not sure if it can totally swallow a 26in rolled up pad yet) is the lightest option out of my current gear. We'll C…. thx.

cellophane bags from the grocery store would get killed IMO from being beaten up, and would fully swallow my 26in rolled pad. But good idea perhaps for smaller bag, I can live with Nylofume weight.

another option: buy an XXXL rain jacket…

I believe that is the sign it is time for me to leave work for the day.

A ridgerest or zlite will NOT absorb any water, do you want me to dunk mine in my tub for 10 minutes and weigh it?

(google)

Z-rest (lite?) dry: 405g

Z-rest after half a minute submerged, then shaken: 434g

Z-rest after one hour , 3/4 of it submerged, in luke warm water, then shaken: 435g

So, give or take a gramme, a fairly new z-rest is not absorbing any water. Surface scratches might make a difference but I doubt it. I am going with the idea that my sleeping bag was absorbing some of the residual rain water on the top surface and the rest combined with condensation is what showed up the next day underneath the mat.

The water gain in the Z-rest was 30g, more than a nylofume that I am reasonably sure it is waterproof. Plus my generic pad is bigger. I don't want my down bag or my only set of clothes to absorb anything if possible.

Only kicker is the insulative properties of my pad, which I bet are less, but was fine for me down to low 50s this weekend anyway.

I have never noticed any water being absorbed by either my blue foam CCF or my ridgerest and have never had a bag wet out as a result of using one that has been in the rain.

Also, just curious if you were camping in a hammock with nighttime temps in the 50’s why bother with the pad? I imagine if it is cold enough to require a pad or an under quilt, an open cell pad would not cut the mustard so to speak.

I am a cold sleeper, and leave it to me to sleep in a hammock for the first time in the White Mountains, haha. The projected lows could of gotten down to the 40s so I wasn't taking chances as a cold sleeper. Also as light as he white foam pad I had, as long as I could fit it in/on my pack I figure it was still worth it, I was still under 5lbs base weight.

To summarize a few points:

*) By definition of what CCF means, a CCF pad will not absorb water. If it did, then its cells would not be "closed". It can, of course, hold water on its surface. If it gets wet, it needs to be wiped off before I'd want to put a sleeping bag on it.

*) An OCF pad is like a big sponge. You must keep it dry. Back when OCF pads were more popular, the products were OCF inside a coated nylon cover.

*) CCF does not compress very much. That is why your major choices for carrying it are either to make a tube inside your pack or to roll it up and carry it externally. Because they have limited compressibility, they tend to be "hard" — something vendors try to address with clever geometry of the pad. That is also why they do not need to be a thick as an OCF pad for the same R-value — they will not thin out much when you lie on them.

*) An OCF pad is very compressible. I feels soft and "cushy", but you need a much greater thickness than a CCF pad of the same warmth — because when you lie on it you will make it much thinner under your body pressure points.

*) Because a CCF is compressible, you can compress it enough to carry inside your pack, where it will not get rained on.

The OP said that his white foam was packing in a package — I have never seen CCF used that way — always OCF.

Another option is to perhaps move over to a poncho for your rain gear. You can get multi-use out of it: rain gear, pack cover, ground sheet for breaks (as long as it's not raining hard), "front porch" for your hammock, and improv Grizz Beak for your tarp (increasing your rain coverage with a small hex tarp). You can, with some modification to it, even use it as an underquilt protector if you eventually wind up going with a down underquilt.

Hope it helps!

Water gain on ZLites, RidgeRests or Nightlites will be minimal. All are water proof. CCF pads by nature do not absorb water to any significant degree.

Sctratches, open sides, and cut edgs will allow the "CLOSED" cell foam(CCF) to pick up a few grams, but the material IS waterproof. Generally, wiping down with a bandana is all it takes to remove visable water.

Most packing foam is NOT suitable for backpacking. As you found, they do pick up water…like a sponge. I would look for a different source of water not your pad, if you are waking up with a wet bag (not damp, bags seem to be damp all the time in the NE.) Just hang them out (if possible) for 5-10 minutes.

BTW: Thermarest pads are NOT CCF. They use an open cell foam inside a waterproof liner. Required for blowing them up.

A liner and open cell foam is almost always heavier than a CCF pad for any durability.